county auditor or his deputy, shall continue from day to day with the making of said certificate until one complete certificate is made for each and all of said tracts of land, city or town lots or parts of lots contained in such advertisment, and upon which said taxes and assessments have not been paid. The original of said certificate of all the tracts of land, city or town lots or parts of lots, shall be forwarded to the auditor of state, the duplicate and triplicate thereof to be kept, one in the county treasurer's office and one in the county auditor's office, bound in book form. The original duplicate and triplicate of each certificate shall be signed by the county auditor, or his deputy and countersigned by the county treasurer, or his deputy. Interest at the rate of eight per cent per annum shall be charged on the duplicate against the delinquent lands, city or town lots or parts of lots certified by the county auditor on such certificate."

"Section 5714. The county auditor shall enter upon the tax duplicate, showing such lands delinquent, the words 'Certified Delinquent,' and such entry on said duplicate shall be deemed and taken to be notice to all purchasers or other persons acquiring any right, title or interest in or to the lands described in said certification, of the prior right and lien of the state under the provisions of this act."

"Section 5715. The auditor shall transfer the entry 'Certified Delinquent', from the tax duplicate of one year to the tax duplicate of the next year, and if such land has been transferred, this entry 'Certified Delinquent' shall follow the land in the new owner's name, unless the taxes, assessments and penalty, together with the interest due, have been paid."

It is clear from the sections just quoted that delinquent lands once certified to the Auditor of State as such acquire a certain status on the tax list and duplicate of the county. It is clear, also, from a re-examination of Section 5718 that the final certificate to be filed with the Auditor of State at the expiration of four years from the first certification includes "the taxes, assessments, penalties and interest (which have not been paid for four consecutive years)." In other words, under the original certification the unpaid taxes for four years are collectible. If new advertisements and certificates were required for each of these years, then, if as a result of the first quadrennial certification under Section 5718, the amount of money covered thereby was made through foreclosure proceedings, the delinquent taxes would thus be paid; whereas, if a new certificate were required in each year of dlinquency, the several certificates issued in the meantime would become nugatory.

Cumulative evidence of the correctness of the former holding

is found in Section 5743, which speaks of the record of certified delinquent lands, indicating that when land once gets on the record, spoken of here, it continues until it is redeemed, and no new action is necessary in the premises.

The statutes are admittedly self-contradictory in many respects, but on such reconsideration of the matter as given at this time, it is the opinion of this department that the former opinion should be adhered to.

Under the Provisions of Amended Section 7630-1 (109 O. L., p. 336), a Board of Education May Issue Bonds Without a Vote of the People Upon the Same for the Purpose of Rebuilding or Repairing a School House or Constructing a New School House, Where the School House Formerly Used Was Destroyed by Fire or Other Casualty, or if the Use of the Same for its Intended Purpose was Prohibited by an Order of the Industrial Commission, but Before a Board of Education Can Avail Itself of the Provisions of Section 7630-1 it Must Appear That it is not Practicable to Secure the Necessary Funds Under Sections 7625, 7626, 7627, 7628, 7629 and 7630.-Under the Provisions of Section 5649-4, G. C., a Board of Education Issuing Bonds Under the Provisions of Section 7630-1, G. C., May Levy a Tax Sufficient to Provide Therefor, Irrespective of Any Limitations.

No. 2902.-(Opinion Dated Feb. 25, 1922.)

Hon. H. A. Burgess, Prosecuting Attorney, Warren, Ohio.

Dear Sir: Acknowledgment is made of the receipt of your recent letter requesting the opinion of this department upon the following:

"Section 7630-1, as amended by the last session of the legislature, provides as follows:

"If a school house is wholly or partly destroyed by fire or other casualty, or if the use of any school house or school houses for their intended purpose is prohibited by an order of the Industrial Commission of Ohio or its successor in such authority, and the Board of Education of the school district is without sufficient funds applicable to the purpose with which to rebuild or repair such school house or to construct a new school house for the proper accommodation of the schools of the district, and it is not practicable to secure such funds under any of the six preceding sections because of the limits of taxation applicable to such school district, such Board of Educa

tion may issue bonds for the amount required for such purpose. For the payment of the principal and interest on such bonds and on bonds heretofore issued for the purpose herein mentioned, and to provide a sinking fund for their final redemption at maturity, such Board of Education shall annually levy a tax as provided by law.'

"This section being practically the same as the section formerly enacted in 103 Ohio Laws, page 527, with the exception that the amended section has omitted the words 'and upon the approval of the electors in the manner provided by Section 7625 and Section 7626,' etc.

I therefore request your opinion upon the question as to whether or not a school board, by virtue of the amended section, may issue bonds without a vote of the people upon the same, for the purpose of rebuilding or repairing a school house, or constructing a new school house which has been condemned by an order of the chief inspector of workshops and factories, when the Board of Education is without sufficient funds applicable to the purpose.

Second: If such authority is not granted by Section 7630-1, as it is now enacted, would the School Board have authority to issue bonds for said purposes, after a vote has been taken upon the question of the issuance of bonds, in accordance with Section 7625, and the electors of the said school district reiect the proposition of issuing bonds?

