OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

-c.yull AUSTIN 

-- 

Xonorablo Tor t. Hnrtler ‘., 

Crlklnrl Qirtrlot Attoqcy 

mlalgo county 

Ed1nburg, wxar .’ ‘. ‘~‘, 

otter vhioh 

Dirtrlot LB at presant uelng 

a eat da0 ior imer~0ir x0. 

DiatrSot-Wd 

t is the contention or the Water 

beoauso this lnnd haa to be PUreharoa at tnr inctanoe or the lztati Porra ot 

Yater Znglnoers, for vatrr stora t, that lt ia 

a gooermiontal runotion of that 9, irtriot ana 

that they. &oulA not bwe to pw tame upon the 

mm*.* 
Uorrcrable T0m.L. Partler, ‘Page e 

Saotlan 2, o? Article VIII, of the Constltutson 

of Texas, QrOVlaSS In p6rt am ?ollowct 

aAil aooupation taxes @hall be equal end 

uniform upon the sane olaea o? aubJaote tithla 

the limite 0r the authority lavyiniq the tax; 

but the Leaialatura may'. by aencrnl lave. exsmot from taxrtion Dub110 orooertr.uead iar 

public oarooeee; . . .* 

Artlole 71%0, R. C. 8. lW6, oontmiae the follovIn,- provleton: 

I 

'The rollovkng property rhall 58 oxrelpt 

fmm tuetlon, twit I 

a 

. . . 

'4. Fubllo property, - All propert;l, vhetner 

reel or psrsonll, balon@ng exolutl~el;to thle 

state, or any politloal aubdlrlelon thereoi, or 

tat unitf3a Statre, . . .* 

As we underetnnd the Saote in thla oaso thr land 

ln oueetlon VIW pure&add, and Is ovned exoluelvely by the. 

Nllr?oy County Water Contra1 XmproveEent Dietrlct No. 1. 

It wee htiia in Bexar-Ktdlna-ltaeooea Cowtier Water ImproVeRent 3letrlot so. 1 v. State (T.O.A. 1929, yrlt refuosd), 

21 5. W. (!?a) 747, thnt vater laiprorrmeat dletrlota orghnitet 

under the authorizntlon contained ln Artlole 16, Sootloa 69, 

oi the Conctltutlon of Tcxam, are polltloal 8ubdlVlelOne of 

thle sitate, within the meaning of the above atatute, an4 the 

PopertJr in thst oeec vithln thr aoope or the conetltut~onal 

provlalona. 

T&e language of Chief Jurtfoe Plly, ln Bexar-Eedlna 

Ataecosa Counties U. I. Diat. Ho. 1 t. State, suprs, vould 

l PPh a to r be ooaol~~lv~ upon thlr phase OS the qUsstlOa. W? 

quote In part iron the oplnloa or line oourt. 

*The only iaeue In thla cauee la: Hoe Mdlnh 

county the power and authority to aaaeam and oollsot taxes, state and oounty, on the dama, retmrvo1ra, canals, altohes, and other property neoeeeary for the conrerratton and aletrlbutloa of 

vatsre In the aietrlotr 
Bonorablm Tom L. H*rtloj, FAga 3 

*It la prorl8atl by art1018 8, i Z, OS the 

Conrtltutloa of Texas, t&t the Iaglrlature may 

by genrral liva exempt from taxation publio 

property uml Zor pub110 pwpoee~, and la pus 

auanoe oi that authority l naotsd Kiev. St. 1926, 

art. 71b0, in 8eotloa 4, 0r Vhloh lt Ir.prorldrdr *All pro~wt~, vhethrr nal or p6rroaal, 

belonglag 8xoluaivalx to thlr dtatlr, or clay politloal divlrloa tbelvoi,’ #hall be execipt fro8 

tuatloa. The very rtatutory rqulrmsatr for 

the areatloa and fommtloa of vater lmprovemsat 

dlttrlotr vould a0010 to atamp them ar polltloal 

dltlalonr of the atate. All the mao?llnery ursd 

to iorpl then ir through ageaol8o 02 the stat8, 

thr oouati judge, the oommiemlonerr~ oourt, the 

eltotloa ~nrtrumsntalltlec, the dirtrlot oourt 

to eatablleh the rallaitJ of the lesuanoo of 

bonds,-the powers of tuat%oa, nrttiotlng the 

we of mu& tucatloa to dlsohbrge the prlaolpal 

and interert of the bonda, the l leotioa of director*; all thee8 are goveramsatal povbr8 provided ior la detail by law. The dirtrid i8 

not an ordinary oorporatloa org~nltod for. purpores of gain to it6 8embh8, but 16 a pub110 

ageaop, using the 5oney raise6 by taratloa to 

adranoa the ~ntexwtr of the lavdovmrr vithln 

it a juriedlot ion. 3t i8 a polltioal eorporatloa 

‘or dltlslon of the etate vhloh ho principally 

for lts objeot the admfnlrtratlon of the go~sranent, OF to vhloh the power8 of govOrmw!nt , or 

a part or ruoh povers, have besa delegated.’ 

