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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
~ROVERSELLERS
*It*“HLY GENLIIAL
Bmnomono~ 0. P. Lookhart
---
Board of Insuranoe Collmliarion8rr
Austin, Ttxar
ptar Sir:
policies to persons
n mtmbtrs holdirq
iit otrtitlcotts,
ion to pour lttttr of 3bm
&ion and rtqutstirAgthe
. Also in your letter you
such aooltty may issue health
II (a) vhost llvts are l.nl3ur.d
em art not 80 Insured.
pollolts vithout death btntflts?
Artiolt 4320, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes,
provides;
Bmblt 0. P. LooMart, P8gt 2
“Art, 4820. ?mtou1 Btnofit Sooioties
D@fLWd
‘Aa o7o r p o r a l
tio a ,0rd.r or rolulak~
oolot7,
8ssoolAtloa, tithout aaplkl stook, cwgaal&d aad
oarlod oa 501.17 so? the mutual bolmtit of Its mom-
horsrti ttwir btwfloisxlos, ud not for profit,
lbd bvlag 8 rod@ 5 tom madlwpnsontatlvo form
of govoammtat,or vhr oh lirits its msabeship to l
soortt fratoralt7 haviag a 1-o s7stem Md r.pr.-
sentstivo fora of gwtrnmtnt, rad vhlob shall make
provision for the payment of btntflts in sooordmoo
vith btotion 4 hsrtof, is horob dro1ar.d to k l
Frsttrnal Btnoflt Soolotj.”
Arfiolo 4824, v. A. c. 9. providmsr
‘Subseo. 1. tvor7 5001tt7 traasaotlng bu8aless
under this Aot shall provldo for tht psymtnts of
btneflts upon the death of Its membersllthor vlthln
4 twm of pars o r at a nyttmt, lkd ~7 provide for
bemilts pa-b10 upon its mtmbtrt rttohbg sovont7
ytsrs of tgt, end ms7 also provide, for tht payment
of bamflts 1x1owe of total madptrmarunt disability,
and -7 provide also ior the pa t of benefits in
tht tvont of ttmporaq dlsrblli r-7 and for monumtnts
or tombstones to tht mamor7of its dootsstd mombors,
aId for tht prpwat or funtnl btntfits.
‘Subsoo. 2. An7 soolot7 mm7 a100 sntor into
oontrrots la suoh othtr forms and granting suoh
btneflts as its lrvs ma7 luthorixe vhon it shall
provldt for the looumlatioa and mint-o of
assets roqulmd for tho pqment of pooh boatfits
vhtn valued upon an lntrrost bssis sot lxoeeding
r0t.w(I$) ptr otnt ptr tnnum tnd mortalit staad-
lrds sdopted b7 it vlthin the llmitatlons proridad
la the ststutos rtlating to FMtWn81 Boatilt
Sooiot~os, or rt tho option of the soalot7 la
tht st8tutos relstitq to lift lasulwlot OoallpMits.s
Artlolt 4825 of said sktutt, provldotr
Vhat any mtonul Beluflt Sooloty luthorlrod
to do busintss ln this Statt me7prwldo in lto lavs,
gonorrblt 0. P. ~ookhwt, page 3
in addition to 0th~ bentilts providtd for thoroin,
for Iasuunot, umult105, or for i~uruaoo and aa-
nultiss, \Iporrthe llvos of ohildren at w l
uponthoQVplIoatIonof sa#adlAltpenonnatod Y'
to or Iatonoted la uld ahlld as the lws of suoh
soolot7 m7 prwlde. Aq suoh soolet7 r7 at Its
optioa orgaalso a& opt?ae b=noho~for,8uohohIl-
dron and mmbe~shl la looal ledges, upd laltLItian
thortla oh11 aot & NquIrodofmaohohildron,noz
ah11 th.7 ht. a4 voIoe In the mMgom.nt of th.
5001tt7."
Artlolt 4834 of said statute prwldu in psrt as
follovsr
"IWry osrtlfloato issued w a4 suoh sooloty
rhll speoiiJ t& amountof benefit $rovidod thereby,
erd 8hll provldo t&t ths otrtlfleate, the ohartor
or lt10105 of lnooxpolutIon or, If a voluntary as-
sooiation, ths rrtiolos of 4rrsooI4tIon, the oonstl-
tutlon a4 lava of the sooIot7, sld the lppllar;tIon
for membershIpend modIon l xamInatlon, signed b7 tht
spplloant, bnd all amendments to oaoh theroof, shall
constltutt the lg r ttmtnt between tht sooltt7, dad
tht me&or, and ooplts of tht samo, oortlflod w ths
storttsry of tht soolot~, or oomspoodiag offlotr,
ah411 bo rooolvod In ovldtnoo of the tenw a.M oon-
ditlons thtnof. . . "
Artiole 4838 of said statuto relating to and author-
IsIng tht organIsrtlon rad fonmtlon of fntornB1 DamfIt
8ooIo8Its oontains tht provision “vhan a4 domtstlo sooloty
shall bvo dlsoontinuod business for the poxWd of one yur,
or bar loss than four hundredmtmbtrs, Its ohutor shall k-
oomt null and void.' A sImIlar provlslon oontalnod in Artlolt
l
4852 rtlatIng to the xa$artIon of suoh domestio soolotlos,
oontslns the provision, . . . or vhonevor uty domostio sooltty,
sfttr ths ucistenoo of ona psr or more, shall hrvo a mamborshlp
ot loss than four hundred, . . . said Comslssloaer 887 pnstnt
the faots nlrting thento to the Attomw Otnowl, . . ."
