OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY OENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable George H. Shmpprd 

ColPptrollsr of Publio Aoaounte 

AuntIn, Texas 

mar sir: 

delinquant fop 

foot of Chapkr 

lisfaturm, 1939, 

s depar8mblIt am 8e 

U l 8 harlag booorsc, 

u alao ark thb bSAota Of the Mth LO6- 

on thi8 aubjmt. 

part an folA6w~ 

re the. thirtieth day of mmaber 

d&l, the remining am-hali (*) 

hall be detllnquent ii not paid 

first day of July of the par next 

rueaaedlng the year for which tha return ot the 

ammrammnt rolls of the aount~ are made to t& 

Comptroller 0r Pub110 A000Un8~.~ 
Iionorable George R. Sheppard, Fags 2 

Evidently you are oonoerned with the problem of 

the date on whioh six per oent interest begins aooruing 

on taxes for pears prior to 1939 whloh taxes were still 

delinquent and unpaid aa of the effective date of Senate 

Bill 402. It Is to be noted in the first plaoe that Senate 

Bill 402 doss not attempt to met up at what date taxer beoame delinquent for prior yeara, but has provided that 

taxes ehall .beoome delinquent on osrtaln bates. It Is 

thererore unneoeeeary to dieouas the question or whether 

or not the Legialaturo could provide that taaes for prior 

years have become delinquent at a date dfftsrent than the 

date upon which said taxem beoame delinquent under the lawa 

prevailing at the time of said tax. 

Article 73366 or Vernon’s AMOtated Civil Statute8 

was enaoted aa Chapter v, Rouee Bill rio. 7, by the Nrd Legislature in fte Fourth Called Sareion in 1834. Salit statute 

made in part as rollow6; I 

Veo. 2. That all Interest and penaltlea 

that have aaarued on all ad valoram and poll taxen 

that were delinquent on or before August 1, 1934, 

and not paid under the provisions of Section 1 or 

this Aot, due to the St8te or any oounty, oommon 

sohool dietriot, road distrlat, levee lmprovemant 

dimtriat, water improvement district, water oontrol and Im rovement distriot, irrigation U&riot 

and other . . -x, . efined aubdlvl~ions of the State (exoept suoh aitlee, towna, vlllageu, speolal school 

dietrlete and Independent sahool distriots whiah 

do not adopt the provialons of this 8sction) shall 

be and the same are hereby released, . . . and the 

same shall be an4 are henby relaaeed provided said 

ad valoram and poll taxee are paid after June 30, 

1935, with an additfon of eight per oent (S$) penalty on rsald tarosr, together with interest on amid 

taxes at the rate of eix p@r oent (0s) per aMum, 

on and from July 1, 1935; but it is espeoially provided that the pnaltlsa herein provided for mhall 

not be ouf&lative.W 

There oan be no question but that the above-quoted 

article releases all interest on delinquent taxae prlor to 

July 1, 1936. The Forty-rourth Lsgl8laturs enaated Houee 

Concurrent Resolution No. 13 on January 22, 1935. Said R6@- 

olution provide8 ln part as follower: 
Honorable George H. Sheppard, Page 3 

*RESOLVED, That said House Dill Xo. 7 including this Resolution Is an emergency measure 

and such eisergenay Is hereby declared for the 

reasons herein and in said Houae Sill 140. 7 stated; and on acoount of such emergenoy an Imperative publio neoeas1t.y demands that the Constitutional Fiule requiring 411 bills to be read on 

three several days In eaoh House bs suspended, 

and said rule Is hereby suspended, ma 9aid House 

Bill No. 7 and this Resolution ehall be in foroe 

and take efreot from and after the passage hereor, ma it 18 SO enacted. 

“%othlng herein shall be construed to remit 

any costs, interest or penalty after June 30, 

1935, and it ia hereby deolared to be the pbll;cy 

of the state and the Intent OS the Legislature 

not to remit any 006ts, interest or penaltieu 

after June 30, 1936.v 

The intention of the Legielature In the last paragraph of the above-quoted Resolution is not clear. At any 

rate, said provision oan have no effeot on the bill whloh 

had been previously paeaad because of the holding or the 

Supreme Court of Texas In the oaee of Caples v. Cole, 108 

s. w. (24) 173. The aourt 8tated that a bill could not be 

amended by a resolution of both housea of the Legislature. 

You are therefore advised that all interest on delinquent 

taxee prior to July 1, 1935, ha8 been released by the Legfalature. It is unneoasearp, therefore, to go baok of 1935 

to determine the delinquent date of taxes. 

iollowe : 

Article 7336,as eunended in 1934, reads In part as 

“All ad velorem and poll taxes shall beaone delinquent ii not paid by July first of 

the year next suooeeding the year, for which 

the return of the assessment rolls of the county 

are made to the Oomptroller of Fublic Accounts. 

All delinquent taxes shall bear Interest at the 

rate of six per oent (6%) per annum from the date 

of their delInquenoy.n 

you mre’ therefore advised that taxes ior the ytimre 

1.934 through 1938 beoane delinquent on July 1 ~followlng the 

year for whiah said taxes were asseseed. This was true regardless of whether the taxes were partly paid under the 

split payment plan or Artiole 7336 or not. 
Honorable George I?. Cheppard, Page 4 

.senate Bill 402 provide8 in part as follows: 

“All delinquent taxes shall 

at the rate of six (B$) per cent 

the date or their delinquenoy.” 

bear interest 

per annuui fros 

In your letter you are conoerned with the question of whether or not the above provision authorizes the 

collection of six per cent (6%) intereat on delinquent 

taxes baok of 1935 deeplte the interest releasing bill 

discussed previously in this opinion. In this conneotlon 

you are advised that whlle tt Is possible for the Leglslature to enact a tax penalty or interest statute which 1s 

retroaotlve (aee League v. State, 57 s. Y. 55, Supreme 

Court of Texas, atfirmed by the United States supreme Court 

in 184 U. S. 156), at111 such retroeotlve effeot will not 

be given to a tax penalty statute unless it la speoliloally 

provided therein that the Aot should have such an eifeot. 

(See Conklin v. City of E. Paso, 44 S. W. 879, writ of error 

rerueed by the supreme Court). 

The language of Senate Bill 402 looks to the 

future and not to the past. It Is provided that “taxes 

shall bear interest”. Nowhere In the Aot is there lnolud- 

-any language whloh would lndloate that the Act was to 

be retroaotlve and that lnterert oould be assessed rrom the 

date of dellnquenoy on taxes which were delinquent prior 

to the passage or the Aot. 

It ia the opinion of this department, therefore, 

that Senate Rlll 402 does not operate retroaotlvely and 

that Interest at mix per aent (6$) may be oolleoted on delinquent taxes rrom July 1, 1935, or iron the date of dellnquenoy of taxes which beoame delinquent rubetiquent to 

July 1, 1935. You are also advised. that Senate Bill 402 

does not Offrot the date of dellnquenhy of taxes assessed 

for years prior to 1939. 

Yours very truly 

ATMRNZY GZXERAL 0; TEXAS