THE ATTOECNEY GENEECAL 

OF TEXAS 

The Honorable M. L. Brockette 

Commissioner of Education 

Texas Education Agency 

201 East Eleventh Street 

Austin, Texas 78701 

Dear Dr. Brockette: 

Opinion No. R-798 

Re: Amount of maintenance 

tax which can be levied by 

a particular school district. 

You have requested otir opinion regarding the"smount of 

maintenance tax which may be levied by the Hutto Independent 

School District. We a0 not determine disputed questions of 

fact, and we assume the.facts you presentare correct. You 

state that in 1965 the District voted pursuant to then 

article 2784e, V.T.C.S:, ti, authorize the~annual levy of a 

school tax at a rate not to exceed $1.50 on each $100.00 

valuation of taxable property. ,That tax included a bona tax 

not to exceed 50& per $100 valuatidn and a maintenance tax 

not tom exceed the difference between $1.50 ana the 50$or 

less allocated to the bona tax,. The maintenance tax portion 

of article 2784e provided: 

The amount of maintenance tax, together 

with.the amount of bona tax of any 

district, shall never exceed One Dollar 

and Fi'fty Cents ($1.50) on the One Hundred 

($100.00) Dollars valuation of taxable 

property; and if the rate of bona tax, 

together 'width the rate of maintenance tax 

voted in the district shall at any time 

exceed On& ~Dollar and Fifty Cents ($1.50) 

on the One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars 

valu+ion, such bona tax shall operate 

to reduce the maintenances tax to the 

difference between the rate of the bond 

tax~.and One Dollar.and Fifty Cents ($1.50). 

V.T.C.S. art. 2784e, S 3. 

p. 3366 
The Honorable M. L. Brockette - page 2 (H-7.98) 

Thus, under article 2784e the bond tax and maintenance tax 

were interdependent; i.e., if an increase in the bona tax raised 

the sum of the two above $1.50 per $100 valuation, the maintenance tax had to be reduced accordingly. 

In 1969, the Legislature enacted the Texas Education 

code. The Code established a bond tax and a maintenance tax 

independent of each other. Education Code, S 20.04. But 

the new tax structure of the Code was not made applicable to 

taxes previously authorized. Section 7 of House Bill 534, 

which enacted the Education Code, provided that 

th(? repeal of statutes by this act 

shall not repeal or affect any tax 

or authority or power heretofore 

granted by the Legislature under 

'which any tax has heretofore been 

authorized. . . by an election 

'held under any act or acts of the 

legislature.heretofore enacted 

whether general or special. Acts 

1969, '61st Leg., cb. 889 at 3026. 

Cotiseqtiehtly, even after enactment of the Education Code, 

the authority of the Hutto Independent School District to 

issue bonds and to levy taxes was derived from article 

2784e. 

In 1975, however, the District held an election on two 

propositions: (1) to authorize the school board to levy an 

annual maintenance tax not to exceed $1.50 per $100 valuation, pursuant to section 20.04(d) of the Education Code; 

and (2) to authorize the issuance of unlimited tax bonds 

under section'20.04(b) (1). The bond proposition was enacted 

but the maintenance tax proposition was defeated. As a 

result of the election, therefore, the District is authorized 

to levy a bond tax under the Education Code. By the terms 

of section 20.04(b)(l), such tax must be "sufficient, without limit as to rate or amount, to pay the principal of and 

interest on said bonds." Since the maintenance tax proposal 

failed of enactment, however, maintenance taxes continue to 

be subject to the restrictions of section 3 of article 

2784e. Indeed, section 20.08 of the Education Code provides: 

p. 3367 
The Honorable M. L. Brockette - page 3 (H-798) 

. . .a11 maintenance taxes heretofore voted 

in any school district in accordance with 

law may be levied and collected in the 

manner provided by the law in effect at the 

time such bonds were voted, or issued in the 

manner provided in this subchapter, to the 

extent pertinent and applicable, without an 

additional election. 

Maintenance taxes levied under article 2784e, however, are 

tied to the amount of bona tax. Even though the amount of 

bona tax is, as a result of the 1975 election, required to 

be unlimited, it is nevertheless our opinion that the amount 

of maintenance tax plus the amount of bona tax must not 

exceed $1.50 per $100 valuation so long as the limitations 

of article 2784e, section 3 are applicable in this district. 

Thus, in answer to your first question, whenever the rate of 

bond tax together with the rate of maintenance tax exceeds 

this amount, the maintenance tax must be reduced to a rate 

equal to the difference between the total annual bona tax 

and $1.50. 

You also ask whether the District may levy a bond tax 

in excess of SO& per $100 valuation, in light of the $1.50 

maintenance-bond tax limitation of article 2784e, section 3. 

Article 2784e, section 2 previously limited the permissible 

bond tax to 5Ob per $100 valuation. In the 1975 election, 

however, the voters approved the bond tax authorized by the 

Education Code in section 20.04(b) (1). This bond tax is no 

longer limited to 506 per $100 valuation and, indeed, is 

required to be "sufficient, without limit as to rate or 

amount, - -. to pay the principal and interest on saidnz." 

(Emphasis added). Thus, we conclude that the District is 

now permitted to levy a bona tax in excess of 5Op! per $100 

valuation. 

D. 3368 
The Honorable M. L. Brockette - page 4 (H-798) 

SUMMARY 

APPROVED: 

So long as the Hutto Independent School 

District derives its authority to levy 

a maintenance tax from article 2784e, 

section 3, V.T.C.S., it must, whenever 

the rate of its bond tax, together with 

the rate of its maintenance tax, exceeds 

$1.50 per $100 valuation, reduce the 

maintenance tax to a rate equal to the 

difference between the total annual bona 

fax and $1.50. The District is now 

permitted to levy ~a bona tax in excess of 

5Ob per $100 valuation. 

Very truly yours, 

of Texas 

Opinion Committee 

jwb 

p. 3369