OFFICE OFTHE A'IIORNEY GENERALOFTEXAg 

AUSTIN 

Eonorable Ernest Guinn 

COuBnt~ Attorney 

&l Pa80 CoUritt 

Hl ?aao, Tam 

roporty ati at 

any time within 

tho drto or 

17 

\ 

City or 31 Pa80 

roool*o thr 25% 

tl, provirloll8 in 

tion or propertp 

8ai6 City at a 

sr wthority of 

tio1r I345b? 

or 0r Fobmnry ‘I, 

uia ahtan ~~08. 

1010 m40 a& lieotion 28 of pstlo~o 

ia 0f Arti a 0r th8 c0mitiuti0a 

II& a radoaptlorr within tw yotir aftor 

iii’8 ml8 IAN whlah such property WI 

(8) 18 the City of It Paw, 0ntitl0a to tb 86$ 

U SO% p o na ltp rr wl8lo n8 l lluw84 in oan 0r r8domptien 

a8 pravib84 in motion 18 af Art1010 Tsrm, whop ~16 l lty 

&r purohamd pmputr at a tax *a10 a ndl or tbmitr ef &otion 8 of &tlole 7Wb? 
778 

Eionorable Lrnoat Guinn, ?a&e 2 

In ahawet to yaur first question it 1s neoesaarr 

to point out the provision8 ol the xtlole8 whoso oon8tltutionalitf 18 being questlcned, ~rtlolo 7340 raad8: 

l ;'hero lands or lot8 aball heroartor bo 

said to tha Stat0 or to an? city or town Sor 

taxe8 under bore0 or aoart in any ouit or 

sulta brought for the 001hstlon 0r tar08 

theroon or by 8 calleotor or tero8, or otherwi80, the owner or any oho having an interest ln 

auoh -8 or lots shall ha?e tho right at any 

tlu within tvm pear8 from the date of sale to 

redoon tho aa7y u>on ?aymeht of the amount ot 

taxe8 for which sale ma8 -de, togetlmr with all 

ooatr and penultles required by law, ahd also 

pepent et .4U taxe8, fhterost, penaltier and 

aoata on or ogai&at said land or lot8 at the 

tlxe of tlm redemption. act8 1697, p. 132, 

300. 14; iSOt 1905, p. 32'3; ;rate lPO7, p. %B2; 

.,ats 2nd C. G. 1909, p. 400; &at8 1st C. s. 1913, 

p. 25; froa lrt c. S. U15, p. 50; arcto 4th c. ;1. 

1918, p. 135; Acts 3rd C. 2. 1920, pi 103." 

Art&&e 7345b, Zeotion 12 read81 

"In 8.U suito heretofore or hereafter iilod 

to oolloot delinquent tare8 againat property, 

juugunt ta aal6 suit shall provide ror i88atknor 

0r writ of pouso8sion with1.a taenty (20) by8 

after the porlod or rcdexptlon shall hare expired 

to the purohaoor at iorealoaurr aale or hi8 a8- 

elm; but whosorer land la sold uador judgxeat 

in 8aoB suit rot taxoa, the owna! OS such property, 

or anyoao hevlng an intorest therein, or their 

helm, a8sigur or legal reproemtatlror, zmy, 

within two (8) 1-8 rroa the data or suoh 8410, 

hato the ri&t to redoox 8aid property on the Zollowing baai8, to-wit: (1) 4thin the rlrst year 

or tho rodraption period, upon the paywnt ot tho 

aim bid r0r tha propartr by tho purotmur at 

8aoh ~10, tacrluding a One ($1.00) Dollar tax 

drod r*oorUq rw eAd all taf.8, paadsfe8, interart ud eo*te tbwmafter paid th8noa, plW 

tmatpf iv0 par oat (I%$) or the l aurotgato total; 

(8) within t&e &St year oi t& rodoaptlon porlod, 

UWA the mt of th 6Y)UAt bid for th8 prOp@rtJ 

by the puroharor at l uoh @ah, ixOlodixg a One 
779 

iionorablo Lrneet Gaina, s"sg8 3 

(;l.iiG) Dollar tax dead moordin rer and all 

tax88, gezlaltics, intuoet and coete therodter paid thereon, 21~8 fifty por oent (50,~) 

of the aggregate total. 

*In addition to redeezilng direct from th8 

gUPoh8ru a8 afOr88ald, ndWlptioA may also ba 

aado won tha baoia lmrainabcw dMined a$ 

grorided in .&,faler 7eLH aAd 7208 OS t&a ilovised citll statute* or Taxas 0r 1925." 

