| Sec.
26.05. Tax Rate.
(a) The governing body of each taxing unit, before the later of
September 30 or the 60th day after the date the
certified appraisal roll is received by the taxing unit, shall adopt a
tax rate for the current tax year and shall notify
the assessor for
the unit of the rate adopted. The tax rate consists of two components,
each of which must be
approved separately. The components are:
(1) the rate that, if applied to the total taxable value, will impose
the total amount published under Section
26.04(e)(3)(C), less any amount of additional sales and use tax revenue
that will be used to pay debt
service; and
(2) the rate that, if applied to the total taxable value, will impose
the amount of taxes needed to fund
maintenance and operation expenditures of the unit for the next year.
(b) A taxing unit may not impose property taxes in any year until the
governing body has adopted a tax rate for
that year, and the annual tax rate must be set by ordinance, resolution,
or order, depending on the method
prescribed by law for adoption of a law by the governing body. The vote
on the ordinance, resolution, or order
setting the tax rate must be separate from the vote adopting the budget.
(c) If the governing body of a taxing unit does not adopt a tax rate
before the date required by Subsection (a), the
tax rate for the taxing unit for that tax year is the lower of the
effective tax rate calculated for that tax year or the
tax rate adopted by the taxing unit for the preceding tax year. A tax
rate established by this subsection is treated
as an adopted tax rate. Before the fifth day after the establishment of
a tax rate by this subsection, the governing
body of the taxing unit must ratify the applicable tax rate in the
manner required by Subsection (b).
(d) The governing body of a taxing unit other than a school district may
not adopt a tax rate that exceeds the
lower of the rollback tax rate or 103 percent of the effective tax rate
calculated as provided by this chapter until
the governing body has held a public hearing on the proposed tax rate
and has otherwise complied with Section
26.06 and Section 26.065. The governing body of a taxing unit shall
reduce a tax rate set by law or by vote of
the electorate to the lower of the rollback tax rate or 103 percent of
the effective tax rate and may not adopt a
higher rate unless it first complies with Section 26.06.
(e) A person who owns taxable property is entitled to an injunction
restraining the collection of taxes by a taxing
unit in which the property is taxable if the taxing unit has not
complied with the requirements of this section and
the failure to comply was not in good faith. An action to enjoin the
collection of taxes must be filed prior to the
date a taxing unit delivers substantially all of its tax bills.
(f) Except as required by the law under which an obligation was created,
the governing body may not apply any
tax revenues generated by the rate described in Subsection (a)(1) of
this section for any purpose other than the
retirement of debt.
Amended by 1981 Tex. Laws (1st C.S.), p. 164, ch. 13, Sec. 117; amended
by 1985 Tex. Laws, p. 4994, ch. 657, Sec. 3; amended by 1987
Tex. Laws, ch. 699, Sec. 2, ch. 947, Sec. 7, and ch. 988, Sec. 2;
amended by 1991 Tex. Laws, p. 1522, ch. 404, Sec. 1; amended by 1997
Tex. Laws, p. 560, ch. 165, Sec. 29.06 and p. 3910, ch. 1039, Sec. 27;
amended by 1999 Tex. Laws, p. 2511, ch. 398, Sec. 3; amended by
1999 Tex. Laws, p. 2759, ch. 423, Sec. 1; amended by 1999 Tex. Laws, p.
4596, ch. 1358, Sec. 2.
Cross References:
Notice, hearing, and vote on tax increase, see Sec. 26.06.
Comptroller model notice of public hearing, see Rule Sec. 9.17.
Calculation of effective and rollback tax rates, see Sec. 26.04.
Delivery of tax bills, see Sec. 31.01.
School district budget and proposed tax rate notice, see Section 44.004,
Education Code.
Notes:
SB 1420, 70th Leg., 1987, effective June 19, 1987, amends subsection (e)
and uses the term "payment" of debt. HB 1866, 70th Leg.,
1987, effective January 1, 1988, uses the term "retirement" of
debt.