Vohavt quoted rbwotht ~torIalrrtlolos OFpro-
vlslons thtroof 4oomod~ooasary In an8wHng
Ecmorsblo0. f. lnokbart, Psgt 4
-tomal Baafit SooIot7 opmtlry U&OF Chapter 8, Title 78
of arid statutes Is on. vhloh mkes prorislan for tho pmnt
#f bumfIt in 8000rdaao@ tith the pFovi51mo of ArtInSle 4824,
Furthar, wla soolot Is 0aml.d OQ501.17 for th. mltua1
gzit of Ifs yllbrr) ud The* buamfIoirrI~s.
The last above quoted rrtiolm prorides that suoh
~oolotiu awl prwldo for the p8 t of hawflts m tb
death Of I~b@rS. Addltl~l Et fits law thozwftw
de;;gmted but uoh ipllovlng the use of ti vords -2 or mzm
-*
It Is a fsmillar ml0 of oanrrtruotlontMt vhem
both swul8torp and dlreotom verbs are us02 in tho saw sktuto
or stnttnoe of a sfiatute, It Is l faIr iaferuaoa that the kgls-
lsture rwlirod tho dlfforsnot In moanlag, arnl lntondod that tho
verbs used should oarry vlth them their ordlorry maaaings,
Su$u#land Statutory Construction, Vol. 3, Par. 582l, P. 116,
.
In 1917 the 35th Leglslaturo passed an Aot dtslgned
to proride vhole faaiIl7 proteotlon for membersof Fraternal
BentSIt SooIetl~s. Scotlon 1 of thst hot rovidod that lng
such soolet7 authorlsed to do busImss in ? his State or oporst-
ing oa tht lodge plan ma7 prorldo in its oonstltutlon and b7-
lmrS# 'In sddltlun to other benefit8 prwidod for thorda, for
tht psymont of duth or annuity b@ofit upon th+ liras of ohil-
dry bdivttn age5 of tvo 5.d tightoui pm5 . . ., rw who50
support ud mlntexnnoe s memberof suoh soolef Is ~spcuulblt."
(AI%. 4825, 8. C. s., 1925) This Art1010 ns 3ater lmdod b7
ths 41st Liglslatw, Aots 1929, vlth the rtatod purpose Of
1Utm~lIaiag juvanlle benefits and as unmxlsd, rwds so rbovo
.
Where Cozxsorl7, the LegIslrtuve axtondod tho
authority of oertsin sooIetIos to prwId8 for the pqment of
duth OS umuitf benoflts upon tha llvos of ahlldrmn betveon
the ages of tvo aad elghtoon para of mmliflod mamborsour
w&~~s~t~o~~,; ypgJ$y&qpgg$f q$g&gg
mnulties, or for lnsuranoo snd smmitios, upon llvos of 0hIldrZ
'~p$&~&t%~p%$t?$ !z %%a?%~~~~r%dt.m
Raorrblo 0. P. Loolchti, Psgo 5
.
It ir qp&rupt from the fobs lng wathorlties tbt
tm Logisl~tw, iaaofrr as the lmfs 0r the sooIot7 mm7pro-
ddo, brr orde no dIstInotlon ktvooa juvotiles of say age and
sdult msmbrs. ~*xwaFO,urox8mIMtIon of the 0rigLnrlAot
of 19lS, dlsol~~es that buwfiol~l membershipin lny suoh soolety
~5 lxto~iblo to any porsoa not 1055 than slxtun
lndno tmo r ethan six t7yurs of a g o .
113, 800. 7) This provtsloa, hovwor, ns repulod by the rots
of 1931, 42rd Leg., ch. 48.
~XAthh 5me A0t 1931 vtriah mthd
0f 800ti0n 7 0s
tht origin81 l4v, the right 0sjuvtnil0 membershipis ~oq&td
ir, the r0iiovi~ lmguago 940 mtmberuador sixtwn
& a *,
l vo io e o r to t.In tb a nwm g wsa t of a la 5o o d.a
r J.
= ( k t.
4822, V. A. C. 9.)
Ansmrbg the questions propounded, thortfoxw, It
15 our lnloatbtaFntozmalB080flt Soaloty operating under
3 , Tit10 78, V. A. C. s., is not luthor1z.d to Irsuo
~~~~~83 rooldont pollolts to p8rsoas not mtmbersof the
The ttnu "mtmber5" msy iaolude l juvuxllt 0s any agt
aliglbl; und#r the 1~s of tht society.
It neotss~rll~ follow, in vlm~ 0s the r02-t oing,
that the term‘ four hundredmembers”wed in Artlole f 838,
8totion 4 ad Artiole 4852, R. C. b., 1913, -SOUP hundred
membersholding duth banefit oertlfloatu to ths oxolusion of
cry other ~OXWLL