Honorable Chas. A. Tosoh 

Comty Auditor 

Records Building 

Dallas, Texas 

Dear Mr. Tosch! opinion lie. o-6276 

Rer Effective date of the conetitutional 

amendmeet rkmntly adoptea, and the 

necessity for en enabling act, 

We beg to aoknowledge reoeipt of your letter requesting LLP opinion 

fran this department upon the above captioned subject matters a8 follows: 

"At the general election Bovember 7th the amendment 

to Section p of &tide 8 of the Constitution, as proposed 

in House Joint Resolution Ho, 18,. passed by the 48th LegisIsture, appeara to have been adapted by a majority of the 

votes cast tberem, and queetlon hae arisen (a) As to when 

saia amndmsnt will beocme effective, tib (b) Uhetber or not 

an Enabling Aat of the Legislature la necessary to set up 

the maohinsry for putting the emerdmnt in effect In the 

respective counties asairing to avail t?xm3elves of the 

privileges of the miendnmnt.a 

Article XVII, Section 1, of the Conatitntion, with respeot to the 

mode of amerraing the Constitution, provides that! 

* . . . It ehallbe the aaty of the never81 returning 

officers of ma election, to open a poll for, ma make 

returns to the Secretary of State, of the nmber of legal 

v0tee cast at said election for ana winat said amendment; 

and if more than one be proposed, then the number of votes 

cast for and age&et each of them; an& if it shall appear 

from said return, that a majority of the vote8 cast have 

been aast in favor of eny amendment, the said emmQment 80 

receiving a majority of the votes cast ahr;ll~~~~~*~WXt 

of~thi.m‘0a@$tuticm, amI proaleuaation shall be made by the 

Govenmr thatiof." 

Artitde 3034 of the Revi8ed civil Statutes ie (LB follmmr 
’ - 

Honorable Chas. A. Tosoh, page 2 (O-&78) 

"On thefiite~thbayaftartbeo~ati~, tkeQayof 

election excluded, aad not before, the Wont&&of Btate 

in the presence of the Governor cmb Attarne~ @emnl, or 

in case of vaoaney in either of said offiew,. wr of inability or failure of either of eaid offleon te sot, then 

in the presence of either one of thap, ehallogen -a count 

the retmma of the election.* 

This Article aa a eequenee of Article 3033,faanlehes the amwer 

to your firet queetim. 

The effective &ate of the awndment if oarried 6oee not bepend 

upon the Govellaor'a proolamation, Thie was aetezmined by Judge Will~s~n of 

the Court of Criminal Appeals, wherein he said% 

'our ocmdruotion Of this provieioll ie that it xe the 

ascertained majority of the vote of the peoplei 01 not the 

proola&sU of the Governor, which girti ioroo,raiL effect 

to the mendment, e . . We are of the,epirptort;therefore, 

that 88 80011. aa the eleoticm returna wem 0auraBw&, an& it 

was aeoertalned that a urjority of the vet4r cast were in 

favor of the amendment, itbeoeam a part of the Con@titnticm, and was In full force and effeot frm &at date.“ -- 

Wilacm v. The Slate, 15 Tex. Ct. Appsr Rep, 150. 

JuQeUllleon~e opinicmwae eitedwith appxwti ia~xas Water& 

Ga@ Co. v. City of Cleburne, 21S.Y. 393. 

Your seeon& questicm involves a cowtxuutimm 6flLJ.R. Ho. I.8 proposing the amendment. 

H.J.B. BO. 3.8 fe 88 folkuer 

'seetiom 1. %at Seation 9 of Article 8 of the 

Coaaatitutim of the State of Tsus, be EO e&end04 that 

the wane wil2 hereafter read aa follow8 

* 'Swtion 9. The State tax csproperty, 

excluafve of the tax neceeeary to w *a pabllo 

debt, end of the taxes provided for the benefit 

of the public free aohoole, ehallnever ameed 

thfrty-five (35) cents on the we hum&we& dnllars 

whation; and no oownty, oitr or taun 8hblLlevy 

mom than. twenty-five (25) 0ents for oity or 

oounty parposes, end not aroseding fifteen (15)‘ 

oents for roaae and bridgee, arril not exobeding 

fifteen (~)oente to pay ju+ewe, oathe ~ehun- 
Honorable Chas. A. Tomb, page 3 (0-627’3) 

&ed dollars valuation, exoept for tke.,&~~~~&t of 

debts 3mmrred prior to the adoptlcn~.of fhe Amendment Septemiber 25, 1883; cprb for the. ereetlcm of 

pnblio bulldIng, etreet.s, mwerm, watmworbs and 

other pemaanent irppnnnmente, not -to ~exossd twentyfive (25) oents on the one hundred douM mAaation, in any one pees, and exempt au ln In thin 

