OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Mr. Sam T. Holt 

county Attorney 

Carthage, Texas 

Hr. Len E. Almap, Chairmmn 

Contingent Xxpenee committee 

Cartha&3, %SA8 

Gentlemen: 

we am in reoelpt 

II school distrlot~ 

Tax rrm 85$ to 

dletriot held dn 

the court order 

ted herein, we sulsrit 

B the SleOtiOn i11Ogp1 

state eohool fund apportioned to said distriot, 

shall be abrogated to reduoe the tax to 23#.~- Your letter pointe 

out that an election held on the Blat day or July, 1937, the 

'looel malntenanoe tax ror said dIetriOt mm inoreared from W to 

30# thereby eatabliehing a 30# tax rate. It Is apparent that the 

esoond election wa8 held berore the expiration of two yeore after 

the oommon aohool dirtriot voted to levy the 5Og tax on lteelf. 
;. _ . . ._ _ 

Mr. Sam T. Holt, #Z 

Artlole 

r0ii0w8 : 

e794,.Rsrl8ed Clrll Statufe8, 1925, ee8d8 a8 

‘At em time l iter the erpiretlon or two yea rl 8 r ter 

eny oommon rohool dlstriot he8 leriet a 8ohool tax on 

rtnelr twenty property taxpaying qualiried voters, or a 

kjdrlty or suoh votce8 or the dIEtriot, ma7 bar! an blsotion held, upon the proper pstltlon of the sount7 judge, 

to determine whether suoh tex ahall be abrogated. lnore&rred 

or dlml h d Said 1 ti h 11 be held end oonduoted 

a8 othe: L~0ti0n8°i~88~~ ~ikiot. It the election be 

to l bro 

e, 

ate or dlmlnlrrh the 8ohool tax, the ballot8 shall 

have wr tten or printed thereon the wordr: *?or abrogating 

8ohool t8x,* or ‘For dlmlnlrhllrg rahool tax to . . . osnt8; 

and *Mainat abrogating rohool tax,' or 'A&net diminI8hlng 

8ohooltax to . . . oenta.* It the l lsotlon to be detsrmine whothar the tax shall be Inorea8sd, the Mllot8 rhall 

hero nittan or printed thereon the words: *For lnoresee or 

school tax* end *Againat lnoreeere of rohool tax.*- (Undor8oorlng ours) 

fn Beestan ~8. Hays (T.C.A. 1914) 163 8. w. 355, wherein 

an lnjunotlon wss granted to restrain the holding,oi (Ln slOotion to 

reduce a tax rate, dthln two yeers after en election had carried 

to lnoreero the rate rrom eO# to SO#, the oourt.steted: 

*Art1016 2633 (1911) or the 8tatuts, which iuthorltes 

the holding or an sleotion to 1noreeM e rohool tax l iter 

l ny dirtriot has levied l rohool tax on itself, provideerr, 

In substsnoe, that en election to datemlne whetbar 8ohool 

tex whloh has been so levied 8hnll be abrogated oan be held 

onl 

Td 

erter the expiration or two years from the lery or ruoh 

(Undersoorlng our81 

In the oe8e or WCall ~8. Levi8 (T.C.A. 19%) 663 8. 1. 

325, the court had under ooneideretlon Article 9233, Rerised Stetutee, 

1911, which lneorer as materiel here I8 fdentloal with the present 

Artlole 5794, Revised Civil Slmtuter, 1925, The court held: 

*The word8 *ebrogated,' *lnorea8ed,* or *dimlnlehed* 

are all lnolusi~e, and connote every ohenge~or alteration 

whloh oan be mede In the original tex. R7 inoreaee or 

dl.mInutlon the rate only in the firat tax lo changed. 

Ry abrOgCitiOn the firat tax I8 sompletsly done l wsy with. 

ReIther ot these three rewlte might b e l ooompllahed by 

8ubstItutIon or another tax, the sifeot of which would 
r . 

- . . . 

Mr. Sam T. Hoit, ~#S 

be to do ewey wlth the first end l neot l new end ditrerent 

tax In lta steed. If the l ooond election wrought no'ohenge 

in the tax, whloh IO not 8erIou8ly Contended, it wan mot 

or 8upereregetlon--• mere uaelere iormallty which ought 

not to be oountenenoed in the serious efieIr8 or government. 

"It 18 our view thet the oleer Import 0r Artiole 

2833 in that onoe 8 tex in voted in 8 dintriot it-in4 

unnltereble for et leest two Jeers. Therefore, ~nle88 

the ilrat l leotlon were suooe88full~ contested, 4nd held 

not to here oerried, the tex thereln voted mU8t be held 

to be in roroe ror two reera rr0m the date or the rlr8t 

election, end the raoond election, in that event, wall Of 

no arm. If the content &ould re8ult in doolarlng 

the flr8t l loctlon against the tex, then the reoond eleOtlon would be valid. The qUO8tiOU or the validity or the 

rlret election 18 therero'i-e not moot." 

Undir.the r8OtO rteted it in our opinion thet the eleotion 

held on Jane 10, 1939, In the Antlooh Common School DiOtriOt No. 37, 

to ebrogete or diUIinl8h the SO# levy to a Z!5# levy we8 unauthorized 

in law end therfore void since It we8 held before the expiretion 

ot two Jeers miter the sohool di8trIbt hod levied 8 SOhO tex Oi 

sag on itSdie The eleotlon'of June 10, 1939, being void the 

dletriot now has a SO# rate. 

Yours very truly 

CCC:N 

h?PROVED AUG 36, i939 

(Signed) Gerald C. Hem 

ATTORNEY GENERdL OF TEXAS 

AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Approved 

Opinion Committee 

g.v.v~-J; B*