Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1943 )

OFPICE OF
TEE A~TORXEY GENERAL
AUSTIN. TEXAS
lðer. Tibi essessed ~wlnst
the interest of e former pur-
ahewr of Stete Sahool Iahds
constltate l llsa egsinst such
PZ’OpWtg iJ2tilehand8 Of e lNBv
paraheser under a subsequent
sele, end releted question.
of maeat date uhereti you
reQuestedths optaioa of this Dspertsmat on the above steted
qlmltion. la ordsr that ell the feats my be refloated by
this oplnioa we qeote ywr 1etteF In lull es r0llou88
%!hl.s dopsrtmat is haqwatly esked if
s&o01 lsad vhl6h has bsea forfeited md rssold
by the State is llebls tor t-8 essessed agalast
it krors f0rreitpre. ‘Ibarposition he8 been that
torf’eited whool land vhlcb hes been resold is
eaqubed irae of ell beak tufts, Steto cad loonl.
9h8 8pm.si~ 8em ki0~ f88RW 18 M r0iiw8:
:
&a. ResaomOilus, Peg0 2
%K%B ~th ea uth o r ity
a o ufemd b yenlo t
of the nguler sasslon of the 32nd tglsleture,
1911’ &eptar 118 as ewadod b LBapter 33 Aats
of Aa raguler sassZon of tha 3 4tbLgisletura
wi5; tb ``OSSSISS~OW``S e0wt 0r WI8 ColllaJ
oreeted whet Ls known es Dawle GoJr ty,bva Im-
prwewnt DirtHot lo. 2 mhlah lrbreaed ths ebova
wotlons of lend. Roads were voted ead from tlms
totiatexesheve beealevled agelmttha leud
lu the dlstrlot lnoludllyl ths land i.n qwstlcta.
~rteln~co``atswelalradeaadlithan, wara
bsueflts to the lsad In tha distrlat, tha abovs
uotiou shered Ia soah bswit8.
%hs forwr pumhesar of this land from the
Btete fellad to pey tha tezas levlad ~elnst tha
leud for the of these bouds. Thsre
retlrewnt
taosa wm bvibd bd0w
the lest forfeiture end
-‘; befor the lend ms sold by ths State to Mrs.
Pianim.
“Ie view o ftb lb o w fea ts I shell appn-
oiete spur eusver to the following qaestwusr
“1. bias the aelm 0r this watlon of l&id
April 8, 1942, is tha lend llebls for tha tsxas
leviad in the lbova dlstrlot bafors ths dete of
th elb o vs
8el4 TIno th emr r d8, do th e se
te x e s
follow the lend lnthe hands6f the MV parchesor?
,
l
2. Is Dublla school land uhiah has been
forfeited rod- thea resold by tha Mete, ll.ebla
for, oc subjeat to taxes, Iltete or looal, rhlah
were lavlmd befon &mAm~lst follaving %ha
dfhp.0rth8 WSIOP
“, “41 prlvetely mlwd bal propsrty, vhlah is not
speal?lael.l~ exemptediron! tsutioo w lao, is turbl, .sn
this Stete, The gwovlsloas of Artgalm 7171, lt. 0. 8. 1925,
mqutre thet ell reel property subtb)et to texet1oe shell be
usessed``to the w-z' tlmrao?, uid Artlale 7172, 1. Q, S,
lg25,pr0v1eMthettex8* ew epw %eelpropart~“sbellbs
a lien tharoon lptil pee.
Ron. Bssaom Olles, Pegs 3
It lsewttledrule ¶nFuesthetpublla lend dedl-
aated to the uee ead lsraeflt of the permsnent free school fund
ls.sot tsusble by any tulng authorIt so long as title thereto
mssins la the Itete. ehls emmptlon is ksed upomprovlsl~s
of the ecswtitutioo we 8tetutos of this 8t8te.
Ti& Tues Oonstitutlon, 8eitlon 2 of Artlele VIII,
pmvldes thet the hgislatum may exempt ?romtsxstloR 'bubllc
propsrt ased,?or publla parpoeea". This provlslon does not
o fltsaTf p entenylxemptlons~ it nrely luthorlses the
bgi8lstrw t0 e0 80. l)t. Rtllferds college v. Rorrls, 82 Tu.
