‘1 

AUSTIN 11. TEXAS 

PRPC& IDANIEL 

September 3, 1947 

. 

Hon. Bun I.,. Hutchinson Opinion NO. V-364 

county Attorney 

Bow10 County He: Whether voting bond tax 

Boston, Texas In Leery Common School 

Digtrlct No. 17 increesed over-all tex rate to 

$1.50 

We refer 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 Common School 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 - 1948 school term. 

“OR April 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 “354, ’ ?C.5., 

and particularly 3ubdlvision 4 thereof; which 

fixed the maximum limits which a school district may levy 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 1947 bond election. 

“Query: Ijes thls school district euthorleed a lovv of a $1.50 tax, $1.00 of which shell 

.be’levled ~8s e 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 

new atetute, ‘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 OS the above mentlonad Article 27 8 4e: 

“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 27 d 8, the maintenance tax Includes any euthorlaed 

bond tax and lo reduced, thereby up to 50# ,when the maximum 

voted tax is exceeded) the qualified voters! in the dlstrlct 

must speclficellg’so dtreat in an election.held for thet 

purpose . 
‘. 

Ron. Bun L. 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 this case. We enclose herewlth 8 copy of that oplnion. 

SUMMARY 

A Common School District is not authorized 

to levy 8 $1.50 tax, where q eximum malntensnce 

tax of $1.00 had been previously Buthorlzed and 

a majority of the qualified voters of the dlstrlct approved a new bond Issue and 8 509! bond 

tax. without votina on a uroDosltton to increase 

the~maxlmum tax raze from-$l:OO to $1.50. Art. 

27848 V.C.S. 

Yours very truly 

AT'JORNEZ GENJZRAL OF -3 

EHS/lh 

Assistant 

APPROVED: 

pTTORNEY GENERAL