OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Earry Nor, Chaiman 

State Soard of Control 

Auetln, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

with t&o bon 

civil Statutes,: 1925, derind to the State Tuberculosis 

with tuberbulosis who 

citizena of this State end of 

vrhioh he or she co.xea at the 

of: their azplication with the 

hsrelnaftcr provide&, shall 

snid institutions. A citizen 

is defined to ba 6113 person who 

13 resided therein with the bona 

tide intention of being a citizen thereof for 

e period of txslve months next preceding the 

date of suoh aypllcotion.n 

Xe undarstaad thet in the nd.z.inistratlon of the 

ict a .queetlon h&n Seen raised a~ to whether nn alien rssic?ent 

Wt born or caturaiized ia the United States, may be ad.aitted 
hoonorable Barry Knox, ifage i? 

to the fnetitution. 

The term ~~ofti?ml", like "rdsidence* lind "domicile* 

18 not alkays casgblrr or precise definition, but my in dirftrent circumstances be used in different sensea. The follosin Snalysis ia found in 14 C. J. ii., 2. 1127: 

*It La not R term of exact naaning; it 

is cap ble of xora zmnings than one, and has 

baen variously defined. In its primary sense 

it si@af~ies oae,who ia vzsted with the freedom 

and priVile@?S Of A City, a f?X?t?Ma Of A city, 

as distingpiahed fro3 a foreii;oert or one not 

antitlod to its frmchises; an inhabitant of a 

city, A tov2nsman. In 61 impax samis, the t .orm 

denote8 om nho, as A zznbar Of A Wition or Of 

a body poiftic of A sovereign state, 0~s allegiance to, and may claim raciarocal protection 

f rOEI, f t S ~,~QXZL%?Jlt ; Ernd it ia 8oxEtimQas aetine& 68 onfm wh3 is do.niciled in a country, and 

who is a citizen, although neither native nor 

naturalized, 1.n such A senst, that ha takea his 

legi1 status from such conntry. .* .w * 

-In A32arican Law ‘citizen’ ,is PATiOus 

defined a8 one who haa a right'to iote for 

re~reseatntion in congress and other ,publia 

olficore, and who is qualified to fill oflices 

within ths gift 02~ the people; one OS the sovereign gsople; a constituent mamber of the sovereignty, s~nonymue with ths people; A xmbsr 

of tha oivil state, entitled to all its ?rivileF;es; 

tree inhabitnnt born within the United Sates, or 

naturalized under the Lsrs of conl;rcan; in a 

polltlcal sense, one who has the ri&ts and privileges of a citizen of A state or of the United 

Gtatos. 

*The particular meaninS of the rord *cit.lxen~ 

is Sraquantly depandsnt on the context In Ahich 

it ia iound, and the rrord eiust 01~zyys be takea in 

the sense which best harmonizes with the subject 

mtter in which it is used. Une my ba considered 

a aitizen for 00za yurpooos and not a clt,izon for 

Other 2urpoaes, as, for instance, ior commercial 

WX~O.%S) nnd not for political pur;:osoe. 

There is some confusion in le& nomenclature, 

in resgcct of the tor;;?s loitizsn*, * inbabitantV , 
fbnorable’ Harry Knox, Page 3 

a0a *msihnt.* 'Citizen' ia not neceasarilg 

synonymus ore a~,coavertiblc tern,, with *Inhabltont’ Gr"rH3idont', an& ill 50x8 Caael3 

the ai5tiuCtiOu iS fKZ;3Gd.CZt. 'Citizen is, 

however ( soPetlrnes usea S~Gtlj?XJZiSly with 

such term without eny inglioatton of political 

or civil grivilegsa. It nay indicate e gergDnent reaiaCnt, or ona who renalne r0r a 

timI, or fro3 ttiae to tim.” 

