**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS**

**AUSTIN**

Honorable Joe C. Gladney Criminal District Attorney Rusk County Hendrrson, I'exas

Dear Sir:

OS thia'apecial tax.

The following qnesti~ons neeessarilf ariee: (1) After the Bederal cemms is a&pleted and the figures are ~a

## learred, ana ass~ng tlhilat the populatfen of RraakcountyEon. ;oe C. Clndney, .2ril 20, 1030, ?age i:

wiii tc beW;tec :'il'Sy thousend acd sixty-f,lra thousand, xiii kale County bc:crenpt from the acti (2) if the first (;mstlozi

is answered lu 'theafrirmtive, cm the 1940 t&Xe.P, urhich wili br-tissessaa

before the census is taken, be coliooted;"

Article 2744e, i)ernon's ¬ated Civil Xetutes, Ineofar hs pertinent to your c;ue?tions, provides in Section 1 thereof as follo!%s:

"Sea. 1. All counties In this State havlnf! a population of not mo:;et,ianthirty-two thousand five Hundred (31?,500)

nor lese then twenty thousand (20,000), eooordiagto the lest praoedihg Federal Cenmw, and oontelning

a valuationof Seventy-Slva Yllllon Dollar8 ($76,~00,000)

or mom, are hereby orwted into oountywide equallzatIon

eohool diatriotr,end.seoh suoh oounty shall have the oounty unit aystam or oduoetlonto the axtant.apeoiflad

In this Aot and may erarelretha taxing power oonrerredon eohool 618trIot8 by Artlalo 0, 6oation S of the Cohatltutlon 

### to the extent hanlnef ’ter provldedbut auoh taxIn& pow& ahall not **be** ~&~olw4 uutll and uhleas ,authorIzed by a madorlty of the quaI.- .Irled property taxpayingvoters ralrIdIh& therelaat ah elaotloato be held.ior that purpoea a8 hareinaitsr provIde4.W

Ineuauohea the applIoabIlIty OS &tIoti.2'1448, **+brIIOIl ’** **a** imuotatedCivil Statutea, 16 not llmltad to oountlds~har~ a populationof not more than S2!,500, nor lam than 20,000, aooordlng to any apaolfloor desIgnate IXaoenhlal Bcdderal

Cbnmm, but WaooordIngto the lent pmoadl~ Federal Uanneua~ it 10 oUr opinion that Rusk CountyWill be taken out or tha opore0IrbefreOt of thl8 hrtidle In the event your aaatmptIon8rhould bs v$ndloatad by the orriolelFederal Cenaua ror 1940, end it should appear therefrom that Rusk Countywill have a popuXatIon of gram M),OOO to 45,000 inhabitants.

But the removal of Rusk County from tne aoope or Artlole 2744c,Vernon'sAnnotatedCivil Stetutas,will not ooour until the populationof Rusk County for the year 1940 has baan offiolally d&&reined, ascertained and publiehedby the Bureau of the Censu8, in eccordenoe

with the provisions and requirementsof Title 13
u. s. C. A. sectiqn l-112, end:.emendments thereto, Insofar es euoh congressional sots are psrtln&nt to the taking end publication **OS**?;on. **JCP** L,.

Clr:dney,

i.or2i29, 1939, ?age 3

the Cece.2.ioi~

::e-lr;us of 1SCC. .Lhe



## rect that i!usk

County now tccrsts 53 pcpulatior?

in excess.

of the statutory brackets fixed by ,.rtic1c

274&J, Yernonts ihnnotated Civil :'tatutes,

does not render ,.ucii statute ixmedietely inoperative, nor will the official determination e3d ,promulgation of thi.sfact by the Bureau of'the Census relate beck so as to render the stetute inoperative as of the date of the teking of the census+ 14 c. J. iackaxanna County, 50 ktl. 162. yecundum p. 103; Lewis v.

it is generally keld that in the absence of a statute providing when the census **Shall** go into legal effect, it beoomes official and effective as of the date of the publloation, by a bulletin, oertitioatasto. or the Dlreotor or the‘Censu6. 14 C. J. .~eoundua

p. 103, Holoo6bV. Spikes, 252 5. W. 891. It la then but not until then that the oourtawill judlolally notlob the populationof a given county so a6 to pernit ohahgaa In ol.saalticatlonabased thereon. Smith v. Petteraan, 24B S. u. V49.

ApplpIng thla datannInetIv4~4ets to your asoond quaatloa mgsrdlng the oollaotabIlity of the'taaba In quaatlohfor the year 12940,

it la the opinion of thla Dapartaantthat your oorroluaion is again oorreot,and that aal4 oounty-wldaaquallaatlon taxes levied by Article 2V;Us, Veraon*sAnnotated Civil Statutea, may lawrullybe oolleoted. 'We Art1016 apeoitioally~pravl4ea that the taxes thereby laviad-shall be oolleotedby the aaae OfrlOor6 and under the same laws es oounty~advaloramtaxaa. The tax levied by Artiole 27448, Vernon*8AhnotatedCivil,Statutea, havlw bean duly easeaaedprior to any posalbla erreotlvedata ot the 1940 Federal Cenaua,will, **under** governing statute8 ahd the ~pl6I.n prlnolpl~ or.taxatIon,

be subjeot to oollaotlan.

Yours very truly

OF.!CEXAS

BY

**A66i6t6lIt**

APPROVITD