BOARD OF COUNTY COMMR. v. ST. BD. OF EQUALIZATION

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMR. v. ST. BD. OF EQUALIZATION
1961 OK 166
363 P.2d 266
Case Number: 39418
Decided: 06/27/1961
Supreme Court of Oklahoma

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF McCURTAIN 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 determines, 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 other counties affected, absent a showing that valuations in the other counties did not conform to the standard followed in the order.
3. In view of the demonstration that taxpayers are not relegated to their county equalization boards for relief against erroneous orders of the State Board of Equalization, the claim, in the present case, that the latter Board's order was entered too late to afford them such relief, presented no cause for reversal.

Appeal from an order of the State Equalization Board.

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

Lewis T. Martin, County Attorney, McCurtain County, Idabel, for plaintiff in error.

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

PER CURIAM.

¶1 Plaintiff in error appeals from the same order of the State Board of Equalization that was appealed from in other cases decided June 13, 1961, including Cause No. 39,321, Board of County Commissioners of Canadian County, Oklahoma v. State Board of Equalization of State of Oklahoma, Okl.,

¶2 There is no material difference between the arguments advanced herein by plaintiff in error and those urged under three of the appellant's propositions for reversal in Cause No. 39,321. We, therefore, apply what was therein said concerning those arguments, to the arguments of plaintiff in error herein, and adopt, by reference, those pronouncements as our opinion in this case.

¶3 Affirmed.

¶4 Due to the exigencies related to the element of time affecting the situation involved herein, the usual 15 day period allowed by this Court's Rule No. 28 for the filing of petitions for rehearing generally, is, as applied to this case, reduced to 10 days.

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

¶6 IRWIN, J., concurs specially.

¶7 JACKSON, J., dissents.

IRWIN, Justice (concurring specially).

¶1 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.,