Mr. Murphy Cole CountyAuditor Liberty county liberty,Texas
Dear Sirs Opinion Nmber O-2037 Rer Authorityto collecttaxes for the retirement of dmin- age bonds during the year within which said bonds were authorized.
5% have your letterof October17, in which you outlinethe followingfaotsr
*On June 22, 1940, P specialelectionwas held in LibertyCountyon the questionof oreatingLibertyCounty DrainageDistri6tHo. 33 and the issuanceof bonds. Such electionoarriedby more than two-thirdsmajorityand thereafterthe Commissioners' Court authorizedthe issu- anoe of the bonds3and said Commissioners* Court levieda tax on the propertywithinthe dietriot.
'Valuationsused by the Tax Assessorfor properties withinthe districtare the same valueswhich were assessed for countypurposes3namely,the values as of January1, 1940."
You requestour opinionupon the followquestions
"May taxes be oolleatedfor the year 1940 tider and by virtue of the authorityfor creatingthe district, the issuanaeof bonds and the subsequentlevy of a tax rate?"
Chapter7, Title 128, of Vernon*sAnnotatedCivil Statutes, Articles8097, et seq., presoribethe manner in which drainagedistricts may be createdand bonds issuedfor the acccanplishmentof the purposes soughtby the establisIvnent of the district. Article8136 reads a8 follows2 h
Mr. Murphy Cole, Page #2. (O-2837)
"Plhenbonds have been voted,the court shall anuual- ly levy and cause to be assessedand collectedtaxes upon all propertywithin the district,whether real, personalor otherwise,and sufficientin amountto pay the intereston such bonds as it falls due, and to redeem such bonds at maturity. Such taxes when so collectedshall be placedin the interestand sinkingfund."
It till be noted that this articlenot only providesfor the levy of the tax but that it states it shall be collected. We think that when bonds have been voted it becomesthe duty of the Commissioners' Court to levy the tax, and that duty carrieswith it the duty to collect same0 Therefore,the fact that the bondswere not authorizeduntil June of 1940 can have no bearingupon the time of the levyingand collecting of taxes.
The levy must be made at any time during the year that the bondsmay be authorizedand the tax is leviedas soon as it has been ascertainedthat the bonds have been voted, and the levy is made in a sufficientamountto pay the whole principaland interestdividedinto annual payments, As statedin the case of David ~8. Timon,County Judge, et al, 183 S.W. 88, "assessmentsfor taxationare made on all property held by the owner on January1 of each year, and tknt assessmentforms the basis for and is essentialto the levy and collectionof taxes. All propertyheld and owned on the first day of Januaryof each year is bound for and subjectto the taxes levied duringthat year, whether such levy iamads in the beginning,the middle or the last of the year."
You are, therefore,advisedthat in our opinionthe tax levied by the Commisdoners~Court of LibertyCountypursuantto the spedal elec- tion held on June 22, 1940, not only may be oolleotedfor the year 1940, but, under the law, must be oolleoted.
Trustingthat the foregoingsatisfactorily answersyour inquiry, we *re Very truly youra,
ATlDRNEYOEIWtALOF TMAS
ay PI/ClaranoeE. Crow ClarenoeE. Crowe hsaiatant
CEC-stegn
APPROVEDOCT 25, 1940 s/Gerald C. kn ATPORNEYGh'NERALOFTEXAS ApprovedOpinionCommittee By BWB Chairman