Honorable Murphy Cole 

County Auditor 

Liberty County 

Liberty, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinion Number o-4780 

Re: Taxation of property detached 

from independent school diatrict and annexed to common 

school district. 

We have received your letter of recent date which we quote, in part, 

as follows: 

"You are advised that the County Board of Trustees met on the 

night of July 11, 1942 and voted to increase the area of Connnon 

School District No. 15 by detaching some 3,000 acres of l,and from 

Hull Independent School District. 

"There is no contention on the part of the Hull Independent 

School District of the right or authority of the County Board to 

take such action; however, the School Board of Hull I.S.D. maintains that the ad valorem tax on the area involved should not be 

assessed from Common School District until January 1, 1943, while' 

the Trustees of C.S.D. #15 have petitioned the County Tax AssessorCollector to assess taxes for the common school district for this 

year, 1942. 

"Will you please advise when the County Tax Assessor-Collector 

should begin assessing and collection of taxes on property annexed 

by the common school district from area in the independent school 

district until July, 1942." 

The question of legality of the action of the County Board of Trustees is not before us, and we express no opinion thereon. For the purposes 

of this opinion we assume the annexation was in all respects proper and that 

the requirements of lax were met. Articles 2742e, 2742f, Vernon's Annotated 

Civil Statutes; School Trustees of Orange County V. District Trustees of 

Prairie View Common School District No. 8, 137 Tex. 125, 153 S. W. (2d) 434. 
Honorable Murphy Cole, page #2 (O-4780) 

It is our opinion that territory validly detached from one school 

district and attached to a second district is properly taxable by the second 

district for the entire year in which such change was effected. 

We assume that the tax in question is the tax for the maintenance 

and support of the school district. We quote the following from the opinion 

of the court in the case of Megargel County Line Independent School District 

et al., Y. Blewett, 278 S. W. 516: 

"An examination of the cases that we have been able to consider has convinced us that, in the absence of limiting provisions 

in the law, territory annexed to an independent school district at 

any time during the year, as provided by law, and thereafter an 

election is held for an entire district authorizing the tax for 

that year and all subsequent years, the school board or the municipal authorities may lawfully vote the tax, make the levy and assessments in accordance with the statute, and that a tax so assessed and levied can be collected for that year." 

The Commission of Appeals in affirming the case made the following 

statement: 

II * * * A fair consideration of the statutes making provision 

for the creation of independent school districts leaves no reasonable ground to conclude that the Legislature intended that no liability for taxes for school purposes in a school district' should 

arise until the year following the creation of the district; nor 

did the Legislature intend that~the rules of law governing taxation for school purposes, of property in newly annexed territory, 

should be different from those which govern the taxation of property in a newly created district. * * * 94 

v * * * A consideration of the above statutory provisions in 

connection with all others pertaining to the subject leads to the 

conclusion that all taxable property situated on January lst, of 

any given year, in a territory which is subsequently, during such 

year, annexed to an independent school district under the provisions of Article 2865 of the Statutes 1911, becomes, by such annexation, subject to the taxing power appertaining to such district, and chargeable with such.taxes for that year as are levied 

under proper authority." Blewitt V. Megargel County Line Independent School District et al., 225 S. W. 271. 

And in the case of Ei Dorado Independent School District et al., 

V. Tisdale, et al., 3 S.:W. (2d) 420, the Commission of Appeals stated the 

following: 

"Naturally, this municipal corporation (absent expressed 

declaration of authority therefor) cannot exert its powers 
Honorable Murphy Cole, page #3 (O-4780) 

extra-territorially, The 1925 statute (prima facie valid at 

least) cut off authority to make asaeesments on property beyond itm.llmlts and, in turn, to enforce the charges thus 

fixed." 

While the cases above cited dealt with territory annexed to an independent school district we are of the opinion that the principles announced 

apply with equal force where property is annexed to common school districts. 

in the first place the same statutes govern both the transfer of territory 

from a common school district to an independent school district and a transfer from an independent to a common school district. Articles 2742e, 2742f, 

Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes. In the second place, the constitutional 

and statutory provisions authorizing the levy and collection of maintenance 

taxes apply bath to common and independent school districts. Article VII, 

Section 3, Constitution of Texas; Articles 2784, 2785, Vernon's Annotated 

Civil Statutea. 

You are, therefore advised that where territory is detached from 

4 independent school district and annexed to a common school district after 

'Januarylst, such territory is subjectto the common school district maintenance tax for the year in which the transfer was effected. 

You do not state whether the enlarged coavnon ,school district has 

voted a maintenance tax. Before such a tax can legally be levied and collected, at least on the annexed territory, the enlarged district must vote 

"such tax in the way and manner provided by law and by the Constitution". 

Pyote Independent School District v. Dyer (Corn. App.), 34 S. W. (2d) 578; 

Bigfoot Independent School.District v, Genard et al., 116 S. W. (2d) 804, 

affirmed; 129 S. W. (2d) 1213; Crabb v. Celeste Independent School District 

(Sup. Ct.), 146 S. W. 528; Hill v, Smithville Independent School District 

(Corn. App.), 25.1 S. W. 209; Article VII, Section 3, Constitution of Texas. 

Very tNly YOU-8 

APPROVED SEP 12, 1942 

ISI Gerald C. Mann 

ATTORNEY GEN!+LOFTEXAS 

ATl!OPiNEY~GENERAL OFTRXAS 

By /B/ George W. Sparks 

George W. Sparks 

Assistant 

' 

APPROVED , 

OPIRION 

COMMITTEE 

BY /s/ BWB 

CHAIRMAN