Governor Abbott Signs Senate Bill 1133 (85R)
Senate Bill No. 1133 by Hinojosa from was sent to me for consideration under I reviewed the legislation and approved the 85th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature Article IV, Section 14 of the Texas Constitution. S. B. No. 1133 by signing the bill.
I note that under Article VIII, Section 2 of the constitution, property owned by a public entity is exempt from taxation only if the property is used for a public purpose. See Leander Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Cedar Park Water Sttpply Corp., 479 S.W.2d 908, 912 (Tex. 1972). Whether property is used for a public purpose depends on the way the public entity actually uses the property.
The attempt by Senate Bill No. 1133 to exempt all property owned by a navigation district from taxation will comport with the constitution only to the extent that the navigation district actually uses the property for a public purpose. If applied to navigation district property that is not actually used for a public purpose, S. B. No. 1133 would likely violate the constitution by extending a tax exemption beyond what Article VIII, Section 2 authorizes.
GREG ABBOTT
Governor