. . 

,aThs next rubdlvfalon ot thm seotloa (Art. 

16, Seo. 69b, Constitution) PrOViab6 for the 

foraatlon of dietrim rssential to the pumo6er 

or the arnsndnsnt ‘vhloh blrtrlots shall be governumtal agtnctee aad bodies polltlo anb oorporatkvlth ruoh power8 of government and vlth 

the authority to exerolte ruoh rlgbtr, pr%tllsgcs rend funotlon6 oonoerning tha 6ubJeot matter 

of thle~amenament ao map be oonferr6cI by lav.' 

I . It 18 a’gotsrnmental agenoy an& boa7 

polltlA La ooxvorate ( vblob le a clear deflnltlon of a tpolltloel ~lvlsloat of the state, 
93 

Ronarable TORI L Rartley, P&e 4 

clothed with go*ernmantal powara, and funotlone 

and exempt fmm tuatIon.* 

The property to vNoh you refer I8 therefore exempt undar..th.e term0 of Seotlon 4, HIole 7150, R. C. 8. 

1920, unleaa tli* ‘exemptIon of the l tatute, aa l ppllad in 

this oeae la broader--than--tie-.euthorIaatIon grated to 

the Leglaiatun Ia &-Mole $, Se&Ion 2 of th,, ConatItutIon 

quoted above..~ . 

.~. 

.~’ :m-.-; 

In order to fall within the &ovkiona of ArtIole 

3, Seotion 2, the property must not o,nly ba publio property, 

but aleo l m fop publio purpoaea”. ~Reaervolr No. 3 has 

not yet bean constructed on the aaqulred rsaeno:r rite 

and the land Ia not now being used for resenolr purpoaaa 

but is ussd es a pasture. whether by the dlatrlct or by 

leaea to third partIe doer not appear from the letter of 

reqisst. 

A thorough rerlev of rarlous conat.itutlonal provisions, and e construction of the phrase *USE& Sor public 

pur-osea*, aa employed In SaotLon 2, of hrtlcle 8, uaa given 

by the Zaatland Court of 0~~11 Appeal8 In City of AbIlfze 

v. Stete (1937, vrlt dlaalaaad), 113 8. W. (26) 631. 

that case the City of Abllene had aoqulred land In Jones 

County ror the purpose of e resenolr alte for Impounding 

water for the uae of the olty. The oity had procured from 

the proper authority the aeoeaaary epproprlatIon of uater, 

done englneerlng work, and euthorlzed the laouence of bonda, 

but hed been unable to aoqulre all the lana neoeaaary and 

bad net done a4 construction work.or actually used any of 

the land Sor reservoir purpoeea. e:or iiV6 years prior to 

the cult the olty had been leaalng the land for agrioultural 

purpoaee for aggregate annual rentala or approximately b2SOO. 

The land was un3cr lease at the time of the suit. All leaaea 

had been aubjeot to the rIght6f: the city to bu,ulld th@ dnm 

ana reservoir at any time, the olty not having abandoned its 

Intention to aooompllsh the purpose for whioh the landa were 

@oqulred. The oourt dlecuaaed the qu6atlon at length and exPressed Itr oonolueion In,the following languager 

*It is, thebefore, our vlew thk when the 

iaats of a given case establish the ownerehip 

of pooperty by a mu~loipal corporation, vhloh 

&a baen acquired for an authorlzed pub110 PUTpoee, and the purpoee for whioh It la owned 
‘ . 

Bonoreole Tom L. Hartley, Page 6 

nnd held haa not hewn abandoned, suah groparty 

1st to b* rctgarded au used Sor pub116 purposes, 

and the LagIalature has the pover to provide 

by peneml l@u for iti6 exeaptlon froa t8XBtiOA. 

The court &ther held that elthough *rtIole 7100 

la more oompr6heaaI+e than the power whloh the &glalature 

possessed It WV be oporatlvo a6 a n l xerolme of all the 

pover the L6gIalature had, and therefore ralld to the extent 

of deolarlng an exemption or publIo property used for pub110 

purporea . 

Be6 also City of Dallea ir’: State, (T.O.A., 1950 

&It refused), %?9 8. V. fS?dl 937, epplylng the exemption 40 

e reaenolr rite, cad furthsr holding that the exemption lo 

applloable, although the reaerrolr rite to ba uaod ior pub110 purpoaea I6 rltueted In another oounty. 

It la our opinion th&t rour Interprotatlon end epplloetlon of the law la oorr86t, 6Aa that Under the feet8 presented, the land aaqulred end held for the purpoee of oonstruotlng Raaervolr No. 3, by the Wlllaoy County Ueter Coatrol and fmprotsaent Dlstrlot No. 1, la exempt Srom taxation. 

We enoloae her&with a oopy of ~~IA~oA Ho. O-2037 

passing upon a rslnted quartlon with referanos to the Lower 

Colorado River Authority. 

Yourd tart truly 

ATTORKEY GENERAL OF TZXAS 

I 

AlTROi’ED~ 12, 1981