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July 14, 1987

BonorableRobertW. Post CountyAttorney Dewitt CountyCourthouse P. 0. Box 110 Cuero,Texas 77954 OpinionNo. JM-747
Re: Whether a commissioners court way call an election for thepurpose of consolidatingtax assessing and appraisal functions in the office of county tax assessor-collector
Dear Mr. Post:

.- You ask whether a commissioners court may call an election for

the purpose of consolidating tax assessing and appraisal functions in the office of the elected county tax assessor-collector. You inform us that a petition calling such an electionhas been presented to the commissioners court. The commissioners court refused to verify the signatures,because it felt that itwas without authority to call such an election. We agree. We conclude that a commissioners court is without authority to call an election for thepurpose of consolidating tax assessing and appraisal functions; it possesses the authority to call an election for the consolidation of tax assessing and/or collecting functionsonly. Section 6.26, Tax Code, permits an election for the purpose of consolidating assessing and collecting functions and provides the following: (a) The qualified voters residing in an

appraisal district by petition submitted to the county clerk of the county principally served by the appraisal district may require that an election be held to determine whether or not to require the appraisal district; the county assessor-collector, or a specified taxing unit within the appraisal district to assess, collect, or assess and collect property taxes on property appraisedby the district for all taxingunits. (b) The qualifiedvoters of a taxingunit that assesses, collects, or assesses and collects its own property taxes by petition submitted to the governingbody of the taxingunitmay require that

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an electionbe held to determinewhether or not to require assessor-c%ectraisal district, the county or another taxingunit that is assessingand collkting property taxes to assess, collect, or assess and collect the unit'sproperty taxes.

. . . . (e) If the commissioners court or the governing body finds that the petition is valid, it shall order that an election be held in the district or taxing unit on the next uniform election date prescribedby theTexas ElectionCode that is more than 60 days after the last day on which it could have acted to approve or disapprove the petition. At the election, the ballots shall be prepared to permit voting for or against the proposition: 'Requiring the (name of entity or office) to (assess, collect, or assess and collect, as applicable) property taxes for (all taxing units in the appraisal district for county or name of taxingunit or units, as applicable.)'

. . . . (j) An appraisal districtmay not be required by an election to assess, collect, or assess and collect taxes on property outside the district's boundaries. A taxingunit way not be requiredby an election to assess, collect, or assess and collect taxes on property outside the boundaries of the appraisal district that appraises property for the unit. (Emphasisadded).
See also Tax Code §§6.24 (authorizing contracts for assessing and collecting);6.27 (compensationfor assessingand collecting). Section 6.23, Tax Code, sets forth the duties of a tax assessorcollectorand sets forth the following:

(a) The county assessor-collectorshall assess and collect taxes on property in the county for the county. He shall also assess and collect taxes on property for another taxingunit if:

(1) the law creating or authorizing creation of the unit requires it to use the

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county assessor-collector for the taxes the unit imposes in the county; (2) the law creating or authorizing creation of the unit does not mention who assesses and collects its taxes and the unit imposes taxes in the county; (3) the governing body of the unit requires the county to assess and collect its taxes as provided by Subsection (c) of Section 6.22 of this code; or (4) required by an intergovernmental contract. (b) The assessor and collector for a taxing unit other than a county shall assess, collect,or assess and collect taxes, as applicable, for the unit. He shall also assess, collect, or assess and collect taxes,as applicable, for anotherunit if: (1) required by or pursuant to the law creating or authorizing creation of the other unit; or (2) required by an intergovernmental contract.
We have already concluded activity of "appraising." In we declared the following: that "assessing"does not comprise the Attorney General Opinion JM-35 (1983).

Whatever the term to January 1, 1982, "assess"may havemeant prior see Attorney General Opinion MW-4 (1979), it is clear that the term does not presently encompass the activity of valuing property. The Tax Code contemplatesa three-step process: (1) appraisal of property, see, e.g., 916.01-6.08, chs. 23. 24, 25, Tax Code; (2)assessment, 888 896.21-6.30. ch. 26; and (3)collection of taxes, see ch. 31. An 'assessor'is 'theofficer or employee responsible for assessing property taxes as provided by Chapter 26 of the Code for a taxing unit by whatever title he is designated.' added). Tax Code 91.04(14). (Emphasis

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Our construction of the relevant Tax Code provisions was impliedly upheld in Wilson v. Galveston County Central Appraisal District, 713 S.W.2d 98 (Tex. 1986). wherein a county tax assessorcollector sought to enjoin the county appraisaldistrict from removing him from theprocess of appraisingproperty in the county. The county tax assessor-collectorargued that article VIII, sections 14 and 18. of the Texas Constitution shouldbe read together to require that the county tax assessor-collectormust be the person who is required to conduct the single county-wide appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes. The relevant portion of article VIII, section 14, of the Texas Constitutioncreates the constitutionaloffice of county tax assessor-collectorandprovides that sach officer

shall perform all the duties with respect to assessingproperty for thepurpose of taxationand of collecting taxes, as may be prescribed by the legislature. The relevant portion of article VIII, section 18, of the Texas Constitutionwas amended in 1980 to read:

