ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

GREG ABBOTT 

The Honorable Veronica Gonzales 

Chair, Committee on Border and 

Intergovernmental Affairs 

Texas House of Representatives 

Post Office Box 2910 

Austin, Texas 78768-2910 

Dear Representative Gonzales: 

August 1,2011 

Opinion No. GA-0868 

Re: Whether the expanded definition of "disability" 

under federal law affects a taxpayer's qualification 

for the real property tax freeze on existing 

homesteads under Texas law (RQ-0939-GA) 

You ask whether "the expansion of the definition of a disability" under the Americans with 

Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 "also means that more Texas homeowners now qualify 

for property tax freezes on their principal homesteads and for any other property tax exemptions."! 

Article VIII, section I-b of the Texas Constitution allows certain local governing bodies to 

provide to "a person who is disabled" tax exemptions in various circumstances. Article VIII, section 

I-b(h) provides that "the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed on that homestead ... may not 

be increased while it remains the residence homestead of that person or that person's spouse." TEX. 

CONST. art. VIII, § l-b(h); see also id. art. VIII, § I-b(d) (providing a similar exemption for taxes 

imposed for public school purposes); TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § 11.261 (West Supp. 2010) 

(implementing constitutional provision). Subsections (b) and (c) of that section of the Texas 

Constitution also allow the governing bodies of certain political subdivisions to provide a tax 

exemption to disabled persons. TEX. CONST. art. VIII, § l-b(b), (c); see also TEX. TAX CODE ANN. 

§ 11.13(d) (West 2008) (implementing constitutional provision). 

You note that in 2008, Congress enacted amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act 

("ADA"), expanding the definition of "disability" and thereby increasing the number of individuals 

qualifying as disabled under that Act. 2 Request Letter at I. This change to the federal ADA, 

'Letter from Honorable Veronica Gonzales, Chair, House Committee on Border and Intergovernmental Affairs, 

Texas House of Representatives, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas at 2 (Jan. 4, 20lO), 

https://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinlindex_rq.shtml ("Request Letter"). 

'Specifically, the amendments prohibit mitigating measures like medication, medical supplies, prosthetics and 

hearing aids, among others, from being used to determine whether an individual has a disability. ADA Amendments Act 

of 2008, § 4, 42 U.S.C.A. § 12lO2(4)(E)(i) (West Supp. 2009). 
The Honorable Veronica Gonzales - Page 2 (GA-0868) 

however, does not impact the definition of "disabled" for purposes of Texas Constitution article vm, 

section l-b and the statutes that implement it. The tax exemptions authorized by article vm, section 

I-b(b) are expressly available for "residence homesteads of persons ... who are under a disability 

for purposes of payment of disability insurance benefits under Federal Old-Age, Survivors, and 

Disability Insurance," otherwise known as the Social Security Act ("SSA"). TEX. CaNST. art. vm, 

§ I-b(b). The tax freezes authorized in subsection I-b(h) apply to "a person who is disabled," 

without reference to the SSA. [d. § I-b(h). However, because "disabled" has, in the same section, 

already been described pursuant to the SSA, we construe the term in a conforming manner when 

used in subsequent subsections. See Lewis v. Funderburk, 253 S.W.3d 204,207-08 (Tex. 2008) 

(explaining that when a word is defined in one subpart, the same meaning must be given in a 

different subpart of the same statute); see also Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0293 (2005) at 2 (citing 

Booth v. Strippleman, 61 Tex. 378 (Tex. 1884)) (explaining that construction of the constitution is 

generally governed by the same rules as those governing the interpretation of statutes).3 

TheSSA and ADA define "disability" in different terms. "Disability," under the SSA, means 

the "inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable 

physical or mental impairment." 42 V.S.C.A. § 423(d)(l)(A) (West Supp. 2009). For purposes of 

the tax freezes and exemptions authorized under article vm, section I-b of the Texas Constitution, 

"disabled individuals" are those persons that fall within this SSA definition and meet any other 

applicable requirements. Because the Texas Constitution and statutes have so defined the term 

"disabled" for purposes of who qualifies for a tax freeze or exemption under article vm, section I-b, 

the definition of "disabled" under the ADA is not relevant to the analysis. 

'We also note that Tax Code section 11.261, which implements article VIII, section l-b(h), provides that a 

political subdivision that has adopted a tax freeze under that constitutional provision may not increase ad valorem taxes 

on a homestead "in which the individual qualified that residence homestead for the exemption provided by Section 

l1.13(c) for a disabled individual." TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § lI.26l(b) (West Supp. 2010). Section 11.13 defines 

"disabled" to mean "under a disability for purposes of payment of disability insurance benefits under Federal Old-Age, 

Survivors, and Disability Insurance." [d. § l1.13(m)(1) (West 2008). 
The Honorable Veronica Gonzales - Page 3 (GA-0868) 

SUMMARY 

The tax freezes and exemptions authorized by article vrn, 

section I-b of the Texas Constitution are available for residence 

homesteads of persons who are under a disability for purposes of 

payment of disability insurance benefits under Federal Old-Age, 

Survivors, and Disability Insurance. Whether a person falls within 

the definition of "disability" under the Americans with Disabilities 

Act is not relevant to the analysis. 

DANIEL T. HODGE 

First Assistant Attorney General 

DAVID J. SCHENCK 

Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel 

JASON BOATRIGHT 

Chair, Opinion Committee 

Virginia K. Hoelscher 

Very truly yours, 

Attorney General of Texas 

Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee