Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-1263 Page: 4 of 7
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Honorable Tom O'Connell - Page 4 (JM-1263)
112.001, it is necessary to first determine whether the
funds to which the regulation relates comprise county funds.
In the case of the county tax assessor-collector, there are
a number of instances in which funds collected by the office
and deposited in the county depository may not be character-
ized as county funds.
The basic duties of the county tax assessor-collector
are prescribed by title 1 of the Tax Code, designated the
Property Tax Code.3 He is responsible primarily for the
assessment and collection of county property taxes, but may
have the duty of performing these functions for another
taxing unit.
Various laws govern the deposit of taxes collected by
the county tax assessor-collector for other taxing units.
See, ea ., Local Gov't Code I 116.113(b); Tax Code 31.10(d).
The following discussion is merely illustrative of the funds
involved. It does not purport to be exhaustive, but is
intended to assist you in determining whether the auditor's
regulation is applicable to particular funds.
When the county tax assessor-collector collects taxes
on behalf of other taxing units, he acts as the agent of the
other taxing unit. See Aldine Indep. School Dist. v.
Standley, 280 S.W.2d 578 (Tex. 1955); Attorney General
Opinion M-859 (1971). With rare exceptions, the collection
of funds by an agent on behalf of his principal does not
diminish the title of the principal in such property. see 3
Am. Jur. 2d, Asency 5 222-224 (1986). Therefore, we do not
believe the monies collected by the county tax assessor-col-
lector on behalf of other taxing units and placed in the
county depository can be characterized as county funds sub-
ject to the county auditor's authority under section 112.001
of the Local Government Code.
The county tax assessor-collector is entitled by law to
a reasonable fee, not to exceed actual costs, for collecting
taxes for another taxing unit pursuant to section
6.23(a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3). Tax Code 5 6.27(b). The
fees received are not retained by the tax assessor-col-
lector, but must be paid into the county treasury. Tex.
Const. art. XVI, 5 61; Attorney General Opinion M-624
(1970). They are appropriately characterized as county
3. A comprehensive discussion of the powers and duties
of the county tax assessor-collector appears in 35 D.Brooks, County and Special District Law ch. 13 (Texas
Practice 1989).c. 6751
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-1263, text, December 18, 1990; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273701/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.