.AOtiOA 13 Of nl'tfOh e, Of ths COll8titUtiOB Of 

I?<xu, 68 tiaeaded la 1932, reads a8 fOiiOW8: 

"?rorl~lo~ shall ba auda by the first 

Le&fslature for the speedy Sale, -irfthoat the 

neceerlt~ of ii suit in C3urt, or u surtlolent 

portion of all lands ud other property tor 

the taxee due thereon, r;ad every year thorsafter tar the sale in like zmuer ot ~11 Lsnda 

ad other gx'opes+ty upon vhloh the taree hate 

aot been paid; and the doed of aonveyanae to 

the gurabneer for all lends and other property 

thua eeld shall be held to mat II good and 

perfoot title la tho purchaser therwi, cubjoat to be &upeeohsd oaLy for actual fraud; 

provided, that the rormr owaer 8he.U wlthla 

b.0 para rrtta de* 0s th0 ruing ri3r r~01-4 

of the ?urchaau*o 3sod bare tha right to 

redoen the land on the tollowfng basla: 

"(1) ‘,.ithfn tho iirat~ year or tha rodoaptioa period apoa the payment or the aaouat 

or money paid for the land, inoludlB2 Oao 

($1.00) Collsr Tax Dati i%eoording Fee aad all 

taEe8, penalties, Interest aad ooata paid plus 

not eroeodfng tw8ntprit0 (esp) perorat of the 

aggremte total; 

'(2) vFlthln the le8t year ol tha robemptlon period upon the pafnrnt ot the amouut or 

WAOy paid for the &end, iAOlUd* 001 ($l.W) 

Dollar Tu Sieed 2eeordiS2 P.. urd a.Ll tQ1Cm8, 

~:~$~lee, intwo8t and'W8te pAid ~1~8 not 

rifts (so& porout 0r the l gCrO@tS 

total. '"t 0.0. 

0, 102%)" 

1.3, Ar t. 8, l a0pt.a l lootloa xor. 
780 

You question the constitutionality of the aboveCootad at:xtutrs on the grounds that Section 13 of .;rtlcle 

8, supra, 2rovldes that the owner ;li property #ball have 

two yaars from the date of t he filing for reoord of ths 

Pmr8husu*a Dud wlchin :jh:oh tO redoem his grogarty while 

&tiola 9340 and seotlon 12 of ieticle 9345b, sapra, provlds that tho OWMP must redssm his projmrty within two 

JSUS aftu the tax sale. You are edvlmd, howefar, tlmkt 

ths above-quoted .ztialse &r4 not In confllot with Artlolr 

a, ;eotlon 1'3 of th4 Comtltution, fn that said constltutional provlslon doas not rr?ply to rederqtion of prop4rty 

vhlch was sold at a for4cissure aal4 purmant to the judgmnt of a court. 

The t;upraae Court OS Texrrs in the case OS City 

of hn .-int.onio v . Jorry, 92 T4x. 319, recognlz46 thr faot 

thut i4c. 13 ot nrtlCl4 8 of tba Constitution, ?rlor to 

azndslent in 19352, np2lled only to summary ealee. 

The &mrlllo Court or Civil ;gpealfi in the WM 

or Yinkson v. Lor4nz.o Independsnt &chool Clstrlot, 109 S. 

X. (Ld) lOc2, held that elm above r;u&ed constitutional 

provisions applied only to sunmary sales~ and not to sal48 

rJado under toroolosuro tar lletu by oourt judgments. In 

thla conneotlon tho ooprt slated as follows: 

*!a aanaot aooede to this eontsntfon. Tha 

old artlolo 9283 was a part of seotlon 19 of 

the not of 1876, o. 152, 9. 259, whlah dealt 

with sales or land for taxes by tho t&x oolleotors under sumac y ~rocoss, and had no rotorenoo to sales made under juclgmnts of tors0~08~8 0r tu li4n8. sor4ovu. that act, like 

all othars prior to the exuot3iant of artlolos 

7284a in 1929, had rduonoo to sales for taxes 

duo the St&to, OoUlltleS, and Oltle8. Hono Of 

thu had any z%IorenOe, Lo so far aa the aattor 

or r&asgtion is oonoerssd, to ~148 ot real 

4stat4 undu roreolosure or tax liens owing to 

fohool a+ ot+ disglots oreat+ un$or th? -. 2.6~8 or the atate. Tne uon*t1tut10nal ~vrovl- 
781 

Eonarable Xrnaet Gulnn, ?aga 5 

Thare 1s nothing in the late ainendaants of 

either the Conatltutlon or the statuk. artic14 7223. whiah;muld lndioat4 an lntentlm 

GO extand thair ao>licatlon." (Lkdarraoring 

ours.) 

