Honorable Alwin E. Paps 

County Attorney 

Guadalupe County 

Seguin, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-3219 

Re: Whether the subject person is permanently disabled and exempt from the 

payment of a poll tax under the stated 

facts. 

We are pleased to comply with your request for the opinion of 

this Department upon the question of whether the person described 

in your letter is permanently disabled and therefore exempt from 

the payment of a poll tax under Articles 2959 and 2960, Revised 

Civil Statutes of Texas. 

The subject person in described by you as follows: 

"A World War Veteran was adjudged totally and permanently 

disabled, aqcount tuberculosis, and has bsen receiving compensation therefor in the full amount for many years. He 

owns a farm which he does not personally work butnnintains 

with tenant and hired help. He is able to walk around, 

drives a car for short distances, visits neighboring towns 

and cities, and does nothing strenuous, and must not, according to his attending physicianls orders. A complication to 

his illness is a severe sinus infection, long since chronic.e 

Article 2959 rovides that "A poll tax shall be collected from 

every person g etween the ages of twenty-one and sixty years who 

resided in this State on the 1st day of January preceding its 

levy, . . ..persons.....permanently disabled, excepted.f1 

Article 2960 provides in part that "Every person who is more than 

sixty years old...or is permanently disabled...shall be entitled 

to vote without being required to pay a poll tax." 

It may be strongly urged that the term "disabled" does not mean 

total and complete disability, implying rather the fact of being 

crippled, of being deprived of normal and natural capacities. 

Certainly l'permanent'f is not synonymous with '%otal" and means, 

only, that the disability shall be lasting and fixed. 
Honorable Alwin E. Pape, page 2 O-3219 

The person you have described is undeniably disabled to a certain 

extent, and permanently 30 upon any reasonable hypothesis. But 

he is not totally 30. 

In such case we are bound by the authorities in Texas which are 

summarized as follows in Hugg v0 Duffield, 251, S,W. 298, 303: 

"The court erred in holding that H. C. Smith was a qualified 

voter and that his ballot should be counted for appellant. 

He swore that he had hurt his back and used two sticks to 

support himself when he walks. -- He was partiallv paralvzed. 

The law exempts every person who has lost a hand or foot or 

is permanently disabled. Article 2942. The facts are that 

H. C. Smith is 53 years old and was crippled four Years ago 

bv a fall from a derrick. He was in bed four or five weeks. 

He uses canes in walkin . He has charge of the water pump at 

Lyford, which is propel ed by a gasoline engine; he supervises 

the waterworks system, attends to meter tests, and sometimes 

cleans meters. He goes about in an automobile which he drives 

himself, He starts the car by hand, having no self-starter. 

The car is one familiarly known as a nFord? He gets 35 cents 

an hour for his labor on an average of $25 per month. Under 

the authority of Bigham v. Clubb, 42 Tex. Civ. App. 312, 95 

S.W. 675, McCormick v. Jester 53 Tex. Civ. App. 306, 115 S.W. 

278, and H,illert v. Schweppe fTex. Civ. App.) 234 S.W. 132, 

we hold that H. C. Smith was not permanentlv disabled in the 

eves of the law. The facts of this case are quite similar to 

those in the last case cited, decided by this court. The vote 

of Smith should not have been counted for appellant." (Emphasis ours) 

The facts in this case demonstrate unquestioned disability to a 

certain extent, which to such extent was permanent. Notwithstanding which the court holds that such is not permanent disability 

within Articles 2953 and 2960. Therefore it follows that our courts 

have not adopted the view discussed above that "disabled" in the 

statutes before us means crippled, or the loss ofrormal and natural 

faculties to a certain degree. 

It is therefore the opinion of this Department that the subject 

person of your request, who is able to walk, to drive an automobile, and to visit in neighboring towns and cities, is not permanently disabled within the purview of Articles 2959 and 2960 and, 

notwithstanding his admitted disability to a great extent, is not 

exempt from the payment of a poll tax. 

Yours very truly 

APPROVED AUG. 4, 1941 

GROVER SELLERS ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS 

FIRST ASSISTANT By Zollie C. Steakley 

ATTORNEY GENERAL Assistant