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AUSTIN 11. TEXAS PRPC& IDANIEL
September 3, 1947

. Hon. BunI.,. Hutchinson Opinion NO. V-364 county Attorney Bow10County He: Whether voting bond tax Boston, Texas In Leery CommonSchool Digtrlct No. 17 increesed over-all tex rate to $1.50

Werefer tb your letter of resent date, which submitted for our conslderatiou fects in substance as follows :

“The County Superintendent of Bowie County actlag with the School Board of, Leery CommonSchool Diatriot, No. 17, has certified to the Commissioners’ Court that for said district school purposes an assess; meat at the rate of $1.00 for loaal maintenance purposes and 506 for bond purpoaea, making a total of $1.50 on each $100.00 valuation within aaid district, is neceseary for the 1947- 1948school term.

“ORApril 6, 1929, the .digtrlct in a malntenenoe tax election voted a tax levy of one hundred oents on the $100.00 valuation for local maintenance of the school. At said time the diatrlct had no bonded indebtedness. Immediately after said election, the district voted bonds for school building purposes for which a 504 bond tax levy was necessa reason of the provisions of Article 27 4, ?C.5., “35’ and particularly 3ubdlvision 4 thereof; which fixed the maximumlimits which a school district maylevy for maintenance eud bond taxes at $1.00, It was necesserg that 50# of the maintenance tax money voted be set aside to service t.hese bonds. In 1945, these bonds were paid off, and the district levied 8 local maintenance tax of $1.OO.Hon. Bun L. ‘Rutchlnson - Page 2 (V-364)

‘On January 18, 1947, ,the district voted w school house bonds end. cuthoriaed a levy

for payment the~reof. There 19 B necessity for e bond tex levy of 504 to service these bonds.

. See attached order.geclering’

results of malntenence tax’electlon held .ln 1929, order declaring results of school ,bohd election held’in Jenuery, 1947, order euthorlelng leruence of 1947 bonds, and the petition, order end notlae of 1947bond election.

“Query: Ijes thls school district euthorleed a lovv of a $1.50 tax, $1.00 of which shell .be’levled ~8se local maintenance tax and 504 or Which mey.he levied as e school bond tar?

‘In our opinion’ the ~distrlct ,voted en over‘,-all text of ’)l;OO ,for malntenence and bonds In 1929 (which at thet time was the maximum statutory limit), ,Thls llmit~wea not changed .by the bond eiection In 1947. ,The newatetute, ‘Article 2784e, Vernon’s Civil Statute, ‘~ passed by the Legislature in. 1945 raises the amount of maximum tex sllowed ‘to $1.50. However, lti order t’o lncreeae the tax race of $1.00 prevl.ously voted .by the 

### district, 8n election must be held for that apecffic purpose. .Thls vas not done in the bond election .$n 1947; therefore, the voters hed the right to assume that the tex ‘voted. to service ,thls bond issue would bo taken out of the $1.00 meximum tax previously voted. yourettention is orlled to the following lan uege used In Section 4 OSthe above mentlonad Article 27 4e: 8

“No tax shali be levied, collected, ab- .rogete~nlshed or’increesed end no bonds shell & laoued hereunder until such action he8 been:euthorized by a mejorltp~of the votea cast et an election held in the district 

### for such purposes.
. .” (Emphasis ours]. The Import of the above quotation from’ the stat’- ute lb that in order .to Increase the maximum tax (which a~ ,previoual voted maintenance tax Is, since according to Artlole 27d 8, the maintenance tax Includes any euthorlaed bond tax and lo reduced, thereby up to 50#,whenthe maximum voted tax is exceeded) the qualified voters! in the dlstrlct must speclficellg’so dtreat in an election.held for thet purpose
.‘

.

Ron. BunL. Hutchinson - Pege 3 (V-364)

A slmller question to that presented by you was answered in a prior Opinion (No. 0-2316) of thl3 Department, and while the fects are somewhat different, the same theory of law and reasoning are controlling 

### of thiscase. We enclose herewlth 8 copy of that opln

### ion. SUMMARY

A CommonSchool District is not authorized to levy 8 $1.50 tax, where q eximummalntensnce tax of $1.00 had been previously Buthorlzed and a majority of 

### the qualified voters of the dlstrlct 

### approveda newbond Issue and 8 509!bond 

### tax.withoutvotina on a uroDosltton to increase 

### the~maxlmumtax razefrom-$l:OO to $1.50. Art. 27848 V.C.S.
Yours very truly AT'JORNEZ

GENJZRAL

OF-3



### EHS/lh Assistant

APPROVED:

pTTORNEY

GENERAL