OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

~03mwble Chsrley Lo&hart 

state Trefiwrer 

Anatin, Teurs 

Dear Sir8 

you advlae w of 

Pea08 8nd Morthern 

lrrned under 

MlQe .EturdFed 

order to have tJ3e flret mort80 oQunt1ea in vhlah 1t ha8 

reaorded, and In order to have 

oment reamled in all of the mmnthe rallvay of The Fsqos and 

the mortgeeCe or the EZtewlon Agreement. 

“2. If it 18 neoeararp to sttwh outh rteaps, 

vhether the ahotid be abtaahed, ealaulated 00. the 

baa18 of $l~,QOQ,OW3,00 5 0%' $11,984,000.90. . . r* 
Honorable Harley Lockhart, Page 2 

Article 70470, Seotlon (a), Vernon*8 Annotated Civil 

Statutea, read8 ae followr 

“meept ae herein othervlee provided there le 

hereby levied and aeeereed a tax of Ten (lO#) Cente 

on eaoh One Hundred ($100.00) Dollar8 or fraotlon 

thereof, over the flret Two Hundred ($200.00) 

Dollare, on all note8 and obligation8 eeoured by 

ohattel mortgage, deed of trust, mehanle’e lien, 

aontraot, vendor’e lien, oonditlonal aalee oontraot 

and alllnetrumente of a rlmllar nature wh&nh are 

filed or reaorde4 in the offloe of the County Clerk 

under the Regletratlon Law8 of thle State; provided 

that no tax ehall be levied on lnetrumente eecuM.ng 

an amonut of Two Hundred (4200.00) Dollare, or leer. 

After the effeotlve date of thle Aat, except ae 

hereWafter provided, no l ueh instrument &all be 

filed or recorded by any County Clerk in We 

State until there hoe been affixed to ewh lnetrusent rtampe in aaoordanue vlth the provlrionr of 

thle seotion; providing further ,that ehould the 

lnetruwnt filed ln the ctiilae of the County 

Clerk be security of an obligation that bar propelrty pledged aa eeourlty in a State or Starter other 

than Texas, the tsx hall be baaed upon the roamnable eseh value of all property pledged in Texae 

in the proportion that raid property in Texau beare 

to the total value of the property l ecmrlng the 

obligation@; and, providing further that, exoept 

ae to renevsle or extension8 of merued intereet, 

the provleions of this eeotion ahell not apply 

to inatrumerite given in renewal op extenelonr 

of lnetruments theretofore rtamped under the provlelone of this A& or the one amended hereby, 

and ehall not apply to lnetrumente glren in the 

refundlug of exletlng bondr OF obllgatlone them 

the preceding lnetrumnt of reourlty wae stamped 

in awordauee with thie Aot or the one amended 

hereby8 provided further that the ter levied in 

this A& ahall apply to only one instrument, the one 

of the greatert denomLuatlon, vhere 8everal lzutrumenta are aontemportmeouely exeouted to eeuure one 

obligationi and provided further that vhen owe 

l tamped aa provided herein, au lnetrwnent may be 
gonorsble Charley Lockhart, Pege 3 

raoorded in any number of oountlee In thla atate 

vlthout agein being eo atamped. Thte aeotlon 

ehall not appl to lnetrum4nt8, notee, or other 

obligatlone t d en by or on behalf of the United 

State8 or of the State of Texas, or any aorporste 

agency or inatrumnt8Uty of the United gtatee, 

or of the State of Texas ln carrying out a governamntal purpose 88 upreaeed In any Aat of the 

Congreee of the Untted State8 or of the Leglelatae of the State of Texae, nor ehall the provll lonn of this De&ion apply to cbllgatlans or 

lnetmmente eeaured by lien8 on orope and farm 

OP agriaultw?al produate , or to llveetook or farm 

lmplemente, or an abetraat of judgment, 

‘If the awmnt eeoured by an lnatrument la 

not expreeaed therein, or If any part of the 

eeourlty deeorlbed in any ruoh inetrument appearr 

to be loaated without the State of Texas, the 

County Clerk &all require proof by wrftten affldavlta of mwh faotr M may be neIusceaeary to deternine the amount ofthetax due.” 

Prom a reading of the above atatute it 18 aeen that 

the tu ie not due until and wlera the imtrummt o f l eourlty 

$8 preeented for rebox-d. The A& further readr that exoept na 

provided therein no mab inatruaent ehall be tiled for reoold 

until it ha8 been etamped ln aoowdanae with the prov&alow of 

the ht. go exeeptlon la made ee to lnetrumenta dated prior to 

the effective date of the l tatute. The tax levied by thla Aot 

ie laid upon the privilege of wing the reaorde of the offloe 

of the Oonnty Olerk. 

654. 

City of Abllene 'I. Fryar, 143 8. W. (26) 

lienae ln mar opinion It la imaterial that the flret 

lmtrument uee exeauted long prior to the effeotlve date of 

Art1810 70470. If it ie nov offered to a Qounty Clerk for reoord it met be etampod Fn aooordanae vlth aueh etstute. If 

the 1907 mortgage la properly atamped and reo8mMd, then under 

the expreee terare of the etatute the extenalon agreement may 

be recorded thereafter in vhstever oountiea it may be deetied 

vlthout having any et-8 affixed thereto. 
Honoratfle Qrbley Lwkhart, Pago 4 

The origkl aor+gage did not eeoure obllgatlona amount- 

- to Fifteen Mlllion Dollsre (~15,000,000.00) but mer4ly aeoured 

an authorlaed bond lesue of not exoeedlng Blfteen Hllllon Doll4re 

(~15,000,000.00). The fret that bonda in th4 amount of Eleven 

Hllllon Iline Hundred and Eighty-four -wand Dollar8 ($11,98&,000) 

only were ieeued a that auoh la the amwnt etll3 unpaid ia8~r be 

ahom to ths Olerk by affidavit, md in auoh event the amount 

ai rtampa to be l tta4hed should be oeloulated on the b&818 of 

Eleven IU1llo.n Hf.zm #nndred and Rlghty-four Thousand Dollara 

(&l,g84,ooo.oo). 

Pour8 very truly 

A2J!P~OE)IERALoRTExAs 

By k.-.--dc 

fflenn R. Zml* 

Aaeletant