February 

### 3, 1954 Opini4n.&~3,,affirmed &~s&i&c

Hon. R. H. Dent County Attorney Sabine County Hemphill, Texas OpinionNo. S-121
Re: Reconsideration of Opinion V-93 relative to distrib,ution of national forest receipts among th,eschool Dear Mr. Dent: districts of the county.

You have asked us to reconsiderAttorney General'sOpinion V-93 (1947)which construesArticle 2351b-4,Vernon's Civil Statutes. That article provides:
"WhereasCongress has heretoforepassed a lawwhich provides that thereafter twenty-five per cent,um(25%)of all moneys received during any,fiscalyear from each national forest shall be paid at the end thereof by the Secretary of the Treasury to the State or Territory in which said forest is situated to be expended as the State or TerritorialLegislaturemay prescribe for the benefit of the public schools and the public roads of the county or counties inwhich the national forest Is situated,and whereas the Legislature of the State of Texas has not prescribed any method for prorating said funds, now, therefore,be it enacted that the CommissionersCourts of the counties in Texas inwhich such national forests are sit,uated

are hereby authorized to prorate all such funds rec~eived and to be received from the Federal Government for timber and all other income derived from such lands as follows:"Fiftyper cent (50%)of such money received shall be allocated to the school districts in proportion to the area in said district, and fifty per cent (50$) of same to.-

Hon. R. H. Dent, page 2 (S-121)

the county for the benefit of the public roads in said county. Provided the Commissioners Court may transfer the fifty per cent (50%)received by said Court to the school districts."
It is the obvious intentionof the Congress and the Legislature to provide the funds above described in lieu of the taxes lost to the counties and school districts inwhich tax-exemptFederal Government forest lands are located.

Forestlandsowned by the Federal Government are exempt from the tax levies of the counties and school districts embracing such lands. The funds provided above by the Congress and the Legislakre obviously are intended to recoup the countiesand school districts in part for the taxable values deprived them by the exemption. Att'y Gen. Op.

### V-543 (1948). In the samemanner that the funds are prorated only to the counties inwhich s,uch national forests are situated, so also was it intended to be prorated only to the school districts inwhich s,uch national forests are situated. The fifty'per cent of such money allocated to the~schooldistrictq should be prorated to each district in the proportion that the forest area in the districtbears to the total forest area within the county. Consequently,a school districtwhich has no national forest landwithin its boundaries is not entitled to participate in the funds appropriatedby Congress for payment to school districts losing tax money on exempt land. Since Attorney General'sOpinionV-93 (1947) is in conflictwith the holdingherein, it is expressly overr,uled.

SUMMARY

National forest receipts received by ,a county sunder

Article 2351b-4,V.C.S., for p,ublic

schoolpurposes, shouldbe prorated and transferred to the school districts within the co.unty in proportion to 'theI

,:’ Hon. R. H. Dent, page 

### 3 (S-121)

national forest area in each district in relation to the total national forest area within the county. Attorney General's OpinionV-93 

### (1947)is overruled.
Yours very truly,
APPROVED:
J. C. Davis, Jr. County Affairs Division
W. V. Geppert Reviewer
Robert S. Trotti First Assistant JORNBEN SREPPERD Attorney General

BY Billy E. Lee

Assistant

JohnBen Shepperd Attorney General
BEL:am