### TEE ATroRNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS

~~Hon. :;'ayne Lefevre CountyAuditor 

### clay County Henrietta,Texas

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-1960

Re: Fees of inspector of hides and animals in cou~ntiessubjectto the laws regulating the inspection of hides and animals, Articles 6972 through 7008, Vernon'sAnnotated Civil Statutes, as emended.

Amount forwhich propertyunder a tax judgmentmay be sold anti determination of the value of the property, Sections 7, 8 and 9. Article 73b.5b,

kuthority of County Commissioners'Court to deduct interestand penalties accrued on delinquenttaxesmistakenly covered in certificate of tax-assessor-collector.

We are in receipt of your request fbr ai.opinion upon the following three questions:

"1. If and when a County is under the lays governing the inspectionof hides and animals,.
are the feeswhich are allowed~the inspector under Art. 7OOS Vernons Texas Statutes 1936 tom be paid from the General fund of the County or to be paid by the person or persons owning the animals or hides where are inspected?

"2. Kay propertywhich is being sold for property tax (StateCounty School, etc.,) be sold for an amount less than the amount of the dclincuent taxes, penalties, interest, and costs accrued against the pro?arty? Or msy it be sold for what is consideredas being the actualHon.Y!ayneLefevre, Page 2

value of the property at the tize of the sale? (Zhat.governi::g body, if any, would have authority to set the actual value of such property at the time of sale?)

“3. If a propertyomer applies to then Tax-Assessor-Collectorof a County for information concerningthe payment of taxes on a specificpiece of property, and the Tax-AssessorCollectorissues a certified statement that there are no delinquenttaxes against that property; then some five years later a delinquent taxing agency finds that there are delinquent taxes against this property for one or more years, which were covered by the certificate issuedby the Tax-Assessor-Collector, would the County CommissionersCourt have the authority to deduct the interest and penalties accrued on the delinquenttaxes? (;;hich had accrued during the period of time)lI
Artidle 7OOg,Vernon'sAnnotated Civil Statutes, relating to fees of an inspector of hides and animals, provides in Section 1, as follows:

"Each inspectorof hides and animals, or deputy inspector,provided for in this chapter shall be entitled to receive ten cents for each hide or animal personally inspected by him, but ifmore than fifty hides or animals
are inspected in the same lot, then ten cents each for the first fifty, and three cents each for all above that number, provided that the commissioners court of any county not exempted from the provisionsof this chapter may, upon hearing showingthe necessity therefor after due notice of the time and place of such hearing having been published once each week for three consecutiveweeks in a newspaper of general circulationin such county, by order enteredupon the minutes of such commissioners court, authorize said inspector,
or deputy inspectors,of said county to charge not to exceed twenty-five cents for each hide
or animal inspected csce;Z in cases whereHon. Wayne Lefevre,Page 3

more than fifty hides or animals are inspected in the same lot, in :ihichevent no more than twenty-fivecents each fcr the first fifty hides or animals inspected and not to exceed ten cents-

each for allhities or animals above that number shallbe authorizcd.lt
Article 6985, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, governsthe certificatesof inspection issued by the 'Inspector. It reads:

Wnenever an inspector shallhave inspected any ,animalor animals, as hereinprovided, he shall, on the presentation of a written bill of sale or power of attorney from the owner or ownersof such animal,or animals, or his or their agent duly authorized in writing, duly sinned and acknowledged,and on nayment.to said Fnsnect- -- 'orof his legalmL -- deliver to the nu~rchaser -- z the ani!zjais

mentioned in suzibxl of sale or no:rer

of attorney, or his agent, a certificate setting forth that he has carefully examined and inspected such animal or animals, and that saidpurchaserhas in all respects complied with the law,which certificate shall not be complete until the same and the bill of sale herein provided for shallhe recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county, and &dc;;;.fied to by said clerk,underhis hand

Such certificate snail be then delivered to the purchaser and shall protecthim from the payment of inspectionfees in any other district .forthe animals therein described, except from the county from which the,same may be exported;provided that any person driving cattle inhis ownmark and brand shall be entitled to the certificate of inspection provided for herein, on payment of fees to the inspector,and on presentationto the inspector of the certificateof the county clerk of the countywhere such‘mark and brand is recorded, to the effect that the mark and brand named therein is duly recorded in his office ES the mark and brand of the person so driving such cattleOTf(Underscoringours),Hon. YJayne Lefevre, Page 4

Itwill be noted that said article provides that tlon

payment to said inspector of his legal fees", he shall present a certificate of inspectionkere the
owner or owners of the animals inspected are otherwise entitled.to it.

This article is authority for the proposition that inspection fees are payable to the inspector by the owner or ovmers of the animals or hides inspected. See also Article 6972, 6973, 6977, 6963, 69BG, 69%~, 6992, 6993, 6994, 7001, 7OC3, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes.

In answer to your first question, it is our opinion that in those counties subject to the law regulatingthe inspectionof hides and animals, as prcvided inArticles 6972 throllgh7005, as amended, the foes of
an inspectorare payable directly to the inspectcrby the ower or owners of the animals or hides which are inspected.

Your second question is ans:-wed in Opinion j!o. O-1501 of this Department,written by Hon. Billy Coldberg to Hon. C. '+i. Talbot, County Attorney, Eastrop, Texas, copy of vihichis enclosed.

