Texas Attorney General Opinion: O-930 Page: 2 of 9
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59,?
Hon. Geo. H. heppard, Page 2
costs would be inequitable .r confiscatory, tee Commissioners
Court 'ay, under its poier as a Board of Zqualization,
make such adjustments .as to assessed values of such pro-
perty as it ray determine to be equitable and just. And
any previous fixing of values of such property for the years
involved shall not be 'res adjudicat' as to the partioalar
case."
It sees more convenient for us to first discuss the
constitutionality of the provisions of this bill which would permit
commissioners courts to reduce assessed values of properties on
which taxes have become delinquent when it is found that "by reason
of the depreciation in the value of such property an adjustment
of assessed value would be equitable and expedient" end when it
appears that "by reason of long, delinquency, the accumulated delin-
quent taxes, with penalties, interest, and costs aggregate such
amount as to make their collection inequitable end confiscatory."
. Article 5, Lection 55, Constitution of "exas, as adopted
in 1932, reads as follows:
'The Legislature shall have no power to release or
extinguish, or to authorize the releasing or extinguishing,
in whole or in part, the indebtedness, liability or obli-
gation of any corporation or individual, to this -tate
or to any county or defined subdivision thereof, or other,
municipal corporation therein, except delinquent taxes
which have been due for a period or at letsa tenyears.'
(Undersocoring ours)
Prior to 1932, said eertion 65 of Article 5 did not contain
the part which we have above underscored. After quoting such see-
tion of the Constitution as it -existed prior to the 195 Aamendaent,
the Commiesion of Appeals in state vs. Pioneer Oil & defining Co.,
292 b. . 869, opinion by Jndge ihels, said:
"We do not stop to consider whether a delinquent
tax is an 'indebtedness' or 'obligation,' within the
meaning of the language quoted, for that it is a
'liabilIty' cannot be doubted. Olliver v. City of
Houston, 93 Tex. 200, 54 8. s. 940, 943 City of
eanrietta v. lustia, 89 Tex. 14, 86 28. .. 619."
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: O-930, text, 1939; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth258110/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.