._ 

481 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Elonorablr 0. &rtt Potter 

County Attorney 

San Patrloio 0ou.W 

Slntoa, Taxer 

Doer Slrl 

Wo aro in room 

1940, in rhloh 

to whOth6r or 

thlr depsrtnwiai 

a1tr of corpus Chrlrfl 

rbrrrrolr ~urposrr ir 

8hall ba aqua1 an6 

Oi 8ubjOOt8 rlthla tho 

7l4 the tar 

law, rr4mp t 

but the 

from 

J we4 Sor pub110 putOf ktiOl0 11 Of tb ~OlWtitUt;Oll Oi FOX88 

robarty of OOUnti@I, aitiO8 an6 tomu, 

14 oall for pub114 purpose8, ruoh a8 

$hO bUi:diIwr rod the 8it.8 tber*tC'S~ sir0 @D&38 

an4 th8 furnihrb theraoi, an6 all gropr?t7 uad, or 

1 nta ntiWor l l %tln&al8hinu firrr, $ublio grounU8 and 

all othr property d8tOtd 8xo1urirr1~ to the 010 

and bmrilt Of 8hr FUbliO rhall b@ l xampt *Or fOrO4d 

rrlr and froa fixation, proridrd, nothln 

protent ah8 enforo4!BWlt of tbr v4ndOr8 1 P 8n, 

hsrbla ohs11 

th0 

uoh8niO8 Or bullb4t8 lien, Or other 110138 DOW 

l Jl8Slllg.~ 
! 

I ! . 

Honorable 0. Burtt itttar, k--g4 & 

Artlola 7180 of the R4rls4Q v “1 vi1 

rradr in part a8 fO11OW8l 

$tatut44 of Texer, 

*The followln~ property rhsll bo exempt 

rr0m tax4tlon, to-rltr 

a440 

'4. Pub110 property - rll property, whether 

real or ?erron41, belon(rln(( l xolurir41~ to thi8 State, 

or my po+l$tfiel rubdltirlon thereof, or the United 

Stat48, 

Th4 Esrtlend Court Of Civil Appal8 1n the 0~4 or 

City of ~4bllenr vs. State 113 5. ii. (ti) 631, nit OS error 

di8Pi844d by th0 3Upr4ZI4 Court, Oonatruad t& above quoted 

portion8 0r the Oonrt1tutlon of feras and krtlcle 7160 ln oonmotion r1th tbe exsfiptlon oi Property purohassd by tho City 

oi Abllenr far 

ldantfoal with 

by tho City OS 

(I8 rOiiWd8 I 

the puipoaar of-a keaerrolr, whloh i)urpos4 ii 

the on4 for sbiob tb8 property la belw used 

bOT&Ml8 S3riatl in yollr naae. The oourt rtstod 

w+ ” l There oonsldsratlonr le?d.ys to _ 

. the oonolu8lon that 88 to tn4 poa~3r Or ta4 Iaglslaturo, to l xeapt pub110 property from tsxatlon, 

all ruoh property rhould be regarded a8 ‘used Sor 

pub110 mOS48' n&n it 18 Owned azid held for 

publis purp0S4S, but not ownad or held orolualr4l~ 

ror 8uoh purp0serl 4nd fhgr$ haS keen a0 obsndonnent of ruoh &mfOO8Wv 

“* l l It 18, tbrrorore, our view tbct 

when thr SeObB of l @ire13 0460 rstebllrh the 

onrrerShlp cl property by 4 munlolpal corporation, 

rhloh ha8 t44B ropu1r.d for l 0 ruthorlzed pub110 

purpose, and tkb purpose ior wh1oh it 18 wened 

-“end held ha8 not b44n rber,doneb, ruch property 

18 to b4 rrgardrd 48 us4d for pub110 purposoa, 

and the Ia.gl~n)aturo hSr the pO%er to proridr tp, 4" 

wnerrl law for It8 sxemptlon from t6xhtlon. 

The pro;osltion that beforr pro;ertr 1r tax 0X42&t 

it ha8 to be botb osmd and held for pub114 p~cpoeer wa8 announoad by t%! tiupreme Court of Tessa in Sn oplnlon w'rlttrn 

by Justlor Gainer in the oaie Or Morris t8. tin4 Star Chaptor 

No. 31x, s 3. w. s19. The Court rtatrd a8 fQllOw8l 
Honorable C. Furtt rotter, pare 3 

.Thle poaltion ia also l uatelned by the 

l nslo(ly of thr aeotlon, whloh oxeagta the pro;rrty 

or aountlr~, oitlsr, 8nd town,. Tbr exeaptlon lr 

llmitod to thrir property owned an6 told only for 

pub1 lo purpooar , 

thereicr.’ 

euoh ee pub110 bulldlncr a nd l lter 

The aam proporitlon or law wa8 announoed by the 

Ecau..nt Court or Clrll ~ppeala in the oaae or ;an Antonio Ind4pender.t 5oho01 Xstrict va. 

120 2. ‘i;, (cd) 681. 

