THEA ORNEY GENERAL 

OF~EXAS 

June 6, 1962 

Honorable J. W. Edgar 

Commissioner of Education 

Texas Education Agency 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion No. WW-1342 

Re: Whether "federal-owned forestry land" should be construed to include National 

Grasslands recently made a 

part of the national forestry system for purposes of 

allowing a deduction in the 

local fund assignment of a 

school district pursuant to 

Section 5 of Article 2922- 

16 of Vernon's Civil 

Dear Dr. Edgar: Statutes. 

Your request for opinion from this office informs us 

that school districts In Fannin County and other counties in 

Texas contain land which is a part of the Panhandle National 

Grasslands, a federal reservation, which by administrative order was made a part of the National Forest System. The tax 

assessor-collector of Fannin County now contends that the district is eligible for an adjustment reduction in its local fund 

assignment pursuant to Section 5 of Article 2922-16 of Vernon's 

Civil Statutes. 

You then ask the following question: 

"For purposes of allowing a deduction in the 

local fund assignment of a school district pursuant 

to proviso, Article 2922-16, Section 5, second paragraph, legally should 'federal-owned forestry land' 

be construed to include National Grasslands only 

recently made a part of the national forestry system?" 

Section 5 of Article 2922-16 states in part as follows: 

"Sec. 5. The State Commissioner of Education 

shall determine the amount of local funds to be 

charged to each school district and used therein 

toward the support of the Foundation School Program, which amount shall be calculated as follows: 
- 

Honorable J. W. Edgar, page 2. (WW-1342) 

"Divide the state and county assessed valuation of all property in the county subject to 

school district taxation for the next preceding 

school year into the state and county assessed 

valuation of the district for the next preceding 

school year, finding the district's percentage 

of the county valuation. Multiply the district's 

percentage of the county valuation by the amount 

of funds assigned to all of the districts in the 

county. The product shall be the amount of local 

funds that the district shall be assigned to raise 

toward the financing of its Foundation School 

Program. 

"Provided, however, that in any district containing state university-owned land, state-owned 

prison land, federal-owned forestry land, federalowned military reservations or federal-owned Indian reservations, the amount assigned to such 

school district shall be reduced in the proportion 

that the area included in the above-named classification bears to the total area of the district. 

Provided further, that no local fund assignment 

shall be charged to the Boys Ranch Independent 

School District in Oldham County, Texas. 

II . . . 

"The County Tax Assessor-Collector in each 

county, in addition to his other duties prescribed 

by law, shall certify to the State Commissioner of 

Education in Austin, Texas, not later than December 

1st of each year, the following information: 

"(1) The assessed valuation, on a state and 

county valuation basis, of all property subject to 

school district taxation in each school district or 

portion of school district in such county, and the 

total assessed valuation of all property subject to 

the school district taxation in the county; 

"(2) The total area of each school district; 

and 

“(3) The area within each school district comprised of state university-owned land, state-owned 

prison land, federal-owned forestry land, federal- 
Honorable J. W. Edgar, page 3. (WW1342) 

owned military reservations, and federal-owned 

Indian reservations. 

"Should any County Tax Assessor-Collector fail 

to submit such certificates to the State Commissioner of Education as provided for herein, the State 

Comptroller of Public Accounts is hereby directed 

to submit such information, estimating when necessary. As soon after the receipt b~f such certificates 

as practicable, and prior to the time that the respective tax rates for the school districts,of the county 

have been set, the State Commissioner of Education 

shall notify each school district as to the amount of 

local funds that such district is assigned to raise 

for the succeeding school year." (Empha,sis added) 

Section 471 of Title 16 of the United States Code 

Annotated states in part as follows: 

"The President of the United States may 

from time to time, set apart and reserve, 1; 

any State or Territory having public land bearing forests, in any part of the public lands 

wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, 

as national forests, and the President shall, by 

public proclamation, declare the establishment of 

such forests and the limits thereof. 

II 

. . . 

"(b) The President, in his discretion, is 

authorized to establish as national forests or 

parts thereof, any lands within the boundaries of 

Governments reservations, other than national parks, 

reservations for phosphate and other mineral deposits, or water-power purposes, national monuments 

and Indian reservations, which in the opinion of 

the Secretary of the department now administering 

the area and the Secretary of Agriculture are suitable for the production of timber, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture under such 

rules and regulations and in accordance with such 

general plans as may be jointly approved by the 

Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary formerly administering the area, for the use and occupation of such lands and for the sale of products 

therefrom. . . .' (Emphasis added) 
Honorable J. W. Edgar, page 4. (WW-1342) 

Section 472 states as follows: 

"The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture shall execute or cause to be executed all 

laws affecting public lands reserved under the 

provisions of section 471 of this title, or sections supplemental to and amendatory thereof, 

subject to the provisions for national forests 

established under subdivision (b) of section 471 

of this title, after such lands have been so reserved, excepting such laws as affect the surveying, prospecting, locating, appropriating, 

entering, relinquishing, reconveying, certifying, 

or patenting of any of such lands." (Emphasis added) 

Number 123 of Volume 25 of the Federal Register provides 

as follows at page 5845: 

'8213.1 Designation, administration, and development of National Grasslands. 

"(a) The land utilization projects administered by Department of Agriculture designated in 

paragraph (e) of this section hereafter shall be 

named and referred to as 'National Grasslands.'" 

"(b) The National Grasslands sggn;;t; pa$Ed 

of the national-forest system and p Y 

by the Department of Agriculture for administration 

under the provisions of Title III of the BankheadJones Farm Tenant Act, subject to such exchanges of 

lands thereunder as will promote effective and economical administration or otherwise serve the public 

interest." (Emphasis added) 

The above administrative order was signed by True D. Morse, 

Acting Secretary,of Agriculture on June 20, 1960. 

Although the Panhandle National Grasslands located in 

Texas are not in any one of the four "National Forests" of Texas, 

we must hold that such reservations are Included in "federalowned forestry land," as that phrase is used In Article 2922-16. 

The administrative order of the Secretary of Agriculture clearly 

provides that the National Grasslands are to be a part of the 

national-forest system, and when Article 2922-16 refers to federal-owned forestry land, we hereby hold that that term is not 

limited to the National Forests as such, but all federal-owned 

forestry land. 
. .- - 

Honorable J. W. Edgar, page 5. (WW-1342) 

You are therefore advised that upon certification to 

you by a county tax assessor-collector or the Comptroller, 

that a school district contains territory in the National 

Grasslands, that such district Is entitled to a reduction 

pursuant to Section 5 of Article 2922-16. 

SUMMARY 

A school district containing territory 

in the National Grasslands Is entitled 

to an assignment reduction pursuant to 

Section 5 of Article 2922-16 of Vernon's 

Civil Statutes, since such territory is 

a part of federal-owned forestry land. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

FDW:wb:zt 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Pat Dailey 

Vernon Teofan 

Jay Howell 

Milton Richardson 

Fred D. Ward 

Assistant 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Leonard Passmore