Vinson v. Burgess

• Decision Date: 31 May 1989
• Docket Number: Nos. C-7942,C-8101,s. C-7942
• Citation: 773 S.W.2d 263
• Parties: Jimmy VINSON et al., Petitioners, v. Vic BURGESS et al., Respondents. The COMMISSIONERS COURT OF ELLIS COUNTY, Texas et al., Petitioners, v. Marilyn G. WINBORNE, Respondent.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

Page 263

773 S.W.2d 263

Jimmy VINSON et al., Petitioners, v. Vic BURGESS et al., Respondents.

The COMMISSIONERS COURT OF ELLIS COUNTY, Texas et al., Petitioners, v. Marilyn G. WINBORNE, Respondent.

Nos. C-7942, C-8101.

Supreme Court of Texas.

May 31, 1989.

Gregg M. McLaughlin, Arlington, for petitioners in No. C-7942.

Ron Johnson, Waxahachie, for respondents in No. C-7942.

William E. Trantham, Dallas, for petitioners in No. C-8101.

Earl Luna, Dallas, for respondent in No. C-8101.

SPEARS, Justice.

In this consolidated appeal the sole issue presented is whether section 26.07 of the Texas Property Tax Code is constitutional as applied to counties. Subsection (a) of section 26.07 provides:

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 Section 26.04 of this code, 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 Section 26.04 of this code. ¹

In the first cause, Vinson v. Burgess, taxpayers in Denton County presented a petition to their commissioners court for a tax "rollback" election pursuant to section 26.07 of the Property Tax Code. The commissioners court of Denton County refused to certify the petition, citing irregularities with particular signatures. Vinson and other taxpayers thereafter brought suit seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the commissioners court to certify the petition and order an election to be held pursuant to section 26.07. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the commissioners court, and Vinson appealed.

The court of appeals in Fort Worth initially held that the method used to determine the validity of the petition was neither fair nor reasonable and reversed the judgment of the trial court. However, on motion for rehearing, the court withdrew its judgment, and opinion, and affirmed the judgment of the trial court. The court of appeals held that section 26.07 of the Property Tax Code is unconstitutional as applied to counties because it conflicts with article VIII, sections 1-a and 9 of the Texas Constitution. 755 S.W.2d 481. The court said: "The people, acting in their capacity as the ultimate sovereign ... have adopted the constitutional provisions [article VIII, sections 1-a and 9] which delegate the authority to set tax rates to the commissioners courts of this state." 755 S.W.2d at 486. The court of appeals reasoned that section 26.07 of the Property Tax Code, which allows taxpayers a method to change the property tax rates after they have been set, would be an unconstitutional infringement upon the power of commissioners courts. Id.

In the second cause, Commissioners' Court of Ellis County v. Winborne, the commissioners court of Ellis County adopted tax rates amounting to a 32.8% increase in the rate adopted for the previous year. In November 1987 a tax "rollback" petition with the names of 7,000 voters was presented to the commissioners court pursuant to section 26.07 of the Property Tax Code. This petition asked that an election be called to reduce property tax rates for the year 1987. The commissioners court, however, refused to hold the election on the grounds that the Property Tax Code is inapplicable to taxes adopted pursuant to article VIII, sections 1-a and 9 of the Texas Constitution. Winborne, a taxpayer, thereafter filed a writ of mandamus to compel the commissioners court to order a "rollback" election pursuant to section 26.07 of the Property Tax Code. The trial court, however, refused to grant the writ of mandamus and Winborne appealed.

The court of appeals in Waco reversed the judgment of the trial court and held that a "rollback" election pursuant to section 26.07 is not expressly forbidden by the constitution. 757 S.W.2d 876. The court of appeals reasoned that article I, section 27 of the constitution provides citizens with the right to petition their government, and section 26.07 of the Property Tax Code is the means by which the taxpayers may exercise that power of petition. The court of appeals further explained: "Considering Article VIII, Sections 1-a and 9, in its entirety, it is clear to us that the designation of the Commissioners' Court as the fixer of rates was simply for the purpose of promoting the prompt conduct of business in commencing the rate-fixing process." (Emphasis added.) Id. at 879.

