May 22, 1972 

Honorable Franklin L. Smith 

County Attorney 

Nueces Countv Courthouse 

. 

Corpus Christi, Texas 78401 

Opinion No. M- 1127 

Re: Whether $1 .OO snecial 

fee required by- Art. 

7100, Sec. 4, V.C.S., is 

-4 

applicable to certain 

receipts and certificates 

processed by County Tax 

Assessor-Collectors for 

Dear Mr. Smith: special taxing districts. 

You have requested an Opinion of this Office on the above 

captioned matter. Article 7100 Vernon’s Civil Statutes, was 

amended by the 62nd Legislature1 so as to create a Legislative 

Property Tax Committee. In addition to defining and prescribing the duties of said Committee, Section 4 of Article 7100 

provides for the collection of an additional $1.00 fee to be 

collected upon issuance of certain receipts and certificates 

by County Tax Assessor-Collectors, the fees to be used by the 

Committee In performing Its functions.. Section 4 reads as 

follows: 

“Sec. 4. In addition to the fees authorized by 

Article 7331, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, 

as amended, ,each County Tax,Assessor-Collector shall 

collect and remit to the Comptroller, as directed, a 

special fee of One Dollar ($1) for each delinquent 

tax receipt, ‘redemption certificate, judgment receipt, 

or any of them, processed by the County Tax Office, 

and also for each receipt issued for taxes paid under 

provisions of Articles 7207, 7208, 7209 and 7346 

through 7349, Inclusive, of the Revised Civil Statutes 

of Texas, 1925, or any of them, the proceeds of this 

1 Acts 62nd Leg., R.S., 1971, ch. 221, p. 1063. 

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Hor iorable Franklin L. Smith, page 2 (M-li27) 

an 

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additional fee to be deposited In the State 

Treasury as a,special fund for the use of the 

Property Tax Committee herein created. 

The payment of this additional fee shall be 

a condition precedent to the valid issuance of 

each such receipt or certificate, and the collection and handling of this special fee shall 

be as directed by the comptroller, with remittances to be made monthly or more frequently, as 

directed. All moneys deposited In this special 

fund shall be and the same are hereby appropriated 

to the use of the Property Tax Committee in carrying out the tasks assigned under this Act, the 

funds thus appropriated to be disbursed upon written orders of the Committee, with an annual accounting by the Committee to be filed with the State 

Auditor. This appropriation is made for a two-year 

period beginning June 1, 1971, and shall be renewed 

automatically for an additional two-year period 

beginning June 1, 1973, unless the 63rd Legislature 

shall direct otherwise.". 

We quote the following excerpt from your letter requesting 

Cppinlon of this Office on this matter: 

"The Tax Assessor-Collector of Nueces County 

collects taxes for several Independent taxing 

agencies located within said County, i.e.; London 

Independent School District, Flour Bluff Independent 

School Distnict, Por~t Aransas Independent School 

District, the City of Port Aransas, and Nueces 

County Water Control and Improvement District #4. 

The Assessment and Rolls of these agencies are 

made by their respective Assessor-Collectors and 

only the collection is handled through the Nueces 

County Tax Office. In the past, no duplicates of 

receipts have been furnished to the State of Texas, 

nor have these accounts been audited by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. The receipt forms are 

furnished by the various taxing authorities and 

have no place to add any fees due the State of Texas. 

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Honorable Franklin L. Smith, page 3 (M-1127) 

Examples of the forms used for the special taxing 

agencies are enclosed as Exhibit 'A'. 

Subsequent to the passage of the above 

referred to statute, the Comptroller of Public 

Accounts sent a letter dated June 29, 1971, to 

all County Tax Assessor-Collectors, a copy of 

which is enclosed as Exhibit 'B*. Said letter 

details the manner in which the Tax AssessorCollector's forms are to be altered to include 

the State Cost. All of the forms enumerated 

are forms furnished by the Comptroller to then 

Tax Assessor-Collectors. There is no instruction in said letter concerning the forms used 

to receipt for the special taxing agencies. 

Subsequent to the letter of June 29, 1971, 

the Tax Assessor-Collector of Nueces County 

attended a meeting of Assessor-Collectors at 

which he was told that the One Dollar ($1) Cost 

should be applied only where a collection had 

been made for the State of Texas, and such was 

inapplicable to the special taxing agencies. 

At this time, the Tax Assessor-Collector of 

this City has been told by,the Comptroller of 

Public Accounts that the~One Dollar ($1) State 

Cost should be collected. A copy of their letter 

of March 7, 1972, Is enclosed herewith as Exhibit 

ICI." 

This Office, in Opinion No. 'M-948 (1971), held that the 

$1.00 special fee Imposed by Section 4 was applicable to 1971 

single-payment tax receipts Issued for the period beginning 

February 1, 1972, and ending June 30, 1972. In the course of 

this Opinion, the following statement appears: 

"Where there Is nothing to Indicate that the 

legislature did not Intend exactly what it said, its 

language is to be literally construed. Trimer v. 

Carlton, 264 S.W. 253, (Tex.Civ.App. 1924) aff. 116 

Tm.2, 296 S.W. 1070; Lincoln Nat'1 Life Ins. Co. 

v. Freudenstein, 87 S.W.2d 810 (Tex.Civ.App. 1935 no 

writ); Brazes River Authority v. City of Graham, 163 

Tex. 169, 354 S.W.W 99 (1962).” (at p. 2, 4640) 

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Honorable Franklin L. Smith, page 4 (M-1127j 

We adhere to the applicability of this rule of literal - 

construction. That portion of Section 4 which requires the 

zollectlon of the $l..OO additional fee "for each delinquent 

:ax receipt, redemption certificate, judgment receipt, or any 

If them, processed by the County Tax Office..." clearly reluires ;uch collection for all such receipts and certificates 

IS are processed by the County Tax Office". The last paragraph of Section 4, above quoted, further states that the paylent of the additional fee is a condition precedent to the 

,, 

ralld Issuance of such receipts or certificates. 

Past differences In treatment of receipts or certificates 

ssued for special taxing districts and other receipts or cer- 

:lficates processed by the County Tax Office are immaterial. 

.ke Legislature was undoubtedly aware.of the fact that in many 

.nstances County Tax Assessor-Collectors act in behalf of lndejendent taxing districts In collecting taxes even in those in- 

:tances in which such districts employ their own Assessor-Collec- 

:ors. Furthermore, we regard the additional provision to the 

!ffect that "the collection and handling of this special fee 

ihall be as directed by the Comptroller,..." as evidence of 

*ecognltion by the Legislature that additional forms or dlrec- 

.ions might be necessitated by this new provision, and as authorzation to the Comptroller to provide such forms or give such 

Ither directives concerning said collections as might be necesary. This the Comptroller has done in.his letter of Zune 29, 

971, to all County Tax Assessor-Collectors. We hold t.hat the ', 

pecial fees in question should be Included in the "State Cost" ' 

tern on the forms furnished the Tax Assessor-Collectors by the 

omptroller. 

SZTMMARY 

The $1.00 special fee required by Article 7100, 

Section 4, V.C.S., is applicable to the receipts and 

certificates enumerated therein which are issued by 

County Tax Assessor-Collectors for special taxing 

districts and should be included in the "State Cost" 

item on the forms furnished by the Comptroller of 

Public Accounts. 

Y y 3 fi very,truly, 
Honorable Franklin L. Smith, page 5 (M-1127) 

Prepared by Marietta McGregor Payne 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION CCMMITTRE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

Arthur Sandlln 

Jim Swearingen 

Bob Davis 

Terry Reed Goodman 

SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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