Bearing in mind that Articl4 2, Z4otlon 13, as 

amended, ap:~lleo only to 6 uamary sales, your attentloh Is 

again oallad to the rirat part of irrtlolr 934CG whlah provides: 

*;,hera lsnds or 1ota~ahaU h4reafter be 

sold to the Stat4 or to any city or town ior 

taxes und4rdecraa of court lnany suit or 

suit a brou.ghs forth4 colleotiaP of taxes 

thereon . ; .O ('Jnderacorlng ourfi. j 

You -4, tharafora, advised that ;Jrtiol4 9x0 does 

not cohfiiot rlth Leotion 13 of Article 2 or the Tsxss Constitution. 

Your attrrntion la alao oa*l4d to the holding of 

tha Su2rrsa Court or Texas in the oaaa of Yaxia Independent 

Sohool 3istrlot v. City or tietin, 133 2.W. (2d) 118. In 

this oasa it was aontandad that Utiola 7345b was unoonstitutlonal baoausa it parmltted a roreoloaur4 of a tax lian 

through aburt and thrrerors violated the provlalons of Artlola 8, %totkm 13, of tkm Constitution, aa adopta in 1932. 

The Supreme Court adopted the opinion of tha Saco Court of 

Civil Appeals, written by Judge Aaxanfer, as its opinisa, 

and thereby stated aa rollowa in this oonnaotlonr 

"It la suggested that th4 statut4 is uuconatitutlonal beeauaa, by permitting a fOrSOlOSUrS 

0r a tax lien through oourt, it Violate8 the 

~rovlslons of xrtiola 8, soo. 13 0r our constitution as adopted la 1932. This seotion of the 

Constitution rrads, in part, as r0um8: 

v~Provlalon shall b4 made by ths first 

J.oglalaturo ior the sprdf sale. ulthaxt tho 

neoesslty oi a suit la court , or a 8tdri0id 

portion or all lands and other propaxtrrortha 

taxes duo thereon, aa4 orerr par tharsartsr 

ror the sale ln like ssu2sr oi all lands and 

other property tipon whloh the taxes lava not 

baas paid; and the dood or oonvoyanoa to the 

purohasu for all lsnds and othw property thou 
ibnorablr X.msat Guinn, Paga 6 . 

782 

sold shall b4 held to rest a good and 2arfeot 

title in the purctiaer thereof, subject to b4 

lzqmached only for aoturf rraud; . . .* 

*It is lnrlsted that this ~rovfslon or 

the Constitution, by providing for 4 summary 

a&a *without the neoerslty of a suit ln,oourt,* 

Is axolualv4 and InhLblta fOroOlO8~8 and saLo 

through ths oourt. Th4 t;uotad provlalon does 

sot a>pasr by lta oxn 14nguagr to be axoluslve. 

X?ooassarlly, it must be oonstrued lo eonnaotlon 

with othor -,rovlrlona of the Constitution. atic14 8, sao. 15 of the Constitution ;trovldas 

au follows: 

**'I'h4 rm~~irl aaeezszmt cradr upon landed 

property shall b4 a special llrn thereon; and 

611 r7ro?arty, both real and ?sraonel, balonglng to ~-my delinquent taxpayer shall be liable 

to selzurs md 4414 for the payment of all the 

tares :md ~enaltlaa du4 by such delinpuant; and 

such property my be aold for tha 

taxes snd mnaltlas due by such da P 

aymeat o? tha 

inaosnt. 

oader auah~ragulatlona sa-the Legiala&ra &ax 

provide.' ( ilnd*rsooring ours. j 

Vhe undusoorad portioa of tha above sootloo clearly delegates to tho legislature tho 

right to provide other Psthods than by summary 

sale by which proparty nay ba sold for the paymsnt or faxoa. &tats Uortgags Corporation v. 

State (Comm. ~p9.) 17 3.V;. 2d 801; City of 

Eionrlatte v. Lustiu, 87 Tax. 14, 26 S.W. 619. 

irtlcl~ 5, aea. a, 0r the Coaatltutlon sotiara 

oa dlstrlot oourts Jurladlatlon to rorealosr 

liens on land, ,nd we sea no reason why taxing 

units should not ba allowed to ranort to auoh 

oourts ror the roreolosura or their liens. 

. Ths -ot provldss that the rumsdies 

;h;rain LWOVidSd ror shall be oumul.atlvs 0r 

all othars end hanoa boos aot purport to *XIelude the r’taht of awry salr as provldrd in 

ArtiOl4 8, **a. Xb This ooatantlon is ovarEh.g ~unduaooLig ours.) 

