Honorable Earl Rudder Opinion No. S,-223
Chairman, Veterans’ Land Board
Capitol Station Re: Eligibility of members of
Austin, Texas the Legislature to parti-
cipate in the Veterans’
Dear Sir: Land Program.
In regard to your recent letter requesting an opinion from this
office as to whether members of the Legislature are eligible to partici-
pate in the Veterans’ Land Program, you are respectfully advised as
follows:
Section 18 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas provides in
part:
”
Nor shall any member of the Legislature be
interested, either directly or indirectly in any con-
tract with the State, or any county,thereof, authorized
by any law passed during the term for which he shall
have been elected.”
Standing alone, Section 18 would possibly preclude a Legislator
who was a member of the Legislature when any of the Veterans’ Lands
Acts were passed from participating in the Veterans’ Land Program.
However, subsequent to the ratification of Section 18, the Constitution
was amended to create the Veterans’ Land Program, which amendment
is contained in Section 49b of Article III and which provides in part:
“The lands of the Veterans’ Land Fund shall be
sold by the State to Texas Veterans of the present
war or wars, commonly known as Storld War.:II, and
to Texas Veterans of service in the armed forces of
the United States of Amerka subsequent to 1945, as
may be included within this program by legislative
act, in such quantities, and on such terms, and at such
prices and rates of interest, and under such rules and
regulations as are now provided by law, or as may
hereafter be provided by law.”
Nothing in Section 49b excludes any class of veterans, whether
they be Legislators or not, from purchasing lands under the program.
It will be noted that the above quoted language from the constitutional
amendment provides that lands will be sold to veterans of ‘tiorld gar 11
. .
Hon. Earl Rudder, page 2 (S-223)
and to veterans “as may be included within this program by legislative
act. * The Veterans’ Land Act, Article 5421m, Vernon’s Civil Statutes,
as passed by the Legislature to implement the above constitutional amend-
ment and as amended, defines the term “veteran” in the following language:
“Sec. 14. The term ‘veteran’ as used in this
Act, and the phrase ‘Texas veterans of the present
war or wars, commonly known as World War II’,
and the phrase ‘Texas veterans of service in the
armed forces of the United States of America subse-
quent to 1945’, as used in Section 49-b of Article III
of the Constitution, or as same may be amended, shall
be synonymous and shall be construed for the purpose
of this Act to mean any citizen of the United States, male
or female, over eighteen (18) years of age, who served
not less than ninety (90) days, unless sooner’ discharged
because of a service-connected disabilkty, on active duty
in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coa~st Guard or Marine
Corps of the United States between September 16, 1940
and March 31, 1955, and who upon the date of filing his
or her application has not been dishonorably discharged
from the branch of the service in which he or she served,
and who at the time of his or her enlistment, induction,
commission or drafting was a bona fide resident df this
State, and who at the time of seeking the benefits of this
Act is a bona fide resident of this State.”
There is no provision in the Texas Veterans’ Land Act and its amend-
ments which excludes any class of veterans from the above definition;
and these weie laws of the Legislature that were passed under the man-
date and direction of the constitutional amendment, Section 49b of
Article III, passed by the people of Texas.
Since the constitutional amendment setting up the Veterans’
Land Program and defining who may purchase lands under the Land Pro-
gram, was the last expression of the will of the people, any provision of
the Constitution which previously existed must, in case of conflict, yield
to the subsequent amendment. See 9 Tex. Jur. 429, Amendments Sec. 20;
State v. Brownsen, 94 Tex. 436, 61 S.W. 114 (1901); State v. Vinson, 217
S.W. 40t 4 (Tex.Civ.App. 1919), affirmed 235 S.W. 1084 ( 1921);
Gillespie’v.‘Eightfoot, 103 Tex. 359, 127 S.W. 799 (1910); Cramer v.Shep-
pard, 140 Tex. 271, 167 S.W.2d 147 (1943); and Farr~:ar v. Trustees of
Employees Retirement System, 150 Tex. 572, 243 S.W.2d 688 (1951). Here,
the people of Texas have willed in Section 49b that veterans, whether they
be members of the Legislature or not, should be eligible to buy land under
the Veterans’ Land Program.
Hon. Earl Rudder, page 3 (S-223)
SUMMARY
Members of the Legislature are eligible to
participate in the Veterans’ Land Program as set
up by the constitutional amendment, Section 49b
of Article III, and the legislative acts passed under
Its direction -- and such eligibility is not affected
by their being members of the Legislature at the
time of the submission of the constitutional amend-
ment to the people, at the time of the adoption of
the amendment by the people, or at the time the
legislative enactments were passed to implement
the amendment.
APPROVED: Yours very truly,
John Reeves JOHN BEN SHEPPERD
Reviewer Attorney General
W. V. Geppert
Reviewer
Mary K. Wall
Special Reviewer
L. W. Gray
Special Reviewer
Davis Grant
First Assistant
John Ben Shepperd
Attorney General
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion