Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0589 Page: 3 of 7
This text is part of the collection entitled: Texas Attorney General Opinions and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Honorable Fred Hill - Page 3
(h) The comptroller shall prescribe forms and adopt rules to
facilitate compliance with this section. The comptroller shall include
on any form used for designation of an agent for a single-family
residential property in which the property owner resides the following
statement in boldfaced type:
"In some cases, you may want to contact your appraisal
district or other local taxing units for free information and/or forms
concerning your case before designating an agent."
TEX. TAX CODE ANN. 1.111 (a)-(b), (h) (Vernon 2001). You are concerned about a property tax
consultant's authority to complete and execute a designation of agent for the property owner.
Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. You are particularly concerned that when the property tax
consultant executes the designation for an owner, the property owner does not see the warning
language that is mandated by section 1.111(h). Id.
As we examine section 1.111, we are mindful of the rules of statutory construction. The
cardinal rule in construing a statute is to ascertain the "intention of the Legislature as expressed in
the language of the statute." State v. Terrell, 588 S.W.2d 784, 786 (Tex. 1979) (citing Calvert v.
Tex. Pipe Line Co., 517 S.W.2d 777 (Tex. 1974)). We begin with the statute's plain language under
the assumption that the Legislature meant what it said and that its words are the surest guide to its
intent. See Fitzgerald v. Advanced Spine Fixation Sys., Inc., 996 S.W.2d 864, 866 (Tex. 1999).
Courts look to the statute's literal text and apply the plain meaning of its words, unless application
of the statute's plain meaning would lead to absurd consequences that the Legislature could not
possibly have intended, or unless the literal language is ambiguous. State v. Sanchez, 135 S.W.3d
698, 699 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2003), aff'd, 138 S.W.3d 324 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (citing Boykin
v. State, 818 S.W.2d 782, 785 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991)). And courts may not add words to a statute,
even if the addition might seem desirable, unless necessary to give effect to clear Legislative intent.
Lee v. City ofHouston, 807 S.W.2d 290, 294-95 (Tex. 1991) (citing Jones v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co.,
745 S.W.2d 901, 902 (Tex. 1988)).
Here section 1.111 (b)'s literal text directs our construction. Under that section, a designation
of agent must meet two requirements. A designation: (1) "must be made by written authorization
signed by the owner, a property manager authorized to designate agents for the owner, or other
person authorized to act on behalf of the owner," and (2) "must clearly indicate that the person is
authorized to act on behalf of the property owner in property tax matters relating to the property or
the property owner."' TEX. TAX CODE ANN. 1.111(b) (Vernon 2001); see also MHCB (USA)
5A court of appeals has, in dicta contained in a footnote, recognized that the language "must clearly indicate
that the person is authorized to act on behalf of the owner" may cause confusion and could be read to apply to either the
person named as the tax agent or the person naming the tax agent. Harris County Appraisal Dist. v. Drever Partners,
Inc., 938 S.W.2d 196, 199 n.2 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1997, no writ). The plain language of the statute
(continued...)(GA-0589)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0589, text, January 11, 2008; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth275485/m1/3/?q=%22~1~1~1%22~1&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.