Where a municipal school district annexes territory that belonged to
another school district, there is no need for the district to hold an
election authorizing taxation within the newly annexed territory.
Article VII, Sec. 3-b, Tex. Const., was added to eliminate the need for
new voter approval of taxes when authorized changes are made to the
boundaries of school districts. Once taxation has been authorized, a
change in boundaries has no effect upon the power to tax. Manges v.
Freer Independent School District, 677 S.W.2d 490 (Tex. 1984).
The enriched education that a local school district desired to provide
students was not the measure for determining if the state was
imposing an educational mandate requiring the levy of a state-imposed
rate of tax. The controlling factor in reviewing a challenge to an
alleged state ad valorem tax is the State's involvement in the levy.
West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District, et. al v.
Alanis, et al, No. 03-01-00491-CV (Tex. App.- Austin 2002).
A taxing unit must specifically mention tax rate adoption in its open
meetings notice; failure to do so can be raised as a defense in a
delinquent tax lawsuit. Parr v. State, 743 S.W.2d 268 (Tex. App.-San
Antonio 1987, writ denied).
After adopting a tax rate higher than the rollback rate under Tax Code
Section 26.05, a community college district may not voluntarily
reduce its adopted tax rate in the same tax year, The only method by
which the Tax Code authorizes a community college district to
reduce a tax rate that exceeds the rollback rate is an election timely
initiated by a valid voter petition. While it may be reasonable as a
matter of policy for a taxing unit to consider reducing its tax rate
voluntarily, there is no statutory framework for "unwinding"
the
complex and detailed tax assessment and collection procedures. Op. Tex.
Att'y Gen. No. JC-360 (2001).
A hospital district governed by Health and Safety Code Chapter 286 may
not hold an election to increase the maximum tax rate that the
voters approved in an election to convert from a Chapter 282 hospital
district. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JC-247 (2000).
A county hospital district could legally levy and collect taxes to
provide medical services to its indigent citizens, even if it closed its
hospital and leased its facilities to a private entity to continue to
provide the medical services. The hospital closure did not relieve the
district of its obligations to provide medical services to its
indigents. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JC-220 (2000).
A county may not borrow money from the State Infrastructure Bank for
road and bridge construction and repay the loan with property
taxes levied for that purpose over a term of years without issuing bonds
or other obligations evidencing the loan. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No.
JC-0139 (1999).
Section 26.05(d) - requiring public notice and hearing of intended
property tax increases by political subdivisions - is constitutional.
Article
VIII, Section 21, is a limitation on the Texas Legislature's full power
to levy and to authorize the levy of property taxes as well as a
limitation on the taxing authority of political subdivisions. While the
Constitution limits the Legislature's power, it does not prohibit the
Legislature from enacting laws that provide additional limitations on
the power to tax. Tax Code Section 26.05(d) limits local taxation
power and requires public notices and a public hearing by a political
subdivision regardless of whether the increase includes new
improvements or new territory. The Tax Code section requires public
notices and hearings in more cases than the Constitution would. Op.
Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JC-0009 (1999).
In the absence of any protest from taxpayers, taxpayers are deemed to
have voluntarily paid a maintenance and operations school tax rate
above the rate set by the electorate and are not entitled to a refund. A
mistake in law does not excuse a taxpayer from the consequences of
voluntary payment of taxes. Unless taxpayers protest under Section
31.115, that is payment of tax under protest, taxpayers are presumed
to have paid the taxes voluntarily. Letter Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No.
DM-98-050 (1998).
The county commissioners court must hold its meetings in the county
courthouse as required by Sec. 81.005(c), Local Government Code.
Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-871 (1988).
Rollback elections are constitutional for hospital districts because the
constitution confers the authority to provide for hospital district
taxation on the legislature and not directly on the hospital district;
Sec. 26.07 does not unconstitutionally suspend Sec. 26.05, which
authorizes the setting of a tax rate. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-859
(1988).
