Does a veteran have to be a U.S. citizen to get the Texas veteran tuition exemption?

TX AG Opinion GA-0445: Must a veteran be a U.S. citizen to get the tuition exemption?

Plain-English summary

The Chair of the Texas Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations asked the Attorney General to clarify an earlier opinion about who qualifies for the veteran tuition exemption in Education Code section 54.203(a). That statute requires the governing board of a public college or university to exempt certain honorably discharged veterans from paying dues, fees, and charges, as long as the veteran was a "citizen of Texas" when entering the service and has lived in Texas for at least 12 months before registering. The specific question was whether the veteran also has to be a United States citizen at the time of registration.

The Attorney General said no. Reading the plain language of the statute, an honorably discharged veteran is entitled to the exemption if (1) he or she was a United States citizen and a Texas resident at the time of entering the service, and (2) has resided in Texas for at least 12 months before registering. The statute does not add a separate requirement that the veteran still be a United States citizen on the day of registration. So a veteran who was a U.S. citizen and Texas resident when entering the service, but who later lost or gave up citizenship, is not denied the exemption on that basis, provided the 12-month Texas residency is satisfied.

The opinion built on AG Opinion GA-0347 (2005), which had already read the phrase "citizens of Texas" in section 54.203(a) to mean two things: that the person was a United States citizen when entering the service, and that the person was a Texas resident when entering the service. This opinion simply confirmed that those are the citizenship conditions the statute imposes, and that none of them looks to the veteran's citizenship status at the later moment of college registration.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

The Texas veteran tuition exemption in Education Code section 54.203 has been amended several times since 2006, including changes to eligibility, residency, and the conditions under which the benefit and any legacy transfer apply. Anyone trying to determine whether a particular veteran qualifies today should check the current version of Education Code section 54.203 and the rules administered by the institution and the Texas Veterans Commission, not the 2006 statutory text quoted here.

Who this opinion affected (as of 2006)

Honorably discharged veterans: The opinion concluded that a veteran who was a U.S. citizen and Texas resident at the time of entering the service, and who met the 12-month Texas residency requirement, did not have to be a U.S. citizen at registration to claim the exemption.

Public colleges and universities: The opinion told the governing boards that administer section 54.203(a) which facts to test (citizenship and Texas residency at entry into service, plus 12 months of Texas residency before registration), and made clear that current-citizenship-at-registration was not among them.

The legislator who asked: The opinion answered the Senate committee's request to clarify GA-0347, confirming that the earlier opinion did not require U.S. citizenship at the time of registration.

Common questions

Did a veteran have to be a U.S. citizen when starting college to get the exemption?
According to the opinion, no. The statute looked at citizenship and Texas residency at the time the veteran entered the service, not at the time of registration.

What did section 54.203(a) actually require?
The opinion read it to require that the veteran was a United States citizen and Texas resident when entering the service, and had resided in Texas for at least 12 months before registering at the institution.

What if a veteran later gave up or lost U.S. citizenship?
The opinion explained that the statute did not facially withhold the benefit from such a veteran, as long as the 12-month Texas residency before registration was met.

Did the veteran still have to prove anything?
Yes. The opinion noted that under subsection (d), every applicant claiming the exemption must prove that he or she fulfills the necessary citizenship and residency requirements.

Background and statutory framework

Section 54.203(a) directs the governing board of each institution of higher education to exempt listed honorably discharged veterans (and certain nurses and members of the women's auxiliaries) from dues, fees, and charges, "provided the persons seeking the exemptions were citizens of Texas at the time they entered the services indicated and have resided in Texas for at least the period of 12 months before the date of registration" (Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 54.203(a) (Vernon 2006); see § 54.203(a)(1)-(2) (covering the nurses and women's auxiliaries)). Subsection (d) requires every applicant claiming the benefit to prove that he or she fulfills the necessary citizenship and residency requirements (§ 54.203(d)).

AG Opinion GA-0347 (2005) had read "citizens of Texas" in section 54.203(a) to mean both that the person was a United States citizen and that the person was a Texas resident at the time of entering the service, drawing on AG Opinion H-481 (1974). Applying the rule that a statute's unambiguous plain language is the surest guide to legislative intent (Fitzgerald v. Advanced Spine Fixation Sys., Inc., 996 S.W.2d 864, 866 (Tex. 1999); City of Galveston v. Tex. Gen. Land Office, No. 01-04-01096-CV, 2006 WL 1041151, at *3 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] April 20, 2006, pet. granted)), the opinion concluded that section 54.203(a) does not on its face require United States citizenship at the time of registration. A veteran who was a citizen and Texas resident when entering the service, but who has since lost or given up citizenship, is not denied the benefit so long as the 12-month Texas residency is satisfied.

