Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide 1931 Page: 78
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78 THE TEXAS ALMANAC-1931.
Legislature may. by general laws, exempt from tax-
ation public property used for public purposes;
actual places or (of) religious worship, also any
property owned by a church or by a strictly reli-
gious society for the exclusive use as a dwelling
place for the ministry of such church or religious
society, and which yields no revenue whatever to
such church or religious society; provided, that such
exemption shall not extend to more property than
is'reasonably necessary for a dwelling place and in
no event more than one acre of land; places of
burial not held for private or corporate profit; all
buildings used exclusively and owned by persons or
associations of persons for school purposes and the
necessary furniture of all schools and property used
exclusively and reasonably necessary in conducting
any association engaged in promoting the religious,
educational and physical development of boys, girls,
young men or young women operating under a State
or national organization of like character; also the
endowment funds of such institutions of learning
and religion not used with a view to profit; and
when the same are invested in bonds or mortgages,
or in land or other property which has been and
shall hereafter be bought in by such institutions
under foreclosure sales made to satisfy or protect
such bonds or mortgages, that such exemption of
such land and property shall continue only for two
years after the purchase of the same at such sale
by such institutions and no longer, and institutions
of purely 'public charity; and all laws exempting
property from taxation other than the property
above mentioned shall be null and void.
Sec. 3. Taxes to Be Collected for Public Pur-
poses Only.-Taxes shall be levied and collected by
general laws and for public purposes only.
Sec. 4. Power to Tax Corporations Not to Be
Surrendered.-The power to tax corporations and
corporate property shall not, be surrendered or sus-
pended by act of the Legislature, by any contract
or grant to which the State shall be a party.
Sec. 5. Railroad Taxes Due Cities and Towns.-
All property of railroad companies, of whatever de-
scription, lying or being within the limits of any
city or incorporated town within this State, shall
bear its proportionate share of municipal taxation.
and if any such property shall not have been here-
tofore rendered, the authorities of the city or town
within which it lies shall have power to require its
rendition and collect the usual municipal tax there-
on. as on other property lying within said munici-
pality.
Sec. 6. Appropriations; How Made and for What
Period.-No money shall be drawn from the Treas-
ury but in pursuance of specific appropriations made
by law; nor shall any appropriation of money be
made for a longer term than two years, except by
the first Legislature to assemble under this Con-
stitution, which may make the necessary appropria-
tions to carry on' the Government until the assem-
bling of the Sixteenth Legislature.
Sec. 7. Special Funds Not to Be Borrowed or
Diverted.-The Legislature shall not have power to
borrow, or in any manner divert from its purpose,
any special fund that may, or ought to, come into
the Treasury; and shall make it penal for any per-
son or persons to borrow, wthhold or in any man-
ner to divert from its purpose, any special fund or
any part thereof.
Sec.- 8. Railroad Property; How Assessed.-All
property of railroad companies shall be assessed.
and the taxes collected in the several counties in
which said property is situated, including so much
of the roadbed and fixtures as shall be in each
county. The rolling stock may be assessed in gross
in the county where the principal office of the com-
paiy is located, and the county tax paid upon It
sl541 te' apportioned 'by the ComptrOller, in proper=
tion to the distance sijch road may run through any
suh- conty, among the several counties through
which the road passes, as part of their tax assets.*Se. 9. Rate of State and Mnnicipal Taxation.-
The State tax on property, exclusive of the tax
necessary to pay the public debt, and of the taxes
provided for the benefit of the public free schools,
shall never exceed 850 on the $100 valuation: and
no county, city or town shall levy more than 25c for
city or county purposes, and not exceeding 15c for
roads and bridges, and not exceeding 15c to pay
jurors, on the $100 valuation, except for the pay-
ment of debts incurred prior to the adoption of the
amendment Sept. 25, 1888, and for the erection of
public buildings, streets, sewers, waterworks and
other permanent improvements, not to exceed 2~c
on the $100 valuation, in any one year, and except
as is in this Constitution otherwise provided: and
the Legislature may also authorize an additional
annual ad valorem tax to be levied and collected
for the further maintenance of the public roads;
provided, that a majority of the qualified property
axpaying voters of the county voting at an election
to be held for that purpose shall vote such tax, not
to exceed 15C on the $100 valuation of the property
subject to taxation in such county. And the Leg-
islature may pass local laws for the maintenance of
the public roads and highways, without the local
notice required for special or local laws.
Sec. 10. Taxes Not to Be Released Except by
Two-Thirds Vote of Each House.-The Legislature
shall have no power to release the inhabitants of,
or property in, any county, city or town, from the
payment of taxes levied for State or county pur-
poses, unless in case of great public calamity in any
such county, city or town, when such release may
be made by a vote of two-thirds of each house of
the Legislature.
Sec. 11. Where Property Is to Be Assessed.-All
property, whether owned by persons or corpora-
tibns, shall be assessed for taxation and the taxes
paid in the county where situated, but the Legisla-
ture may by a two-thirds vote authorize the pay-
ment of taxes of nonresidents of counties to be
made at the office of the Comptroller of Public
Accounts. And all lands and other property not ren-
dered for taxation by the owner thereof shall be as-
sessed at its lair value by the proper officer.
Sec. 12. Unorganized Counties.-All property sub-
ject to taxation in, and owned by residents of, un-
organized counties shall be assessed and the taxes
thereon paid in the counties to which such unor-
ganized counties shall be attached for judicial pur-
poses: and lands lying in and owned by nonresi-
dents of unorganized counties and lands lying in
the territory not laid off into counties shall be as-
sessed and the taxes thereon collected at the office
of the Comptroller of the State.
Sec. 13. Tax Sales; Tax Deeds; Redemptions.-
Provision shall be made by the first Legislature for
the speedy sale of a sufficient portion of all lands
and other property for the taxes due thereon, and
every year thereafter for the sale of all lands and
other property upon which the taxes have not been
paid; and the deed of conveyance to the purchaser
for all lands and other property thus sold shall be
held to vest a good and perfect title in the pur-
chaser thereof, subject to be impeached only for
actual fraud; provided, that the former owner shall
within two years from date of purchaser's deed
have the right to redeem the land upon the pay-
ment of double the amount of money paid for the
land.
Sec. 14. Election and Qualifications of Assessors.
-There shall be elected by the qualified electors
*Note.-This is an amended section, having been
altered three times:
1. To lower State tax rate from 50c to 35c, a
separate State school tax having been provided by
companion amendment of Sec. 3 of Art. VII. Sub-
mitted by Eighteenth Legislature (1883). ratified
in an election Aug. 14, 1883, and declared adopted
Sept. 25, 1883.
2. To authorize Legislature to provide for a 15c
local road tax. Submitted by Twenty-First Legis-
lature (1889), ratified in an election Nov. 4, 1890,
and declared adopted Dec. 19. 1890.
3. To authorize 15ce tax for jurors.- Submitted
by Twenty-Ninth Legislature (1905), ratified in an
election Nov. 6. 1906, and declared adopted Jan. 7,
1907.
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Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide 1931, book, 1931; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117160/m1/80/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.