School tax rate rollback elections are constitutional because the
constitution gives the legislature the authority to pass laws for the
assessment and collection of property taxes for school districts; the
legislature may delegate to voters the authority to place a one-year
limitation on the tax rate adopted. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-835
(1987).
Sec. 26.051.
Evidence of Unrecorded Tax Rate Adoption.
(a) If a taxing unit does not make a proper record of the adoption of a
tax rate for a year but the tax rate can be
determined by examining the tax rolls for that year, the governing body
of the taxing unit may take testimony or
make other inquiry to determine whether a tax rate was properly adopted
for that year. If the governing body
determines that a tax rate was properly adopted, it may order that its
official records for that year be amended
nunc pro tunc to reflect the adoption of the rate.
(b) An amendment of the official records made under Subsection (a) of
this section is prima facie evidence that
the tax rate entered into the records was properly and regularly adopted
for that year.
Added by 1989 Tex. Laws, p. 181, ch. 2, Sec. 14.01.
Sec. 26.052.
Simplified Tax Rate Notice for Taxing Units with Low Tax Levies.
(a) This section applies only to a taxing unit for which the total tax
rate proposed for the current tax year:
(1) is 50 cents or less per $100 of taxable value; and
(2) would impose taxes of $500,000 or less when applied to the current
total value for the taxing unit.
(b) A taxing unit to which this section applies is exempt from the
notice and publication requirements of Section
26.04(e) and is not subject to an injunction under Section 26.04(g) for
failure to comply with those requirements.
(c) A taxing unit to which this section applies may provide public
notice of its proposed tax rate in either of the
following methods not later than the seventh day before the date on
which the tax rate is adopted:
(1) mailing a notice of the proposed tax rate to each owner of taxable
property in the taxing unit; or
(2) publishing notice of the proposed tax rate in the legal notices
section of a newspaper having general
circulation in the taxing unit.
(d) A taxing unit that provides public notice of a proposed tax rate
under Subsection (c) is exempt from Sections
26.05(d) and 26.06 and is not subject to an injunction under Section
26.05(e) for failure to comply with Section
26.05(d). A taxing unit that provides public notice of a proposed tax
rate under Subsection (c) may not adopt a
tax rate that exceeds the rate set out in the notice unless the taxing
unit provides additional public notice under
Subsection (c) of the higher rate or complies with Sections 26.05(d) and
26.06, as applicable, in adopting the
higher rate.
(e) Public notice provided under Subsection (c) must specify:
(1) the tax rate that the governing body proposes to adopt;
(2) the date, time, and location of the meeting of the governing body of
the taxing unit at which the
governing body will consider adopting the proposed tax rate; and
(3) if the proposed tax rate for the taxing unit exceeds the unit's
effective tax rate calculated as provided
by Section 26.04, a statement substantially identical to the following:
"The proposed tax rate would
increase total taxes in (name of taxing unit) by (percentage by which
the proposed tax rate exceeds the
effective tax rate)."
Added by 1993 Tex. Laws, p. 168, ch. 81, Sec. 1; repealed by 1997 Tex.
Laws, p. 3918, ch. 1039, Sec. 28; added by 1999 Tex. Laws, p.
1114, ch. 255, Sec. 1.
Cross References:
Public hearing requirement, see art. VIII, Sec. 21, Tex. Const.
Failure to comply, see Sec. 26.05.
Regular notice and publication requirements, see Sec. 26.04.
Regular public hearing and notice requirements, see Sec. 26.06.
Sec. 26.06.
Notice, Hearing, and Vote on Tax Increase.
(a) A public hearing required by Section 26.05 may not be held before
the seventh day after the date the notice of
the public hearing on the proposed tax increase is given. The hearing
must be on a weekday that is not a public
holiday. The hearing must be held inside the boundaries of the unit in a
publicly owned building or, if a suitable
publicly owned building is not available, in a suitable building to
which the public normally has access. At the
hearing, the governing body must afford adequate opportunity for
proponents and opponents of the tax increase
to present their views.
