May 22, 1972

HonorableFranklin L. Smith CountyAttorney 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-Collectorsfor Dear Mr. Smith: special taxing districts.
You have requested an Opinion of this Office on the above captionedmatter. Article 7100 Vernon’s Civil Statutes,was amendedby the 62nd Legislature1 so as to create a Legislative PropertyTax 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 collectedupon issuance of certain receipts and certificates by CountyTax 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, ,eachCounty Tax,Assessor-Collectorshall collect and remit to the Comptroller, as directed, a special fee of One Dollar ($1) for each delinquent tax receipt,‘redemptioncertificate, 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

iorableFranklin L. Smith, page 2 (M-li27)

an

.\ additional fee to be deposited In the State

Treasury as a,special fund for the use of the PropertyTax Committeeherein created. The payment of this additional fee shallbe a conditionprecedent 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 uponwritten 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-yearperiod 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 thismatter: "The Tax Assessor-Collectorof Nueces County collects taxes for several Independent taxing agencies locatedwithin 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 Assessmentand Rolls of these agencies are made by their respectiveAssessor-Collectorsand 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 accountsbeen audited by the Comptroller of PublicAccounts. 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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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 CountyTax Assessor-Collectors,a copy of which is enclosed as Exhibit 'B*. Said letter details the manner in which the Tax AssessorCollector'sforms are to be altered to include the State Cost. All of the forms enumerated are forms furnishedby 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-Collectorof Nueces County attended a meeting of Assessor-Collectorsat which he was told that the One Dollar ($1)Cost should be applied onlywhere a collectionhad been made for the State of Texas, and suchwas inapplicable to the special taxing agencies. At this time, the Tax Assessor-Collectorof this City has been told by,the Comptrollerof PublicAccounts that the~One Dollar ($1)State Cost should be collected. A copy of their letter of March 7, 1972, Is enclosedherewith as Exhibit ICI."
This Office, in OpinionNo. 'M-948(1971),held that the $1.00 special fee Imposed by Section 4 was applicable to 1971 single-paymenttax 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 legislaturedid not Intend exactlywhat 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 Authorityv. City of Graham, 163 Tex. 169, 354 S.W.W 99 (1962).” (atp. 2, 4640)

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We adhere to the applicabilityof this rule of literal - construction. That portion of Section 4 which requires the zollectlonof the $l..OO additional fee "for each delinquent :axreceipt, redemption certificate, judgment receipt, or any If them, processed by the County Tax Office..." clearlyreluires ;uch collectionfor all such receipts and certificates ISare processed by the County Tax Office". The last paragraphof Section 4, above quoted, further states that the paylentof the additional fee is a conditionprecedent to the ,, ralldIssuance of such receipts or certificates.
Past differences In treatment of receipts or certificates ssued for special taxing districts and other receipts or cer- :lficatesprocessedby the County Tax Office are immaterial. .keLegislaturewas undoubtedlyaware.of the fact that in many .nstancesCounty Tax Assessor-Collectors act in behalf of lndejendenttaxingdistricts In collecting taxes even in those in- :tancesin which such districts employ their own Assessor-Collec- :ors. Furthermore,we regard the additionalprovision to the !ffectthat "the collectionand handling of this special fee ihallbe as directed by the Comptroller,..."as evidence of *ecognltionby the Legislature that additional forms or dlrec- .ionsmight be necessitatedby this new provision, and as authorzation to the Comptrollerto provide such forms or give such Itherdirectives concerning said collections as might be necesary. This the Comptrollerhas done in.his letter of Zune 29, 971, to all CountyTax Assessor-Collectors. We hold t.hatthe ', pecial fees in question shouldbe Included in the "StateCost" ' tern on the forms furnished the Tax Assessor-Collectorsby the omptroller.

SZTMMARY

The $1.00 special fee required by Article 7100, Section 4, V.C.S., is applicable to the receipts and certificatesenumerated thereinwhich are issued by County Tax Assessor-Collectorsfor special taxing districts and should be included in the "State Cost" item on the forms furnished by the Comptroller of PublicAccounts.
Yy 3 fi very,truly,HonorableFranklin L. Smith, page 5 (M-1127)

Preparedby Marietta McGregor Payne AssistantAttorneyGeneral
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 ExecutiveAssistant
NOLA WHITE First Assistant

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