. , 

Hon. Richard E. Rudeldff ‘. dpinioh No. W-643 

County Attorney 

Bee County " 'Re. . 'Is it Incumbent upon the 

Beevilla, Texas. 1 ; tax assessor of the Skid-' 

'more-Tynan Rural High 

School District No. 36 

to prepare the taxrolls 

.and receipts for taxes 

collected by the Bee County, 

. Tax Collector In behalf of 

such school district, or is 

the Bee County‘Tax Collector 

required to prepare such 

Dear Mr. Rudeloff: tax rolls and receipts. 

We quote from your opinion request as follows: ., 

"The Skidmore-Tynan Rural High School District 

No. 36 ls'sltuated.ln Bee. County, Texas and the 

trustees thereof have,authorlzed .the employment 

of a tax assessor for such school district. Such 

tax assessor takes the assessments for the sch'ooi '. 

'district and prepares and types up the Inventories. 

"The Tax Collector of Bee County collects the 

taxes for such rural high school district, based' .' ' 

upon such assessments. However, a dlsagreement 

.has ariseqbetween the Bee County Tax Collector 

and the County School Superintendent with regards 

to which office--the County Tax Office. or the 

tax assesso,r'for then Rural High School Dlstrlct-- 

Is to prepare the tax rolls and the tax receipts 

(which are given to the taxpayer upon payment of 

his taxes) for the school taxes which are collected 

by the County Tax Collector. 

"The population of Bee County according to the 

last Federal census is 18,174. 

-. 

"QUESTIONS 

"(1) Is it incumbent ,upon the tax assessor of 

the Skidmore-Tynan Rural High School District,No. 

36 to prepare the tax'rolls and receipts for taxes 
Hon. Richard E. Rudeloff, page 2 (Opinion No. ~~-643) 

collected by the Bee County Tax Collector in behalf 

of such school district, or is the Bee County Tax 

Collector required to prepare such tax rolls and 

receipts? 

"(2) What fee, if any, may be allowed the 

County Tax Collector for collecting such taxes?" 

A County tax assessor has only such rights, dutle~& 

and authority as prescribed by law (For an exhaustive discussion 

of this proposition, see Attorney General's Opinion No. 0-5426, 

Aug. 23, 1943, a copy of which is attached hereto). All assessments by the County assessor must be made in strict accordance 

with the law, and pursuant to the oath of office prescribed 

*by Article 7214, V.A.C.S. All tax rolls prepared by the County 

assessor must be verified by affidavit of the assessor stating 

that "the rolls to which this is attached contain a correct and 

full list of the real and personal property~subject to taxation 

so far -s---e as I have been able to ascertain the same." 

.-+2i2; rAx.3. 

Article 

There is no provision requirinc Ety tax 

;"assessor to prepare a separate tax roll for a school district 

in which taxes are assessed by a special assessor. In fact, 

there Is no requirement for preparation of a separate tax roll 

for a school district in which taxes are assessed by the County 

assessor. See Cracker v. Santo Consol. Independent School Dist., 

116 S.W.2d 750 -(T Ci A 1gg dl 1 d)J 1~1 

clear, therefore,eGhatVthEP&nty &~f;%ess%%%e&or of Lee 

County has no duty or authorit 

for the rural high aoo 

1 dist;i;;;prepare a separate tax roll 

-7 

Article 2922L, V.A.C.S., in so far as pertinent, provide 

as follows: 