(b) A single appraisal within each county of allproperty subject to ad valorem taxationby the county and all other taxing units located therein shall be provided by general law. The Legislature, by general law, may authorize appraisals outside a county when political subdivisions are situated in more than one county or when two or more counties elect to consolidate appraisal services. (Emphasisadded). The general law passed by the legislaturepursuant to article VIII, section 18(b),was the PropertyTax Code. Relying uponAttorney GeneralLetterAdvisoryNo. 117 (1976),the county tax assessor-collectorargued that articleVIII, section 14,of the constitution impliedly granted to him the authority to appraise property for ad valorem taxation,because the term "assess" in article VIII, section 14, encompasses the activity of valuing or "appraising" property. He argued further that articleVIII, section 18(b), should be read together with article VIII, section 14, to require that the county tax assessor-collector be the officer who must conduct the single county-wide appraisal. The Texas Supreme Court, however, disagreed. The court reviewed the history of the property tax reform legislationand concluded:

Assuming a constitutionalamendment was necessary to separate 'appraisal'from the express assessing function of the county tax assessor-collector,the

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,,- amendment toArticleVIII, Section 18 accomplishes this.
. . . In unequivocal language, Section 18(b) directs the Legislature to provide for a single appraisalwithin each county. The Legislature has done this by enacting the Property Tax Code which creates appraisal districts in each county and charges them with the responsibility for appraisingpropertywithin theirdistricts. The Property Tax Code provides the appraisal district with two alternative methods for producing a single, district-wide appraisal of property. The district may either establish an appraisal office administered by a 'chief appraiser'appointedby theboard of directors,or itmay contractwith a taxingunit in the district to perform the duties of the appraisal office in which case the head of the taxing unit [sic] servesas 'chiefappraiser.' [Citationomitted].

. . . The Property Tax Code, however, clearly confines the selection and tenure of the 'chief appraiser' to the discretion of the appraisal district board of directors. [Citationomitted]. We have found no constitutional provision which limits the appraisaldistrict'sdiscretion in this matter. (Emphasisadded). Wilson v. Galveston County Central Appraisal District, 713 S.W.2d at 101. Section 6.26,Tax Code,permits a consolidationelectionregarding assessing and collecting,not appraising and collecting. In the instance of a special election, the exercise of a grant of authority to call an electionmust be in strict conformitywith the provisions of the legislative grant. West End Rural High School District of Austin County v. Columbus Consolidated IndependentSchoolDistrict of Colorado County, 221 S.W.2d 777 (Tex. 1949) [hereinafterWest End]; Mesquite Independent School District v. Gross, 67 S.W.2d 242 (Tex. 1934). As the Texas Supreme Court has declared: "When a statute which authorizesa special election
. . .prescribes the form inwhich the question shall be submitted to the popular vote, we are of the opinion that the statute shouldbe strictly compliedwith." Reynolds Land & Cattle Co. v. McCabe, 12 S.W. 165 (Tex. 1888); Coffee v. Lieb, 107 S.W.2d 406, 411 (Tex.Civ.App. - Eastland 1937,no writ).
In West End, the special electionat issuewas one to consolidate school districts; the issue was whether the petition to call the electionwas defective. The petition failed to identifycorrectlythe school districts involved. In discussing the conditions precedent necessary to call the election,the courtdeclared the following:

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Article 2806 [governing school district consolidation elections] does not purport to confer unlimited power, or jurisdiction, upon a county judge to call special elections for the purpose of effecting consolidation of school districts. The statute expressly limits his jurisdiction to the instances in which he is Presented with a petition complying with the above-noted requirements; in other words, with a Proper petition. The requirementspointed out are conditionsprecedent to invoke the jurisdictionof a county judge to call an election for creating a district or districts by consolidation; and consequently the requirements limit his potential jurisdiction. (Emphasisadded).
221 S.W.2d at 779. Sincewe believe that thepetition requirementsof section 6.26 are clear and unambiguous, it follows that it must be enforced according to its express language. Cail v. ServiceMotors, Inc., 660 S.W.2d 814, 815 (Tex. 1983). Subsection (c)of section 6.26,Tax Code, provides:

A petition isvalid if: (1) it states that it is intended to require an election in the appraisal district or taxing unit on the questionof consolidationof assessing or collection functionsor both; (2) it states the functions tobe consolidated and identifies the entity or office that will be required to perform the functions;and (3) it is signed by a number of qualified voters equal to at least 10percent of the number of qualifiedvoters, according to the most recent official list of qualifiedvoters, residing in the appraisaldistrict, if the petition is authorized by Section (a) of this section, or in the taxing unit, if the petition is authorized by Subsection (b) of this section, or by 10,000 qualified voters,whichevernumber is less. Clearly, the petition about which you inquire fails to satisfy subsections (c)(l) and (c)(2); the commissioners court is without authority to call an election pursuant to a non-conformingpetition. Specifically,a commissioners court may not call an election for the purpose of consolidating tax assessing and appraisal functions in the

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office of county tax assessor-collector. Section 6.26, Tax Code, permits an election for the consolidation of tax assessing and collectingonly.
SUMMARY

A commissionerscourtmay not call an election for thepurpose of consolidatingtax assessingand appraisal functions in the office of county tax assessor-collector. Section 6.26, Tax Code, permits an election for the consolidation of tax assessingand collectingonly.

AttorneyGeneral of Texas
MARY KELLER ExecutiveAssistantAttorney General
JUDGE ZOLLIE STRAKLN SpecialAssistantAttorney General
RICK GILPIN Chairman,Opinion Committee Preparedby Jim Moellinger AssistantAttorneyGeneral

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