OFFICE OF THE AYTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS / I 

Roncreble J. 26. Williams 

This has been made good 

again by Acts 58th Leg 

6. 

County~Auditor 

Tarrant County 

Fort Wmth, Texao 

Dear Sir: 

"It haa boefi.a,well eettlad aoume ai 'px%- 

oedura for many years r0r the Aaeessor-Colleator 

to pay his oommlaslc~n for aseesalng end ooXleo$- 

ing taxes out or the dirrerot funds of the County 

affeoted, in the same proportion as the tax rates 

of eeah fund bears to the Wtal tax rate for the 

county. 
Honorable J. M. %'illiam8, Page 2 

*In view or the above, we eek this question: 

"*In cerrylng out the duty im@tiGd 

upon the Court under Artlole 7212, ea above 

pointed out, oan the expenses thereby inourred be paid out of the different tex 

funds in the proportion as the tax rate of 

eeoh fund bear8 to the total tex rate for 

the County? 

". . . ." 

As to the valuation of rendered property, Article 

7185, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, provides in pert; 

"If the twsse68or Is Satisfied with the valuation as rendered * * *, he shall 80 enter the same; 

ii he Is not satisfied with the valuation, he 8hall 

rerer tha same to the Board or Pquallurtlon or the 

County for their aotion, and shall immediately notii9 the person rrom whom he reeelved said liet that 

he ha8 rererred said valuation to the Board of 

I.'quelization.* 

Artiole 7206, Vernon*8 Annotated Civil Statute8 

provide8 in pert: 

6Eaoh Coaaalesionere* Oourt shall oonvene 

and sit a8 a Bo~ard of Equalization on the seoond 

hondey in May of each year, or a8 soon thereafter 

a8 practioable before the first day of June, to 

receive 811 the assessvmnt lists or hook6 0r the 

as8eseore of their Countlee for inapeotion, oorreotion or equalization and approval. 

"1. They Shall cause the sssessor to bring 

before them at such meeting all said assessment 

lists, books, 6tO., for inspeotion, end see that 

every person has rendered his property at 8 fair 

mnrket velue, and shall have power to send ror 

persons, books and papers, swear and qualify persons, to esoertain the value of auoh property, 

snd to lower or raise the value of the same. 

*I. l . .* 
Honorable J. Y. Wllliama, Page 3 

Artiole 7211, Vernon's Annotated Civil Stetutea, 

provides in etieot that In listing property, the l aseasor 

shall state hie valuation ii he oonaiders that the owner 

has undervelued. Furthermore, &?ticle 7212, Vernon's Annotsted Civil Stetutes, gives to tha Board of Eqrlalizetion 

a general power of SuperViSing a8aee8mente end "if Setlafied 

thst the valuation of any property is not In aooordanoe with 

the laws of the atete, to inarease or diminish the s8me and 

to fix 8 nroper valuation thereto, as provided rar in the 

preoeding artlo1e.v Referring to these provisions It was 

stated in the case of Republio Ino. Company va. Highland 

Park Inde ndent "ohool Dlstriat (57 S. W. (2) 627, error 

dismissed Y that "the plain import and meaning of theee stetutory prOViSiOn is, that when an owner tenders to the aaaesaor a listing end valuation of his property ror taxation 

it la the duty of the asBeaaor to rsoalve the same, and In 

oaae of dlfferanoe of opinion between them as to the valnationa plaoed upon the property by the aner, the a8aeaaor*a 

duty then is to refer the aattor to the Con6nisslonerar Oourt 

as a Board of Equalization, and the Court, arter notioe to 

the owner, is to hear evldanae, settle and fl% the disputed 

valuatlon.W 

Prom the iaots stated in your letter, we assume, 

that you desire our o inion as to whether or not money may 

be taken from the var 3: 0~8 funda of the oounty inoluding all 

the constitutional funds to pay such persona who shall teatify under oath conoamlng the aharaoter, quality and quantity 

or suoh property, es well 68 the value thereof under the provialona or Artlole 7212, aupra. It is to be noted in the 

first plaoe th8t the Commissioners* Court has no authority 

aside from that granted to it by the Oonstltution, or Legislature. ~a stated by the .Supreme Court of Texas in the oaae 

of Commiaaloner8~ Court of Idadieon County ~6. :Tallaoe, 15 

s. w. (2) 535: 

v* * * As aaid by the Court of Civil Appeela 

in its opiniont the Commiaalonera* Court is a 

oreature or the %ate Constitution and its powers 

ere limited end oontrolled by the Constitution 

and the laws as paS88d by the Legislature.* 

It %S to be noted that in the oaw 0r Roper vs. 

