OFFICE OFTHE AHORNEYGENERALOFTEXA8 AUSTIN

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## Ho J orah win.

r. Larraon rotary orstate iwtin, Tms Bear Sir:

Yuoh 0, 1941, ac)nfi oa the abo puwt readat t of ymr letter of on of this departux letter of lm

## wre Znmranae canrowwal ol its oi k?tialr 1515 (a) isat that thlr meat iwur8rlee now ba &ranted a

co&g to Se&ion 1E'of that artfole tkeir ohertera *are exgresLlp oontlnued in soroe during the ,terms

### or said cthartexw'. Tbet sot was r wed In 1053. In 1959, Artiole lSl5 (a) and b) WLR peesed prooidbg #at the Searetary of State aould extend the oerprate ex+3- 

### tenoeofa companylnwrporated 

### forany purpose authorized *uadei thim titlet. ThiP aot elseHonareble 'ifur .I.Lawson, Page 9

provides that the filin& roe to b4 paid shall be such fee as th4 aorgoratlon would be required to pay ii itwere agplying for ar

### new charter. The sat ~150 reqdrse that 32x4Sscrotary of Stats find that the coworation is solvsnt and its capital unimpaired. In this deae, the Seerstary ot 8tate could not now .granta charter to a state-widemutual inruranc4 company and w4 aould net find that its capitol is unimpaired,as it has no capital mto4k.

WI rim of these fbot8, we wi8h to request an oplnibn fP0A you3 Ihagartaent 48 to wbsther th4 Seoretacy o? State ie authorized to grant an extension ol ths Corporate srlatsncs of a mutual assessment iwuranoe assoaiation under Artfale 1315 (a)and lb).*
The facts disoloued in the affidavit of Xr. A, B. Bratmen, Secretary o:’ Texail Indmgendecce Lit4 Imurencs Company, which accompanies your letter of inquiry show that Texas Iridependence Life InsuranceCompanywee i ncorporated tar a terr.of 40 years from th4 Bth day of January, A. 9. 1899. Thus'it is s44n that the ehartsr of sueh company exgired by operation of law on the Hth day of January, 1941.

The 43rd Legislature peswd BOUW Bill Ro. 505, now ICWWA as ChapteD 6a, Title 70 or the Revised Civil Statut48,which wan de&kg&d to place'alloorporatiocs doiw an icearaneobusiness nbt then uadelrthe supertlrion of the In6urance Department by virtue or a pertinantrtatute under their supsrrision.

It WE provided in such bill, oow Section l!:of Article 4889fr

"Sac. 1. Any aorpomtion organized8nd ineorgoratedunder a pre-existing law in this State without capital etooEr 

### and net for profit, whioh low has been mended or repealed or r4- maoted, and which was oocratin~ *ad actually oarrying on in this ribate imsdiatsly prior to January 1, 1933, the state-wide

### businew of o;Utuallp !:rOteotiag Or inSum$ the liV4s Of its zmzbars by dsseasraents ijade 

### uponidsmmhers my coxgly with the t4rms ot this Aot, subject to ths subsequentprovisions heroot.*“:



### EonezableWm. t. lawaon,Page 3

i%dtien e of 5ueh artlclo 

### protides that any oorporatlon d8so~fbd in seetion 1 thorsof cf3uld avail itselr or th8 rlghte an6 privileges sonfsrredby l wh law conditioned that they did 80 within sir m&m after the effeottvedate or the ret.
The %xas Independenoe Life Insurance Company did avail ttesli of the 

### privilegesconferredby eu5h law and has siaoe operated **under** and has been known and acnunonly referred to aa ,aSOS company.

It was the legielatlva intention a8 expreseed in Rouse BU.l SC3 to 8x ressly repaalall ohartem 

## or ineurame oompanlea then inex !st8ncewhloh failed or rofused to qualify thereuader with, of eourae, axaaption of those qualifiad 

### underether pertinent atatut8a. Seotion 14 thereor provided inpaPt:
The charter of eaah eorpavation in thz &&; entitled to comply with the terms or thin Aot wblcrh does mt make applfoation to do lo within six (01month6 after th8 bet shall

Thus it ia seen that the legislative intention rslatlve to euoh corporations is plait&y, intelligentlyand unmistakably expressed. 

### Theyprovldod,

### aa they 

### wererequiredto do, that 

### the oharters of all corporationsqualifyingthereunderwere 

### tobs wexpressly oontlnued in 

### rorce duri t:mm of said ohart8rsD (Undersooriogours). TK&iSnot have repealed the existing charterswithout offering thea opportunity to Qualiry under the 

### regulatoryfar. 308 New 

### Orlean Wataxworlu Com.pany V. Riv8ra, 

### Louisiana,115 U. 3. 74, 

### eoL. Rd. 52x5.Th8 Legislature

### dibhot 

### th8nprovide that the 

### oherternof those oorpcratlons qualifyiogwe- to b8Honorable mu. 5. L&w#ori, Page 4

thereafter rehew& or l xteaded. Statutory authodty for r8- WWiiIgand extendin& sueh eherternwa* not then efi@t8ot and was nowhere provided for at that tlsls. If maeh authority na OXiOtS it ill

by reallon

of &vtioltv$l315

(a) aad (b) lpasred at the Re&ar 

### andrirbt Called 8waions respeatively of the 45th Le&kturar 

### AFti 1315 (a)reada:

WSubj80t to a finding by the Seoretary of 3%atO aa herolnaitar provided,

### any private OOFporation organized or inoorporat+dfor any purpose or purpo8os authorisedunder thl8 Title, at any timewithin ton (10)yearn prior to the 8xpiratloa or ltr ehartes, or any extension thareot,my l

xtenb 6uoh 

### ahurterand the oorpOPat exbtenoe Or 6ueh

### oePpoPation for an additlonel

### period0r not to aoeed rirty (so) yearn from the expirationdate or the original ohmter, or any *rte~%rlonthemOf, with all the prlvilege8, pou8ra. iarmunitiecl, ri&ht or sueo*88lon by it6 eorporPte name, 

