OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

.- AUSTIN

=zzt=z

3 yur lattt= 0 tbt on hu&ust 29, 1938 J&iOiljl

os.striot

%wt & 0. ;;loIlola,

0032osin ooz?Qosia~ the QortnerjUd@mit aZoinst the o;mty Tro~sur~r,

County olleoter0: 51~13 cstnbliehin~

hllindabted t, to bo paiG out 0r 15;= in 6016 Oounty after ruly 1, ax Assessorand Colleotcr &Ad

bruit bns18, end oonoolled all "ta ro;raluatlon oontraote* ~E;R the County end Fmese *Ad ?:iako2c and Fri:chard

ad

.

### 519 - .

Eon* C&O* !!.

Sheppard,

Pare 2

You also stated that unJ.er the provisions

of Artiole 7336r.Vernonb3AnAotated31~11 Statutea, Rarrls Ocunty osuseda Gellnquent tax reoord to be mace at the oost therein suthorIZ0d this being prior to the enaotment oi the herelnsft,er CWAt i OAOd SOAate Sill RO. 6
Helther of these oblI&atloAs having been dlsoharged, you requested

our opinion in substenor as to whether any part of sun8 shouldba deduotadfrom the sums grantadto the Harris Oounty Flood ControlDletrlot by Senate El11 No. 6, 46th Leglslature,or whether suoh sums shouldbe psid entirelyout of the State'shalf of the ad valorem taxes oolleotedin liar&3 COurhY 9 On June 14, 1940, you renewedyour request for t5is opiniOA. Our delay has b0eA Oooasioned by the pendenoy IA the SupremeCourt or the mandamusease Involving the ooAstItutlonsilty or the Aot. The statute having been held valid we ehall
noa attempt to answeryour questlon.

SeOtiOA'l

of said Senate Bill No. 6 reads in part as io11av;st
1or a periodof ten (10) years, oomaenoingnith September

lat., r0iiorpuig the adoptionot tale Aot there is hereby donatedend granted by the State of Texas to the IIorrls County Flood ControlDlstriotof Xarris County,Texss, 6s oreated by Oha ter 360, House Bill Ko. 1191, Xota of the Regular Seas OA P OS the Forty-fifth

Legislature,

1937, one-half

or all the State ad oaloremtaxes oolleotedIn Harris Count for generalrevenue ourpose apoa t?se ropsrty there from persons,

whioh taxes,when oo h % and eoted shall be used by the said Earrls OountyFlood Oontrol Dlstriot

ror the purpose8or preventing the oontlaued pub110 oolmlty onuaedby greet flooda,aAd to oonstruot lmprovemants

to control flood watero in the said County ror the proteotlon

or life, property,soil, forests, pub110hlghways,

and the Houston Ship ahannel, lying within~the

said Count &en herein and In cIi , and to oarry out the powers apter 360, Aots of the Regular sssslonor the Forty-fifth Legislature,

1937, orsating the said DIetrIot. *At the end of eaoh month, the Assessor and Colleotor

or Taxes of Harris Ccunty shallmake an itemized

report under oath‘to the Oomptroller of Pub110 AOOOuAtsof the State of Texas, ok forms to be rurnlehed

by said Oomptroller, showingthe amount of all State ad raloremtaxea oolleotsd by him for generalrevenue purposes upon propertysnd from persons within the Oounty of Harris;and he shall aooompanyEooe c00. n. ahe9pard. Paco 3

the same with aa itsmixed atntement 8h0wiAUfull d;SQOSal

0r all auoh tares 00iie0t06. The said Assessor

CA6 oollrotor.

of T&XOS shall forwcrdhis reportto the Co!aptroller, and #hellmake s uka reportto tha County Anditor, end he shall pay 

### mer to the CountyTrOeSIWerof Barr18 Oounty, Texas,upon the apprOVc1 by the OountykUdltOC end Cdsalonerag Court of Barr18 County of hla mnthly report,one-halfof all mane a oolleotrd by him as state ad valorem taxes a= ng

f acid mont+, lass auoh amountsas are cllowed by law for asseas+ ing and oolleotlng same.*
From a reading of the judgment, c 00 y of whloh you bcvehandedto US, it ia thoughtthat then llab 

### llty therein P 

### l stebllahed

arose out of part performcnoe oi c oontraot made b 9~rauanoe of Art1010726&i,Vernoa~r Annotated Civil Stctutea, the first two aeotloas or whloh read a8 follows:
'580~ 1, It Is herebydeolaredthe P0Xl0y or the State t0 adjust 66lIuqUeat taxes, 

### oorreot

errors, to elinlnate

oonrllotala aurve oolleot

the delIn@aent, fs of land, and to

oooupct on, franohlae and Ed VcloremTcXe.8,

in order to olecr this State of auoh taxes 

### errors

end oonillots

at the earliest ~date poaal&e cnd to provldaa system for aaaeaaor6, in order to aiimlncte the numerous

error8 that now appearon the tax rolls ecoh raourrlng year. *sso. 3. coot of oolleotlng aaiD uent taxes shallnot exoeed the smount 0r the pena e ty md intereat,

or ca amount equal to auoh'penclty.andlate-rest

of all delinquent

taxes oolleoted. my oounty desiring

to Installa tax or plat. systemend blear. th? ocuntyof errors, oonfllota end unkmwn owners, may do so by payingnot to sxoeed lS$ of the delinquenttaxes oolleoted, whloh payment shall oover the oost of reoordaand InstallIng acme.'
'In the first 91~06,we dlreot attention to the ra0t thatunderthe expressternn of tie Aot the Asaeaaor-Colleotor 1s mqulred to deduot iron the amas delivered to the County treasurer

