Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-07-16
PUBLICATION IN
SPANISH PAPERS
NOT NECESSARY
Advertising Of Delinquent Tax
Sales in English Is Stuff
cient, Opinion of Attorney
Generals Office,

Santa Fe, July l5.--A question of
much importance to taxpayers in
Spanish American counties, as we'll
as to newspapers, was passed upon by
Attorney General Frank W. Clancy
today. w. c. Burnett of Santa Rosa,
asked him whether delinquent tax
sales must be published in Spanish
and the attorney general ruled that
this was not necessary. Considering
the fact that the treasurer of santa
Fe county today sold to the county
hundreds of pieces of property for
delinquent taxes there being no 9TH
er business, the matter is of import
ance for 1t may affect the validity Of
tax titles should the county sell the
property later.
The Opinion.
The opinion is as follows:
| have Just received your letter Of
the 18th inst, in which you ask. in
substance. whether the notices as to
sale of property for DELINQUENT taxes,
for which provision is made by Sec
tons "a and SO of Chapter "a of the
Laws of 1913, must not be published
in Spanish as well as in English In
counties where there are papers pub
lished in both languages in pursu-
ance Of the requirement to that effect
in Chapter 20 of the Laws of 1903.
Attention should first be called to
the fact that Chapter 70 OF the Laws
Of 1903 was specifically repealed by
Section IL of Chapter ~ of the Laws
of 1912, and need not be considered.
1t is true. however, that Chapter 40
of the Laws of 1912 contains pro-
vision in Section . requiring all pub
LEGATIONS referred to in the act,
among which are delinquent tax
lists, required by law to be made,
shall he published in Spanish in
counties where there is n newspaper
of general circulation, at least 80 per
cent of the reading matter of which
is in Spanish, but | am of opinion
that this is done away with, SO far
as the notices provided for by Sec
tons "a and SO Of Chapter 81, of the
Laws of 1913, are concerned. | have
this opinion for two reasons, the
first being that in Chapter ~ of the
Laws of 1912, the only reference to
anything of this Kind is in Sections
and 8. Section 4 has a provision
that delinquent tax lists shall be pub
lshed in January, while Section
merely mentions delinquent tax lists.
As the law then stood the delinquent
tax lists were those things described
in Chapter 22 Of the Laws of 1899,
while Section "a of Chapter 81 of
the Laws Of 1913, provides an entire
" different sort of lists to be pub
lished, and this furnishes some
ground for holding that the act Of
1912 cannot be considered as refer
ring to the new kind of lists.
As to Section SO of Chapter 81 of
the Laws of 1913, that is an entirely
new and different list from any there
tofore in existence and differeHt
from the one provided for in Section
a.
Another reason for my opinion is
that Chapter "a of the Laws of 1913
was clearly intended by the legisla-
ture to cover the whole subject of
the assessment of property, collection
of taxes and enforcement of the IL
ability of delinquents. 1t specifically
repealed the general pre-eNisting law
on the subject in its first section and
it is a cardinal rule of construction
of statutes that where "A new law isl
clearly inteded to cover the whole
subject, it displaces all previous
statutes relating to the same mat
ters and as Chapter 81 merely directs
the publications provided for in Sec
tons "a and SO, it cannot be assum-
ed that it was the intention of the
legislature that they should be pub
lished in any but the English lam
guage.
Yours very truly.
FRANK w. CLANCY.
Attorney General.