iBusTxrs IL*.TEXAU

WILL WILSON ATTORNEY GENERAI. 

### July 18, 1960



### HonorableRobert 9, Calvert opinion No.MU-083 comptroller ofPublio Aooounta Capitol Station Ret Correct filing date for 

### Austin, Texas the anrulrilreport ofTax Collectors under Artloles 1260 

### and'~336,

### V.C.S.,.and penalty underArticle 133, 

### DearMr.Celvert: PenalCode.

Yourrecent letter requesta that weadvise youthe correct date for tax collectors to iile their 8nnuhlreports with your office, acoordlng toArtioles 7260end7336, 

### V.C,S.,, andelao the effeot of Article 133* Penal 

### Code, uponthis dtitiy.

Article 7260 d.lrects

### the tax aolleator to mikemonthly reporta to the Comptroller setting out tax itemr aolleoted byMm during themonth,and, uponsubmitting auoharonthly,reports, pay over to the State Treasurer 

### the moneyi 80,oolli#oted for the State. Section 4of

### the Artlole then

### provides aafollows:

“TheTaxCollector shall payover to the State Treaeurer all balance8 in his hands belonging tothe &i&e, andfInallY adjust andsettle his aocount withthe Comptroller onor before the first dayofM&y of eachyear, endto enable himto do00, the Commlesloners Court shall conveneonor before the third Mondayin April 

### for thepurpose of examining andapproving his final .Mitlement PaPere.”
Arti 

### 7336aeta opt the,dateF’whenoertain taxes shall beer delinquent, andthepenalties whiah shall .aocrue

### thqre-

. Seotion (e) then pro!idea 

### a8follows:

“The’Amassor, 

### iihdCollector ofTaxes L ah&;lioy of the firet d8yof July of each
i+ ml n sme unt aai37Sict axeafor t$ p%eding $eg $&!i unpaid, makeupalist of the land6and.lot8and/or property onwhichanytaxes for suchpreceding year are delinquent, ,charglngagainlstthe same all unpaidtaxer asssared ag8ln8t the omrsr. -

Ronorable Robert S. Calvert, ?age 2 Opinion No. WW- 883

report annual before comply thereof on the rolls for said year.

II

. . . . .

“Said list shall be made In triplicate and presented to the Commissioners’ Court for examination and correction, end after being so examined and corrected eaid list In triplicate shall be approved by said Court, Onecopy thereof shall be filed with the County Clerk or Auditor, one copy retained and filed bv the Assessor and Collector of Taxes, and one copy forwarded to the Comptroller with the annual settlement report of the Ai
Since the latter statute requires that the delinquency be forwarded to the Comptroller as of July 1, with the settlement report which Is required to be filed on or May 1, it is impossible for the Assessor-Collectors to with the literal terms of both statutes.
You advise us in your letter that the Comptroller has required since the flacal year ending June 30, 1938, that both the delinquent report and the annual report be filed as of the first day of July. It is our opinion that this is a correct requirement and shouldbe adhered to, for reasons which we shall set out. It Is our further opinion that Article 133, Penal Code, has no application to the reports r,equired to be filed with your office.
Since both Articles deal ,with ,the same subject and relate to duties of tax collectors, they are in par1 materia and should be construed together. State v.- ~ri2;4~e~exi7;86iO;00 S.W.2.ld 813 (1947); Wintermann v. McDona S.W.2ad 167, lo4 S.WZGiZ-4 (1937). So co&truing them, ks pointed out, creates' an ambiguity in the conflict of dates. Obviously the Intention of the Legislature was to makejt thee duty of the Tax Collector In each county to provide the Comptroller with information, through such required reports, which would present a complete record of tax collections’ and property on which delinquent taxes were still due, as of a certain. date. Legislative Intent In enacting the. law is the law’ lt,self. City of Mason v. West Texas Utilities Co., 150 Tex. 18, 237 SW.2nd 273 (1951); Reed v. Waco 2=2nd 247 (Tex.Civ.App. 1949, err.ref.). Such intent will be given effect even though It involves a departure from the strict letter of the law, State v. m, Supra; Brown &Root v. Durland, 126Tex. 20, 84 S.W.2ndHonorable Robert S; Calvert, Page 3 Opinion No. WW- 883

1073 (Tex.Com.App. 1935, Op. Adopted). Wetherefore believe that both reports should be filed as of July 1 of each year,

