Honorable Bert Ford, 

Texas Liquor Control 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

hhninistrator 

Board 

Opinion Ho. O-7133 

We: Wtisther or not a minor may own 

a minority of stook in a oorporatlon applying for a permit under 

the Texas Liquor Control Act. 

E‘s heve recei9ed your letter of March 4, 1946, where in you request 

an opinion of this %partment as to "whether or not a minor can own 

a minority interest in a corporation." ylio understand the corporation in question to be a corporation applying for a Package store 

Permit under the Texas Liquor Control Act and the minority interest 

of a minor or minors to be ownership of corporate stock in the 

amount of leas than fifty per cent (50$) of 011 of the corporate 

stock. tie a8aume that minors are not or ahall not be incorporators 

in the corporation in question or a corporation to be formed, since 

minors are inoapabls Of being 1nCOrpOratOrS. a88 Shaw V. Ido&illlan 

(T8XarkaniS CCA) 24 S.K'. (26) 536. 

Article 666, Section 18, Vernon's hnotated Penal Code of Texas, 

relating to permita under the Texas Liquor Control Act to 

corporations, provides, "no permit shall be islaued to a corporaton 

unI8SS th8 same b8 Incorporated under the laWa Of the State and 

unless at leaat fifty-one per cent (sl$) of the stock of the 

corporation la owned at all times by citizens who have resided 

within the State for a period of three yeare and who possess the 

quaIificntiona required Of Other appIioant8 for permits. . . ." 

Tnis statute only requires thnt fifty-one per cent (51%) of the 

stock of a corporation be owned at all times by citiaen8 of three 

years Texas residenae who fuIf1I.I the quaIificationa of applicant.8 

for pernits under the Texas Liquor Control hct. It follows, 

therefore, that forty-nine per cent (40%) of the stock of thb 

oorporation may b8 owned by non-residents or persons not qualified 

as apolioants. Suoh persona include minors not qualifying as 

apolloants under ArtiCl8 666, &ctlon 11, Vernon's Annotated Penal 

&he of Tex,aa. 
Hon. Bert Ford, page 2, o-7133 

Pmthermore, Article 666, Section 11, Vert:onts ¬ated renal 

of Texas, state8 that "The board or Administrator anal1 refuse 

code 

to lsaue 

a permit to any eppliaant either with or without E hearing if it has 

reasonable grounds to believe and find8 any of the following to be 

truej . l . ( 5) . . . l 

or ego." 

or that he is under twenty-one (2l)years 

zbe term applicant es used in SUbS8OtiOns (1 to 8) of 

Section ll,.supre, IQ defined in Subsection 9 of GBC. 11, supre, to 

'"Mean and include each member of a partnership or as~oclation and ,811 

officers and the owner or owners of the majority of the Qtook of acorooratlonIA (Emphasis ours) Therefore, when e corporation is an 

applicant for A ~permit, by definition all officers end the owner or 

ownera of the majority of the stook of the corporation ere ar,,plicants 

therounder. Thus, minority QtOCkhOld8rQ are not applicants for a 

pernft whena oorporation ap-:lfes for 8ame. 

You are theFeforQ advised that a minor or minors mey own not more 

than 49% of the 8tOOk of a cor:>Oretion applying POP a pemit under 

the Texas Liquor Control Act, if said minore we not OffiOer8 in 

said corporation,, witnout prejudice to the rights of the corporation 

eta applicant for a permit. 

Very truly yours, 

XTTORXEY OEN~dFAL OF ~TLjiAS 

By a/ jtewert K. DaVore 

Stewart Vi. DeVo8*, 

Asaletant 

S%D:rt 

Letter from J. Manuel koppsnstein of 2/27/i&, enclosed 

A!'PR3VED: 0pinion Committee 

By B'SS, Chairmen