Opinion No. 88-75

Topics:

ASSESSMENTS.
STATE AUDITOR.
STATE TAX COMMISSION.

Summary conclusion

(1) The State Tax Commission has the authority and is obligated to equalize the assessments of property among the various counties and the City of St. Louis pursuant to Section 138.390, RSMo, and has the duty to order any county in which valuations of property are below 33 1/3% of true value to raise the valuation of such property to 33 1/3% of, true value and to order any county in which valuations of property are above 33 1/3% of true value to lower the valuation of such property to 33 1/3% of true value.

(2) The State Tax Commission has no authority to equalize the assessments among various parcels of property within a county as such, but individual assessments can be raised or lowered pursuant to Sections 138.380, 138.460, and 138. 470, RSMo.

(3) The State Auditor has no authority to compel the State Tax Commission to require the equalization of assessments among the various counties or the City of St. Louis at 33 1/3% of true value.

February 28, 1975

Honorable George W. Lehr
State Auditor
State Capitol Building
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

Dear Mr. Lehr:

 OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION: (1) The Missouri State Em STATE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM: ployees' Retirement System is authorized to. acquire,.. purchase, or lease real estate . for office space. (2Y The Office of Administration is required to negotiate all acquisitions or leases of real estate on behalf of the Retirement System. Honorable George W. Lehr State Auditor State Capitol Building Jefferson City, Missouri "l. Does the Missouri State Employees' Retirement-System have the authority to lease office s ace without utilizing the Office of AdminiFt F` tion as,, negotiator? . \ "T.\, Does_ \ the Missouri State Employees' , . Retirement System have the authority ,toac¬/.quire real property for office space? 6 Section 104130 s tes:^ "There is hey 1 ebycrea ed the M ssouri StA Em P to Y ees ,_Ret'rement, ^ ^ ^ ^ System' ,i4hlcbi'-ishakl-1 - be a body corporate and an instrumentality of the state in the department of revenue. In said system shall be vested the powers and duties specified in sections 104.310 to 104.550 and such other powers as may be nec¬essary or proper to enable it, its officers, employees, and agents to carry out fully and Honorable George W. Lehr t ^. ,7 effectively all^^ the purpose.^o sec`t )ns 104. 310 to 104.550. "Public board of the Missouri S ta`I System, do mot such powers as ./26 . legislature r a&: Subsection 164,44b'.1 states : soard of Trustees fyees' ] Retirement t powers, but only . sly granted by the. necessarily implied powers. 67 C.J. . . " "The board'sha.11 set up and maintay.n`^ M souri state employees' retirement 'and b'e efit fund account in which shall be\pIA'ced all payroll deductions, deferred compensa¬tion,payments, and income from al sources. All property, money, funds, iniestments, and rights which shall belong . 0, or be available for expenditure or use by.( the system shall be dedicated to and held in trust for the mem - bers.;" for the purposes herein set out and no of r~ 'The board shall have power, in the name ancon.behalf of the system, to purchase, acquire,'-hold, invest, lend, lease, sell, as sign, trax fer,.and dispose of all property, rights, and securities, and enter into writ ten contracts, all as may be necessary or proper, to carry out the purposes of sections 104.310 to 104.550." In answer. to your first question, the provisions of Subsection 104.440.1 authorize the board of trustees of the Retirement System to . purchase, acquire, . . . all property, rights, . . . and enter into written contracts, all as may be necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of sections 104.310 to 104.550." Section 1.02.0 states, in part: "As used in the statutory laws of this state, unless otherwise specially provided or un¬less plainly repugnant to the intent of the legislature or to the context thereof.: (11) .'Property' include property;" Furthermore, the term "prope '^ h a^ nerally been held to: in¬clude real property. Bianchi,\v,\U ted,.States, 219 F.2d% 182, 189 *u8th ir1955), cert. den . y349;, U. V9l5' reh den 349 U.S. 969; dlow-Saylor Wire Co. v/ Wollbrincck 205 S . W. 196, 198 (Mo. Banc 1918) : In addition, se\tas \ enerally been consider' d to have a dual nature in th t t ritidhZres a conveyance of serest in real property and has charac`teistics of a contrac 1 .J.S. Landlord Tenant § 202 pp. 517 V77.* Therefore, it is our view that Subsection 1104 .1, RSMo,;au - thorizes the Retirement System to acquire, purchas , or lease real estate to provide office space for its operations which is clearly an aspect of carrying out its'purposes underhe Retirement System provisions. >' The remainin5,questionis whether the Retirement System must utilize the Off4d of Administration in acquiring or leasing such office space. \^ Section 34.Oti ,-,RSMo, states "The . purchasing agent shall purchase all sup¬plies for all departments of the state, ex¬cept as in this chapter otherwise provided. The purchasing agent shall negotiate all leases and purchase all lands, except for such departments as derive their power- to acquire lands from the constitution of the state." By authority of Section 26.300, RSMo Supp. 1973,. the powers of the purchasing agent are now vested in the Commissioner, of Administration. As previously quoted, Section 104.320 states.. that the Retire¬ment System is a body corporate and instrumentality of the state in the Department of Revenue. In Opinion Letter No. 125, Wilson, March 21, 1974 (copy en¬closed),' we expressed the view that the State Park Board, a body corporate,. was required to utilize the Office of Administration to negotiate leases or acquire. property. It is our view that the reasoning contained in that opinion is equally applicable to the Retirement System. See also, Opinion No. 88, Talley,. October 28, 1949; Opinion No. 300, Cooper, October 23, 1973. Therefore, it is our opinion that the Office of Administration must negotiate all acquisitions or leases of real property on behalf of the Re¬tirement System. CONCLUSION It is the opinion of this office that: (1) The Missouri State Employees' Retithemen :.s t` is autho rized to acquire, .purchase, or lease real 6st°ate\1\ ice space. /`. (2) The Office of Administration is-regiir to negotiate all acquisitions or leases of real estate on behal,f f the Retirement; System. The foregoing opinion, wha:ch I hereby approve, was prepared by my assistant, Andrew Rothschild. , '\,' t

Very truly yours,

John C. Danforth
Attorney General