| (a) The following words and terms, when used in this
chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise:
(1) Board--The Veterans Land Board of the State of
Texas.
(2) Bona fide resident--An individual actually living
within the State of Texas with the intention to remain.
(3) Missing/Missing in Action--To have an official
designation of "missing status" as provided by Title 37,
Chapter 10 of the United States Code relating to Payments to Missing
Persons. The term "missing status" means the status of members
of a uniformed service who are officially carried or determined to
be absent in a status of missing; missing in action; interned in a
foreign country; captured; beleaguered, or besieged by a hostile force;
or detained in a foreign country against their will.
(4) Program--The Veterans Land Program as authorized
by Title 7, Chapter 161 of the Texas Natural Resources Code relating
to Veterans Land Board.
(5) Surviving spouse--A person who satisfies the federal
definition of "surviving spouse" contained in Title 38 USC
Sec. 101(3), as modified by the special provision in Title 38 USC
Sec. 103, or any successor statutes, as amended from time to time.
The board's intent is to match the eligibility requirements for a
surviving spouse to qualify for a home loan guaranteed by the USDVA.
(6) USDVA/VA--The United States Department of Veterans
Affairs or any successor thereto.
(7) Veteran--A person who satisfies the requirements
of subsection (c)(1) of this section.
(b) The Board shall be the final authority in defining
and interpreting all eligibility requirements, and whether an applicant
has actually satisfied those requirements. The Board may by resolution
prescribe the procedures and forms to be used by applicants to evidence
eligibility, and may appoint a committee of qualified individuals
to consider the evidence of eligibility and make recommendations to
the Board. Evidence of service in the Armed Forces of the Republic
of Vietnam consists of:
(1) documents from said Armed Forces of the Republic
of Vietnam;
(2) documents from a federal office, such as the Army,
Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or the Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement;
(3) documents from the People's Republic of Vietnam;
or
(4) other proof of service deemed appropriate by the
Board or the Board's designee.
(c) To be eligible to participate in the program, an
applicant must satisfy one of the following:
(1) be a person who:
(A) is at least 18 years of age;
(B) is a bona fide resident of Texas at the time of
application for a loan. Military personnel on active duty, who otherwise
meet the requirements of this subsection are eligible even though
stationed outside of Texas at the time of application;
(C) satisfied one of the following service requirements
after September 16, 1940:
(i) has served not less than 90 cumulative days of
active duty or active duty training time in the Army, Navy, Air Force,
Coast Guard, Marine Corps, United State Space Force, United States
Public Health Service, or a recognized reserve component of one of
the listed branches of service, unless discharged earlier because
of a service-connected cause;
(ii) has completed all initial active duty training
required as a condition of service in any National Guard or reserve
component of one of the branches of service listed in clause (i) of
this subparagraph;
(iii) has at least 20 years of active or reserve military
service as computed when determining the applicant's eligibility to
receive retired pay under applicable federal law; or
(iv) served in the Armed Forces of the Republic of
Vietnam between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975.
(D) is considered not to have been dishonorably discharged
under subsection (h) of this section, if the person has been discharged
from military service; and
(E) satisfies one of the following:
(i) was a bona fide resident of Texas at the time of
enlistment, induction, commissioning, appointment or drafting;
(ii) is a legal resident of Texas on the date of application;
or
(iii) is serving on active duty, at the time of application,
assigned to a military base or facility in Texas, and has officially
designated Texas as the applicants home of record.
(2) is the surviving spouse of a veteran who died:
(A) as a result of a service-connected cause, as determined
by the Board or certified by the USDVA, or who is identified as missing
in action, if the spouse satisfies the requirements of paragraph (1)(A)
and (B) of this subsection, and the veteran satisfied the requirements
of paragraph (1)(C) and (D) of this subsection and either paragraph
(1)(E)(i) of this subsection or the Veteran was a legal resident of
Texas at the time of his or her death; or
(B) after filing an application and contract of sale
with the Board, but before the transaction was completed, if he or
she meets all other qualification requirements of the Board.
(C) For purposes of this subsection relating to surviving
spouses, an individual assigned to a military installation in Texas,
who is killed in Texas as the result of a terrorist attack as defined
by the Board, will be considered to be a Texas resident as of the
day of death.
(d) A person may only have one loan at a time as a
veteran. However, once that loan is paid in full, he or she may apply
for another loan as a veteran. The foregoing notwithstanding, an individual
who is currently participating in the land program as a veteran may
also, as a non-veteran:
(1) take an assignment of a contract or contracts;
(2) assume a land mortgage loan or loans; or
(3) bid on a forfeited or foreclosed tract or tracts.
(e) The applicant must sign applications and contracts.
An attorney in fact may not sign these documents for an applicant,
except under limited conditions approved by the Board.
(f) No application shall be approved to purchase land
under the program:
(1) which provides for or recognizes a second or subordinate
lien as a part of the original purchase price for any tract except
as provided for in §175.54(b) (1);
(2) where there is evidence that the benefits derived
from the use of the land will not pass to the applicant; or
(3) where there exists any other good and sufficient
reason to refuse approval, as determined by the chairman of the Board.
(g) Any requirement of this section, or of any section
within this chapter, which is not otherwise required by the constitution
or statutes of this state, may be waived on a case by case basis by
the Veterans Land Board. Any waiver request must be in writing and
must describe the circumstances surrounding the request, including
all of the reasons why the waiver is requested.
(h) For purposes of this section, a person who has
been discharged from the branch of the service in which the person
served or from the reserve or National Guard is considered not to
have been dishonorably discharged if the person:
(1) received an honorable discharge;
(2) received a discharge under honorable conditions;
or
(3) received a discharge and provides evidence from
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, its successor, or
other competent authority that indicates that the character of the
person's duty has been determined to be other than dishonorable.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §175.2 adopted to be effective March 11, 1986, 11 TexReg 1005; amended to be effective November 10, 1986, 11 TexReg 4487; amended to be effective June 11, 1990, 15 TexReg 2917; amended to be effective December 10, 1993, 18 TexReg 8797; amended to be effective August 24, 1999, 24 TexReg 6516; amended to be effective April 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 2748; amended to be effective November 18, 2001, 26 TexReg 9221; amended to be effective June 23, 2002, 27 TexReg 5248; amended to be effective June 9, 2003, 28 TexReg 4434; amended to be effective November 23, 2003, 28 TexReg 10253; amended to beeffective December 21, 2010, 35 TexReg 11390; amended to be effective February 24, 2014, 39 TexReg 1174; amended to be effective November 21, 2022, 47 TexReg 7746 |
