Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1940 )

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
mnorable tl. La ~asbburn
county AudItor,
aarrin CountJ /\
aomton, TE)xaa \
\ ‘.
Dem BiPa
/-----A j;,
flonorable ii. L. Washburn - 3?ag@ 2
Th8 &?0I’tiIl~t StatUt0 W%%iS:
lWlmzteveroaidBosn%aballfinditth&r
d&g to raise the assessment ef any person*15 pro-
perty, they shall order the County Clerk to g&e
the persons pfro rendered ths samewrlttennotlce
that they desire to raise th0 value of same. They
shall cause the county clerk to give ten days'
written notice before their meeting by pnbllaa-
titan ia some newspaper, but, if none ie gublhh-
ed in $he oomy, then by posting a nrltten or
gdnt04.l notice in eocb $wM.cegs precinct, one
af rhich snzstbe at the Courthouse door.*
(a. c. s., Art. 7208).
The Clerk is required to give the persons writ-
ten notloe, butthe msnuer of servlee of ma& notlse is
not &awdded~ It is the general rule in uuoh ~0889 that
notWe, where no specdal method et service Is provided,
shall be by personal notloe. (See 31 Tex. Jur. p 2~8,
see. 12). This is 8lso the rule in Texas. Geur@a Gas-
ualty co.~.ucClure, 239 S. W.8#, affhmd 251 S. 1.
800. The fact that the stat&s rsqulrsa the nothe to
be in writ&g awentuates the ~~18 that such notics must
be perlsonQl.
It is sald In Hoefling- Y* San hntonio. 3s 8. w.
n278
siheassesrnnantoithe gsqsrty of tne
oitieen, by vzlrtue of tl%e state wmstltuffoa,
T3xes8l..lenuPonallhi6xsmdedProPerty,
not exoepttng fhe homestead; adl St %e a-+-
erit ha very lqortant to the sitlstm it be-
oomes that he should bs apprised, at least,
of the a&ion of the Roard or Equalfsation te
uhcn 5s conf'i.dedthe paver of raising or de-
ereaelmg the YalUatt;ion of his iroperty. when
once the Board has duly fired the value of ths
Ipoperty* the lien attmhee aarimizy ai3
thoughithadcome through thedecreeofthe
dulyo~gwxl.ssdoourf~and,~lehe~tbs
rftliew3d by appsal from the deolslfm or desrss
of a court, no appeal is contemplated er pl'a-
vided fmnn the amrd of a Board of SquaXlzatlon,
whether of s city ax?county. 0 l l Wt notbe
of some k3.?Xlmzatbe~~sYAbi~Psre prspsrtq w$n
be emumbered ritli lSene, and mode subjest to
the ppaent cri debts to tb@ 6tate or mnmiaipal-
ity . To hold othemflse wmld be to deem
the tmner of poppatyoPdthoat the *due4
cess of law,* contemplated in the eons r-
%4x$-
794
Honorable Ii. L. ~ashbuI?I - Page 3
tional guarauties of the rights Of psoperty.e
The boldin;: uas ~afY%rmed by the aktpreme Court.
90 %8X. 6% 39 D. w* 91s.
%otlae, thsrer0rt3, and the consequent opportuu-
itg to be heard, is Jurlsdiotional, not only under the
general pinolple of due process, but likewise under the
statutes themeloes~ It follae that 811 order r8isLng
the tulu~e of th8 taxpayer*6 property, in the abeenoe of
sotioe aud opportunity to be heard, being rithout Juris-
diet&m ,%a YOia and of no effoot. Hlghlpad Park Ilml.
13ohoolDistrict 6f Dallas Runty, et al, Ye, aepualto XMr
co. 60 6. '1. (2) 1063. Hotlce must, thereivm3, be &en
IS the Board is to hate power -- JuriLadAation -- to r&be
the taxpsyer~sr8.luutionl.u suohmanuer astoafYeotbi6
l.iabUity for taxeu.
