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

Hon. R. H. Dent 

County Attorney 

Sabine County 

Hemphill, Texas 

Opinion No. S-121 

Re: Reconsideration of Opinion 

V-93 relative to distrib,ution of national forest 

receipts among th,e school 

Dear Mr. Dent: districts of the county. 

You have asked us to reconsider Attorney 

General's Opinion V-93 (1947) which construes Article 

2351b-4, Vernon's Civil Statutes. That article provides: 

"Whereas Congress has heretofore passed a 

law which provides that thereafter twenty-five 

per cent,um (25%) of all moneys received during 

any,fiscal year 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 Territorial Legislature may 

prescribe for the benefit of the public schools 

and the public roads of the county or counties 

in which 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 Commissioners Courts of the counties 

in Texas in which 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: 

"Fifty per 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 intention of the Congress 

and the Legislature to provide the funds above described 

in lieu of the taxes lost to the counties and school districts in which tax-exempt Federal Government forest 

lands are located. 

Forest lands owned 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 counties and school districts in part for 

the taxable values deprived them by the exemption. Att'y 

Gen. Op. V-543 (1948). In the same manner that the funds 

are prorated only to the counties in which s,uch national 

forests are situated, so also was it intended to be prorated only to the school districts in which s,uch national 

forests are situated. The fifty'per cent of such money 

allocated to the~school districtq should be prorated to 

each district in the proportion that the forest area in 

the district bears to the total forest area within the 

county. Consequently, a school district which has no 

national forest land within its boundaries is not entitled 

to participate in the funds appropriated by Congress for 

payment to school districts losing tax money on exempt 

land. Since Attorney General's Opinion V-93 (1947) is 

in conflict with the holding herein, it is expressly 

overr,uled. 

SUMMARY 

National forest receipts received by ,a 

county sunder Article 2351b-4, V.C.S., for 

p,ublic school purposes, should be prorated 

and transferred to the school districts 

within the co.unty in proportion to 'the 
I 

,:’ 

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 Opinion V-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 

John Ben Shepperd 

Attorney General 

BEL:am