# TEEAA~TORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS AUS’FIN ai.TExas

February 4, 1957

Hon. Carlton Moore, Sr. Opinion No. WW-16 House ofRepresentatives Capitol Station Re: Authority of Legislature toreAustin, Texas quire a rendition of real property as a prerequisite Dear Mr. Moore: tovoting inbond elections.

Your letter requesting our opinion relative to the captioned matter reads, inpart, a& follows:

“As Chairman of the Committee on Privtleges, Suffrage, and Elections, Ihave before me a Bill regarding rendition of property for the purpose of voting inbond elections. Iwould like toknow lfwe can make the law read ‘real property’

. Inother words, we feel that a person owning awatch or an automobile should not have the right to straddle millions of dollars of bonds on real property owners’ backs as, after all, they are the ones who have t6 pay the taxes.” Section 3s ofArticle VI of the Texas Constitution reads as:. follows: “When an election is held by any county, or any number of counties, or any political sub-division of the Sta,te, or any political sub-division of a county, or any defined district now or hereafter tobe described and defined within the State andwhich may or may not include towns, villages or municipal corporations, or any city, town or village, for the purpose of issuing bonds or otherwise lending credit, or expending money or assuming any debt, only qualified electors who own taxable property in the .- State, county, political subdivision, district, city, town or village where such election is held, and who have duly rendered the same for taxation, shall be qualified tovote and all electors shall vote inthe election precinct of their residence.” You will note that the above quoted constitutional provision states “

. . . who own taxable property inthe State, county, political sub-division, district, city, town or village where such election is held, and who have duly rendered the same for taxation, shall beHon. Carlton Moore, SE, page **2 (WW-16)** 

qualified tovote.
. .” (Emphasis added.)

**Our courts**  have held that the phrase “kixable property” as used inSection 3a ofArticle VI ofthe Constitution includes personal as well as real property. Lucchese v. MaueFman, 195 S.$‘.Zd 4.22 (1947, writ. ref. n.r.e.); Border v. Abell, 111 **S.W.2a** I186’ (1937).

The Attorney General in 1934 inan opinion recorded in Volume 353, page 536 written by Pat Dougherty, held Article 2955-b, V.C.S. (since repealed), which attempted to confine the legal qualificatltins of avoter at bond elections to owner~ship and rendition of real property, tobe unconstitutional.

The **Court** inPublic Utilities Corporatidn v. Holland, 123 S.W.2d 1028 (1938 writ dism.) in construing Article VI, Section 3s. Texas Cdnstitution, held that‘all persons WLO had paid their ~$011 tax andwho owned taxable property, either real or personal-,. we.re qualified tovote iftheir property was rendered for taxation.. The **Court** discussed said repealed Article 

### 2955bwl+lch

### attempted to restrict the right to vote inbond elections to those who Ownedand rendered real property.

The Attorney General in later 

### opikons O-6175 (1944) and O-1178 (1939) held said repealed Article 2955b, V.C.S., tobe unconstitutional as contravening Section 3a ofArticle VI of **the Constitution.** 

It is therefore our opinion that anAct of the Legislature which provides that persons voting inbond elections must own and render real property for taxation would conflict with Section 3a of Article VI of the Texas Constitution and be, for that reason, unconstitutional. 

### SUMMARY

An Act of the Legislature which provides that persons voting inbond elections must own and render real property for taxation would conflict with Section 3a ofArticle VI of the Texas Constitution andbe, for that reason, **unconstitu** tional. **Yours very**  **truly,** APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE H. Grady Chandler, Chairman WILL WILSON Attorney General ofTexas

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