1. (a) The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

   1. (1) Board--The Veterans Land Board of the State of Texas.
   2. (2) Bona fide resident--An individual actually living within the State of Texas with the intention to remain.
   3. (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. (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. (5) Surviving spouse--A person of the opposite sex who was the spouse of a veteran at the time of the veteran's death, and who lived with the veteran continuously from the date of marriage to the date of the veteran's death (except where there was a separation which was due to the misconduct of, or procured by, the veteran without the fault of the spouse) and who has not remarried or (in cases not involving remarriage) has not since the death of the veteran, and after September 19, 1962, lived with another person and held himself or herself out openly to the public to be the spouse of the other person.
   6. (6) USDVA/VA--The United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any successor thereto.
   7. (7) Veteran--A person who satisfies the requirements of subsection (c)(1) of this section.
2. (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.

3. (c) To be eligible to participate in the program, an applicant must satisfy one of the following:

   1. (1) be a person who:

      1. (A) is at least 18 years of age;
      2. (B) is a bona fide resident of Texas at the time of application for a loan. Active duty military personnel who otherwise meet the requirements of this subsection are eligible even though stationed outside of Texas at the time of application;

      3. (C) satisfied one of the following service requirements after September 16, 1940:

         1. (i) has served not less than 90 continuous days of active duty or active duty training time in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, United States Public Health Service, or the reserve component of one of the listed branches of service, unless discharged earlier because of a service-connected cause;
         2. (ii) has completed all initial active duty training required as a condition of the enlistment or appointment in the Texas National Guard; or
         3. (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.
      4. (D) is considered not to have been dishonorably discharged under subsection (j) of this section, if the person has been discharged from military service; and

      5. (E) satisfies one of the following:

         1. (i) was a bona fide resident of Texas at the time of enlistment, induction, commissioning, appointment or drafting; or
         2. (ii) has been a legal resident of Texas for at least one year immediately before the date of application.
   2. (2) is the surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of a service-connected cause, as certified by the USDVA, or who is identified as missing in action, if the spouse satisfies the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (c)(1) of this section, and the veteran satisfied the requirements of subparagraphs (C), (D) and (E)(i) of subsection (c)(1) of this section.
   3. (3) is the surviving spouse of a veteran who died 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.
4. (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 an additional loan as a veteran. The foregoing notwithstanding, an individual who is currently participating in the program as a veteran may take an assignment of a contract or contracts as a non-veteran and may bid on a tract or tracts at a forfeited land sale as a non-veteran.
5. (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.

6. (f) No application shall be approved to purchase land under the program:

   1. (1) which provides for or recognizes a second or subordinate lien as a part of the original purchase price for any tract;
   2. (2) where there is evidence that the benefits derived from the use of the land will not pass to the applicant; or
   3. (3) where there exists any other good and sufficient reason to refuse approval, as determined by the chairman of the Board.
7. (g) If for any reason a veteran's application is not processed to completion, the down payment will be refunded to the veteran, together with the unused portion of any fees that have been deposited with the board.
8. (h) Each application will be considered as a wholly separate transaction, independent of any other agreement, transaction or contingency. The board will not consider an application which contains a provision making it contingent upon the success or completion of another agreement or transaction.
9. (i) 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.

10. (j) 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 Texas National Guard is considered not to have been dishonorably discharged if the person:

    1. (1) received an honorable discharge;
    2. (2) received a discharge under honorable conditions; or
    3. (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.