Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1951 )

359
Hon. Harvey L. Hardy Opinion Ro. V-1175
Aetlug Mstrict Attorney
San Antonio, Texas Re: The Federal ceusus to
be followed when a
variance between the
prelllainary and the
final figures affects
the applicability of
Dear Mr. Rardy: “bracket* laws.
Your request for an opinion presents for de-
termination the following question:
Does the final and corrected report
from the Bureau of the Census, which places
Bexar Couuty in a new bracket as to sever-
al statutory items, supersede the preliml-
nary report issued on July 13, 1950, and
change the bracket of Rexar County again,
and if so, of what date?
You state that on April 13, 1951, Bexar County
received a final report Prom the Bureau of the Census,
dated April 11, 1951, stating the population of Bexar Coun-
ty to be 500,460. Previously, a preliminary announcement
of the census, of which Bexar County took offlclal cogni-
zance, revealed the population to be 496,090.
A prelimluarg announcement by the Area or Ms-
trlct Census Supsrvisor of the population of a particular
area amounts to an official announcement of which notice
may be taken officially. Holoomb v. SDikeS, 232 S.W. 891
$T~&C;“O~AP~. 1921, error dlsm.); Ervln v. State, 119 Tex.
4 S.Y.2d 380 (1931); Garrett v. Anderson, 144
S.W.;d 9Ti (Tex.Clv.App. 19&C, error dlsm., judgm. COP.).
In Attorney ffeneral’s Opinion V-1137 (1950),
this office stated:
“After weighing the arguments in sup-
port of each of these conflicting views, and
after considering the expressions by the Texas
courts in the above-cited cases and the pro-
visions of the statutes relative to the com-
pensation of county and precinct officers, we
360 Hon. Harvey L. Hardy, page 2 (V-1175)
are of the opinion that the effective date of
a census, within the contemplation of these
statutes, coincides with the date of the of-
ficial announcement of the result. This
holding accords with previous rulings of
this” department as expressed in Att’g Gen.
Ops. O-2337 (19(O), O-2742 (;l940), O-2932
(1940), ana O-3351 (1941).*,
Although our courts have recognized that a pre-
llminary annduncement of the census is an official an-
noucement upon which the county officials are authorized
to rely and act in financial matters of the county, such
preliminary announcement is subject to correction In the
final figures promulated by the Federal Government. In
Garrett v. Anderson, supra, the court said:
*
. I;Lke reports, or lprellminary
announdeients ’ of the census of the City
of San Anton& and of Bexap County, were
furnished on this form by Supe~vlso~ Worrls
to the Mayor and Chamber of Commerce, as well
as the County Judge, in accordance with the
policy of the Bureau. It should be presumed
from the record here that Mr. Morris was act-
ing fully within his official authority as
supe~vlso~ in issuing the reports for the
benefit of the public.
“We are of the opinion, therefore, and
here hold as a matter of law, under the record
made here, that the report of Supe~vlso~ Morris
amounted to an official announcement, in behalf
of the federal government, that the population
of Dexar County, according to the last preced-
ing federal census, is 337,557, subject to . . .
Section 4 of Title 13, U.S.C.A., requires the
Director of the Census to have prlnted;published, and
distributed, from time to time, bulletins and reports of
the preliminary and other results of the various lnvestl-
gatlons authorized by law. Section ?L3 imposes on the
Director the duty to have printed preliminary and other
census bulletins and final reports of the results of the
several investluatlons.
Preliminary announcements of census results are
361
Hon. Harvey L. Hardy, page 3 (V-1175)
expressly made subject to correction by subsequent an-
nouncement s . The bulletin Issued by the Bureau of the
Census dated September 14, 1950, and designated Series
PC-2, Ao. 43, which gave the preliminary counts of the
1950 census, contained this statement8
*The preliminary population counts
shown below represent the number of per-
sons enumerated in the State, each county,
and each Incorporated place of 1,000 or
more, but not the final verified population
totals. Th final 1 ti totals may
ER35Tfromethe reE%&y”~ounts . . .*
(Emphasis added. P
As correctly pointed out In your able brief,
the population of a particular county for official pur-
poses Is determined by the last census and not by the
actual population of the district at the time In ques-
tion. In Varble v. Whlteootton, 190 S.W.2d 244 (Mo.Sup.
1945), the court saidr
“There Is no statutory provision, either
Federal or State, which sets the time when the
result of a census shall become official. In
such a situation the general rule is that a
census becomes official as of -the date of its
official publication. 14 C.J.S., Census, Sec.
6. This court has always taken judioial no-
tice of ‘the official records of the census’
and we find no case where the fact of popula-
tion has been proved by other means. . . .
*The application of the statute we are
considering is governed by the official rec-
ords of the census. The statute itself de-
notes this. According to its terms the mere
fact of the population in and of itself does
not determine the statute’s releV&mcy. The
determlnlng factor la something more. It Is
the population as enumerated ‘according to
the last preceding national oensus. * Thus
the operation of the statute ~1s based cm the
record of the census. The record of the cen-
sus furnishes the evidence under which the
statute shall be operative.*
In our opinion, “the last preoedlng Federal
census* upon which officials and the public are author-
ized to act Is the latest offiolal announcexmnt. In the
362 Hon. Harvey L. Hardy, page 4 (V-1175)
present case, the latest announcement is the final census
report, which you state was offlclally announced on April
11, 1951, and furnished to the officials of Bexap County
on April 13, 1951.
Therefore, you are advised that the prellmlnary
report of the census furnished the officials of Bexar
County on July 13, 1950, was superseded by the final re-
port of aensus dated April 11, 1951. The population
bracket of Bexap County changed simultaneously with the
official pronouncement of the final COIIBUSreport for
Bexti County on April 11, 1951.
SUMRARY
The final and correoted report of oen-
SUB by the Bureau of the Census, dated April
11, 1951, which places Bexar County in a new
population bracket, supersedes the prrllmi-
nary report of census, dated July 13, 1950,
qnd governs the population bracket for BeXaP
County with respect to statutes regulating
oertaln flnamclal affairs of the aounty.
APPROVEDI Yours very truly,
J:C. Davis, Jr. PRICE DmIRL
County Affairs M~lsion Attorney General
Jesse P. L&on, Jr.
Reviewing Assistant
Charles D, Mathews %i!iGai?
First Assistant Aosistaat
Bwrluw