Citations

Statutes:

• Tex. Educ. Code Ann. §§ 54.203(a), 54.203(a)(1)-(2), 54.203(d) (Vernon 2006)

Cases:

• Fitzgerald v. Advanced Spine Fixation Sys., Inc., 996 S.W.2d 864, 866 (Tex. 1999)
• City of Galveston v. Tex. Gen. Land Office, No. 01-04-01096-CV, 2006 WL 1041151, at *3 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] April 20, 2006, pet. granted)

AG opinions referenced: Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. Nos. GA-0347 (2005), H-481 (1974).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-0445
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2006/ga0445.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain - the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT

July 21, 2006

The Honorable Leticia Van de Putte, R.Ph.
Chair, Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068

Opinion No. GA-0445

Re: Whether under Education Code section 54.203(a) the governing board of an institution of higher education must exempt an honorably discharged veteran from the payment of dues, fees, and charges if the veteran is not a United States citizen (RQ-0433-GA)

Dear Senator Van de Putte:

You ask whether under Education Code section 54.203(a) the governing board of an institution of higher education must exempt an honorably discharged veteran from the payment of dues, fees, and charges if the veteran is not a United States citizen.[1] See TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. § 54.203(a) (Vernon 2006). Section 54.203(a) requires the governing board of an institution of higher education to exempt certain honorably discharged veterans from the payment of dues, fees, and charges:

The governing board of each institution of higher education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of all dues, fees, and charges, including fees for correspondence courses but excluding property deposit fees, student services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or clothing, provided the persons seeking the exemptions were citizens of Texas at the time they entered the services indicated and have resided in Texas for at least the period of 12 months before the date of registration:

(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the armed forces of the United States who served during the Spanish-American War or during World War I;

(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces of the United States who served during World War II;

(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served during the national emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as the Korean War; and

(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States after serving on active military duty for more than 180 days and who served a portion of their active duty during:

(A) the Cold War . . . ;

(B) the Vietnam era . . . ;

(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era . . . ;

(D) the Panama era . . . ;

(E) the Persian Gulf War . . . ;

(F) the national emergency by reason of certain terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or

(G) any future national emergency declared in accordance with federal law.

Id. § 54.203(a) (emphasis added). Under subsection (d), "every applicant claiming the benefit of an exemption" must prove that he or she "fulfills the necessary citizenship and residency requirements." Id. § 54.203(d).

Attorney General Opinion GA-0347, issued in August 2005, determines that the phrase "citizens of Texas" in section 54.203(a) encompasses two requirements: first, the individual must have been a United States citizen at the time the individual entered the service; and second, the individual must have resided in Texas at the time the individual entered the service. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0347 (2005) at 3 (quoting Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. H-481 (1974) at 3). Thus, section 54.203 on its face exempts from the payment of higher-education tuition and certain fees "a veteran who (1) was a United States citizen and a Texas resident at the time he or she entered the service and (2) has resided in Texas for at least 12 months" before registering in an institution of higher education. Id. You now ask that we clarify Opinion GA-0347 "on the specific question of whether or not a recipient must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for benefits" under section 54.203(a). Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1.

The surest method of ascertaining the legislature's intent with respect to a particular statute is to rely on the statute's unambiguous plain language. See Fitzgerald v. Advanced Spine Fixation Sys., Inc., 996 S.W.2d 864, 866 (Tex. 1999) (reasoning that "ordinary citizens should be able to rely on" a statute's plain language; moreover, a court that strays from the plain language risks "encroaching on the Legislature's function to determine what the law should be"); accord City of Galveston v. Tex. Gen. Land Office, No. 01-04-01096-CV, 2006 WL 1041151, at *3 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] April 20, 2006, pet. granted) (stating that statutory words "should be the surest guide to the Legislature's intent"). As Opinion GA-0347 interprets section 54.203(a)'s plain language, an honorably discharged veteran is entitled to receive benefits under section 54.203(a) if he or she was a United States citizen and a resident of Texas at the time he or she entered the service; the veteran also must have resided in Texas for at least 12 months before registering in a Texas institution of higher education.

Section 54.203(a) does not expressly require United States citizenship at the time an honorably discharged veteran who had been a United States citizen prior to entering the service registers in the institution of higher education. Rather, if an honorably discharged veteran who was a citizen of Texas and the United States at the time he or she entered the service but has since lost or given up citizenship, section 54.203(a) does not facially withhold benefits from the veteran so long as he or she has resided in Texas for 12 months prior to registering in an institution of higher education. Thus, consistent with section 54.203(a)'s plain language, an honorably discharged veteran who was a United States citizen and Texas resident at the time he or she entered the service need not be a United States citizen at the time the veteran registers in a Texas institution of higher education, so long as the veteran has resided in Texas for at least 12 months before registering.

SUMMARY

To receive benefits under Education Code section 54.203(a), an honorably discharged veteran must (1) have been a United States citizen and Texas resident at the time he or she entered the service and (2) have resided in Texas for at least 12 months at the time the veteran registers in an institution of higher education. Section 54.203(a) does not require that the veteran be a United States citizen at the time he or she registers in the institution of higher education.

KENT C. SULLIVAN
First Assistant Attorney General

ELLEN L. WITT
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

NANCY S. FULLER
Chair, Opinion Committee

Kymberly K. Oltrogge
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

Footnotes

1. See Letter from Honorable Leticia Van de Putte, R.Ph., Chair, and Honorable Craig Estes, Vice-Chair, Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations, Texas State Senate, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas (Jan. 17, 2006) (on file with the Opinion Committee, also available at http://www.oag.state.tx.us) [hereinafter Request Letter].

2. We use the term "veteran" to encompass members of the United States armed forces as well as nurses and members of the women's auxiliaries who are included under section 54.203(a)(1)-(2). See TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. § 54.203(a)(1)-(2) (Vernon 2006).