I.

No provision in the constitution should be read or construed in isolation. In Collingsworth County v. Allred, 120 Tex. 473, 40 S.W.2d 13 (1931), this court explained:

The Constitution must be read as a whole, and all amendments thereto must be considered as if every part had been adopted at the same time and as one instrument, and effect must be given to each part of each clause.... Different sections, amendments, or provisions of a Constitution which relate to the same subject-matter should be construed together and considered in the light of each other.

120 Tex. at 479, 40 S.W.2d at 15. (Emphasis added.) Therefore, the particular provisions relating to taxation should be construed together and in conjunction with all provisions of our state constitution.

We begin with the inalienable rights reserved to the citizens of this state by the Bill of Rights to the Texas Constitution. Article I, section 1 of the Texas Constitution proclaims:

Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the States. (Emphasis added.)

This section has been interpreted as a means to protect the citizens from the abuses of governmental power. Calkins, The Need for Constitutional Revision in Texas, 21 Tex.L.Rev. 479, 480 (1943). "The abuses and extravagances of the Davis regime, judicial incompetence, mounting tax rates ... and the general misrule of the Reconstruction Period combined to produce a general reaction and distrust in government." Id. (Emphasis added.) Those who framed the Texas Constitution of 1876 felt themselves justified in writing into that instrument a bill of rights which would bid defiance to future injustice and misrule.

Similarly, in article I, section 2 it is guaranteed that:

All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient. (Emphasis added.)

Of equal importance is article I, section 27 which specifically grants citizens the right to petition by declaring:

The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good; and apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances or other purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance. (Emphasis added.)

Article I, sections 1, 2 and 27 exemplify an intent of the people to retain the ultimate political power and to maintain "checks and balances" upon all governing bodies.

II.

The first main argument advanced for holding section 26.07 unconstitutional is that sections 1-a and 9 of article VIII confer "exclusive" authority upon the commissioners court to set property tax rates and the legislature by statute cannot remove governmental power conferred by the constitution. See City of Fort Worth v. Howerton, 149 Tex. 614, 236 S.W.2d 615 (Tex.1951). The argument continues that under Op.Tex.Att'y Gen. No. JM-792 (1987), section 26.07, which allows taxpayers a method to reduce their property tax rates after they have been set, is unconstitutional to the extent that it acts to circumvent the authority of a commissioners court.

In determining the constitutionality of a statute passed by the legislature, we begin with a strong presumption of its validity. Smith v. Davis, 426 S.W.2d 827 (Tex.1968). See also State v. City of Austin, 160 Tex. 348, 331 S.W.2d 737 (1960); Texas National Guard Armory Board v. McCraw, 132 Tex. 613, 126 S.W.2d 627 (1939). This presumption exists because of the equal presumption that legislators do not intend to enact unconstitutional laws.

Moreover, Texas courts have viewed tax legislation as deserving special consideration. In State v. Texas City, 295 S.W.2d 697, 704 (Tex.Civ.App.--Galveston 1956), aff'd, 303 S.W.2d 780 (Tex.1957), appeal dismissed, 355 U.S. 603, 78 S.Ct. 533, 2 L.Ed.2d 523 (1957), the court of appeals said, "There is always a presumption of constitutional validity [with regard to legislation] and it is especially strong in respect to statutes relating to taxation." Therefore, in the present action it must be shown that section 26.07 clearly appears to violate some provision of the constitution.

In deciding whether article VIII, sections 1-a and 9 of the Texas Constitution confer "exclusive" authority upon the Commissioners Court to set ad valorem tax rates, we look first to the specific language used and the purposes behind the passage of both provisions and read such provisions in conjunction with the Bill of Rights. Section 1-a of article VIII provides in pertinent part:

[T]he several counties of the State are authorized to levy ad valorem taxes upon all property within their respective boundaries for county purposes, except the first Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000) value of residential homesteads ..., not to exceed thirty cents (30cents) on each One Hundred Dollars ($100) valuation, in addition to all other ad valorem taxes authorized by the Constitution of this State, provided the revenue derived therefrom shall be used for construction and...