Wenote that your office has, since 1938, required the annual settlement statement to be filed on July 1 of each year, along with the delinquent tax list. Where the interpretatlbn of a statute by the agency charged with its administration has continued unchallenged over a long Deriod of time. that interpretation is entitled to great weI ht. Co=. v. 011 Well Drilling-Co., 25% Associated Indemnity S.W.2nd 523 (Tex.Civ.App. 1953),affld 153 Tex. 153, 2a S.W.2nd 697 (1954); %lvert v. Flsher
, 259 S.W.2nd 944 (Tex.Civ.App. -.2nd 496 (Tex.Civ.App. 1957). administrative Interpretation during the past 22 years is entitled to such weight. and furnishes further support for our opinion as stated aGove.

Article 133 of the Penal Code provides as follows:

“If at tht end of any month the collector of taxes shall fail to maketo the Commissioners Court hjs itemized monthly report of all tax collections for the county, or pay over to the county treasurer the amount due by him to the county, or if he shall fall to make out and post, between April 1 and 15 of each year, a list of delinquent or insolvent tax payers, he shall be fined not less than three hundred nor more than one thousand dollars. Each failure is i separate offense.”
This is the wording of the Article as contained in the revised Penal Code of 1925. was p. 91, Acts of 1893. Its original source stated therein This is the same original source as Article 7260 and also Article 7263, Revised Civil Statutes, which latter article reads as follows:

“The tax collector shall make out on forms to be furnished for that purpose by the Comptroller, between April first and the fifteenth of each year, list (sic‘ of delinquent or insolvent taxpayers, the caption of which shall be, tha ‘list of delinquent or insolvent taxpayers

.I In this list he shall give the name of the person, firm, company, or corporation from whomthe taxes are due, in separate columns; and he .shall post one copy of these delinquent or Insolvent lists at the courthouse door of the county, and one list at the courthouse door,

### Honorable Robert 9. Calvert, 

### Page4 Ojinion Ilo. UW-863

or where court is usually held, In each justice precinct in his county; and the tax collector, upon the .oertlPicats of the commissioners court that the persons appearing on the insolvent or delinquent lists have no. property out of which to makethe taxes assessed against them, or that they have moved out of the county, and that no property 

### canbe foundinthe county belonging to 

### suchpersona, out of which to makethe taxes due, shall be entitled to a credit on final settlement of his accounts for the amounts due by the persons, firms, companies, or corporations certified to by the commissioners court, as above provided for

.‘I
Note that Article 133 of the Penal Code assesses a penalty upon the tax collector should he (1) faj.1 to make his itemized monthly report of tax collections forkthe county to the Commissioners Court, or (2) fail to pay over to the treasurer the amount due or (3)fall to make‘out and post a list of delinquent and insolvent taxpayers, between April 1 and 15. These first t it d ties assigned him under Article 7260. The thi;: obEyzu%g r~ifers to the duty assigned 

### himby Article 7263; that IS, 

### compiling a list of delinquent and insolvent taxpayers, then posting one copy at the door of the county courthouse and one at the place of court in each justice precinct. These are not the lists previously discussed which must be filed with the Comptroller. The apparent purnose of such posting is to apprise the persons, firms, and corporations listed thereon of the fact that th~ere are unpaid taxes in that county chargeable to them. 

### Doubtleesly :;he posting date of these lists is set between April 1 and April 15 so as to give the taxpayers listed thereon ample time within 

### whichtomake paymentif they so desire before the time set for the annual settlement report. Since the list referred to in this Article is separate and distinct from the lists previously discussed

. which are required to be filed with your office, it Is apparent that the penalty provisions therein would not enter into the question of the correct filing date for such statements

. SUMMARY

-, The tax collector’s annual settlement report

and list of lands, lots and

### property onwhich taxes are delinquent should both 

### befiled with the Comptroller of Public Accounts on July 1.Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Page 5 Opinion No. WW- 883

Article 133, Penal Code, concerns separate duties of the tax collector and hence is irrelevant to such filing date.
Yours very truly,
WILLWILSON Attorney General of Texas

JRI:jip
APPROVED:
OPINIONCOMMITTEE: W.V. Geppert, Chairman
Arthur Sandlln John Phillips John L. Estes Wallace Finfrock

. REVIEWED

FORTXEATTORNEY GERERAL By: Leonard Passmore