The Legislrtture io this iastanoe has $ivcn a partieuler deiinition to the tern *citizean in the statute. Airs 

&efrneQ in krticlo 3240 it depends upon aCtu%l rcsideaoe 

v;ithin the state for a period of twelve goutho next preceding 

th0 aatn of aapliontioa coupled with the bona fide ictetition 

of “baing 9 citizsnb of the state. . It ~A11 be noted that 

Article 3240 does not provide for a bona fid3 intention to 

becom a oitizan, but of beins a oftizan. Ordinarily atze 

‘aLtfzu5~hip cont~~plntes menshlg in the mt5a Ztstes, 

by birth or haturalkation, on’l of the state by dmicile or 

resideace. Evidently the Legialaturc dlrf not have aliens in 

mind G~sn enacting this Hxitute, but ~35 macerued with establiahing a rosi&mce requiremst which would probably be xor’o 

or less pamanent In it3 character. ft is apparent that the 

purgo%e of i;ha liaitatlon is to erafet;uard G@OS t .s!i&mition 

iato the state in order to necure tha benefits provided, aad 

to deny adtittsnce tr, transient persons who ZBY be within the 

state only teqmarily. 

Two inplications away be drawn fro= the lene-aage 

usea. It nay be reasombly contended that eiriCQ Citixne Of’ 

tha iJnlted States obtain etate citizenshi> by residence slthic th0 state, the definition pr6-33~;~0363 t%‘iited lit%t05 Citire~hig and only attmgts to glaos a restriction u?on the period of actual renidcaoe within the statu of cltizess of the 

baited States nho coz into ycruf3 froi3 other st:~tco or r0dgn 

countries. On the other bend, it my be ur;;ed with 3~~31 

foroe that the L&slnture did not have in r;icd aliens and 

Old not intend to exclu%e aliens who are do;sioflad here, or 

*ho are per;anent j.nttbitnnts of the state, but set a rcini.vU% 

Fsriod cf resiCsnce within the state nccm~anie~ by the bGnZ 

ride intention to remtn. Givm this m3entn~ tha’bem “cltiZen” would not ba used in the sense of iqlyiut$ poLitiOa1 

cllagiaace, or aitizetshi? in its stricter sense, but us 

1kLting the faoiiities of the LanatoriU t0 pePZEmeat iahbitents of tha state. 

ConsiQcrinS the subject mtt0r tind pIZ:)cJS3 Of th3 
monorable Ifarrp Knox, ?age 4 

rbicb nay be tranmitted fro li one person to another and its 

control and prevention haa been 8 source of much research 

ona effort for a nunbsr Of years. ?'hilo the patient sufferiug 1x03 tuberculosis rcceivea fl paculi~ benefit at the 

bands of the state throu&~ tha m3dl.u~~ of the L;anatorlun, 

the ostablishmnt of EliCh an institution 13 also a publio 

health neasurc designed to banefit the public generally by 

eradication of the disease and the prevention of its trsnsliesion to 'others. ';:e think the .wr6 reaaonable construction is that the Legislature in defining the mrd *citizen* 

did not intend to oohfiae it to its political or narrower 

,~ax~izkg, but eas atteqtlng to set up a standard of ectual 

xcsidenoe and iqtsntion so a8 to exclude those ?eroona who 

would probably not be pomanent inhzzbltknta of ths state. 

ft is also noted t&t Article 4242, Eevised Civil Xatutos, 

1025, which grovfdos for the a>~licatJon, requires that it 

rdow age, nativity, and residence of :,atient for two years 

next preceding th2 date of the a??lication, but mice8 30 

inquiry concerning present citizenship, naturalization or 

otbsr intorxuition of this nature. 

.It i3 our opinion that P parson afflicted with 

tuberaulosia, not born in Texas, who has resided in Texoa 

for more than three years, with the bona fide inteution of 

.beicg a oitfzn thereof, zay be udzitted to the State Tubercui;m&s Sanatoriaa under ArtitQo 3240, i&vised Civil Statutes, 

. 

In anewer to yo*ur secohd question, i,t is hour opinion 

fhat a bone fide intention to ostsbliah a domioilo in Texas 

an6 becozo an inhabitant thereof, constitutes the intention 

Cohtezplatsd within iha 3E:aaing of hrticlc 3240, T&vised Civil 

Statute&, 1925. 

Pcurs very tmlg 

ATl’OX?hY OZX’EiXL 03’ TZXtiS