*auOh amountsas cre allowedby lcw ror aaeessln

It 

### ls~lnalrted

by the
for caaeaslng OAtrolDlatrlotthat only the *oommiaalo~a~

and 0olleOtlng

taxes cre meant to be in0iuded in the hIIt quoted II!k!iOdict8ly CbOY8, Mid that the gZcSLt Of Se&&e Sill MO. 6 shouldaufrerno deduotIon:on cooountor either OSgono cm* z. Shepprrd, Page 4

the Items I(! question. Suob 

## might be true if the Aot oovered
i. only thOS6 tares for the aas6aament an4 oolleotIon

of whloh r;’ no cmounts

were allowed by law other than auoh oomIaslons. gut delinquent

taxes are also Inoludsdin the grant, an4 ad-
.i d;tjoncl

amounts cre acllowed by law* for oolleoting delln-

: quenttaxes.

As we understand

the prlnoiples aMounOed by the Supreme

Court fn Cofmaiaalonera ( Oourt ma Wcllaoe 15 s, W. (&I) 535, and Cherokee Oounty Pa. Odom, 15 S. v. (24) 538, the oODStitntionality or Art1016 7264a, Vernon*8mnotnted 01~11 statutes, could hcrdly be austclned sxoept as co. authorization ?or the use 0r 6 port or unoolleoted taxes for defraying the 6xpenae

0r oolleotIon. We oonatrue Art1010 7264a,es ill es Artiole8

7335 and 73356, Veraon~a Annotated Olvll Statutes, ca being aids for the oolleotlon of tcxea, and the sums therein cuthorIze6

to be emended would be sums allowedby law ror oolleotlng

taxes* Furt!iierZaOr8, that Freeae tc Rlohols, prItohar4 & Abbott he4 parformed

oertainservloes for the State and SarrIa Oountyhad been eatablIahe4 by jud&ment,

final berore the pcasage

of SenateBill no. 6. After the entry or that Judgnent 193 of the 69llnqueM taxes oolleoted by the Tax Oolleotor of Harris Countybelongedto Freese & l?lohola, Prltohcrd

& Abbott,

until the obligation of $87,500.00 shouldbe dlaoharged. It was OOlleot86 for them,not fork generalrevenue purposes of the State. Xhen still unoolleoted auoh 15$ ha4 been used for asfrayIng

oertainexpensesor oolleoting unooll8oted

taxes. Tho grant to the Harris Oounty Flood ControlDlatrlot must bear a proportloncte pa&o? the burden of the Juagmeat In Cause Ho. 250,605.

.

Seotion2 o? Artiole 73361, Vernon~aAnnotated Civil Statutes,

reads aa followet

“sec. 2. Any County hcving as many es two yecra~ taxea’delinquent whloh have not been lnoluaed iA the 4elIn uent tax reoord,the Oolleotor or taxes shallrlth A two pears ?roa the effeotlve

4 date of this Aot, oSua6 to be compiled a delinquent tax reoord of all delinquent taxes not barred by this Aoti the delinquent reoor4 shall be excmIned by the CommIaalonera~ Court and the Comptroller or roverning

body, oorreotlona

may be ordered

mc46, and when found oorreot an4 approved by them, ment ror the oompilatlon thereof shall be taycut orlaed at aotualoost to the Tax Colleotor,proportionately

from eeoh the State and County tcxes,or~unloIpc1 taxes, 

### rim oolleotrd rrall suoh 

### re- - oofi suoh ost in no oaaa to sxoeed a sum equal to iire WP the originaloents por itant or wr1ttsa line of 00 y or suoh reoord and In ~0 rteat shall any oompl Elnr; oost be ohsrged to the taxp a w l The dslirrquant ax moor6 whaa prism faolo erldeaoe of the a proved, 8hal.l b-9 de1 nquenoy P shown thereon,and when there shall be as meny as two years of delinquaaoy asounulated

whlob are a reoonpllatlon, or a

reoords of taxes delinquent due whloh they oollaot from tax rolls other than the State and oountp rolls, and when d!strlot,{ha 008% oi same shall be a proved b the coveming body of the artloular al owed In P the manner herein pro~lded.~ Manifestlythe above artlola was maoted to aid b t,be aolleotion

ot delinquenttaxes , end the ex endlture j,s authoriz6d 1~ One allowedby law ior the thsraoo 1eotIon P of suoh taxes* If the Legislature, in paSUing Senate Dill ]Os. 6 a proportionate

part of the oom&ss~ons eotlng taxes shouldba deduoted from the iiarrls

County Flood ControlDl8trlot 

## lt oouldhave said a8 muoh in plain aad uamI8takeablelanetugs* Instaad,

broader language

was used and errsotmust ba

The mms dellvared the Distrlotmust have against

them a pro rata part or this expense also.
Yours very truly oharged