(b) The notice of a public hearing may not be smaller than one-quarter
page of a standard-size or a tabloid-size
newspaper, and the headline on the notice must be in 18-point or larger
type. The notice must:
(1) contain a statement in the following form:
"NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX INCREASE
"The (name of the taxing unit) will hold a public hearing on a
proposal to increase total tax revenues from
properties on the tax roll in the preceding year by (percentage by which
proposed tax rate exceeds lower
of rollback tax rate or effective tax rate calculated under this
chapter) percent. Your individual taxes may
increase at a greater or lesser rate, or even decrease, depending on the
change in the taxable value of your
property in relation to the change in taxable value of all other
property and the tax rate that is adopted.
"The public hearing will be held on (date and time) at (meeting
place).
"(Names of all members of the governing body, showing how each
voted on the proposal to consider the
tax increase or, if one or more were absent, indicating the
absences.)"; and
(2) contain the following information:
(A) the unit's adopted tax rate for the preceding year and the proposed
tax rate, expressed as an
amount per $100;
(B) the difference, expressed as an amount per $100 and as a percent
increase or decrease, as
applicable, in the proposed tax rate compared to the adopted tax rate
for the preceding year;
(C) the average appraised value of a residence homestead in the taxing
unit in the preceding year
and in the current year; the unit's homestead exemption, other than an
exemption available only to
disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older, applicable to that
appraised value in each of
those years; and the average taxable value of a residence homestead in
the unit in each of those
years, disregarding any homestead exemption available only to disabled
persons or persons 65
years of age or older;
(D) the amount of tax that would have been imposed by the unit in the
preceding year on a
residence homestead appraised at the average appraised value of a
residence homestead in that
year, disregarding any homestead exemption available only to disabled
persons or persons 65 years
of age or older;
(E) the amount of tax that would be imposed by the unit in the current
year on a residence
homestead appraised at the average appraised value of a residence
homestead in the current year,
disregarding any homestead exemption available only to disabled persons
or persons 65 years of
age or older, if the proposed tax rate is adopted; and
(F) the difference between the amounts of tax calculated under
Paragraphs (D) and (E), expressed
in dollars and cents and described as the annual increase or decrease,
as applicable, in the tax to be
imposed by the unit on the average residence homestead in the unit in
the current year if the
proposed tax rate is adopted
.
(c) The notice may be delivered by mail to each property owner in the
unit, or it may be published in a
newspaper. If the notice is published in a newspaper, it may not be in
the part of the paper in which legal notices
and classified advertisements appear.
(d) At the public hearing the governing body shall announce the date,
time, and place of the meeting at which it
will vote on the proposed tax rate. After the hearing the governing body
shall give notice of the meeting at which
it will vote on the proposed tax rate and the notice shall be in the
same form as prescribed by Subsections (b) and
(c), except that it must state the following:
"NOTICE OF VOTE ON TAX RATE
"The (name of the taxing unit) conducted a public hearing on a
proposal to increase the total tax revenues of the
(name of the taxing unit) from properties on the tax roll in the
preceding year by (percentage by which proposed
tax rate exceeds lower of rollback tax rate or effective tax rate
calculated under this chapter) percent on (date
and time public hearing was conducted).
"The (governing body of the taxing unit) is scheduled to vote on
the tax rate that will result in that tax increase at
a public meeting to be held on (date and time) at (meeting place)."
(e) The meeting to vote on the tax increase may not be earlier than the
third day or later than the 14th day after
the date of the public hearing. The meeting must be held inside the
boundaries of the taxing unit in a publicly
owned building or, if a suitable publicly owned building is not
available, in a suitable building to which the public
normally has access. If the governing body does not adopt a tax rate
that exceeds the lower of the rollback tax
rate or 103 percent of the effective tax rate by the 14th day, it must
give a new notice under Subsection (d)
before it may adopt a rate that exceeds the lower of the rollback tax
rate or 103 percent of the effective tax rate.
(f) The comptroller by rule shall prescribe the language and format to
be used in the part of the notice required
by Subsection (b)(2). A notice under Subsection(b) is not valid if it
does not substantially conform to the
language and format prescribed by the comptroller under this subsection.
