AG Opinions and Requests

Attorney General Opinions

KP-0471: Asks whether section 6.05(f) of the Tax Code bars the continued employment of the Chief Appraiser if his sibling is elected as the County Tax Assessor/Collector. (RQ-0530-KP) The opinion provides Tax Code subsection 6.05(f) prohibits the chief appraiser of a tax appraisal district from employing any individual related to a member of the appraisal district board of directors within the second degree by affinity or within the third degree by consanguinity. A court would probably conclude that subsection 6.05(f) does not apply to the appraisal district board of directors' continued employment of a chief appraiser whose sibling begins serving as a member of the appraisal district board of directors. The chief appraiser's continued employment could, however, violate the nepotism prohibition in Government Code section 573.041 unless the chief appraiser's sibling serves as a nonvoting member of the appraisal district board of directors or the chief appraiser's employment falls under the continuous employment exception set forth in section 573.062. If the chief appraiser's employment falls under the continuous-employment exception, his sibling may not participate in any deliberation or voting on the appointment, reappointment, confirmation of the appointment or reappointment, employment, reemployment, change in status, compensation, or dismissal of the chief appraiser.

KP-0472: Asks whether Texas Property Code section 52.002 requires a district clerk to prepare an abstract of judgment rendered by a court of appeals. (RQ-0531-KP) The opinion finds Texas Property Code subsection 52.002(a) governs the preparation of an abstract of judgment for purposes of creating a judgment lien, requiring in relevant part that, among others, the clerk of the court in which the judgment is rendered must prepare the abstract. Where the Second Court of Appeals of Fort Worth vacated the judgment of the 415th District Court of Parker County and dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, the district court's judgment ceased to exist. Therefore, the Parker County District Clerk is not "the clerk of a court in which the judgment is rendered" in the situation described, and a court would probably conclude that subsection 52.002(a) does not obligate her to prepare an abstract of judgment.

KP-0473: Asks for clarification of the calculation of "average land value" under Local Government Code section 212.209. (RQ-0535-KP) The opinion provides Local Government Code chapter 212, subchapter H, establishes a statutory framework related to multifamily, hotel, or motel development in certain large municipalities. Under this framework, a municipality may require a portion of a landowner's property to be dedicated for parkland use, impose a parkland dedication fee, or both require the dedication and impose the fee. Within subchapter H, subsection 212.209(c) requires appraisal districts in which a municipality is wholly or partly located to calculate the "average land value for each area or portion of an area." The "land value" refers to the total "market value" of land within each municipally designated suburban area, urban area, or central business district area located wholly or partially within the appraisal district. A court would probably conclude that the "average land value" is obtained by dividing the land value in each partial or whole area within the district by the total acres within the same area.