Texas Attorney General Opinion: O-2727 Page: 4 of 6
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Honorable L. A. Woods, Page 4
It then becomes necessary to see whether or not
the Legislature itself could have constitutionally allowed
the release or charging-off of the interest and penalty on
delinquent taxes. The Supreme Court of Texas in the case
of Jones v Williams, 45 S. W. (2d) 130, upheld the validity
of an act of the Legislature which released the interest and
penalties which had accrued on certain state, county and
district taxes. The court held that interest chargeable
was in fact a penalty and such release was not violative
of Article 3, Section 55, of the Constitution, which pro-
hibits the Legislature from releasing or extinguising or
authorizing the releasing or extinguishing in whole or in
part the indebtedness, liability or obligation of any incor-
poration or individual to this State or to any county or other
municipal corporation therein. The court held that the Leg-
islature would have the authority to release the interest and
penalty accrued on delinquent taxes of the State and county
as well as of the districts and subdivisions of the State.
It is our opinion that this broad authority has been delegated
by the Legislature to the board of trustees of the indepen-
dent school districts as well as to the city council of in-
corporated cities and towns.
Your attention is called to an opinion dated Septem-
ber 11, 1936, written by Assistant Attorney General Clark Wren
to Honorable Paul G. Groggan, County Attorney, Montgomery
County, in chich it was held that the Conroe Independent School
District could not remit penalty and interest for a period of
ninety days in order to invite collections of taxes delinquent
to that district. It does not appear from the contain-
ed in that opinion whether or not the Conroe Independent
School District assessed and collected its own taxes or whet-
her the same were assessed and collected by the county collec-
tor and assessor. Insofar as such opinion may appear in con-
flict with the opinion expressed herein the same is express-
ly overruled.
It is the opinion of this department that your
first question should be answered in the affirmative and
that the board of school trustees of an independent school
district that assesses and collects its own taxes has the
power to release or charge-off the interest and penalty which
has accrued against such taxes.
In your second question you inquire whether or not
it is mandatory for the independent school district to col-
lect the one dollar tax assessor-collector fee set out in
Article 7331 of the Revised Civil Statutes. Article 7331 pro-
vides for the on dollar fee to be collected by the county
tax assessor-collector in suits brought for the collection of
State and county taxes
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: O-2727, text, October 22, 1940; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth259946/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.