Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1950 )

E ORNE GENERAL
QbF %-EXAS
PRICE DANIEL
March 7, 1950
Hon. J. M. Williams Opinion No. V-1016.
County Auditor
Tarrant County Re: Compensation of County Tax
Fort Worth, Texas Assessor-Collector for assess-
ing and collecting taxes for
Water Control and Improve-
Dear Sir: ment District.
You have requested the opinion of this office as to the
amount of compensation which should be paid the Tax Assessor and
Collector of Tarrant County for assessing and collecting taxes for
Tarrant County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1.
From the correspondence, brief and opinion which have been sub-
mitted in connection with your request we have gathered the follow-
ing facts. On February 10, 1949, pursuant to the provisions of Ar-
ticle 7880-33, V.C.S.. Tarrant County Water Control and Improve-
ment District No. 1 entered into a contract for assessing and col-
lecting the District’s taxes. Under the terms of the contract the
Assessor-Collector of Tarrant County was to assess and collect
the taxes due the District for the years 1949 and 1950. He was to
be Raid the maximum amount permitted by Article 7880-33, being
$1,800 per year for the assessment of taxes and $1,500 for collect-
ing and accounting for said taxes. In making remittance to the Dis-
trict of taxes collected up to the date of such remittance, the Asses-
sor-collector deducted therefrom the rates of compensation pko-
vided by Articles 3937 and 3939, V.C.S., instead of the rates provid-
ed by the contract, on the assumption that the amendment of these
two articles by the Slst Legislature had the effect. of changing the
amount of compensation to which he was entitled. The amount so
withheld exceeds the amount due under the contract by $1,116.93.
You request our opinion as to the legality of the Assessor-Collac-
tor ‘8 action in withholding this additional amount.
Senate Bill 211, Acts 51st Leg., R.S. 1949, ch. 448, pm
829, made several changes in Articles 3937 and 3939, The amount
of compensation previously allowed by these articles respectively
for assessing and collecting State and county taxes was increased;
however, there was no increase in the amounts provided for assess-
ing and collecting taxes in “all drainage districts, road districts,
or other p&Eitical subdivisions of the county.“’ Nevertheless, it is
asserted that the overall purpose of the bnT was to increase the corn-
pensation of assessors and collectors “in line with almost universal
&crease in pay rates for personal services”; that Section 4 of Senate
Hon. J. hf. WZIUsm8, Page 2 (V-1016)
Bill 211 repeals all laws or parts of laws in conflict therewith; that
Article 7880-33 is effectively repealed by Senate Bill 211 and that
the Assessor-Collector must be compensated as provided by Arti-
cles 3937 and 3939.
In order for Articles 3937 and 3939, either before or
after their most recent amendment, to be in any wise applicable
or determinative of the amount of compensation to be paid for as-
sessing and collecting the taxes of the Tarrant County Water Cone
trol and Improvement District No. 1, such District would have to
fall within the provisions for “drainage districts, road districts,
or other political subdivisions of the county , . . “.
We are of the opinion that neither of these articles is
applicable to the Tarrant County Water Control and Improvement
District No. 1. The Tarrant County Water Control and Improve-
ment District was organized and functions under the provisions of
Chapter 3A, Title 128, V.C.S. These statutory provisions were en-
acted in pursuance to and in furtherance of Section 59a of Article
XVI of the Constitution of Texas which section declares that such
districts “shall be governmental agencies and bodies politic and
corporate.”
In Willagy County Water Control and Improvement Dist.
No. 1 v. Abendroth, 144 T 320 1mW 2d 936 (1944), the Su-
preme Court said [at page’%7): ’ ’ ’
“Irrigation districts, navigation districts, levee
and improvement districts, and like political subdivi-
sions created under Section 59a of Article XVI of the
Constitution, and statutes enacted thereunder carrying
out the nurnoses of such constitutional nrovision. are
We think it plain that since the Tarrant County Water Control and
Improvement District No. 1 is a “political subdivision of the State”
and “stand8 upon the same footing as counties” it cannot come with-
in a provision which by its own terms is limited to subdivisions of
counties.
The question here presented is closely related to and
in many respects identical with the one decided in the case of Burk-
hart v. Brazoria River Harbor Nav. D&t., 42 S.W.2d 96 (Tex. civ.
App. 1931). It was held in this cast ethatrticle 3937 did not im-
. -
Hon. J. M. Williams, Page 3 (V-1016)
pliedly repeal Section 29 of Article 8263, V.C.S., which authorized
the navigation and canal commissioners to fix the amount of com-
pensation to be paid for assessing the District’s taxes. The court
pointed out that Article 3937 is a part of the general statutes fixing
generally the fees to be paid officers and fixing the compensation
for assessing taxes in political subdivisions of the county; whereas
Article 8263, Section 29, was a part of a particular and complete
act in reference to the creation, government and operation of navi-
gation districts alone. Such districts, said the court, are not “po-
litical subdivisions of the county” and are not included within that
term.
In the instant case the Tarrant County Water Control
and Improvement District No. 1 is not a “political subdivision of
the county”; and the amendment of Articles 3937 and 3939 therefore
had no effect on Article 7080-33, which is a part of a particular and
complete act in reference to the creation, government and opera-
tion of water control and improvement districts. You are therefore
advised that the Assessor-Collector is entitled to only such com-
pensation as was expressly stipulated in the contract.
SUMMARY
The amendment of Articles 3937 and 3939, V.C.S.,
by S.B. 211, Acts 51st Leg., R.S. 1949, ch. 448, p. 829,
did not impliedly repeal Article 7880-33, V.C.S., and the
Assessor-Collector of taxes for Tarrant County Water
Control and Improvement District No. 1 is entitled to
only such compensation as was stipulated in the contract
executed pursuant to Article 7880-33.
Yours very truly,
PRICE DANIEL
Attorney General
APPROVED: -,
Mrs. Marietta McGreg 4 Creel
W. V. Geppert Assistant
Taxation Division
Charles D. Mathews
Executive Assistant
MMC/rnwb