'The board of a rural high school district 

provided for In this Act shall have the power 

to levy and collect an annual ad valorem tax 

. . . The board of trustees of any rural high 

school district may appoint an assessor of taxes 

who shall 'assess the taxable property within 

the limits of said district wlthln the time 

provided by existing laws, and said assessment 

shall be equalized b the board of equalization 

composed of three (3 3 members appointed by the 

board of trustees of said district. The said 

board, of equalization shall be composed of legally 

1 

Where taxes are collectible from the same roll, a separate 

tax roll mma be prepared pursuant to Article 7336e, V.A.C.S. 
Hon. Richard E. Rudeloff, page 3. (Opinion No. W-643) 

qualified voters residing In said district, and 

shall have the same power and authority, and be 

subject to the ssme restrictions that now govern 

such boards In Independent school districts. The 

tax assessor herein provided for shall'receive 

such compensation for his services as the trustees 

of said district may allow, not to exceed two (2) 

per cent of taxes .assessed bye hlm.~ ~The County 

tax colleotor shall collect such tax and shall 

receive one-half of one per cent for his services 

for collecting such tax. Such tax when collected 

shall be. deposited In the county depository to the 

credit of such rural high school district. The 

.tax assessorhereln provided for shall make a 

complete list of all assessments made by him, and 

when approved by the board of trustees shall be 

submitted to the county tax collector not later 

than September 1st of each year." 

A common school distrlctfs taxes are to be assessed and 

collected "as other taxes." Article 2795, V.A.C.S. Arural & 

high school district Is "classed" as a common school district. 

Article 2922b, V.A.C.S. But, even though so classified, a rural/- 

high school district is neither a common nor an independent \ 

district in the full sense. "Unlike a common school district, 

but like an lnde endent school district, the board of trustees 

ra -3I-lAiT ruraI-h g SC oo d-t has been authorized to levy 

and cause to be collected the taxes of the district, and may 

--- have its own assessor. But unlike an independent schx district, 

which may elect who shall collect Its taxes, a rural high school 

district classified as common must have Its taxes collected Q 

the County tax collector." 

-- (Eiiiiii.318 ours.)SeeAtt orney Gener - - 

al's OpinionNo. V-535 (April 7, 1948), attached hereto; and see 

Article,2784e, V.A.C.S. Article 2792, V.A.C.S., requires, In 

instances.where an Independent school district does the assess- 

?- 

ing, that the district prepare its own tax rolls and that the 

County tax collector accept such rolls. 

does not specifically so prescrrbe, it is 

Although Article 2922L T 

clear that a special 

assessor for a rural high school district must also prepare the 

tax rolls for such district. 

The case of White v. McGill, 109 S.W.2d 1102 (Tex.Civ. 

APP.. 1937, revd. other gnds. 114 S W.2d 860), stated that the ' 

process of taxation Includes three distinct steps: 1. Assessment, 2. Levy, and 3. Collection. Consequently, under Article 

2922L the "assessment", which is performed.by the special assessor 

In conjunction'with the trustees and the board Of e$ualizatlon 

appointed thereby, is a separate function from the Collection" 

which is in the exclusive province of the County tax collector. 
. 

Hon. Richard E. Rudeloff, page 4 (Opinion No. WW-643) 

Since a tax roll is the collector's warrant for collection, 

it Is obvious that the preparation of such a roll is a necessary 

adjunct to assessment. Accordingly, you are advised that the 

tax assessor of the Skldmore-Tynan Rural High School District 

~1s required to prepare the tax rolls for such district. 

The County tax collector, being required to collect 

the taxes of the rural high school district, Is necessarily 

required to issue receipts for the payment of any such taxes. 

*See Arts. 7257, 7336e, V.A.C.S. 

The amount of remuneration the County tax collector 

is to receive for his efforts in collecting the taxes is 

specifically set by Article 2922L, V.A.C.S., at one-half of 

one per cent of the taxes collected. 

SUMMARY 

It Is incumbent upon the special tax 

assessor of the Skidmore-Tynan Rural High 

School District Number 36 to prepare a 

separate tax roll, for such district. 

It Is the duty of the County Tax Collector 

to Issue receipts for payments of the rural 

high school district taxes. 

The County Tax Collector~shall receive 

one-half of one percent of the taxes collected 

as compensation for his services. 

Yours very truly, 

JNP:cm 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE: 

Geo. P. Blackburn, Chairman 

Howard Mavs 

John B. Webster 

James H. Rogers 

REVIEljEDFORTHEATTORNEyGENERAL 

BY: W. V. Geppert