Discussing Sections 7,.6 and 9 of Article 7345b, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, the opinionholds:

w * X because of Section 8 of Article 7345b of Vernon's Civil Statutes, a sheriff may not sell propertyto~anyoneexcept one of

_ the taxing'unitsin the suit, unless said sale is for an amount equal to the adjudged value of the property or the aggregate ainountof the judgmentagainst the property in the suit, whichever is lovrer.ll

As is pointed out in said opinion, the term "adjudgedvalue" is defined in Section 5 of Article 731+5b,
sunra. Under this section the court finds "reasonable fair val;eff

or "adjudgedval.ue". the court, Beyond this ~o~cr of

we are not aware of the authority or any ocher 'judicialor administrz.tivo official or agency to deterkine the value of the property involved in the f'oreclosureHOll. Zayne Lefevre, Page 5

proceeding.

In connectionwith your third questions,we call attentionto Article 7256a, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes,whichreads as follows:

"Sec. 1. On and after October lst, 14'29, the Tax Collectoror his deputy of any county in this State containing 210,000 population
or core according to the last preceding federal census, or any city or political sub-division
or tax assessing district within any such countyshall, upon request, issue a certificate shotring

the amount of taxes, interest,penalty and costs due, if any, on the property described in said certificate. Xhen any certificate
so issued shows all taxes, interest,penalty and costs on t!le

property therein describedto be paid in full to and including the year therein stated, the said certificate shall be conclusive evidence of the full payment of all taxes, interest,penalty and costs due on the property described in said certificate for all years to and includingthe year stated therein. Said certificate showing all taxes paid shall be admissible in evidence on the trial of any case involving taxes for any year or years covered by such certificate, and the introduction of the same shall be conclusiveproof of the payment in full of all taxes, interest, penalty and costs covered by the same.

Vet. 2. If any such certificate is issued
or securedthrough fraud or collusion,the same shallbe void and of no force and effect,and any such Tax Collector or his deputy shall be liable upon his official bond for any loss resulting to any such County or city or political subdivisionor tax assessing district of the State of Texas, through the fraudulent or collusive or negligent issuance of any such certificate."
The Supreme Court of Texas, in the Case Of CITY 03 S;,ij hr,'c;&O

V, il3L'fS;CFi,

(1936), 91 S. il.(2d) 308, theclosestauthority in poirlt

find,hr,r

the follol:ing

to 72jSa, supra: ?;hichwe have sa-y ,inregard b?cll able to

to .;rticle

.'!In this state there is nonstatute applicable.toplaintiff in error which undertakes to 'makeentries in the tax records or tax receipts
or certificateseffectiveto estop the city from collecting its unpaid taxes. It is unnecessary to express opinion as to the construction or validity of chapter 77, Acts Second CalledSession, Forty-firstLegislature, (1929) p. 153 (Artic~le'7%jSa, Vernon's Ann. Civ. St.) which provides that certificates showing payment of all taxes shall be conclusive evidenceof suchpayment, as that statuteaoplies only to counties containing a population of 210,000 and to cities and political subdivisionsand districts in such counties.1'

The questicnthe Supreme Court had before it and upon which it reversedthe Court of CivilAppeals at Austin (73 S. :'I. (26) 125) is as follows:
I(* * * 'Whetherthe city is estopped to assert a lien for unpaid taxes, to the injury
of an innocentmortgageewho lendsmoney on .suchproperty as security,on the faith of, and in relianceupon, its assessment rolls showingthat such taxes have been paid."'

In an exhaustive opinion the Supreme Court rejects the theory of estoppel in ,pais,as set forth in 'the-caseof STATE v0 DAVIDSON, 280 S. W. 29Z;and'holds
as follows:

fiSince the action of the tax collector in causing the tax records to show that the taxes were paid when in fact they were not paid was unauthorized, and since the tax coliector in collecting taxes and in keeping the records essential to their collectionT%asc:zercisi:is for the city poi:ers essentially public and goverznental, it follows that the city is not estoppedby the acts of the tax collector from

...Hon.

case YJayne

Lefevre, Page 7

asserting its lien for the taxes, unless exccption is made to thewell-settled rule that cities are not liable for the unauthorizedor negligent acts of thair officials in the performance of the city's governmental functions."

>Je believe the City of SanAngelo v. Doutsch is authority to the effect that there is no estoppe.~against the collection of the delinquent taxes .mistakenly covered by the tax certificate in the present situation. It is not necessary.topoint out that Art, Z5Sa,Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes,has no application in this situation, since it applies only to counties containingthe po:pulation of 210,000.andto cities and political subdivisionsand districts in such counties, Ue are not passing upon the construction
or validity .ofthis statute.

The County Cocnissioners'Court is a.court of limitedpowers, and it has no authoritywhich has not been conferredby the Constitution or by statutes0 These is no constitutionalor statutoryauthority conferred upon the,County Com?issioners'Courtby w'nichitmay release accrued interest and penalties for delinquent taxes. In a situation %here the delinquent taxes are still due, the County Comnissioners'Court has no Po?rer to deduct interest and penaltieswhich have accruea.

In answer to your third question, it is our opinionthat where a tax-assessor-collectorof a county erroneously issues a certified statementthat there are no delinquenttaxes against certain property, the County Commissioners'Court upon the discovery of the error does not have the authority to deduct the interest and penaltiesaccrued on the delinquenttaxes which were mistakenly covered in the certificateand which are still due. Trusting thatwe have fully answered the questions submitted to us, we are Yours very truly

DS:ob BY

API'ROV6D

Z'ZB27, 1940 /s/ Dick stout Dj.cksto11t rissiszant