(g) This section does not apply to a school district. A school district
shall provide notice of a public hearing on a
tax increase as required by Section 44.004, Education Code.
Amended by 1981 Tex. Laws (1st C.S.), p. 164, ch. 13, Sec. 118; amended
by 1983 Tex. Laws, p. 5464, ch. 1029, Sec. 1; amended by
1985 Tex. Laws, p. 4995, ch. 657, Sec. 4; amended by 1985 Tex. Laws (1st
C.S.), p. 30, ch. 1, Sec. 3; amended by 1987 Tex. Laws, ch.
456, Sec. 1 and ch. 947, Sec. 8; amended by 1989 Tex. Laws, p. 4005, ch.
940, Sec. 1; amended by 1991 Tex. Laws (2nd C.S.), p. 36, ch.
6, Sec. 46; amended by 1997 Tex. Laws, p. 560, ch. 165, Sec. 29.07, and
p. 3910, ch. 1039, Secs. 28 and 29; amended by 1999 Tex. Laws,
p. 2511, ch. 398, Sec. 4; amended by 1999 Tex. Laws, p. 4596, ch. 1358,
Sec. 3.
Cross References:
Public hearing requirement, see art. VIII, Sec. 21, Tex. Const.
Failure to comply, see Sec. 26.05.
Public hearing ad, see Rule Sec. 9.17.
School district notice of public hearing, see Section 44.004, Education
Code.
Notes:
HB 328, 70th Leg., 1987, effective August 31, 1987, amended subsection
(b) to provide for more information on the notice of public
hearing for a tax increase than required by the amendment to this
subsection by HB 1866, 70th Leg., 1987, effective January 1, 1988.
A taxpayer or taxpayer group must present evidence that the debt
calculations in the effective rate calculation do not accurately
represent
the actual bonded indebtedness of a taxing unit in challenging the
accuracy of the effective rate calculation. Corpus Christi Taxpayer's
Association v. City of Corpus Christi, 716 S.W.2d 578 (Tex. App.-Corpus
Christi 1986, writ ref'd n.r.e.).
To be a newspaper of general circulation for the purpose of publishing
legal notices, a newspaper must have more than a de minimis
number of subscribers within a particular geographic region; must have a
diverse subscribership; and must contain some news, editorials, and
advertisements of a general character and interest to the community.
Government Code Section 2051.044 lists four criteria of a newspaper
in which a notice may be published. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JC-223
(2000).
Sec. 26.065.
Supplemental Notice of Hearing on Tax Rate Increase.
(a) In addition to the notice required under Section 26.06, the
governing body of a taxing unit required to hold a
public hearing by Section 26.05(d) shall give notice of the hearing in
the manner provided by this section.
(b) If the taxing unit owns, operates, or controls an Internet website,
the unit shall post notice of the public
hearing on the website continuously for at least seven days immediately
before the public hearing on the proposed
tax rate increase and at least seven days immediately before the date of
the vote proposing the increase in the tax
rate.
(c) If the taxing unit has free access to a television channel, the
taxing unit shall request that the station carry a
60-second notice of the public hearing at least five times a day between
the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. for at
least seven days immediately before the public hearing on the proposed
tax rate increase and at least seven days
immediately before the date of the vote proposing the increase in the
tax rate.
(d) The notice of the public hearing required by Subsection (b) must
contain a statement that is substantially the
same as the statement required by Section 26.06(b)(1) and must contain
information that is substantially the same
as the information required by Section 26.06(b)(2).
(e) This section does not apply to a taxing unit if the taxing unit:
(1) is unable to comply with the requirements of this section because of
the failure of an electronic or
mechanical device, including a computer or server; or
(2) is unable to comply with the requirements of this section due to
other circumstances beyond its
control.
(f) A person who owns taxable property is not entitled to an injunction
restraining the collection of taxes by a
taxing unit in which the property is taxable if the taxing unit has, in
good faith, attempted to comply with the
requirements of this section.
