. ,

Hon. Richard E. Rudeldff 

### ‘. dpiniohNo. 

### W-643 CountyAttorney Bee County " 'Re.

. 'Isit Incumbentupon the Beevilla, Texas. 1 ; tax assessor of the Skid-' 'more-TynanRural High School District No. 

### 36 to prepare the taxrolls .andreceipts for taxes collectedby 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-TynanRural High School District No. 

### 36 ls'sltuated.lnBee.County, Texas and the trustees thereof have,authorlzed .theemployment of a tax assessor for such school district. Such tax assessor takes the assessments for the sch'ooi '. 'districtand prepares and types up the Inventories.
"TheTax Collector of Bee County collects the taxes for such rural high school district, based' .'' upon such assessments. However, a dlsagreement .hasariseqbetween the Bee County Tax Collector and the County School Superintendentwith regards to which office--theCounty Tax Office. or the tax assesso,r'for

then Rural High School Dlstrlct-- Is to prepare the tax rolls and the tax receipts (whichare given to the taxpayer upon payment of his taxes) for the school taxes which are collected by the County Tax Collector.
"Thepopulation of Bee County according to the last Federal census is 18,174. -. "QUESTIONS "(1) Is it incumbent ,uponthe tax assessor of the Skidmore-TynanRural High School District,No. 

### 36 to prepare the tax'rolls and receipts for taxesHon. Richard E. Rudeloff,page 2 (OpinionNo. ~~-643)

collectedby the Bee County Tax Collector in behalf of such school district, or is the Bee County Tax Collectorrequired to prepare such tax rolls and receipts? "(2) What fee, if any,may be allowed the CountyTax Collector for collecting such taxes?"
A County tax assessor has only such rights, dutle~& and authority as prescribedby law (Foran exhaustivediscussion of thisproposition, see Attorney General's OpinionNo. 0-5426, Aug. 23, 1943, a copy of which is attachedhereto). All assessments by the County assessormust be made in strict accordance with the law, and pursuant to the oath of officeprescribed *by Article 7214,V.A.C.S. All tax rolls prepared by the County assessormust 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~subjectto taxation so far as I have been able to ascertain the same." -s---e .-+2i2; rAx.3. Article There is no provision requirinc Ety tax ;"assessor to prepare a separate tax roll for a schooldistrict in which taxes are assessed by a special assessor. In fact, there Is no requirement for preparation of a separatetax roll for a schooldistrict in which taxes are assessedby the County assessor. See Cracker v. Santo Consol. IndependentSchool 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 Countyhas 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:
'Theboard of a rural high schooldistrict

provided for In this Act shall have thepower to levy and collect an annual ad valorem tax

. . .The board of trustees of any rural high schooldistrictmay appoint an assessor of taxes who shall 'assessthe taxableproperty within the limits of said district wlthln the time provided by existing laws, and said assessment shallbe equalizedb the board of equalization composedof three (3 3 members appointedby the board of trustees of said district. The said board, of equalization shall be composedof legally

1Where taxes are collectible from the same roll, a separate tax roll mma be preparedpursuant to Article 7336e, V.A.C.S.Hon. Richard E. Rudeloff,page 

### 3. (OpinionNo. 

### W-643)

qualifiedvoters residing In said district, and shall have the samepower and authority, and be subject to the ssme restrictions that now govern such boards In Independent school districts. The tax assessorherein provided for shall'receive such compensationfor his services as the trustees of said districtmay allow, not to exceed two (2) per cent of taxes .assessed bye hlm.~~The County tax colleotor shall collect such tax and shall 

### receiveone-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 .taxassessorhereln provided for shallmake a complete list of all assessmentsmade by him, and when approvedby the board of trustees shallbe submitted to the county tax collectornot later than September 1st of each year."
A common schooldistrlctfs 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 schooldistrict. 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. "Unlikea common schooldistrict, but like an lnde endent school district, the board of trustees ra ruraI-h g SC oo -3I-lAiT 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 commonmust have Its taxes collectedQ 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.wherean Independent school district does the assess- ?- ing, that the districtprepare 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 districtmust 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'withthe trustees and the board Of e$ualizatlon appointed thereby, is a separate function from the Collection" which is in the exclusiveprovince of the County tax collector..

Hon. Richard E. Rudeloff, page 4 (OpinionNo. WW-643)

Since a tax roll is the collector'swarrant 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-TynanRural High School District ~1srequired 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 specificallyset by Article 2922L,V.A.C.S., at one-half of one per cent of the taxes collected.
SUMMARY
It Is incumbentupon the special tax assessor of the Skidmore-TynanRural High SchoolDistrict 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 schooldistrict taxes. The County Tax Collector~shallreceive one-half of one percent of the taxes collected as compensationfor 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