Axmterlng your'queetlonu in the l&ght of the fore-
going principles of1aiF,youare advioedr
1. A postal aard notlae depooited in the ml1
by the County Clerk, duly directed to the taxpayer, may or
may not oenstitrife the personal notiae aontemplated by the
statute. That is to say, the etatutee require permmal
eervice of suohrrittenn0tbe. Ob7iou8ly, a postal card
oeuldand8ould~t thatnotioelf'itrere pezwmally
delitemd to the ta%payer, Depodt of such card In the
Untted 8tates mail Todd afford evA&mee - at least,
pdma ia&* 8uPfioient -- to JuetU'y a fizmU.ng that it
had been duxy rtmeived by th4 addrewee, anb that he,
therefore, had the actual notice oontemplated aJ the
ltatutes, but It 3.6 not oon~lueive as to suah 3aatter.
zf for, any reason the postal card does not reach the
ha,ndt~ of the taxpayer, it ha5 not served its purpoee
and it is* th%reSore, not aufficieut. On the Other
hand, 3.f the caxd reaahea the haude of the ta?+yee
suoh vfitten notiae may, Of tourso, be served
perso&lly upon the taxpayer In any Other suitable asyl
that Is to cay, it may be served by a peaoe offioer, or
by a p%oate oiti?ien. H8Tw4r the ssrptw my be made,
there Le z?o statute of evMenee upon the subJQct, ojrrltsng;
any charaoter of retum, oe&iiXaate, afPidavlt or the
like, oozwlusivo evldeame of 6~31 semiae. In the Dature
of things, the mutter is a question of feet In the part&w-
ler case. Unlessr the tarpayer appears f&t the hear%mg, the
795
iionorable M. L. WashM.un- We 4
aoard, at8 a matter of juriediOtionsl neoeselty, met as-
oertain or fiud that auoh not108 bse been served+ As
above statod, loos that the peatal OsPd DMIm% hod been
a&opted ~0~1% at least be prtae faoio evl%encre of lrer-
vice suPfiolent to authori5e the Bosrd to p00eed rith
aonsid8ratlon of value.
It is not required by the otstuteo that the writ-
tennotioetothetaxpsyer shollmm the plsoecudtAak0
of the Board*6 meekhg~ that $6 a mattar to be fixed by
the later published or posted notioe for the time bed&-
nsted in the etatuto, for ahioh res8on, se are of the
opinion the aotual pereonal senloe o? notSloe to the tss-
payer should antedate the prescrSbed period of
or posted notloe
f" for tgeRoavdtsmeeting. In
it takes t&e rsoual .otloc to the tascpayer, plus the
statutory not co of the Sioiwd*s Beefing, ,to Olothe t&e
Board with jurier3.zLotioc to bar and dotermine the ques-
tion of increase d value of rendition.
2. xbat we hare ssid abwe sawers your qtmr
tiom "2* Bowwer it nay be sddod that sny OnsrsOter of
service if the ur&a nottce upon the tuxpsyer thut is
Oapable OS prooP will be suff'iolent.
3. Where the Brturd has aalmd in the abmnce
ot not&e, a@ ther4fore ritheut &zrfsdietion, to roiue
the tsxpsyer*s valuation of his Foparty, its aatioa &s
vold. The original rendition, thefBfor*, etanda 98
though a0 atteiupted m~ieion whaterer had been .&em
taken by the Board of +mlisation. Up0n the Ocrm ZetAon
of the rork of the Board, as aBoard of &quslisst t On, it
hse Sunotionetl, amI whew it hse approved the rolls Of'
the assessor and oollaator of taxes for the yearr a&
taxes ace In process of colle0tJon~, tt hs5 00 parer vhat-
wer to sit a@.n as a Board EM Bqualiestion, as la the
Pirsf 1aOe* mm result, of 0our89) is that the or4.&nal
retit E 033of the property etande, aml notsxes othsrthsn
The??8 is no 3xrovioiOn In the ststute foP a r8-
hear* by the Imwd u on the question o.f raA.eeU YaWe
of themtaxpeyer*a r endt t&on.
XsQtletate Ia pbur letter* *On0 6un rea&iXy
aee'thst if the Oamrie~brmara' @art has juri&.iQtrOa
Iionorable ii. L. Wilashburu- Page g
to hear such petitions now and there ehould. be an epiaeaao
of requests to rodme the asrreaements on the statements in
the petit&on that aotual notioe had not been reoeited, a eer-
ious situation would arise with respect to the tax situation
In the oounty.* You are, of course, eomeot in this state-
ment, but the dilemma does not Wnfer poweror jurladlotion.
Af3 a practical matter the situation now stands af3follone~
&WI taxpayers may obedientlypay the taxes upon t&e basis
of the attempted lncreseed valuation, or they may take legal
steps to prevent the attempted aolleetionupon maah boolo.
6inoe, however, the original rerdition ae to value still
ataxIs, such frurpayerswould In any event be liable for
times upon that basic. If there is unaertaintt or reakneoe
In the law, it la not the bueineas of We departmnt, LIor
of the oourts, to give relief - the matter ia for the tegis-
lature.
fely tray yours
ATTQ6l'EX OENLWAL OF TXA6
OS-bl6