1, 17 8. Y. 512~ Ssata Rose In?lrmsry v. City o? Ssn Antonio
(t%m. App.) , 25p S. Y. p26, reversing 249 8. W. 948.
However, pursusat to this Constitutionelprovi8ion,
the Legislature emeated Article 7150, 8. C. 8. 1925, vhlch
reeds in part as ?ollovsr
%%e follov~ propertq shall bs oreapt from
tsxetiau, to ritr
0
. . l
"4. Public PropeHq - bll property, uhethep rssl
or personal belonglag ualuslvely to,,thls 8tate, or any
polltlaal subdivlsloa thereof . . .
It hss been npeetedly held by the coats of this
8tets that this provlslota of the stetuteo exempts public ?res
sahool lend from tution. -7 v. Btete, 20 oiv. lipp. 101,
47 8. Y. 10421,Pitts v. Booth, .15!fer. 453~ lip;ahur v. Peae,
'15 4u. 531.
, -.
B y lpeaial etetuto pr rfo visio ha o,tr o ver
th e
.8tate
re~alres those boldlng pub110 free nahool lsnd~under lease or
aoGre& of puwhew to pay t-8 upon their holdlags. Zh%s
``;n:n.+lch is Artlale 7173, R. 0. It 1925, raatI8 a8
::: .,.y
*" :
‘Zh p er tyhdd tm& r l lo a n io r 8 term of
g e e r so r mo r e,er hs14 under r.aontrsct
th r ee for
the pwahese thereof, bslonglng to thl~ 8tete, or
thet is uempt br Irv fram texetloa in the hsmls .'
of ths wner thereof, shall be ooasldbred for all ,,~ ``,
the purposes of tuetioa, es ths property of ths
psrsou so bold&g the am, exqpt es etbeTwlse
speaially provldud by leu. ,. .
&n.msc&lffllss,Pegs 4
or purshessr Is tsxebls under
Thompson,7LTer. 192, 9 8; Y.
297, 12 8.Y. J.76)Uant ry v. Peeeh Rlvw Ib. co., sr=*
Tex. air. App. 143,ll7E. 1063.
lavo1vsdinPm.r lrrpalrymn
property tiader~the quoted pro-
Your first inquiryis whether or not
sushtaxss follovtbs land intothsheads ofths subwqusnt
‘;urrEE; forfeltum of tb purahess aontreat of the
.
Our flr8t soasidsretloa In errIvIag et a 8olution
OS ths prot!lems prsssated bythls inqulrr im the efiect of
the sale of Uerch 15, 1900, upoa the title to the lend In
qasstloa. Did that sele vsst legal title thsnto in the
SEW subjeat to bfeeseass upon dsteult of such pw-
If the e had the effeat OS meting logel tItls
In the pursheser, thsn ths 8tete by its ?or?sIturs a&rely
eaqulmd the title ,oS the puraheser Md such title would,
of aourss, bs subjeot to ell 1Isas vhzoh lo a r uedngeinst it
In the hends of suah purehewr.
On the other heud, ii the ptawhefmr did not acquire
lega). tltls to ths land by thst asb sad b& tltls nmalned
in tim Stete, the forfeltum mealy onded tha purchessrt8 cota-
treatual rl.ght to acqulxw the title by fulfillleg his cwtrect.
Tex liens uhiah can9 into uisteaae by Virtue of the purahassrts
failure to p&y the taxes levied then sould aot 8??sst the
State '8superiortitle. Underthi8 titter eaelysLs it uould
follow es ea Iasvltrble eoaolystia thet ao ltia etteahad to
the lend la qusstlon end thet the subssqusnt purshessr took
the l.end SW. of Mf rush 1urr.r.
~&sr hia 'if&##o:%%$h~ o$%%~:ot?ii`` gi$-
title to &rtioa 14, ktiKi&e l&%0 T. k P. Ry. 00 650
ewes la B!mia QDuntJ. I&a&r our stat&s ~0 petent to*Che
leudrould l.isus uatIlthspurshess miss had been peld ln full.