Third: If the Board of Education is authorized to issue bonds under either or both of the foregoing circumstances, would a tax levy for paying the interest and maturity of bonds. issued by virtue thereof, be outside of all limitations?"

Your first question is whether or not a Board of Education, by virtue of amended Section 7630-1, as appeared in 109 O. L., p. 336, may issue bonds without a vote of the people, for the purpose of rebuilding or repairing a school house or construct a new school house, where an order has been placed against the use of a school house by the chief inspector of workshops and factories. Prior to the enactment of section 7630-1, G. C., as it now appears (H. B. 33), the words "and upon the approval of the electors in the manner provided by Sections seventy-six hundred and twenty-five and seventy-six hundred and twenty-six" were a part of old Section 7630-1, G. C., but when 7630-1, G. C., was amended in H. B. 33 by the 84th General Assembly, these words "and upon the approval of the electors in the manner provided in seventy-six hundred and twenty-five and seventy-six hundred and twenty-six" were omitted and an examination of the bill as originally introduced in the General Assembly shows that this is not a printer's error or a clerical error, but such words were

knowingly left out, and having been passed by the General Assembly with these words relative to the approval of the electors no longer appearing in the section, it must be held that it was the legislative intent that for those bond issues provided for in school districts, under the provision of Section 7630-1, the approval of the electors was no longer to be required. If it was the intent of the General Assembly that there should be an election under Section 7630-1, then these words would have been retained in the amended section instead of being entirely omitted from the text of Section 7630-1, G. C., as it has appeared heretofore.

It is very important to note, however, that before a Board of Education may avail itself of the provisions of Section 7630-1, it must appear that "it is not practicable to secure such funds under any of the six preceding Sections (7625, 7626, 7627, 7628, 7629 and 7630) because of the limitations of taxation applicable to such school district." Upon this question of limitations, new Section 7630-2 (H. B. 33) is pertinent and reads as follows:

"The net indebtedness created or incurred by any school district shall never exceed six per cent. of the total value of all property in such school district as listed and assessed for taxation; provided, however, that in the case of any school district whose net indebtedness at the time of the passage of this act exceeds said six per cent., such school district may, in addition to said six per cent. issue bonds under the authority of Section 7625, General Code, not exceeding in the aggregate an amount equal to one per cent. of the total value of all property in such school district as levied and assessed for taxation and bonds under authority of Section 7629 of the General Code not exceeding one-half of one per cent. of said total value. 'Net indebtedness' for school districts shall be defined as provided in Section 3949, General Code, for municipalities. Bonds issued under the authority of Section 7630-1 of the General Code for the replacement of condemned or destroyed schoolhouses as well as all classes of bonds which are in said Section 3949 excluded from the calculation of the net indebtedness of municipalities shall, insofar as applicable to school districts, be likewise excluded from the calculation of the net indebtedness of school districts."

Upon your immediate question as to bonds issued under Section 7630-1, these latter bonds for the replacement of condemned or destroyed school houses are to be excluded from the calculation of the net indebtedness of the school district which is to be computed under Section 7630-2 in arriving at the amount of net indebtedness which is permitted in the school district in question.

Your second question is based upon the theory that the authority to issue bonds without a vote of the electors "is not granted by Section 7630-1, G. C.," and as such authority is granted by Section 7630-1, as set forth in the answer to your first question, your second question need not be answered beyond the statement that if the Board of Education has started to issue bonds in accordance with Section 7625, and it must be presumed that it had authority to do so when it started such proceedings, then all the requirements of Section 7625, G. C., must be carried out, one of which is an election by the people for those bonds issued under Section 7625, G. C.

Your third question is apparently whether, in a case where a school house had been condemned for school use, the tax levy for paying interest at maturity of bonds issued would be outside all limitations. The answer to this inquiry appears in Section 5649-4, G. C., which reads as follows:

"For the emergencies mentioned in Sections forty-four hundred and fifty, forty-four hundred and fifty-one, fifty-six hundred and twenty-nine, and 7630-1 of the General Code, and for local school purposes authorized by a vote of the electors under the provisions of Sections 5649-5 and 5649-5a of the General Code, to the extent of three mills for such school purposes, the taxing authorities of any district may levy a tax sufficient to provide therefor irrespective of any of the limitations of this chapter."

In reply to your inquiry you are therefore advised that it is the opinion of this department that:

1. Under the provisions of amended Section 7630-1 (109 O. L., p. 336) a Board of Education may issue bonds without a vote of the people upon the same for the purpose of rebuilding or repairing a school house or constructing a new school house, where the school house formerly used was destroyed by fire or other casualty, or if the use of the same for its intended purpose was prohibited by an order of the Industrial Commission, but before a Board of Education can avail itself of the provisions of Section 7630-1 it must appear that it is not practicable to secure the necessary funds under Sections 7625, 7626, 7627, 7628, 7629 and 7630.

2. Under the provisions of Section 5649-4, G. C., a Board of Education issuing bonds under the provisions of Section 7630-1, G. C., may levy a tax sufficient to provide therefor, irrespective of any limitations.