Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1968 )

Honorable 0. N. Huwhreys Opinion No. M- 208
Acting Administrator, Texas
Liquor Control Board Re: Whether a permit or a
Austin, Texas license may be refused
an applicant under Articles
666-11 and 667-5, 2, V.P.C.,
where the applicant is a
United States citizen, but
he was not such citizen
a period of three years
immediately preceding the
filing of his application,
although a Texas resident
for three or more years
during that time?
Dear Mr. Humphreys:
The letter from your department requesting an Opinion
of this office reads, in part, as follows:
"In Section 11 of Article I of the Texas Liquor
Control Act (Article 666-11 of Vernon's Texas Penal
Code) it is provided as follows:
'The Board or Administrator may refuse to
issue a permit . . .to any applicant. . .
if it has reasonable grounds to believe
and finds any of the following to be true:
. . . (11). That the applicant is not a
citizen of the United States or has not been
a citizen of Texas for a period of three
(3) years immediately preceding the filing
of his application, . . .i'
"In Section 5, 2, of Article II of the Texas Liquor
Control Act (Article 667-5, 2 of Vernon's Texas Penal
Code) it is provided as follows:
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Hon. 0. N. HumphreYS, Page 2, (M- 208
I
. The County Judge shall refuse to ap-
. . .
prove the application for such license if
he has reasonable grounds to believe and
finds any of the following to be true: ....2.
If a Distributor or Retailer: ....(e) That
the applicant is not a citizen of Texas for
a period of three (3) years irmnediatelypre-
ceding the filing of his application. . .;I~
"Our question is this: May an application for
a permit or license be refused where the applicant
is a citizen of the United States but has not been
a citizen of the United States for a period of three
years preceding the filing of his application and
has been a resident of the State of Texas for a period
of three or more years immediately preceding the
filing of his application?"
In DeGrasier v. Stephens, 191 Tex. 194, 105 S.W. 992
(1907), the court upheld a statutory requirement that an
;;I;zant for a retail liquor license be a citizen of the
and also a resident of the county wherein the license is
issueA. The court said that the requirement did not contra-
vene the Privileges and Immunitites, Equal Protection, and/or
Due Process Clause, but was calculated to aid in regulating
the liquor traffic, by rendering the licensee subject to pro-
cess where suit is brought on his bond, and by facilitating
the.determination of his other qualifications to exercise his
license. cf: Ziffin v. Reeves, 308 U.S. 132 (1939).
The provisions of the Texas Liquor Control Act that
require a natural person, or a partnership composed of natural
persons, or an association of natural persons to be resident
citizens of Texas for three (3) years innnediatelypreceding
the filing of an application in order to be eligible to receive
a permit or license have been held constitutional in Attorney
General's Opinion No. C-427 (1965).
The question now presented requires a definition of the
term "citizen of Texas". Section 43-B, of Article I of the
Texas Liquor Control Act (Article 666-43B, V.P.C.) provides
as follows:
"When the terms 'citizen of Texas' and 'citizen
of this state' are used in this Act, they shall
mean not only citizenship in Texas, as required by
this Act, but shall also require citizenship in
the United States."
-lool-
Hon. 0. N. Humphrey9 Page 3, (M- 208
When Section 43-B of Art. I is read into Section 11
of Article I and Section 5, 2 of Article II of the Texas
Liquor Control Act, it becomes apparent that the application
may be refused unless the applicant has been both a citizen
of the United States and a citizen of Texas for a period of
three (3) years immediately preceding the filing of his
application.
Therefore, in answer to your specific question, it is
the opinion of this office that an application for a permit
or license may be refused where the applicant is now a citizen
of the United States, but has not been a citizen of the United
States for a period of three (3) years immediately preceding
the filing of his application, although he has been a resident
of the State of Texas for a period of three (3) or more years
immediately preceding the filing of his application.
SUMMARY
An application for a permit or license may be
refused under Article 666-11 and 667-5, 2, V.P.C.,
where the applicant is a United States citizen, but
he was not'such a citizen for a period of three (3)
years immediately preceding the filing of his appli-
cation although a Texas resi ent for three (3) or
more years during that
Prepared by Douglas H. Chilton y
Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
Hawthorne Phillips, Chairman
Kerns Taylor, Co-Chairman
W. V. Geppert
Lonny Zwiener
Arthur Sandlin
Jack Sparks
STAFF LEGAL ASSISTANT
A. J. Carubbi, Jr.
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