E NE 

EXAS 

August 13, 1947 

Hon. Roy Sheridan, Jr., 

cotlnty Attorney, 

, Nolan county, 

Sweetwater, Texas 

Dear Mr. Shoridanr 

opinion No. v-338 

Re: Authority to' levy 

a t&u for Trent Road 

District Ao. 1 under 

5. B. 375, 50th Legis1*ture, 1947. 

Your recant P'equest fer an opinion of thla efflee relative to Senate Bill Ho. 375, Aats of the 5)th 

Legislature, 1947, reads In part as follows: 

"Au opluion is requested as to whother 

or not a tax may be levied bF said Road District without first baviu a bond ismue election ae provided in Article XII, Section 

52, of the Constitution of the Stat0 ef Texas. ,’ 

” 

.e,. . an opinion is requested as to 

whether or not Art. VIII, Sec. 9 of the Constitution limit8 the amount that may be levied to 154 without,, first having su election 

for an addition&l 25 as provided in said portim of the cclnstltu e Mu. 

"It is alse my opinion Under the later-~ 

pmumm 0f ht. III, ~00. 52 slpd Art. vnI, 

Soa. 9 of the Constitution and the holding of 

the Court in Commissioners' Court of Flrvarro 

Ceuuty v. Pinkston that the subject 5. B. 375 

is unconstitutional on the ground that It provides for a method of taxation and finracing 

sf the read distrlot contrary to the two cited 

seotions of the constitution and contains RO 

saving olaure that would permit the ignoring 

cf See, 4 of said 5, B. 375.’ 

Soaata, Bill Ro. 375, Acts of 

ture, 2947, reeds in part as fellows: 

the 50th Legisla-. 

"5sction 1. There is hereby created and 

68tablSshad, md made a political subdivlslen 

: 
. 

’ 

1 

Bon. 

tors 

Reg Sheridan, Jr. - Page 2 (v-338) 

of this state under and by virtue of Article 

III, Section 52 of the Constitution of the . . -- 

State of Texas, a defined road district to b' 

be known and designated as the 'Trent Road 

District No. 1 in Taylor, Jones, Fisher end 

Nolan Counties,' composed of adjacent and 

contiguous parts of Taylor, Jones, Fisher 

and Nolan counties, within the State of Texas 

. . . 

"Sec. 2. The Commissioners Courts of 

the four counties of which this District Is 

a part shall constitute a Board of Directors 

for managing the affairs of said Road District. . . 

nSec. 3. It shall be the duty of said 

Board. . . to levy taxes for said purposes 

within the limits of the constitution and 

laws of this state and of this Act. 

"Sec. 4. Taxes within the limitations 

provided by the constitution may be levied, 

assessed and collected for the said road purposes, provided that the taxes for such road 

purposes shall be uniform throughout said District, and shall be levied in the following 

manner: 

'The said Commissioners Courts of said 

four counties acting as the Board of Directors of said Road District shall fix the said 

rate of taxation which said rate shall be 

applied uniformly to the portions of said District lying in said respective counties, and 

said rate shall never exceed in any of said 

counties the maximum rate allowed by the constitution and laws of this state. The Commissioners Courts of the said respective counties shall thereafter, levy said tax at the 

rate so fixed upon all property situated within said county and within that portion ;f said 

Road District lying within such county. 

The Bill contemplates that the Board of Direcof the Road District shall fix the rate of taxation . . . . . 

and each Commissioners' Court OS the Sour counties wltnln 

the Road District shall levy the tax without an election 

upon all property within their respective counties, regardless of whether such property Is located within the 
. . 

. * 

Eon. Hey Sheridan, Jr. - Page 3 (V-338) 

R o a d Bistr ic t l r not. 

Artiale III, Section 52 Constitution of the 

Strte ~sf Texas, reeda in part as 6: 0110~s: 

" provided, however, that under 

trlgt no* or hereafter to be described and 

def&neQ :sthin t&e State of Texas, and which 

towns, Pille#ea or 

upon a vote of a two 

thirds aa,jororlity of the res$df@ propchrt 

tax#ayors votkng there@ who Ar# qual%f,ed 9 

ele&ors of such distr$# @r t(l)ritory &I b# 

af&&ted @hereby, ‘Ln add&&ion ta all oth@ 

may Sssue bondr a@ etherwise leda hts 

in any amount not to exc&ed @noof the assessed vaguat-ion of the real 

property #$ such &strict or territory, oxoept *hat. the tota% bonded indebtedness 

a@ city or town shall flever exceed the r .%zmits imposed by other 

stltutlon,,and levy 

to pay the interest thereran and provide a 

sinking fund for the redemption thezeof, as 

the Legislature may au#korlze . . . 

