BOARD OF COUNTY COM'RS v. ST. BD. OF EQUALIZATION

BOARD OF COUNTY COM'RS v. ST. BD. OF EQUALIZATION
1961 OK 155
363 P.2d 257
Case Number: 39415
Decided: 06/13/1961
Supreme Court of Oklahoma

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF KAY COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR.
v.
STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA, DEFENDANT IN ERROR.

Appeal from an order of the State Equalization Board.

Syllabus by the Court

¶0 1. Where the State Board of Equalization determined, in proper proceedings before it, that rural property, as a class, or generally, is valuated lower, in ratio to its fair cash value, than urban property, the fact that the Board's order requires such valuation to be increased at a greater rate than the rate of increase ordered for urban property, does not, in and of itself, demonstrate that the order violates the Oklahoma Constitution's Article X, section 5, requiring taxes to be 'uniform upon the same class of subjects.'
2. The fact that the order, above referred to, had the effect of requiring an increase of valuations in the majority, but not all, of this State's counties, did not convert it from a tax equalization measure to a scheme to increase taxes in the counties affected, absent a showing that valuations in the unaffected counties did not conform to the standard followed by the order.

Proceedings before the State Board of Equalization, in which, upon consideration of a complaint therein filed by the Board of County Commissioners of Kay County, Oklahoma, among others, said State Board refused to modify, or vacate, its previous order directing increases in property valuations in the counties involved; and said County Board appeals. Affirmed.

Ralph C. Haynes, County Atty., Kay County, Ponca City, for plaintiff in error.

Mac Q. Williamson, Atty. Gen., Fred Hansen, First Asst. Atty. Gen., L.G. Hyden, Asst. Atty. Gen., Albert D. Lynn, Gen. Counsel, Oklahoma Tax Commission, Ed Armstrong, Asst. Counsel, Oklahoma Tax Commission, Oklahoma City, for defendant in error.

Otjen & Carter, by Frank Carter, Enid, for Oklahoma Farm Bureau, amicus curiae.

PER CURIAM.

¶1 In this appeal lodged by the Board of County Commissioners of Kay County, Oklahoma, from the same order appealed from by other boards of county commissioners, in Causes Numbered 39321 and 39323, Okl.,

¶2 Affirmed, and the period for filing a petition for rehearing herein is hereby reduced to 10 days from the date this opinion is filed.

¶3 WILLIAMS, C.J., BLACKBIRD, V.C.J., and WELCH, DAVISON, HALLEY, JOHNSON and BERRY, JJ., concur.

¶4 IRWIN, J., concurs specially.

¶5 JACKSON, J., dissents.

IRWIN, Justice (concurring specially).

I concur specially for the reasons set forth in Case No. 39,321, Board of County Commissioners of Canadian County, Oklahoma v. State Board of Equalization, Okl.,