Conatitntian ~othemriee~provldedt proMed~,homrer, 

that the aaalBniannrn court .in roy:~oQlJu~~w~ reallooate the foregolng oatmty taxer by ahenging 

the rates provided for any af the f0rug0lng pmpose8 by either. lnoreau~ or. deoreuing the fame, 

but in no event shalLt2m total oi rU.,~forego~ 

county taxee exoeed el@tJ (80) oentn aa,the cm0 

hundrea dollara mJ.nation, In q Qle yearJ provided further, that b&ore the eaid ~Qcmtlrionere 

Court my make euah re-allooati0nc.:~,.oh~e In 

aaia oounty tmes that ,the taame nhall br ru~tted. 

to the qnaiifiea property tax wiry ~rotezv of 

amh oomty at a general or speoi~l rlsotion, and 

ehall be approved by a majority ,of the qued.iil~b~ 

prop¶rty tax pByln& rotErB, ~votjgg .h euoh BlBotl~j 

anb, poriaed further, 3h~t if e+d whun ewh Malboaticms and ah-6 in the aiOrW*id 00rmtq 

twee have been appromd by the qt~llz,be4 property 

tax pegins vat~rn of MJ ommty, u ,horeb pm~ldnb, 

euah re4lloo8tfaM ,ti ah-r uhal romafn is 

forae and effeot for a period of osx (6):y&~~ frm 

the date of the eleoticm at whioh the ICED, shall be 

approvea, unleslr the mme again shalLban been ‘~ 

ohmaged by a majority rote oi fhe quallfiorb. pro~~rtf 

tax paylug Toter9 of suoh oouutg, rot~'m the 

propoeitlon, sPter enbmlnalorr by fAm Ocmlrelonera 

Court at a general or epeolal ebotian ior’tkat purpoet aa the ~egi~lst~~ mfby 8ai0 ~nthsrrzu0 an abditlonal cumual ad vdlorcaa tax to be lovied and oolleoted for the f’nrther malntan~~e OS %ho pub110 

roads; protidaa, that B msjarit7 0f thy a\arluiua 

proprty iax gcyw Yatnre of thu 00ludy TatbAg rrt 

an eleotlon to be held for that .pnrpwr &all vote 

euoh tax, not im exoeed fifteen (53) oentm cp the 

oue hundred dallmm ratitlon oi the poQorty 

subjeot to tsxatien in rnoh oounw~ && th* 

Legislature may paw load lawn for t&3 abintenanoe 

of the publio roada aa6 hiehwaya, witboot the looal 

notice required for epeaial or local. kwr. TM6 

aeotlcm ehallnot be oonatrued aa o UmltMloxk of 
- -.._ 

Haoreble Chaa. A. Toosoh, page 4 (O-6278) 

powers delegated to counties, eftlee or tihls 

by any other sectian or sections of.%ie Ccmetitution. '" 

You are respectfully advised *at it is the opinion of this department the foregoing smendment is self-executing, and there is no necessity for 

an enabling act by the Legielature to put it into effect according to ite tenus. 

The mended aec$.i,on itself specifically sets forth the method for 

making the amendment effective In the following language: 

I, . . .j providea Wther, that before the said Commissionerd Court may make auch.re-allocations end changes 

in said oounty,t+es'that the same &all be submitted to 

the qualified property tax paying voters of such county 

at a gene+ c'r special elwtior.l,,and shall be approved 

by e. majority of,&e qu&lified,propertg tax paying voters, 

voting in such e&ection;,sn&, provided Further, that if 

and. when swhre-alJ.ooations aa Ghangee ,$n the aforesaid 

count? +axeu have.,peen approved by the qualified property 

tax paying voters of eny ootity, as herein provided, such 

re-allocatfontl and changes shall remain in force and effect 

for a period of six (6) years from the date of the election 

ant which the same shall be approved,uuLeea the same again 

shall have been changed by a maj-prity vote of the qualifies 

property tax payir+g votera of such county, voting on the 

proposition, after submission by the Cammissioners Court at 

a general 0.: special election for that purpose; . . ." 

Therq is e, prwiaim t%e, t ,tb* Legislature may also authorize an aaditional ad valorem tax be levied and coLlected ?or the'fur+&er maintenance of the 

public roads, but this is beyond the matter :ou inquire about. 

Yours very truly 

ATlW.XEYGIlXERALOFTEXAS 

os:mr:jm 

BY 

Oeie Speer 

Aesiatant 

APPROVED BOV 21, 1944 

/e/Carlo8 C. Ashley 

FlRSTASSIS!EMT 

AlTORNEYGENEBAL 

APPRiNED 

Opinion Committee 

BY m 

Chairman