Article VIII, Section 9, Constitution oT the 

State of Texas, provides in part: 

" and no county . shall lev 

more tia;l twenty-five (25) ok& for 

c@i$@ty purposes, and not exceeding &3& 

cents for roads and bridge% . , . Oa the ane 

hundred dollars valuation. 

As the Bill does not authorize an election for 

the issuance of bonds, the counties cannot levy the tax 

provided'forln Article III, Section 52 of the Constltutlon. Nor is it believed that the counties can levy the 

154 on the $100 valuation provided for in Article VIII, 

Section g'af the Oonstltut$on, 6n all property within the 

county to be used for the benefit of only a 

county .&nd parts of three other oounties. Tir;O%~:: 

tlon authorizes counties to levy: this 156 a*sossment en 
. 

Hen. Hey Sheridan, Jr, - rage 4 (V-338) 

the $100 valuation for roads and bridgtm and it is 0~ 

lntezq.metstloa that this maaas for reads end bridges 

Within the *atIre a4untg antl is net an authorleation 

for tha Qounty to make suoh assessment and then 0~10~ 

the mm to be oallected and used by a Road blatriot 

coapoued of gmts of four counties. Nor can the Le - 

islature validly give such authority to a aounty. & 

Carroll v. Wil’llaaS, 109 Tex. 155, 202 S.W. 504, Jnd@a 

ZUs, speaking for the Supreme Court of this State, 

: 

‘By neoessarg lmpll4atlon said provlslons-of seotlon 9, artlole 8, were designed, 

n@t merely to llmlt the tax rate for certain 

t&r&a designated purposes, but to require 

that urf and a&l money raised by taxation 

for any such purpose ‘shal.1 beg applied, falthfully, to that particular purpose, as needed 

therefor, anc¶ not to any other purpose or use 

vhataoevsr.” 

Section 4 of the Bill authorlses only those 

taxes to be levied, assessed and collected as are vithin 

the limitations provided by the Constitution. Au there 

are no taxes which can be oonatitutlonally levied In the 

manner set out In the Bill within the llmltations provided by the Constitution, no taxes may be levied, assessed or collected. It Is therefore the opinion of this Department that the manner of taxation set out In Section 4 

of said BllZ Is void. 

In answer to your request for an opinion as to 

whether or not Article VIII, Section 9 of the %onstitutlon 

limits the amount that may be assessed upon the $100 valuation for road and bridge purposes without first having 

an election, you are advised that an assessment of taxes 

by a county for road and bridge purposes greater than 154 

on the $100 valuation without an election as provided for 

therein is not authorized by said Section and Article of 

the Constitution and would therefore be void. 

It has 4ome to our attention that the argument 

has been advanced that since 9. B. 375 was prepared by 

this office, the same la oonstltutional. Our office put 

this leglslatlv4 proposal in legal form just as it did 

hundreds of bills during the 50th Legislature. This was 

done with the specific understanding that this office did 

not thereby pass upon or approve the merits or constltutlonality of such measures. In this case, as in all others 
Ron. Rey Sheridan, Jr. - Page 5 (v-338) 

requiring the writing of bills, the requesting leglslater signified his understanding of the following rule 

at the time OS making the request: 

"It is understood that preparation of 

this proposed draft is no indication whatever that its substance, policy or constitutionality Is approved orvpassed on by the 

Attorney General's office. 

SUMMARY 

1. 

Leg. 9 

3. B. No. 375, Acts of the 20th 

1947, purporting to establish Treat 

Road District No. 1 in Taylor, Jones, Fisher 

and Nolan Counties" does not provide a valid 

method to levy taxes to support such district under Article III, Sec. 52, of the 

Constitution of the State of Texas. 

2. Under Article VIII, Sec. 9, Constltution of the State of Texas, a county Cannot legally assess a tsx greater than 15q! 

on the $100.00 valuation for road and bridge 

purposes without first having an election as 

provided for therein. 

Yours very truly 

ATTOFSRX GIfSIERAL OF TEXAS 

BW:wb;jt;djx 

Burnell Waldrep 

Assistant 

Y1Jl.J 

ATTORNEY GEXERAL