Articld 5413, R. 0. 8., W2$, vhlsh so providss, reads ss
?ollow 8 1 c X.,’
Hou. hsaom Qlles, Pees 5
-he Coamlsslaatm (of the ffeaerel Lend
Office) shsll i.srus p&eats uhea it 8ppssrs
from the books in his office that Call, per-
nnt for the lend her been madev&m pepeat
18 rsqulrsd, snd lll lsgel fees dus thereon
have bun ~peld into seie 0??1w end sot with-
dram, lltcluding the loge1 ?eea for ths rscord-
hg of uld pmtent ln q aotmtles lm uhlah
the lead my bs lweted.
Vprtll #ma prsmquisltea srs &mplled olth end r
petea< is IssLmd, lsgsltlt3a to suuh lend remslna ln tha
State. Ye direct your ettantloa to the authorltlea hersla-
e?ter set out, which support this conolwloa.
“Slats the pessegs o? the Act whlah estab-
llshsd tbs ~nsrel lead oifioe ead providsd for
188uIng patents, no leu he8 bsea pessed which
recogalsed any other method o? exterrdlng titles
?rom ths State to those vho eoquirsd rle$ts to
specl?lc portloas of its Public domsla.
v. Hell, 71 Pox. 2l3, 220, 9 S. Y 141. SZ%o
Ceprlto 0. Orlshem-Boater Corp., (Cm. App.) 12%
8. W. (26) 1493 flPlrmder8v. Rert, 57 Tex. 8;
end 34 Tu. hr. 256, Sea. 181.
Vndsr a coatreot of purehess, the t ltle to tihs lend
1s lmld by the State subjeot to the rlghto? ths parahessr
“to esquire title bypompllsacs with ths obllgetlons assuwd
br him to the 8tete. 8tate v. Rlxa, 109 Tet. 256.
%he title (to school land) mmeiru la ths Btete
Bon. Basaom fffles, ?e& 6
Upon 8 dbolaratlon of forfeiture by the btate all
o?the rl&hts of thepurcha8er undsrhls acatreot of purchase
cud ths rl@ts ofthoseholdiagor aIh%mlngunderorthrough
hla, rsvest~ ln the Steto end the lead beooass a pert of the
::' public schotQ'land 8nd subject to sale la such. Uhltaker v.
RaCsrtJ, (aom. App.) 22l si Y. 945, rtmr*lag 188 8. If. 502.
8ee else 2``. Juri 32, 33.0~ 13.
Yil ‘the oese of lbitaker v. NecartJ, *l&b-, it wea
held thet, oven though the rl&ts of a purahesermay be dI-
vested under the Statute of Llhltetlonsby om holding ad-:
verselp to him, sua& r&&t8 es em la q ulr by 0dthe adverse
possessor egelnst the purchaser are divested by forfeiture of
the oontrect of purchaw, by the state ead that sueh rights do
not survlva8fthr the for?eltum.
It I.8 our oplaloa thet ths rule of Uhlteker9.
IloCertp is squally applieebls to cay clew egelast the pur-
oha8er for uupald t-es end that such claimllkeolss does aot
survlvs the ?or?eltme.
Tbiholdlago? tbe8upmns Court tithe receat case
of Demclger v. bthte, et al. 140 Tex. -T-., 166 8. W. (24) ll.4,
lends support to the uonolu8loathat ao llen~ettached to the
8tete's superior title end that forf8ited school land returned
to ths Stete fr88 of all tex linaa. Chle? JusticeAlemead8r,
who urotb ths opsnloa of the Court, states that l?ter for-
felturs of the lead to ths 8tete, taxes levlsd against the
purchaser emirrgthetime kwheldthe iaaeahouldbe oollected
by levy of ueoutioa tipoa property of wah parehesem not exempt
fr a lm&eutIoa b ylev.
Our oonoluslca Is also lahark~rlth prior rulings
a? this depsrtreat. Ue dIreot your attention to an opinion
iS8lUd b this depertmat duriog theedntLalatret1on of Attorney
Qttnerel i. P. ~faolreY. The wfaioa which was writtenbr A88lst-
Attorti`` Ctetierti~Q.
B. Sklle~ uho is aou pretsldikg Uage
40
at,
eat
of meationi of tha ~ssloa of kppeels of the 8uprerrs
reeds es ?o$+wsr
Gi%s dep&tymt is la neeipt of fom, letter
oftlielioth in8tMtia vhlshyoutIsslrstokao~
whetherpublic sabool land l.s subjeot to t-8 u-
nssed end levieda&ydnstit prior to its forfelt-
ure to ths Sate for moapaymnt of interest *hen
.