:;rter k’crke Eoerd of Trustee@, 

The Court etated a8 follows: 

a * l * The deoislon of thla oaoe turne 

upon t>e a018 ;uastlon of whether or not the Xater 

Xorks Lyzten, w!?loh supplier the L‘lty or z:an aatonio lr ‘0%ned and held’ by tha Zlty of San antonlo 

80 88 to oom vilthln the protlslons 0r the -tste 

Constitution mhioh exaapts ruoh property from 

tsxct~on. * + +* 

In th1.a otisa we have both ths o\imr of the property, 

e private indlvl~iusl, sn;l a lessee, n-k1oh 1s t>e City of Corpus 

Chrlsti. Thererore we 0311 your ettectloa to Artlole 7171 0r 

the Revlaad Xrll jtstuter oi Tcr~s, RhlOh reudr as iollOzce: 

“All real property subject to taxation 

rhell be aaaeased to the omera thereof In the 

mmer herein provided but no assesment of real 

property ahall be oom i awed Illegal by realon 

or the an.1 aot being llatod or l rse88ed la the 

neze of the owner or owrrme thereor.” 

The ap llcable ru?a of lar we8 laid dam by the 

3qre.m Zourt 0r Tares in an opinion n’rittaa by Chief JI;:tlce 

tayt:n iti the o~.se of 1)EuFherty vs. ?hcmFscn, 71 Ter. l9fi, 

zhs Ccjurt st-.tsa at3 r0ii04~ 

“The ue:-ersl rule la thtt ttmanar of ma1 

l at.tte leesed is trx*blr upon t&a ectlre valur Or 

the property a::2 ttir aetlstle4 the oon~tit*~tlcnal 

reguirr;ent that ‘611 property in this atate, whethtr orntd by n?ltursl fsrrone or cor~or%tloaS, otb.ar 

than munlolpal, ahsll be taxed in proportion to lta 

vtlue*” 
- 484 

Honorable 0. Burta Potter, pegr 4 

3~ answering year qwstlon la this 

sonsldor the tax as belag asseresd against ths 

bslng a llablllty oa~hls part daspltr the Saot 

OOS*, m aurt 

omar and as 

that uodor the 

_ ._. leans oontraot ths City of Qorpos Ohrletl has oontraotea m 

1 

ay all taxes that mar baoonw due. V!o 60 not belier. then 

8 any quastloa but that if thls gropart~ was owned by ths 

Oltf oi Corpus Ohrlsti the saaa woul6 met the ssnstltutional. 

nqulremsats of property being onaed and bald only ior publie 

ggg-,‘Y,t*‘p’gP;’ achy& ,“,:; “,$-g~~~,““,~,o,,’ 

suprai and San &toalo*I.*S. D. ~8~ llatar Korks Board oi Trusties, 

%%*br 

However, under the iaots you l ub mlt the propertyb not 

the Oitr of Corpus ChrIsti but 1s owaed by an lndlrldual 

who has privately leased ths saras to suoh oity. Xe do not 

ballerr that the oonetltutIonal and stetutor~ exemption as quoted 

above and as interpreted by ths oases above olted would apply 

in your oaaea To thIn.k ths dlsoneaion la the oass of Cltr of 

Dallas tar Ooohraa, 166 3. ‘U. 32, IS l pplloablo In this sase. 

In that oaso a private lndltldual had laaaed property to a 

ohuroh and he tbarsfora ooatendad that ths property was tax exempt 

under the authority o? Seotloa t of ATtlols 8 of the Oonstltutlon 

or Texas. The Court atatad as follows1 

Vha Saot thet tha le8aee used tbr pramlees 

under a rantal oontraot for ohuroh purpoeos would 

be opposed by the faot wet tte owner, 01aImIng the 

exe=ptlon, was hkueali putting his property to ths 

UIS 0r private galxba 

A llka sltuetlon was dlsoussed by ths Supreme Court 

or Texas In the oase 31 Rsd vs. MOrrlS, 10 3. 1. 881, by Juetloe 

Cainas. In dlaouasine the proposltloa that the property would 

hare to be owned by the sob001 in order to bs tax l xampt the 

Court stated as followsr 

“iie think, that pursuant to the same policy, 

tba Laglslature, meant, by tha l mployzaant of tha term 

of tha OonetltutIoa, to prerrnt the owners of proport 

iron taklag adrantaga oi the l xemptloa, when thry 

leased the proparty1, others tar profit, to ba used 

by the latter ror the maIateaanoe 0r eohools.W 

The Attorney Ganeralta Departnsnt In an opinion 

written by Assistant Attornay Oaneral Joa f. Alsup, to Bonoreble 

Oherlas 2. Raagan, Dletrlot Attornsy, ?a118 County dated 

Tebruery 1, 1935, held that a bullding that was pr I tataly 
. 

. 

. * 

Bonombls C. Burtt Potter, page 8 

owned but used for oharltabls purposes was not exempt from 

taxation. The Attorney Oaneral~s Departaant in aa oplaloa 

wrlttaa by Anthony Msnlaouloo, to Charles Br Thompson, “Xlaburg, Texas, dated yabrusry Zl, 1936, held that e bulidla~ 

that was privately owned but the ufe was donated to th 

Federal Emargenay Relief MmInlstratlon was not exempt from 

taurtloa. Thls Deportmnt In Opinion 0-1bU held that where 

a lot and bulldlng which was privately owned was leasod to 

the Tiorks Progress Adxln:etration the rams was not exempt 

from taxatloa. This Departmnt also ruled in Opinion lo. 

O-93b that bulldings leased by the Austin 3ohool of Buslaess 

and IUIron-Clay Cormarolel Oollege were not uenipt from taxation beoause the same wers not owned by said sohools but 

ware leased by then from grlrate ladlvlauals. 

Zt Is the opinion of this dopmtzant that under 

the re0t8 sub?iItted, the property laasad by the City 0r Corpus 

Christ1 ror reservoir pur>osea la not caxonpt iron ad valoran 

taxes. 

Yor;re very truly