Hall, 280 3. W. 289, the oontraot about whioh the case was 

oonoerned, oelled ror th6 payment of the rw 0r tax e@neera 

by warrants drawn on the general fund of the oounty. The 
Eonorable J. M. Williams, Peg8 l+ 

Court dose not discuss the question of whether Or not the 

enginsers aould have been paid with warrant8 drawn on aMna 

of the cOnstitutiona fund8 Of the County. 

The outetandlng authority on the propoeition Or 

the purposea f=or whloh the oonstitutional fund8 may ba 8xponded by the C~mmlseioners ' court IS the ease or Carroll 

Y& vfiiih?~~6, 202 !% we sob, %1p81!18 cOWt Or ?8Xa13. In 

this o&38, the 3lprBPl8 COUl't sp8OiriOally held that th8 mOn8y 

oOlleOt8d for the various OoMtitutional funds could not ba 

Spent for any Other purpose then the.purposa ior whioh euoh 

fund was set up by the Oonetitution. 

The OaS8 Of Wyatt YS. MoOill, County Judge, et al, 

ll4 2. K. (2) 860, among other things, holds that the Corn-- 

mirslonere~ Court may Yalidly employ "akilled ezpert~* to 

value ror taxation purpo5ss prop8rty in epeolal lnstanaea, 

Wh8r8 t8OhniOal WJUiplWlt iS r8qUil’8d. 

In Opinion Ij,. O-1612, this d8pOrtm8nt held that 

the County Commlsaionera* Gtiurt had authority to employ tax 

fSfi,nsiA88rS t0 r8p888nt the C0mBiSBiOnBrB' COurt ill arriYiIlg 

at various 011 valuations in Folk County. And that suoh 

oontraot was not analogous to the oontraot ror thr 001180- 

tion for delinquent taxea. 

The case or Maxpart, et al Ys. Harris County, et 

al, 117 S. W. (2) 494, holds that a oontraot Wb8r8by e county 

8mp1OyS skill8d 8m8rtS to dieowar and p1aO8 On rOfls f0r 

taxation property whhioh has tharetoiora aecaped taxation wa8 

a oontraot *in 'oouneotion with oolleotion or delinquent tarsaw 

and wlthln tha statute requiring suoh OOntrsot~ to be apprwed 

by th8 Comptroller Or Pub110 Aueounta and Attorney &n8ral Or 

t&S State of Texas and was raid without suoh approral. Th.%a 

oaae iurther holds that the partioipatioa Of the Comptraller 

was an :ndlepansable requirement ror the validity or the oontract whereby sk$iled experts agreed to eaaroh for, ~u??Y~J, 

identity the owners of, and make an appraieal of all the taxab16 pereonalty in a oounty shOwing the Yalue of suoh prapcrty 

aa of January 1, 1938, and to 0olDplete a land and building 

valuation survey for tha 8ntira 00Unty and ii18 th8 eaaplete 

report of such lend and btildlngs and the Yalusa ior the use 

of tha Board of Equalization end th6 Tax Ass8sBOr and Callee%or. 

It, is further stated in Opinion No. 0-~612, supra, 

*that the Commissionera t Court le unauthorized to pay the 

firm of tax engineare InYolYad to aselat said Court In evaluation or oil properties in the county out 0r any or the verloua 
flonOrabl8 J. W. Williams, Paga 5 

6onatltutlonal funds or said county. There is no authority 

for the paymnt or such money out or sny fund except the 

gfneral fund." 

In view of the roregoing authorities and the roots 

stated ill YOU? letter, W8 r88DWJtiPgly 8llSWeeI the above 8t6t8d 

qucation in the negativs. 

Trueting th6t the toregoing fully emw6re your lnqulry, wa m-8 

Yours very truly 

ATTOFINEYGFBERAL UP TRXS 

(5L&a!d --GiLBY 

Ard8l.l Williams 

Aaeldmnt