Did an irrigation district tax assessor-collector need property-tax certification if the district charged a flat benefit-plan fee instead of ad valorem tax?

Texas AG Opinion JM-775: Certification for Benefit-Plan Tax Collection

Plain-English summary

The Brownsville Irrigation and Drainage District used a benefit-plan tax rather than an ad valorem property tax. Landowners paid a flat fee per acre receiving district services, not an amount based on the taxable value of their land.

The Cameron County Attorney asked whether the district's tax assessor-collector had to register and pursue certification under article 7244b, the Property Taxation Professional Certification Act.

The Attorney General concluded that registration was not required. Article 7244b applied to specified officers and employees of a "taxing unit," and its definitions tied assessor-collector duties to Tax Code assessment and collection functions.

Tax Code section 1.04 defined a taxing unit as a listed political subdivision that was authorized to impose and was imposing ad valorem taxes. Because the district used only the benefit-plan method, it was not a taxing unit for this purpose, and its assessor-collector fell outside the certification requirement.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1987. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

How did the district's benefit-plan tax work?

The opinion described it as a flat fee per acre of land receiving district services rather than a tax based on property value.

What did article 7244b require?

It required specified appraisal and tax-office personnel of taxing units to register with the Board of Tax Professional Examiners and proceed toward certification.

Was every water district a taxing unit under the Tax Code definition?

No. Although the definition listed districts created under the Water Code, it also required the entity to be authorized to impose and actually be imposing ad valorem property taxes.

Why was the assessor-collector outside the certification rule?

The district did not impose an ad valorem tax, so JM-775 concluded that it was not a taxing unit for the relevant Tax Code and article 7244b provisions.

Background and statutory framework

Water Code section 58.631 et seq. governed the benefit-plan method described in the request. Under that method, the tax reflected acreage receiving district services rather than appraised property value.

Article 7244b created the Board of Tax Professional Examiners. Section 11 identified the appraisal and collection personnel required to register. Section 2 defined tax assessor-collectors and tax collectors through functions described in Tax Code chapters 26 and 31.

Tax Code section 1.04 supplied the controlling definition of "taxing unit." Applying the statute's plain language, the Attorney General concluded that the definition excluded the district while it imposed only benefit-plan taxes.

Citations and references

Statutes and rules:

• Water Code section 58.631 et seq., benefit-plan taxation
• V.T.C.S. article 7244b, Property Taxation Professional Certification Act
• Tax Code section 1.04, definition of taxing unit
• 22 T.A.C. section 623.1 et seq., certification rules cited by the opinion

Case:

• Railroad Commission of Texas v. Miller, 434 S.W.2d 670 (Tex. 1968)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-0775
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1987/jm0775.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS

August 26, 1987

Honorable Benjamin Euresti, Jr.
Cameron County Attorney
974 E. Harrison Street
Brownsville, Texas 78520

Opinion No. JM-775

Re: Whether the assessor-collector of the Brownsville Irrigation and Drainage District is subject to the Property Taxation Professional Certification Act, article 7244b, V.T.C.S.

Dear Mr. Euresti:

The Brownsville Irrigation and Drainage District [hereinafter the district] imposes a "benefit plan" method of taxation instead of an ad valorem system. Water Code, §58.631 et seq. Under such a scheme, a taxpayer pays, not on the basis of the taxable value of the property that he owns, but on the basis of a flat fee per acre of land receiving services from the district imposing the tax. Article 7244b, V.T.C.S., the Property Taxation Professional Certification Act, [hereinafter the Act], created the Board of Tax Professional Examiners and requires certain specified officers and employees of taxing units to register with the board and proceed toward certification by the board. The board, pursuant to section 17 of the act, has promulgated rules for certification that require an applicant to, inter alia, enroll and pass an examination in certain required courses, as well as pass a final, comprehensive examination. 22 T.A.C. §623.1 et seq. You ask whether the tax assessor-collector for the district is required by the act to register and proceed toward certification. It has been suggested that, because the district does not impose an ad valorem tax, the district's tax assessor-collector is not required to register. We agree; we conclude that by the very terms of the Tax Code, the district's assessor-collector is required to register only if the district is imposing an ad valorem tax.

Article 7244b, V.T.C.S., was first enacted in 1977 and was intended "to assure the people of Texas that the responsibility of assessing property for taxation is entrusted only to those persons duly registered and competent according to the regulations provided by this Act." V.T.C.S. art. 7244b, §1. Section 11 of the act specifies those persons who are required to register with the board:

The following persons shall register with the board: (1) all chief appraisers, appraisal supervisors and assistants, property tax appraisers, appraisal engineers, and other persons with authority to render judgment on, recommend, or certify appraised values to the appraisal review board of an appraisal district;

(2) the tax assessor-collector, tax collector, or other person designated by the governing body of a taxing unit as the chief administrator of the unit's assessment functions, collections functions, or both; and other persons who perform assessment or collections functions for the unit whom the chief administrator of the unit's tax office requires to register; and

(3) all persons engaged in appraisal of real or personal property for ad valorem tax purposes for an appraisal district or a taxing unit. (Emphasis added).

V.T.C.S. art. 7244b, §11. The act provides at section 2(11): "'Tax assessor-collector' means the chief administrator of a taxing unit's tax office who is responsible for the assessing functions described in chapter 26, Tax Code, and for collecting functions described in chapter 31, Tax Code." (Emphasis added). At section 2(12) of the act, the following definition is set forth: "'Tax collector' means the chief administrator of a taxing unit's tax office who is responsible for collection functions described in chapter 31, Tax Code, but not for assessing functions." (Emphasis added). The Tax Code at section 1.04 defines "taxing unit" as follows:

(12) 'Taxing unit' means a county, an incorporated city or town (including a home-rule city), a school district, a special district or authority (including a junior college district, a hospital district, a district created by or pursuant to the Water Code, a mosquito control district, a fire prevention district, or a noxious weed control district), or any other political unit of this state, whether created by or pursuant to the constitution or a local, special, or general law, that is authorized to impose and is imposing ad valorem taxes on property even if the governing body of another political unit determines the tax rate for the unit or otherwise governs its affairs. (Emphasis added).

We are required to construe article 7244b, V.T.C.S., in a way that is in accordance with the plain meaning of the language used. Railroad Commission of Texas v. Miller, 434 S.W.2d 670, 672 (Tex. 1968). Because the definition of "taxing unit" is limited to those political subdivisions that impose an ad valorem tax, the water district about which you inquire is not a "taxing unit" for purposes of the Tax Code. Accordingly, we conclude that the tax assessor-collector of an irrigation and drainage district that imposes taxes, not on an ad valorem basis, but on a "benefit plan" basis, need not register with the Board of Tax Professional Examiners pursuant to article 7244b, V.T.C.S.

SUMMARY

The tax assessor-collector for an irrigation and drainage district that imposes taxes, not on an ad valorem basis, but on a "benefit plan" basis, need not register with the Board of Tax Professional Examiners, pursuant to article 7244b, V.T.C.S.

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas

MARY KELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY
Special Assistant Attorney General

RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Jim Moellinger
Assistant Attorney General