TIEXE&~~~FCNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

Honorable Albert J. Hutson, Jr. 

County Attoriiiy, Trinity County 

Groveton, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

opinion Ho. O-683 

Re: Mayreal estate 'be sold by 

sumria~ wile for tilinquent 

taxes without foreclosure suit? 

We bag to acknowledge receipt of your letter of April 20th from which 

we quote the following questions: 

%der the laws of our state, does a Tax Assessor-Collector 

have the authority to levy on and sell real estate for 

delinquent taxes without the necessity of a suit in court? 

"If the Tax Assessor-Collector has the authority to levy on 

ax&sell real estate for delinquent taxes without the 

necessity of a suit, does a person employed by the commissioner's court to collect delinquent taxes have this aut&ity?* 

Article VIII, Section 13 of the Constitution of Texas, as amended by 

election held November 8, 1932, reads as follows: 

"Provision shall be made by the first Legislaturefor thespeedy 

sale, without the necessity of a suit in Court, of a sufficient 

portion of all lands and other property for the taxes due 

thereon, and every year thereafter for the sale in like manner 

of all lands and other pronerty n-jon which the 

taxes have not been paid; a*tbe deed of conveyance to the 

purchaser for all lands and other property thus sold shall 

be held to vest a good and perfect title in the purchaser 

thereof, subject to be impeached only for actual fraud; 

provided, that the former owner shall within two years from 

date of the filing, for record of the Purchaser's Deed 

have the ri&t to redeem the land on the following basis: 

"(1) Within the first year of the redemption period upon the 

payment of the amount of money paid for the land, including 

One ($1.00) Dollar Tax Deed Recording Fee and all taxes, 

penalties, interest and costs paid plus not exceeding 

twenty-five (2%) percent cftheaggregate total; 
Honorable Albert J. Hutsan, Jr. , May 4 1939 Page 2 O-~683 

- ._ - ..- 

"(2) Within the last year of the redemption period upon, 

the-payment of the amount of money paid for the land, 

including One ($1.00) Dollar Tax peed Recording Fee and all 

taxes, penalties, interest and costs paid plus not exceedjng 

fifty (H) percent of the aggregate total. (Sec.13, Art. 8, 

adopted election Nov. 8, 1932.)" 

This provision authorizes the Legislature to enact laws providing for 

summary sales of lands for delinquent taxes; butthe constitutional 

provision is clearly not self-executory. We have been unable to find 

any statute, now effective, which authorizes summary sales of real 

estate. In fact, Article 732&k, R. C. S. (Acts 1929, 4lst. Lag., 

.pi 103, ch. 48,i 1) expressly prohibits such sales.~ This statute reads 

as follows: 

"That all sales of real estate nmde for the collectiom~of 

delinquent taxes due thereon shallbemsdeonlyafter the ~. 

foreclosure o? tax lien s,ecuring sane has been,ha$?-in a court 

of competent jurisdiction in accordance with existing laws 

governing the foreclosure of tax liens in delinquent tax 

suits .* 

This statute, passed in 1929, would not be repealed by the 193.2, 

Constitutional amendment. It has hot been repealed or amended by 

the legislature, and is therefore still controlling In the mattar of 

sales or real property fordelinquent taxes. 

~. \ 

Pe accordingly advise you that we agree with~~your':~~~~ghgB~o~~~~t k 

neither the ~Tax Assessor-Collector nor any one Cl.&‘has~&~~~~~ or 

authority to levy on and sell real estate for delinquent taxes except 

after foreclosure of the tax lien by a court, as provided .by Article 

7328~1, R. C. S. 

Yours.vbry truly, 

A!mmNExowERhLoFTEx4s 

s/Walter R. Koch ~ 

m 

Walter R. Koch, 

. Assistant 

URyr 

APPROVED: 

s/ Oerald~C. Mann 

ATTORNEY GENERuoFTFm8