Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Honorable Bert Ford, hhninistrator Texas Liquor Control Board Austin, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion Ho. O-7133 We: Wtisther or not a minor may own a minority of stook in a oorpora- tlon applying for a permit under the Texas Liquor Control Act. E‘s heve recei9ed your letter of March 4, 1946, where in you request an opinion of this %partment as to "whether or not a minor can own a minority interest in a corporation." ylio understand the corpora- tion in question to be a corporation applying for a Package store Permit under the Texas Liquor Control Act and the minority interest of a minor or minors to be ownership of corporate stock in the amount of leas than fifty per cent (50$) of 011 of the corporate stock. tie a8aume that minors are not or ahall not be incorporators in the corporation in question or a corporation to be formed, since minors are inoapabls Of being 1nCOrpOratOrS. a88 Shaw V. Ido&illlan (T8XarkaniS CCA) 24 S.K'. (26) 536. Article 666, Section 18, Vernon's hnotated Penal Code of Texas, relating to permita under the Texas Liquor Control Act to corporations, provides, "no permit shall be islaued to a corporaton unI8SS th8 same b8 Incorporated under the laWa Of the State and unless at leaat fifty-one per cent (sl$) of the stock of the corporation la owned at all times by citizens who have resided within the State for a period of three yeare and who possess the quaIificntiona required Of Other appIioant8 for permits. . . ." Tnis statute only requires thnt fifty-one per cent (51%) of the stock of a corporation be owned at all times by citiaen8 of three years Texas residenae who fuIf1I.I the quaIificationa of applicant.8 for pernits under the Texas Liquor Control hct. It follows, therefore, that forty-nine per cent (40%) of the stock of thb oorporation may b8 owned by non-residents or persons not qualified as apolioants. Suoh persona include minors not qualifying as apolloants under ArtiCl8 666, &ctlon 11, Vernon's Annotated Penal &he of Tex,aa. Hon. Bert Ford, page 2, o-7133 Pmthermore, Article 666, Section 11, Vert:onts¬ated renal code of Texas, state8 that "The board or Administrator anal1 refuse to lsaue a permit to any eppliaant either with or without E hearing if it has reasonable grounds to believe and find8 any of the following to be truej . l . ( 5) or that he is under twenty-one (2l)years . . . l or ego." zbe term applicant es used in SUbS8OtiOns (1 to 8) of Section ll,.supre, IQ defined in Subsection 9 of GBC. 11, supre, to '"Mean and include each member of a partnership or as~oclation and ,811 officers and the owner or owners of the majority of the Qtook of a- corooratlonIA (Emphasis ours) Therefore, when e corporation is an applicant for A ~permit, by definition all officers end the owner or ownera of the majority of the stook of the corporation ere ar,,plicants therounder. Thus, minority QtOCkhOld8rQ are not applicants for a pernft whena oorporation ap-:lfes for 8ame. You are theFeforQ advised that a minor or minors mey own not more than 49% of the 8tOOk of a cor:>Oretion applying POP a pemit under the Texas Liquor Control Act, if said minore we not OffiOer8 in said corporation,, witnout prejudice to the rights of the corporation eta applicant for a permit. Very truly yours, XTTORXEY OEN~dFAL OF ~TLjiAS By a/ jtewert K. DaVore Stewart Vi. DeVo8*, Asaletant S%D:rt Letter from J. Manuel koppsnstein of 2/27/i&, enclosed A!'PR3VED: 0pinion Committee By B'SS, Chairmen