E ORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

Ausnnr H.TEXAS 

March 9, 1962 

Mr. Lon E. Alsup Opinion No. WW-1274 

Executive Secretary-Director 

State Commission for the Blind Re: Whether the State 

201 East 14th Street Commissin for the 

Austin, Texas Blind is permitted 

to provide eye surgery 

to a child living in 

Dear Mr. Alsup: El Paso who is an alien. 

You have asked this office for an opinion as to 

whether the State Commission for the Blind is permitted 

to provide eye surgery to a child living in El Paso who 

is an alien. From your letter it is apparent that the 

child is residing with its parents, who have never taken 

out naturalization papers. 

The authority for the Commission to provide eye 

surgery is found in Article 3207c, Vernon's Civil Statutes. 

In Section 1 thereof, the following definitions are found: 

II 

. . . 

"(d) 'Employment handicap' means a physical or 

mental condition which constitutes, contributes to 

or if not corrected will probably result in an obstruction to occupational performance; 

"(e) 'Disabled Individual' means any person 

who has a substantial employment handicap; 

"(f) 'Blind' means a person having not more 

than 20/200 of visual acuity in the better eye with 

correcting lenses; or visual acuity greater than 

20/200 but with a limitation in the field of vision 

such that the widest diameter of the visual field 

subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees; 

"(g) 'Vocational rehabilitation' and 'vocational rehabilitation services' mean any services, 

provided directly or through public or private 
? 

Mr. Lon E. Alsup, page 2 (WW-1274) 

instrumentalities, found by the Director to be 

necessary to compensate a blind disabled lndividual for his employment handicap, and to enable 

him to engage in a remunerative occupation Including, 

but not limited to, medical and vocational dlagnosis, 

vocational guidance, counselllng and placement, rehabilitation training, physical restoration, . . .; 

4, 

. . . 

“(i) ‘Physical restoration’ means any medical, 

surgical or therapeutic treatment necessary to correct or substantially reduce a disabled blind individual’s employment handicap within a reasonable 

length of time Including, but not limited to, medlcal, psychiatric, dental and surgical treatment, 

nursing services, hospital care, convalescent home 

care, drugs, medical and surgical supplies, and 

prosthetic appliances, but excluding curative treatment for acute or transitory conditions; 

f, ,I 

. . . 

Section 8 of Article 3207c, V.C.S., provides: 

“Vocational rehabilitation services shall be 

provided to any blind disabled individual (1) who 

is a resident of the State at the time of filing 

his application therefor and whose vocational rehabilitation, the Director determines after full 

t;fe;;;g;tion, can be satisfactorily achieved, or 

s eligible therefor under the terms of an 

agreement with another State or with the Federal 

Government: Provided, t~hat, except as otherwise provided by law or as specified In any agreement with 

the Federal Government with respect to classes of 

individuals certified to the Commission thereunder, 

the following rehabilitation services shall be provided at public cost only to disabled blind indivlduals found to require financial assistance with 

respect thereto: 

“(a) Physical restoration 

II ,(. . “ (Emphasis supplied) 
Mr. Lon E. Alsup, page 3 (WW-1274) 

Clearly, the above-quoted statute provides the Commission 

with authority to afford eye surgery as a vocational ,rehabilitation service, provided that the blind person Is found 

to require financial assistance. Nothing In the statute 

would prohibit the rendering of this physical restoration 

to a child, if it were found by the Commission that neither 

the child nor his parents were able to undertake the 

financial burden Involved. 

As regards the alien status of the child, 

Section 8 of Article 3207, V.C.S., Imposes only the requirement that the blind disabled individual be "a resident of 

the State at the time of filing his application therafor 

and whose vocational rehabilitation, the Director determines 

after full investigation 

4 

can be satisfactorily achieved." 

Black's Law Dictionary, 

"residence" as: 

th Edition, defines the word 

"A factual place of abode; living in a 

particular locality. It requires only.bodlly presence as 

an Inhabitant of a place." 

"residence", 

In determining the meaning of 

the Texas courts have followed the above 

definition. Brinkley v. State, 53 S.W.2d 830 (Civ.App. 

1932); ,Cramerv. Graham, 264 S.W.2d 135 (Clv.App. 1954, 

error ref.). Therefore, It would seem that the child would 

not be barred from receiving the assistance of the Commission for the Blind by virtue of the fact that he is an 

alien. As long as said child is living In the locality, 

Andy was so living at the time of making application for 

vocational rehabilitation, this office must hold that he 

has fulfilled the statutory requirement that he be a 

"resident of the State"; and If the child fulfills the 

other requirements set forth in Article 3207c, V.C.S., he 

is fully entitled to the services of the Commission for 

the Blind. 

SUMMARY 

The mere fact that a child is an alien 

does not prey,ent him from being a "resident 

of the State within the meaning of Article 

3207c, Section 8, Vernon's Civil Statutes, 

and the State Commission for the Blind is 

authorized to provide eye surgery if the child 

meets the other requirements set forth in the 

said Article 3207~. 
Mr. Lon E. Alsup, page 4 (WW-.1274) 

Yours ve'ry truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

VW by Malcolm L. Quick 

MLQ:kkc Assistant 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chaiman 

Thomas Burros 

Jack Goodman 

Leon Pesek 

W. 0. Shultz 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.