Court Opinion

ID: 7826697
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-09-07 18:08:44.616336+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:30:53.046249
License: Public Domain

Ray Thornton, Justice, concurring in part and dissenting in part. The majority has correctly determined that the city of North Little Rock did not prove that the 1993 tax assessment on airport property was invalid because of Pulaski County’s failure to timely make an assessment. As pointed out by the majority, the allegation of an untimely assessment by the county must be supported by proof, and the trial court did not err in determining that the city had not met the burden of proof. I concur with the majority’s conclusion that, under well established principles of law, the General Assembly does not have the power to exempt property from taxation. See, e.g., Little Rock & Fort Smith Ry. Co. v. Worthen, 46 Ark. 312 (1885); Tedford v. Vauix, 183 Ark. 240, 35 S.W.2d 346 (1931). I further agree that, in deciding this case, we should “draw a clear distinction between the General Assembly’s declaration of what is a public purpose on the one hand, which is entirely legitimate, and a per se determination by the General Assembly that certain private property is . . . exempt from tax, on the other.” However, because I believe the interpretation of this statute affords the court the opportunity of drawing that distinction between the provisions of the statute that are void, and those provisions that legitimately and properly articulate public-policy considerations, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that the entire act must be invalidated. In accordance with the well-established presumption of constitutional validity of a legislative enactment, we have specifically held that a statutory provision that is virtually identical to the provisions of subsection (a) of Act 438 of 1995 is constitutional. Hogue v. The Housing Authority of North Little Rock, 201 Ark. 263, 144 S.W.2d 49 (1940). In 1937, the General Assembly adopted Act 298, which authorized the creation of housing authorities in certain cities and in all counties for the stated public purpose of clearing slums and building housing projects. Section 23 of that Act provided in part as follows: Section 23. Tax Exemption and Payments in Lieu of Taxes. The property of an authority is declared to be public property used for essential and exclusively public and governmental purposes, and not for profit, and such property and an authority shall be exempt from all taxes and special assessments of the State or any State Public Body thereof." This provision of the Act was attacked because it contained language that declared such property to be used for exclusive public purposes, and declared that such property should be exempt from taxes. In Hogue, we considered section 5 of Article 16 of our constitution, which provides in part: All property subject to taxation shall be taxed according to its value .... Provided, further, that the following property shall be exempt from taxation; public property used exclusively for public purposes . . .; and buildings and grounds and materials used exclusively for pubhc charity. We further considered section 6 of Article 16 of our constitution, which provides that “All laws exempting property from taxation other than as provided in this Constitution shall be void.” The argument was vigorously presented to us that the statute was void in attempting to extend an exemption from taxes, and we determined that the statute was not unconstitutional, reasoning as follows: The point is made and insisted upon that the property of the Housing Authority is not exclusively used for pubfic or charitable purposes and that before it may be exempted from taxation such property must be exclusively used for this purpose. We think a fair construction of the act is that all the property acquired by [the Housing Authority] is to be used and will be used in the clearance of slum areas and the furnishing of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations free from conditions of overcrowding and want of air and light prevailing in slum areas. Hogue, 201 Ark. at 272, 144 S.W.2d at 54. After citing cases from Tennessee and Texas interpreting similar statutory and constitutional provisions, we stated: We, therefore, hold that the act in question is not vulnerable because it exempted the property of the Housing Authority from all taxes and special assessments by the state or any public body thereof. Id. at 274, 144 S.W.2d at 55. The issue of the constitutionality of Act 298 of 1937 was presented to us again in Kerr v. East Central Arkansas Regional Housing Authority, 208 Ark 625, 187 S.W.2d 189 (1945), where we said: Public policy is declared by the General Assembly; not by courts. Unless there is something in the Constitution restraining the Legislature from saying that a designated course of conduct or a policy is for the public welfare, or unless the thing authorized is so demonstrably wrong that reasonable people would not believe that such was the legislative intent, the Act must prevail. Since essentials of Act 298 were sustained in the Hogue case, subsequently adhered to, and since the distinction to be drawn is not susceptible of being measured, graded, or determined by ratio or known formula, it must again be held that the legislative finding is binding and that the purpose to be served is a public one. Id. at 630, 187 S.W.2d at 192. The principle that the General Assembly should declare the public policy of the State and that its declarations as to public purpose will prevail unless the legislature acted arbitrarily, unreasonably, or capriciously has been firmly established. See, e.g., Murphy v. Epes, 283 Ark. 517, 678 S.W.2d 352 (1984). Based on that principle, the legislature has adopted a number of definitions of “public property used exclusively for public purposes.” A few examples are illustrative: (a) It is hereby found and determined by the Seventy-Eighth General Assembly that all property owned by the Arkansas State Highway Commission or the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department is public property used exclusively for public purposes. Ark. Code Ann. § 26-3-308 (Repl. 1997). All tollway projects, and all the properties thereof, are legislatively determined and declared to be public properties used exclusively for public purposes and the legislative intent is that tollway projects, and all properties thereof, shall be exempt from ad valorem taxes under and pursuant to the provisions of Arkansas Constitution, Article 16, Section 5. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-303-104 (1987). (a) All transit systems formed under this chapter, and all the properties thereof, are declared to be public properties used exclusively for public purposes, (b) The legislative intent of this section is that these transit systems, and all property thereof shall be exempt from: (1) Ad valorem taxes under and pursuant to the provisions of Arkansas Constitution, Article 16, § 5[.] Ark. Code Ann. § 14-334-106 (1987). Similar declarations of legislative intent to define uses of property as being for public purposes are found in Ark. Code Ann. §§ 14-164-701 (1987) (industrial facilities); 14-169-804 (1987) (urban renewal); 27-71-104 (Repl. 1994) (turnpikes); and § 26-3-301 (Repl. 1997), which lists more than a dozen uses of property that are legislatively declared to be used for public purposes, and consequently, exempted from taxation. Until Act 438 of 1995 was adopted, the General Assembly had not established the considerations of public policy with respect to the public purpose of airport operations. Without the benefit of such a legislative declaration of public purpose, we reached a decision in Little Rock Municipal Airport v. McIntosh, 319 Ark. 423, 892 S.W.2d 462 (1995), in which we concluded that a number of airport-related operations were not exempt from ad valorem taxation as property used exclusively for public purposes. In that case, we decided that aircraft-service centers and fixed-base operators were among the operations that were not used exclusively for the public purpose of providing dependable and safe air travel. Without the benefit of a legislative declaration of public policy, we did not recognize that such operations are not only essential to providing fuel for aircraft so they can continue their journey, nor did we recognize that these operations are essential for public safety in providing, in most cases, the only radio communication between an aircraft and the airport. It is not surprising that, promptly following our decision in McIntosh, the General Assembly sought, with Act 438, to inform the court of the public-policy considerations relating to the public purpose of maintaining safe and reliable facilities for those who travel by air. That declaration of public policy is a proper legislative action. However, the General Assembly also exceeded its authority by declaring that certain legislatively defined airport properties are used “exclusively” for public purposes, and exempt from ad valorem taxation. This violates principles of separation of powers, and is therefore unconstitutional and void. Act 438 contains a severability clause providing that if any part of the act were determined to be unconstitutional, the other provisions of the act should remain valid. The policy pronouncements of Act 438 are not significantly different from the provision of Act 286 of 1937 that we have held to be constitutional, and are very similar to provisions in numerous other statutes. Where part of an act is unconstitutional, but other provisions are valid, we have recognized the efficacy of severability clauses, and have had no difficulty in removing words or phrases, or even, entire sections from statutes when those provisions offended constitutional limitations upon legislative action. Levy v. Albright, 204 Ark. 657, 163 S.W.2d 529 (1942). If an act is constitutional in part, the valid portion will be sustained if complete in itself and capable of being executed in accordance with the apparent legislative intent. Id. at 659, 163 S.W.2d at 531. The constitutional and unconstitutional provisions may even be contained in the same section. Id. If a statute attempts to accomplish two or more objects, and is void as to one, it may still be in every respect complete and valid as to the other. Id. at 660, 163 S.W.2d at 531. In Levy, we struck the words “The Supreme Court” from a list of courts granted original jurisdiction when the grant of jurisdiction to the supreme court exceeded constitutional limitations, but sustained the constitutionality of the act as it related to other courts, and to its general purposes. In my opinion, Act 438 was drafted to accomplish two discrete purposes: (1) a declaration of public policy, and (2) a legislative declaration of tax exemption. We should sustain as constitutional, the public-policy declarations contained in the Act. There is only one word in Act 438 that can be interpreted as overstepping the authority of the General Assembly. The word “exclusively” is used once in section (a) and twice in section (b). I would strike the offending word “exclusively” from the Act, or, alternatively, rely on Hogue as authority for determining that the use of that word does not invalidate the act. I also write to encourage legislative enactment of a more precisely drawn statute declaring that the operation of a publicly owned airport, with its runways, hangars, taxiways, instrument approach systems, terminal buildings, aircraft service and repair centers, flight training programs and facilities, and fixed-base operators, together with radio communications and other facilities necessary and essential to reliable and safe air travel for the public is declared to be public property used for a public purpose. This court should welcome legislative action to establish public policy. The application of that public policy to a particular set of facts under constitutional constraints will of course remain a judicial function. Corbin, J., joins.