### and rights 0r property, real and srsonal he1ii **p a~~$m!&md**  by it at suoh 8xp ration @ala8 iXlt8llt~

and pUI'pOE38B

BS UpOn &&B&l inoorporatlonl The nmnnor0r extendi suoh 8hertermhll be by a resolution?LY%ting, adopted at any annual or ~peoialmestiag Of stoohholdera oallod ior that purpose by rtookhold8rm holdin$ a majority or the 

### ehar88 or capltel stooh or SuOh corporation then outstandi

% suoh nsolution to speoify the period 0r t 8 

### rorwhioh 

### the ohmtar 141 exttildod,

and a 

### OOpfOf suoh rOlVOlUt%Oo, duly. 

### aertifled by the seoretary of 

### the oorporation, Wld8r the 

### aorpamt~ asal, ehnU be

### riledand r8eOrd8d in the Ofrio Or the S8Qr8tBX.y Of state. upon the adoption oi'such resolution and the riling or a Oertifled oopy thereofwith the S8oretary Of State tog8th8r

### with ~pZU%Qt of the filfag r88 hem& presOribed, the Ohaxtar and OOPpOPUt8 existence Of such OOrpOI'atiOn may be 8rtSnded for 

### the additional period Of tiIII8 reafted in suoh reeo2ution. The filing fee to b8 paid for say euoh extarmion Or a Ohart shall be eueh f80 aa oaid oor9oratloo would be required Under the Statutea Of TexaeHonorabla Wm. 3. Lawson, Page 5

to pay in the event it was then

### applyingfor 8 new charter instead of ertonding it@ then eristing oharter.
*8~0h etien0l)ion8, however,may bemade only in instaneeiu where the Beoretary of State shall have feund, 

### artes proper investigation that such aOrpOration in solvent end it8 oap - f tal unimpaired.’
Artictlo1315 (b)read88
"Theproviaion8 of Art1010 1515(a) @hall extent to and inelude all private oorporationa incorporatedunder the general laws of Texas. The period OS ten (10)years prior to the erpiratlon of the charter or any extension thereof referred to In Article 1315(a) shall in

### eludetheperiod oftime duringwhiah auah 

### Oorporntion rpayhare continued ito existence under the provieioae of Article 1359 of the Revised Civil Statutes of 1922.e
The settled rule of construction or grant8 by the Legislature to cOrporationawhether publio or private, is that only swh powera and right8 oan be exeroieed under them aa are olearly aomprehended in the words of the aot or derived 

### therei’rom by necessary lmpliaation. Any ambiguity or doubt arising out of the terms used by the Legislaturemuat be resolve~d

In favor OS the publio. Sutherland DA Statutory Con8truutlon.p. 429, oltlngr Petersburg Y. kietzher 21 Ill. 2058 Btet8on f. Kempton, 15 MaEa. 2723 Warahaohfe v. BrOwn, 67 Tax, 519, and other authorftiea too numoroul) for oltatlonherein.

This rule of atrfot OOnBtrUCtiOA 

### iB dieoueeed at great ls@th in Th~%peon on Corporations,Vol. 1, p. 397, whe,rein

he dloouesed and quotes from the case of Paoker v. Sunberry& Co. R. Co.,.19 Pa;). St. 211, ae follows:

-Rut to justify a strict aonmtructfon it i8 not nooe88arg e0 oowider the nature and olroumatances of the gartieular law before us, for it belows to a olaa8 of atututeewhiah, by a long establiehed and well defined rule of interpretetion in all the etateaof the UA~OA,

## L ‘; 

### 234

Honorable Wm. cf.

Lawtaon,

Page 6

as wall a# in -land, ?iurtreoeive and unlfowlg ham moeivti the strictest possible oonstruotion. All sots o!'incorporationand 

### aota extendApplyin ole 1315 (a)and 1 the above rule6 of aonstru0tlon to Artib), can it be urged thtst there is no doubt but that auoh 

### rant o? authorityIs extendedto the Taxas Indapendanoo Lffe 

### Insurancrcl Onnpanp and other8 Biailarly situated? Artlale 1315 (a)expreuslyprovides that the resolution to extend the eorporatb lifenust 

### be

.. . .adoptad at any umual or speoialmeting oi eto0k:holdera

. . . by stoakholder$holdina a majorits of the shares of aagital atoa,.

. ." [U

ndersaoring ours.) rt 1 ? th ld d m*rtmh extenaiona,however,may be ~dtb%l~i%atk!ea where the Secretary of State shell have found

. . . the aorporation solvent and its capital &nisnpalred." Sinocl there

are no stookholdara in a mutual llfa ineuranoe 0o~pany to pass the raaolutlonrequimd, and sin00 suoh oOrpOratiOn as oreatedwith ut capitalatoak and presumably ar a non-profit aorporntion%, required findings of the Seoretary of Stats are rendered ~oesib1.e of 

### performanoe. Although 

### themrding of Artlols 1315 (b) is apparently broad enough to utiver all oorporatlonr, it is our opiuion thatArtiola 1313 (a)and (b) considered togsther,were not intended to nnd do not emaompa118 the type of oor$oration involved in this opinion request. It neoesaarily follow8 

### thatyourrequestis answered in the negative.

Yours very truly
A!L'TCRNEYGX'J.ERAL

OF TEXAS