State Ex Rel. Babb v. Mathews

1928 OK 751, 273 P. 352, 134 Okla. 288, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 866
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 21, 1928
Docket19998
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 1928 OK 751 (State Ex Rel. Babb v. Mathews) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Babb v. Mathews, 1928 OK 751, 273 P. 352, 134 Okla. 288, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 866 (Okla. 1928).

Opinions

HARRISON, J.

This is an original proceeding in this court for a writ of prohibition to the State Court of Tax Review, the real object of the proceedings being to test the constitutionality of Initiative Petition No. 100, State Question No. 152, adopted at the state primary election held August 7, 1928, under -which measure the State Court of' Tax Review was created and its powers and jurisdiction defined. The constitutionality of the act is challenged and application made for a writ prohibiting said Court of Tax Review from exercising any jurisdiction under the provisions of said act.

Due to the public importance of the question, this court has consented to exercise original jurisdiction. The measure or act in question is -as -follows:

“An Act providing a method of contesting alleged illegal ad valorem tax levies; requiring copies of all appropriations and levies to -be filed with the county cl'erk and State Auditor; fixing the time and method of filing protests; creating a Court of Tax Review, conferring jurisdiction thereon, prescribing procedure therefor, making the State Auditor clerk of said court, providing a method of appeal therefrom to the Supreme Court; providing for correction of appropriations, levies and tax rolls; providing for refund of illegal taxes that may be collected, ■ limiting the contracting of debts and issuing of warrants pending determination of legality of tax levies and repealing all acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith.
“Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oklahoma:
“S'ection 1. After the officers of the several municipal subdivisions of the state, constituting the budget-making bodies of such subdivisions, including counties, cities, towns, school districts and townships, shall have made and filed their budgets as required by existing laws with the county clerks, and after advertisement as now required by law, the excise, boar.ds shall meet on the last Saturday in July, and from time to time thereafter until the State Board of Equalization shall have reported th'e valuation of' public service corporations and utilities., together with the equalized valuation of all other property, to the county, and shall then proceed to pass on appropriations and make levies for all such municipal subdivisions as now provided by law, and shall file a copy, of all budgets with the levies made thereon, with the State Auditor, and one • copy with the county clerks of the respective counties, and th'e county clerk shall immediately thereafter p¡ublish notice for one. time, in some newspaper of -general circulation in the county, that such budgets and levies are on file for the inspection of any citizen,
“Within three days after the filing of any such budgets and levies with the State Auditor he shall give notice by mail of the fact and date of such filing with him to any taxpayer who shall have filed written request therefor.
“Section 2. Taxpayers of the state shall have the right at all -times to examine the budgets and levies on file with th’e respective county clerks of the state and with the *290 State Auditor, for tlie purpose of checking same for illegalities in the levies made, and any taxpayer may, at any time within 40 days from the date of filing with the State Auditor as above provided for, file a protest in writing together with three copies thereof, with the State Auditor against any alleged illegality of any l'evy and the State Auditor shall thereupon transmit by registered ¿nail one copy of each to the county clerk, the county attorney and county treasurer of the county affected thereby, or said (protest with the same number of copies may be filed with the county clerk, in which event the county clerk shall transmit one copy of each to the State Auditor and to the county attorney and county treasurer of the teounty affected thereby, and such filing shall have the same force and effect as though filed with the State Auditor. The said protest shall specify the said alleged illegal levy and the grounds upon which said alleged illegalities are based. Any protest filed by any taxpayer as herein provided shall inure to the benefit of all taxpayers. If no protest is filed by any taxpayer as to the levy of any county or municipal subdivision thereof within said 40 day period, all appropriations and levies of said county and municipal subdivisions thereof not protested, shall be deemed to be legal, and all proceedings for refunds or suits for refunds or recovery of taxes or to contest the validity thereof in any manner shall be barred.
“The excise board may reconvene at any time within 60 days after th'e filing of the budgets and levies with the State Auditor and reduce any protested budgets and levies which the excise board deems to be illegal.
“Section 3. There is hereby created a Court of Trx Review, which shall consist of three district judges, who shall be designated by the Governor. The court shall meet at the State Capitol on the first Monday in October of each year and proceed to hear all protests which shall have been filed for at least five days prior thereto, and shall r'econvene on the first Monday of each month thereafter until all protests have been heard and determined by it. The said judges shall be paid their traveling and living expenses while acting as members of said court, out of the funds now provided by law for payment of district judges’ expenses when holding court outside the cunties of their residence. The State Auditor shall act as clerk of said court.
“Section 4. Said court shall have the power and it shall be its duty to hear and determine all protests filed under this act. and it shall have the power to administer oaths, compel the attendance of witnesses 'and production of evidence, including any public record from anv county in the state upon the hearing of such protest. Said court shall proceed to hoar and determine all said prolesfs as speedily as practicaldo, and. so far as practicable, shall hear all protests for any county on the same date, providing that continuances may be granted as to any protestant or any county upon good cause shown.
“Section 5. A majority of said court shall hear and determine all protests submitted to it and its decision shall be in writing and filed with th'e State Auditor, whose duty it shall be, if no appeal be taken as hereinafter provided, to transmit a copy of such decision to the county clerk, county assessor, and county treasurer, and to the protestant or his attorney of record, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the county clerk to correct the appropriations accordingly, and the duty of the county assessor to so correct the tax rolls if the same have not been turned ov'er to the county treasurer. The county attorney, assisted by the Attorney General, shall represent his county and the municipal subdivisions thereof at the hearing of any protest before said Court of Tax Review, and each county shall pay all necessary expenses of its county attorney in attending any such hearings. No pleadings by the county shall be required and the cause shall be deemed at issu'e upon the filing of such protest.
“Section 6.

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Bluebook (online)
1928 OK 751, 273 P. 352, 134 Okla. 288, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 866, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-babb-v-mathews-okla-1928.