Alabama Advisory Opinions November 12, 2003: AGO 2004-020 (November 12, 2003)

AGO 2004-020.

Dear Mr. Weinrib:

This opinion of the Attorney General is issued in response to your request.

Whether the qualifications for the Chief Deputy Tax Assessor of Jefferson County, set forth in Act 87-421, requires the person being appointed to this position to have five years' experience in cadastre before the appointment, or can the appointment be made to an individual that will obtain this five years' experience within three years of the appointment.

FACTS AND ANALYSIS

Qualifications for the Chief Deputy Tax Assessor of Jefferson County, set forth in Act 87-421, include, in section one, that the appointee shall be a resident of Jefferson County not included within boundary of the Bessemer Division. Act 87-421 also provides for the appointment for the Chief Deputy Tax Assessor of Jefferson County, Bessemer Division, which is not in issue here. This residency within the appropriate division of Jefferson County must be maintained throughout the appointment. Appointments are made by the Jefferson County Tax Assessor.

The remaining qualifications explained within the act are found in section two. This section provides that the said chief deputies shall present documentary proof of a minimum of five years' experience in cadastre (tax inventory and assessment of real property) before their appointment and shall hold certification by the State of Alabama as a Tax Administrator, or shall achieve such certification within three years of appointment. 1987 Ala. Acts No. 87-421.

The remainder of this section addresses the qualification requirements should this certification not remain available. According to the Department of Revenue, this certification is still available, and there are no plans in the immediate future to abandon this certification program.

Your question is whether the language at the end of the sentence "or shall achieve such certification within three years of appointment" applies to both the experience and the certification requirement at the beginning of the sentence. It is the opinion of this Office that this phrase, if given its plain, ordinary, and commonly understood meaning, does not provide an alternative to the five-year experience requirement for this appointment.

The fundamental rule of statutory interpretation is to determine and give effect to the intent of the Legislature. Ex parte State Dep't of Revenue , 683 So. 2d 980, 983 (Ala. 1996). When the language of a statute is clear and causes no doubt as to meaning, the rules of statutory construction are to give effect to the Legislature's intent as expressed in the statute. Locke v. Wheat , 350 So. 2d 451 (Ala. 1977); Akers v. State ex rel. Witcher , 283 Ala. 248, 215 So. 2d 578 (1968). Under the established rule of statutory construction, words used in a statute must be given their plain, ordinary, and commonly understood meaning. Ex parte T.B ., 698 So. 2d 127, 130 (Ala. 1997).

The language of Act 87-421 is clear and unambiguous in that "or shall achieve such certification within three years of appointment" speaks to the certification requirement only. The parts of the sentence clearly and unambiguously indicating this conclusion include the specific reference to certification within this clause, the comma after the first clause of this sentence following "appointment," and the specific reference to five years' experience in the first part of the clause. Further, requiring a certified candidate to have five years' experience while an uncertified candidate would only have two would appear absurd. There is virtually no support within this statute for a contrary conclusion. A qualified candidate must have at least five years' experience in tax inventory and assessment of real property to be considered for this post. Essentially, this means that you must appoint someone from your office or another tax assessor's office to this position, because it would be practically impossible for an individual in the private sector to have performed enough tax assessment contract work to have a full five years' experience dedicated to cadastre. The candidate must also continuously meet the residency requirement and either be certified at the time of accepting the appointment or become certified within the next three years. If not certified at the time of appointment, the candidate must actually become certified within the next three years and remain eligible to receive this certification within the time limitation or else forfeit this appointment.

As appointing authority for the position of Chief Deputy in your office, you must ensure that the individual appointed to this position meets the statutory qualifications and all other requirements for employment. This individual must provide you with documentary proof of five years' experience in tax inventory and assessment of real property. Although the individual does not have to meet the certification requirement at the time of appointment, you must make sure that they do so within three years of their appointment.

If this Office can be of further assistance, please contact Carol Jean Smith of my staff.

Sincerely,

BILL PRYOR

Attorney General

By: CAROL JEAN SMITH

Chief, Opinions Division

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