Added by 1999 Tex. Laws, p. 4598, ch. 1358, Sec. 5.
Cross References:
Public hearing requirement, see art. VIII, Sec. 21, Tex. Const.
Failure to comply, see Sec. 26.05.
Public hearing ad, see Rule Sec. 9.17.
School district notice of public hearing, see Section 44.004, Education
Code.
Sec. 26.07.
Election To Repeal Increase.
(a) If the governing body of a taxing unit other than a school district
adopts a tax rate that exceeds the rollback
tax rate calculated as provided by this chapter, the qualified voters of
the taxing unit by petition may require that
an election be held to determine whether or not to reduce the tax rate
adopted for the current year to the rollback
tax rate calculated as provided by this chapter.
(b) A petition is valid only if:
(1) it states that it is intended to require an election in the taxing
unit on the question of reducing the tax
rate for the current year;
(2) it is signed by a number of registered voters of the taxing unit
equal to at least 10 percent of the
number of registered voters of the taxing unit according to the most
recent official list of registered
voters; and
(3) it is submitted to the governing body on or before the 90th day
after the date on which the governing
body adopted the tax rate for the current year.
(c) Not later than the 20th day after the day a petition is submitted,
the governing body shall determine whether
or not the petition is valid and pass a resolution stating its finding.
If the governing body fails to act within the
time allowed, the petition is treated as if it had been found valid.
(d) If the governing body finds that the petition is valid (or fails to
act within the time allowed), it shall order that
an election be held in the taxing unit on a date not less than 30 or
more than 90 days after the last day on which it
could have acted to approve or disapprove the petition. A state law
requiring local elections to be held on a
specified date does not apply to the election unless a specified date
falls within the time permitted by this section.
At the election, the ballots shall be prepared to permit voting for or
against the proposition: "Reducing the tax rate
in (name of taxing unit) for the current year from (the rate adopted) to
(the rollback tax rate calculated as
provided by this chapter)."
(e) If a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question in the
election favor the proposition, the tax rate for
the taxing unit for the current year is the rollback tax rate calculated
as provided by this chapter; otherwise, the
tax rate for the current year is the one adopted by the governing body.
(f) If the tax rate is reduced by an election called under this section
after tax bills for the unit are mailed, the
assessor for the unit shall prepare and mail corrected tax bills. He
shall include with the bill a brief explanation of
the reason for and effect of the corrected bill. The date on which the
taxes become delinquent for the year is
extended by a number of days equal to the number of days between the
date the first tax bills were sent and the
date the corrected tax bills were sent.
(g) If a property owner pays taxes calculated using the higher tax rate
when the rate is reduced by an election
called under this section, the taxing unit shall refund the difference
between the amount of taxes paid and the
amount due under the reduced rate if the difference between the amount
of taxes paid and the amount due under
the reduced rate is $1 or more. If the difference between the amount of
taxes paid and the amount due under the
reduced rate is less than $1, the taxing unit shall refund the
difference on request of the taxpayer. An application
for a refund of less than $1 must be made within 90 days after the date
the refund becomes due or the taxpayer
forfeits the right to the refund.
(h) - (j) Expired in 1989.
Amended by 1981 Tex. Laws (1st C.S.), p. 165, ch. 13, Sec. 119; amended
by 1985 Tex. Laws (1st C.S.), p. 29, ch. 1, Sec. 3; amended by
1987 Tex. Laws, ch. 457, Sec. 13 and ch. 947, Sec. 9; amended by 1993
Tex. Laws, p. 2863, ch. 728, Sec. 84, and by p. 1387, ch. 292,
Sec. 1; amended by 1997 Tex. Laws, p. 561, ch. 165, Sec. 29.08.
Cross References:
Tax bills generally, see Sec. 31.01.
Correction of tax roll, see Sec. 26.15.
Delinquency date, see Sec. 31.02.
Payment of interest on refunds, see Sec. 31.12.
Refunds become due, see Sec. 31.12.
