Article VIII, Section 14 of the Texas Constitution
As amended November 6, 2001:
(a) The qualified voters of each county shall elect an assessor-collector of taxes for the county, except as otherwise provided by this section.
(b) In any county having a population of less than 10,000 inhabitants, as determined by the most recent decennial census of the United States, the sheriff of the county, in addition to that officer's other duties, shall be the assessor-collector of taxes, except that the commissioners court of such a county may submit to the qualified voters of the county at an election the question of electing an assessor-collector of taxes as a county officer separate from the office of sheriff. If a majority of the voters voting in such an election approve of electing an assessor-collector of taxes for the county, then such official shall be elected at the next general election for the constitutional term of office as is provided for other tax assessor-collectors in this state.
(c) An assessor-collector of taxes shall hold office for four years; and shall perform all the duties with respect to assessing property for the purpose of taxation and of collecting taxes, as may be prescribed by the Legislature.
Editor Comments
As adopted in 1876, this section read: "There shall be elected by the qualified electors of each county, at the same time and under the same law regulating the election of State and county officers, an assessor of taxes, who shall hold his office for two years and until his successor is elected and qualified."
The section has been amended three times. The most recent amendment incorporated Sections 16 and 16a of Article VIII.
Subsection (c) of this section provides an exception to Article XVI, Section 30(a) for county tax assessor-collectors.
Recent Decisions
None.
Historic Decisions
- Missouri, K. & T. Ry. Co. of Texas v. Shannon, 100 S.W. 138, 142 (Tex. 1907) ("It is argued that section 14, properly construed, means, not only that there shall be an assessor of taxes elected for each county, but that he and no other officer shall be intrusted with any part of the duty of making the assessment. We think the claim is too broad. The section contains no language which expressly prohibits the appointment of a board to assess taxes in a particular case. Unlike other provisions of the Constitution which create offices, it does not define the duties of the officer, from which we think it is to be inferred that the scope of his duties were left to the determination of the Legislature.")
Library Resources
- Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (this multi-volume and up-to-date resource is available at all law libraries and many municipal libraries)
- The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (this one-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)
- The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (this two-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)
Online Resources
- Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (this resource is published and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)
- Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)
- Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)