Texas Attorney General Opinion: H-119 Page: 1 of 9
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THE ArTORNnY GENE AL
.OF TEXAS
o L. fxLL AUSTIN, TnXAs 78711
ATTORNEY GENERAL
October 3, 1973
The Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion No. H-119
County Attorney
Harris County Courthouse Re: Validity of Senate Bill 642,
Houston, Texas 77002 63rd Legislature (Article
1118x, V. T. C.S. )
Dear Mr. Resweber:
You have requested our opinion concernirg the constitutionality of
Senate Bill 642 of the 63rd Legislature (Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., ch. 141,
p. 302; Article 1118x, V. T. C. S. ) which generally provides for the creation
of rapid transit authorities possessing the powers, among others, to con-
struct and operate mass transit systems and to levy a "motor vehicle
emission tax" based upon the number of cubic inches of cylinder displace-
ment.
You have suggested, as possible grounds of unconstitutionality, (1)
that the Act is a local bill rather than a general taxing statute and (2) that
the Legislature lacks constitutional authority to create a district having
such taxing powers.
Section 3 of the Act authorizes the "governing body of a principal
city in a metropolitan area" to institute proceedings to create a rapid
transit authority. A "metropolitan area" is defined in 2(a) as "any area
withinThe State of Texas having a population density of not less than 250
persons per square mile and containing not less than 51 per cent of the
incorporated territory comprising a city having a population of not less
than 1, 200, 000 inhabitants according to the last preceding or any future
federal census, and in which there may be situated other incorporated
cities, towns and villages and the suburban areas and environs thereof. "
Section 15 would exclude from this definition any bicounty metropolitan
area - an area comprised of two contiguous counties each having within its
bounds a city of 350, 000 or more inhabitants.p. 570
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: H-119, text, October 3, 1973; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth270642/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.