Notes:
Without reference to HB 344, 70th Leg., 1987, effective September 1,
1987, subsection (h) only was deleted by HB 1866, 70th Leg.,
1987, effective January 1, 1988.
HB 1866, 70th Leg., 1987, effective January 1, 1988, provides that a
taxing unit that adopted an additional sales and use tax before the
effective date of this bill calculates its 1988 effective and rollback
tax rates following the formulas in Sec. 26.041(a), Tax Code.
Section 26.07, Tax Code, is constitutional as applied to counties. This
section does not contravene art. VIII, Sec. 1-a, or art. VIII, Sec. 9.
Vinson v. Burgess, Winborne v. Commissioners Court of Ellis County, 733
S.W.2d 263 (Tex. 1989).
A finding of a commissioners' court that a tax rate rollback petition
was invalid on grounds other than those listed in Sec. 26.07, Tax Code,
did not relieve a citizen/petitioner from the burden of proving that the
rollback petition was valid. Parker v. White, 852 S.W.2d 748 (Tex.
App.-Tyler 1993, no writ).
Rollback of taxes is constitutional as applied to counties. Winborne v.
Commissioners Court of Ellis County, 757 S.W.2d 876 (Tex.
App.-Waco 1988, affirmed).
Section 26.07, Property Tax Code, violates the provisions of art. VIII,
Secs. 1-a and 9, Tex. Const., and is unconstitutional with respect to
counties. Vinson v. Burgess, 755 S.W.2d 481 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 1988,
reversed).
The courts cannot interrupt the rollback election process once it has
begun; absentee voting establishes that the election process has
started. Port Isabel/South Padre Island Taxpayers Association v. South
Padre Island, 721 S.W.2d 405 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 1986, no
writ).
Rollback elections are constitutional for hospital districts because the
constitution confers the authority to provide for hospital district
taxation on the legislature rather than directly on the hospital
district; Sec. 26.07 does not unconstitutionally suspend Sec. 26.05,
which
authorizes the setting of a tax rate. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-859
(1988).
Section 26.07 is unconstitutional to the extent that it limits the
authority of a county commissioners court under art. VIII, Secs. 1-a and
9,
Tex. Const., to set tax rate general fund, farm-to-market flood control,
or public road maintenance taxes. These tax rates may not be
rolled back. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-792 (1987).
The county assessor calculates the effective tax rate for each of the
county's funds and adds them together for the county's total effective
rate; the county must exceed eight percent of the total county effective
rate, not one of its components, before local voters can invoke
the tax rate rollback provisions; and, the county is not required to
apportion any tax increase among the funds. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No.
JM-677 (1987).
The county commissioners are not authorized to accept a rollback
election petition unless the rate adopted exceeds the effective tax rate
by more than eight percent, plus the amount necessary for indigent
health care costs specifically protected by statute from such rollback;
and, the assessor is not empowered to recalculate the effective tax rate
for any inaccuracy after the tax plan is in effect, unless a taxpayer
timely files an injunction. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-641 (1987).
A petition for a tax rollback election that consists in part of copies
of signatures comprising a previously submitted and rejected petition
does not comport with the requirement that such petition be signed by a
requisite number of voters. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-574
(1986).
Where a taxing unit adopts a tax rate that includes a component for
providing services required by the Indigent Health Care and Treatment
Act, and a successful election under Sec. 26.07 reduces the adopted
rate, the new rate is set at eight percent over the effective rate plus
the
additional percentage attributable to the required health care costs.
Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. JM-528 (1986).
The most recent official list of qualified voters in Secs. 26.07 and
26.08, Tax Code, means the current and up-to-date list of all voters who
reside in the taxing unit and whose registrations are effective on or
before the date upon which the petition is submitted for the
consideration of the governing body; the Texas Election Code requires
each voter registrar to provide a taxing unit holding an election
with an appropriate list of registered voters that will be current on
the date of the election. Op. Election Law JWF-10 (1983).
Carole Keeton Strayhorn
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Window on State Government
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