Ron. Bsscom Ollea, Pege 7
the ouasr o? the lead at ths t i!es o? iorfeiture
rctparahewd it ?WID ths .8tate.
a;$~‘“is ‘trus the forfeiture by the
that
lad ~ssIon5r 8moutatsto eu wlectioa on
thenpert b? tha Stete to resafad e coatreot
as& b .ths8tete vlth ths purchaserupon
the ?af ure o? ths pumhaser to p8rform hia
pert of the coatreat 3 that Is, to pay the
latersat, ead it would appear that, when tit8
Mate rescindedIfi8 contraot, ell title to.
the land WUJ again vusted in the State and (111
liens thsreon wars destroyed. ml8 is oadoubt-
edlp true of those sass8 Ia which the lead Is
subsequently sold by the State to e purcheser
other thea the owasr uho allowed the aala to
be ?or?slted. Eouevsr, it is our oplaloa thet
a dlifsrsnt PI&8 mhouldbe eppllsdln thOS8
casea In vhlah a purohaaerallows hla land to.
b forialted end thsn wpurcheses It. It he8
been held that ths ~af?sot of *IA& ectloa oa
the pert of the puraheser of scho0l lead la
not to destroy a lien la favor o? 8n ladlvld-
uel which exlsted egalaat the lead prior to
the forfeltupe, provided such purchessr him-
ssl? re!gut-chmeathe lead. A differeat rule,
hovevsr, is eppliaebls whsn a parson other
than the orl#nal owner repurahaseathe land
after forfeiture. Buchpurahesers take the
property fr88 from liens vh+sh existed ageirsst
it prior to the forf8ltur8. oplnlolle of the
Attorney &meril of Tues, 1912~3.914,pegs W?.
Flat W haV0 steted abotn Mwers your first qU88tioU.
..%
&i Lhs SitMtiOR OUtllS8d lIl WUF 8SOOadq#StiOn,
the lsad iavolvod vaa part of the pnbllo daualn un January &at,
’ end wes wgregetsd from thm pab1i.o domela efter t&et date by
*ala uadsr 8 aoatract of purchess. You N.sh to kuov r&the*
T the lend b,,``subject to tu In the hands of the puraheser for
- ths texebl&“*er b&Inning isasdietely pFlor to the purchsss
. from the Btate, th8 puraheser havingheld the land during Part
of that texeble yser. We bsllsve this qusstloa is speoIfIWly
.
l
.I
~/
Ron. Rsscom Qiles, Page 0
answreQby statute. wo quote from Article 7151, R. c. s., 1925,
is follower
'All property shsll be lls ted for taxation btwan
January a and April 30 of laoh y’sar, uhen nqulred by
the asssssor, rlth rsfersnas to ths quantity hsld or
owned on ths first day of Jaauary la the year for uhleh
the property 18 wqulrad to be listed or r6mend. 4
propwty+nmhamd or aoqlllwd cm the first 8sy of Jall-
wry shall be listed by or for the *rson purchaslBg
or aaqulrltag it. ;~
~Underscoring ours).
You are therefore wsps~tfully advimedr
(1) ‘phat the subsequent purchaser of s&o01 Laad,
following ths forfeiture of a prior oocrtraat of purshaso utadsr
which ths land had bsen sold to another, takss ths land free
of all taxes and tax llslls.
(2) That a purohaser who acquires the land after
Jsnuary 1st but prior to Ibssnbsr 31st of say mar is liable
for tsses for the perlo tlurlng that year that b6’held. the land
aad ls bound to pay a pro rata portion of ths tares for that
year equivalent, to the~proportlen that tlm tiars hs lwld the
lsad bssrstto the 0ntl.w yea.25
t+uetiagthatuohaw fullf8twveiwIyou.r lwo*
and that you rlXl'sal1 apan us ii we aan bs of any farther
assl8taaw; w aw
&- I;
.e Yours wry truly,
,g. L:
.-‘.ts;. - ~ATkRRx aJumtALoP~
/sat-a/ ~.~.