HE A~TOIR~TEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

Honorable George H. Sheppard Comptrollers

of PublicAccounts Austin, Texas Dear Sir: OpinionNo. O-3942 Re: Cost of compilationof delinquent tax records.
We have receivedyour letter of recent date which we quote in full as follows:

"Asrequiredby Article 7336F, the Tax Assessor-CollectorofDewitt County has compiled a delinquent tax record for the years 1919 to 1935, inclusive. Two years later, he made a supplementto the record covering taxes delinquent for the years 1936 and 1937. At the end of the fiscalyear 1939, he had delinquent taxes for the years 1938 and 1939which had not been compiled into a supplement. Insteadof recbmpiling the delinquent tax record for the years 1919 to 1939, inclusive, OP making a supplement for the years 1938 and 1939, as authorizedby Article 7336F, he made a supplement covering delinquent taxes for*the years 1936 to 1939, inclusive.

"Dueto the fact that the law only refers to the recompilationof a delinquent tax record or a two year supplementthereto,you will please advise this departmentwhether OP not we would have the authority to pay a proportionatepart of the cost for compiling the four year supplement, or shouldwe only pay a proportionatepart of the cost for compiling the supplement of delinquent taxes due for the years 1938 and 1939." Sectlon 2 ofArticle 7336f,Vernon's Annotated ClvLl Statutes, reads as follows:

"AnyCounty havfng as many as two years' taxes delinquentwhich havenot been Included in the delinquent tax record, the Collector of taxes shallwithin two years from the effectiveHonorable George H. Sheppard, page 2

date of this

, Act, cause to be compileda delln-

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quent tax recora 0s all aellnquent taxes not barred by thisAct; the delinquent record shall be examinedby the Commissioners'Court and the Comptroller or governingbody, correctionsmay be orderedmade, and when found correct and approved by them, payment for the'compllation thereof shallbe authorized, at actual cost to the Tax Collector,proportionatelyfrom each the State and County taxes, or municipal taxes, first collected from such record, such cost in no case to exceed a sum equal to five ‘(5#) cents per item or written line of the original copy of such record and in no event shaI1 any compiling cost be charged to the taxpayer. The delinquent tax record when approved, shallbe prima facie evidence of the delinquency shown thereon, and when there shallbe as many as two years of delinquency accumulatedwhich are not shown on the record, a recomnllatlon, or a two year suonlement thereto shall then be made as herein nroviaed. Tax Collectors shall causeto be compiled'likerecords of taxes dellnqueiit due any district forwhich they collect from tax " rolls other than the State and county rolls, and when approved by the governing body of the particular district, the cost of same shallbe allowed in the manner hereinprovided. Acts 1935 44th Leg., pe 355, ch. 128.' (Emphasissupplledj
We are informed,byyour department that the officer in 2 uestion received the above-mentionedcost for compiling the 193 -1937 supplement.

As you mentioned in your letter, reference is made only to a recompilationand to a two year supplementafter the original tax record is complied. This fact in itself 1s an implieddenial of any right on the part of the tax collector to receive payment of his actual cost for any compilation other than the ones mentioned.

The statutereads that "paymentfor the compilation thereof shallbe authorizedat actual cost to the Tax Collector". This payment is In the nature either of the payment of an expense necessarily incurredby the tax collector in the discharge of a statutoryduty, or a fee or compensation' for official services performedby him. In either event the tax collector is not authorizedunder the statute to prepare a four year supplement'; embodying two years previously coveredby another supplement,and receive the actual cost Incurred in such compilation.-- -

Honorable George I-I. Sheppard,page 3 o-3942

In CorpusJuris, Volume 46, pages 1018 and 1019, it is said: "Theright of an officer to compensation for expenses incurredby him in the performance of an officialduty must b'efound in a provision of the constitutionor a statute conferring-iteither cllrectlgor by necessary implication,and the offleer cannot recover compensationadditional to the compevsatlon fixedby statute for such expenses e . . . 6

"Statutesrelating to the fees and compensation of public officersmustbe strictly construed in favor of the government, and such officersare entitled only to what is clearlygiven by law

. 0 .'I We quote also from 34 Tex. Jur. 508 and 509 as follows: "Statutesprescribing fees for public officers are strictly construedand hence a right to feesmay not rest in Implication. Where this right Is left to construction,the language of the lfw rrmst be construed in favor of the government.
. . . . Article 7336f neither expre,ssly nor implledlyauthorizes the compilation of a four year supplement. Thus, It follows that whether the payment is regarded as payment of an expense, a fee, or compensation, the payment of the cost for preparlng the supplement for the entire four year period is not authorized.

However, the two year period 1938-1939 is coveredby the supplement. The tax collector is fully authorized to compile a supplement for these years and receive a payment of the cost 8;sprovided for in the statute. Therefore,we believe that he may receive payment for compiling that part of the supplement which represents the years 1938 and 1939.

In view of the foregoing, it Is the oplnlon of this department thatunder Article 7336f the Comptroller is authorized to pay a proportionatepart of the cost of the compilation of only that part of the four year supplementto the delinquent .tax record which represents the years 1938 and 1939.Honorable George R. Sheppard, page 4 O-3942

Very truly yours ATTORNEY GBNERAL OF TEXAS

GWS:mp:wc By s/GlennR. Lewis Glenn R.'Lewis Assistant By s/GeorgeW. Sparks GeorgeW. Sparks

APPRQVXI SEP 23. 1941 s/Gerald C. Mati ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Approved Opinion CommitteeBy s/BWB Chairman