You are, thor*ior*, sdvlsad that 8eotia 13 of 

rrt$olo 6 of tkm Constltotlos or TWS, as adopted in 1038, 

applies only to usmary sales. 0x1 oha othu lmnd, Art1010 
783 

Eonorable Snent Guinn, Page 7 

7340 anE. i;eatlon 12 ot ..rticlo 734Sb arpraesly amply otip 

to reGaaptlon of poperty -pursuant to foreoloaure Bales cmlade 

sub=ejilent to ti judg.mlt of \i C3urt of competent jurlsdiction. rheref ore, there is no conflict In the periods of 

redeqtion set mat in the etatutss end ln the above-pnoted 

aon6tltiltlonal provl6ixL. 

You are further advised that all redeqtlons of 

Jroperty sold under ttir sales authorized under .;rtlcle 7345b 

ast be nadc within two years after :hc dates of the orlgfnal foreolosure soles. 

Ia your second gteatloa you are comerned wlth 

whether or not the City of Fi ?aeo la entitled to reaelre 

the redeicption penalties provided in iectlon 12 of Article 

7345b la L cm8 where it ha5 purchzsed property at a tax 

oale under the authority of Zectlon 6 of Art1414 7X5b. 

Your attention is called to Zectlon 13 of .;rtlole 

7345b vhlch resee sa tallows: 

*iSea. 13. The ;rwfslona of this iict 

abail be oumulatlve of snd in sddltlon to 

all other rlzhte snd renedfes to rhfch an3 

taring !lnit i&y be entitle&, but ES to ani 

pxmedia% brought under th2s ht. if an2 

3art or ?ortlon of thle A& be in canfllat 

Revised Civil St3tuteii oi 1925 shall gov4rn 

sutts brought under thlr Xot except ai herein ~rorlded. .&at6 1937, 45th Leg., p. 

1494-e, ah. 506.” (Undsrsuorfng ours.) 

hotion 12 of ;rrtf&e 7345b in lte langua&e epplies to all apurchreere* st tax sales, whleh general olasslrlaatlon ma16 inaluda the City of zl Paso. 

The method of redemptfcia a8 provlbed fn aaid aeotfon would apply to all tax 6ulH brought under the authority oi nrtlale 734l5b. Tho rede&.ion may be mado from the 

puroheaer at the ffret roreelorurr malo. Under authorltf 

0r s40ti0n8 8 rrad 9 or the aet the parahaaer nay be On4 0r 

the ltexfunlt8'. nng “Taxlag units* ae doflned Lx! b8tlon 1 

0r Artlola 7sMb lnolude “the state or Texae or any torn, 
. . 

784 

ikmorable Zrnest Culnn, Pa& 8 

city or couaty in said LXztr, or any corgoratlon or diatrlct orgenlzed under the lewe of the State wlth authority 

ta levy und callsot taxes." 

The lmgutige of .5eotlon 9 of Article 7345b alearly 

lndloates that a "taxing unit" la clcealiled 3-s (r npurchnserw. 

;;nld ertlale reeds, in g6rt, es tollowa: 

"3sctlon 9, It the property be sold to 

~sy taxing unit whloh la e qarty tbtaafudp 

ant under dearee ot aourt In said suit, the 

title of said proprty ah611 be bid in and 

held by the texlnr; unit imrchaaln6 the aeze 

. . ." (9nderacorlng ours.) 

rule 

i&d the Legislature intended to xeka e aeperata 

ror the~radcmpptlon 0r property rt0kt a taxlna uult which 

iyBib the purchaser rit the orfginal roreoiosure sale, L;ection 

I& or :.rticle 7345b would here lnoluded such axe~ptlon. %a*- 

ever, the Legislature saw fit to -he Leotion 12 nnd the 

~eneJ.ty pro~lalone provided therein rpply lndiaorlainetely 

to all purahaaere or their ~a61 en8 at the l'oreolaaure sale. 

You are therefore advlaedthet f" n redeeiting proparty iron the 

City of L1 Faso in 3 oha8 whare said City hea purchsaed property at u tex foreclouure sale under the authority or Seationa a dvi 9 OS tirtlcle 7345b, ZeQtlon 19 of said Article 

would apply 6ad the peraoa seeklag to redeem the property 

would hats to 9ay the penalties of redelzptioa provided in 

suoh 6COtiOlL. 

Your6 very truly 

ATTomxY OWEAL OF TimiS 

APl'ROVEDAR 15, 1940 

A 

ATTORNEY GENERAL Or' TEXAS