The record-union., 1893-08-08

to the San Pablo and Tulare Railroad
Company which has been eliminated by
the tender and payment by the railroad
company, and hence the San Pablo and
Iulare Railroad Company should be left
out OF tie assessment for that year.
vi.
As TO the taxes for the years 1850 to 1884,
inclusive, for five years, | desire to call
your attention to what l said on that
subject in my special report TO the Cow
ernor under date OF January II, 1893, at
page Is, in which l stated: "Ift agreed
Judgments entered i'll the United States
Circuit Court in the cases transferred
thereto. in reference to these taxes, and
the settlement with Attorney-G eneral
Marshall, are 10 be considered as binding
ana conclusive, it is questionable whether
the state can ever recover any portion of
the above amount of delinquent taxes by
reassessment, for 1t cannot be said that
the assessments were so void that the
Legislature could of right direct or
authorize reassessment for those years" :"
L have seen nothing to change my
opinion since that time, yet, as | have
said before, you have right to make a
reassessment where the invalidity of an
assessment has been declared or exists,
and therefore, if you are of the opinion
and it is your judgment from what you
know. that the assessments for these years
were invalid, then you have right to so
declare, subject to the right OF the rail-
road company to defend against assess
ment on the ground that the invalidity
did not exist. Allow me to say finally
upon this subject as to these taxes of 1880
to 1884, that the railroad company has
paid into the State Treasury certain
sum of money for taxes for each year.
My Judgment is that the voluntary paw
ment so made by the railroad company
was of such a nature and such confess
sion and admission on their part that Won
cannot in any event make reassessment
for these years which would produce a
less amount than the amount they have
paid into the State Treasury upon the
basis of the respective rates for those
years.
In making these assessments under the
Act it is your duty to fix such values as
you in your judgment believe to be lust,
provided, however, that where the rail-
roads have confessed to a greater value.
in such cases you are bound to fix a value
not less than that value, although your
judgment would be that the true value is
OF a less amount.
In reference to these taxes from 1880 to
1881, II you in your judgment do not
know that an invalidity existed, and if
you do not know of any decision of any
court which has declared it invalid, YOU
nave IlSHI W refuse 10 make In6 assess
ment upon that ground. That is to say:
There are only two ways in which you
can make a reassessment.
t1rst-By having knowledge or evil
dence of decision OF a court of compe-
tent jurisdiction declaring the assessment
invalid.
Second = Where you, of your own
knoWledke, know of the existence OF
facts which would of themselves cousti-
tute an invalidity, and in the latter case
your decision of its invalidity would be
subject to the right of the railroad COM
pany to defend on the ground that the in
validity did not exist.
l am exceedingly sorry to have to reach
these conclusions under this Act, for it
seems to me that the Legislature might
have drawn and passed an Act which
would have given to the people of this
State just and reasonable COMPENSATION
for the taxes which they have not
yet received, but the Act was so
drawn and so passed that the people
must Of necessity lose the interest on the
taxes which ought to have been paid.
and 1t seems to have been drawn in such
way as TO prevent either directly or in
directly the people of the State of Cali
fornia and the several counties from re-
covering back interest or an equivalent
upon such taxes, but that is a matter with
which you and have nothing to do. 1t
is my duty to construe the law and yours
to obey it as it exists.
/ am clearly of the opinion that you
must reasSess separately for each wear
that you reassess, making an indie
pendent assessment for each year and
hence you have a right to reassess for
any one year or more, as you in your
judgment believe to be right That Is to
say: If you find that upon examination
OF the subject, for the year 1888 a suffi-
n n ntNaF NNf Of
and as much or more that can be realized
upon what you term a just reassessment.
that you have right to eliminate that
year, Tor the reason that the title of the
Act contemplates that it is only in cases
where such taxes have not been paid and
the inyalidity exists that you are to reas-
sess. 1t is true that [ am giving some
force to the title of the Act hey ond the
Act itself, but | think ] am warranted in
so doing in view Of the fact that this Act
has been passed since the adoption of the
new Constitution, which provides that
the title OF an Act must express the sub
Ject matter of the Act, and by this pro-
vision of the Constitution the title is in
directly made part and parcel Of the Act
itself.
My opinion further is that if you are in
doubt, and have not sufficient evidence
before you at this time to determine
whether or not reaSSeSSment should be
made for any particular year. that YOU
have right to now pass the matter and
make the reassessment next year. if in
the meantime you should ascertain suf-
ticient upon which to warrant you in so
doing. And, ii this is the last day upon
which you can make reassessment for
this year, that it is only your duty to act
upon such years and such cases as YOU
have proof sufficient in your own iudg-
ment to come within the purview of the
Act and this opinion.
VIII.
In the event that you reassess any rail-
road for any year or years it will be your
duty in making the apportionment of the
same to the counties through which the
road runs to apportion the assessment to
the counties as they now exist and
through which the road now passes, ire
spective of what county or portion of a
county the road might have beeu in for
the years for which it is reassessed.
Yours respectfully,
VIM. II. II. HART,
Attorney General.
THE ASSESSMENTS.
AS the result of its deliberations. the
board finally announced the following
assessments. The reassessments for ISsii
and 1857 were passed, the board deciding
that it had not sufficient evidence of the