Can a judge or police officer who keeps their home address off their license still get a homestead tax exemption in Texas?

Plain-English summary

Senator John Whitmire asked the Attorney General how to reconcile two sets of Texas statutes that seemed to collide. On one side, Transportation Code section 521.121 generally requires a Texas driver's license to show the licensee's residence address, but subsection (c) lets judges and their spouses leave that address off, and section 521.1211(b) does the same for peace officers. The point of those provisions is safety, keeping a judge's or officer's home address off a document anyone might see.

On the other side, Tax Code section 11.13 gives homeowners a homestead exemption that lowers their residential property taxes. To get it, section 11.43(j)(4) requires the applicant to produce a copy of a driver's license or a state-issued personal identification certificate, and section 11.43(n) bars a chief appraiser from granting the exemption unless the address on that license or certificate matches the address on the applicant's vehicle registration receipt or utility bill, and that address matches the property claimed. So a judge or peace officer who left the address off the driver's license appeared unable to satisfy the address-matching rule.

The opinion resolved the tension by harmonizing the statutes rather than treating one as overriding the other. Because section 11.43(j)(4) accepts either a driver's license or a personal identification certificate, and because section 521.101(d) lets DPS collect residential address information for a personal identification certificate, a judge, judge's spouse, or peace officer can obtain a DPS personal identification certificate that does show the residence address. Nothing stops someone who holds a driver's license from also getting a personal identification certificate. That certificate satisfies section 11.43(n)'s matching requirement, so the address-protected applicant can still claim the homestead exemption.

The opinion also drew a firm line. The briefs it received urged it to let chief appraisers accept some other proof of residence when an applicant's driver's license lacks an address. The opinion refused, explaining that the plain terms of section 11.43(n) permit no exceptions, and that the office cannot ignore a statute or create exceptions to it. It could only describe the law as written and note that the Legislature is free to change it.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2012. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later Attorney General opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

Judges, their spouses, and peace officers (as the opinion described it): The opinion concluded that, even with an address-redacted driver's license, such a person could claim a homestead exemption by obtaining a DPS personal identification certificate showing the residence address and using it to satisfy section 11.43(n).

Chief appraisers and appraisal districts (as the opinion described it): The opinion held that section 11.43(n) allows no exceptions, so an appraiser could not accept alternative proof of residence in place of a driver's license or personal identification certificate.

The Legislature (as the opinion described it): The opinion noted that it could only state the law as written and that the Legislature could modify the identification requirement if it chose.

Common questions

Could an address-protected judge or officer still get the homestead exemption?
Yes. The opinion concluded they could obtain a DPS personal identification certificate showing their residence address and use that, rather than a driver's license, to satisfy the Tax Code's matching requirement.

Why not just let them show a utility bill or other proof instead?
The opinion found section 11.43(n) lets a chief appraiser accept only a driver's license or state-issued personal identification certificate, with no exceptions, so other proof of residence would not satisfy the statute.

Does getting a personal ID certificate mean giving up the driver's license?
No. The opinion noted no statute or DPS rule stops a Texas driver's license holder from also applying for and receiving a personal identification certificate.

Could the Attorney General just create an exception for safety reasons?
No. The opinion explained the office cannot ignore a statute or create exceptions to it, and that only the Legislature could change the requirement.

Background and statutory framework

Transportation Code section 521.121 lists what a Texas driver's license must contain, including the residence address, but subsection (c) excuses judges and their spouses who elect to omit it, and section 521.1211(b) excuses peace officers. Section 521.101(d) authorizes DPS to require residential address information from applicants for a personal identification certificate.

Tax Code section 11.13 establishes the residential homestead exemption. Section 11.43(j)(4) requires a homestead applicant to produce a driver's license or state-issued personal identification certificate, and section 11.43(n) prohibits a chief appraiser from granting the exemption unless the address on that document matches the applicant's vehicle registration receipt or utility bill and the property claimed. The opinion applied the rule that courts construe statutes to harmonize where possible, drawing on In re United Services Automobile Association (quoting La Sara Grain Co. v. First National Bank), and the plain-language principles in Molinet v. Kimbrell, Omaha Healthcare Center v. Johnson, and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. v. Combs. It also relied on its earlier opinion GA-0924 (2012) for the rule that an applicant who provides no qualifying identification cannot receive the exemption.

Citations

Cases:

• Molinet v. Kimbrell, 356 S.W.3d 407, 411 (Tex. 2011)
• In re United Servs. Auto. Ass'n, 307 S.W.3d 299, 311 (Tex. 2010)
• La Sara Grain Co. v. First Nat'l Bank, 673 S.W.2d 558, 565 (Tex. 1984)
• Omaha Healthcare Ctr. v. Johnson, 344 S.W.3d 392, 395 (Tex. 2011)
• TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. v. Combs, 340 S.W.3d 432, 439 (Tex. 2011)

Texas Attorney General opinions referenced:

• Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0924 (2012)

Statutes:

• Tex. Transp. Code Ann. §§ 521.101(d), 521.121, 521.121(c), 521.1211(b) (West Supp. 2012)
• Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 11.13 (West 2008)
• Tex. Tax Code Ann. §§ 11.43(j)(4), 11.43(n) (West Supp. 2012)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-0974
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2012/ga0974.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from the official PDF. Minor extraction artifacts were corrected; the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT

November 9, 2012

The Honorable John Whitmire Opinion No. GA-0974
Chair, Committee on Criminal Justice
Texas State Senate Re: Whether there is a conflict between two
Post Office Box 12068 provisions of the Transportation Code that permit
Austin, Texas 78711-2068 judges and peace officers to omit their residence
address from their drivers' licenses, and a provision of
the Tax Code that requires the submission of proof of
the residence address of an applicant for a homestead
exemption (RQ-1060-GA)

Dear Senator Whitmire:

You ask about a potential conflict between sections 521.121 and 521.1211 of the Transportation Code and subsection 11.43(n) of the Tax Code.[1] We will describe each statute in turn.

Section 521.121 of the Transportation Code describes the information that must be included on a Texas driver's license. TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 521.121 (West Supp. 2012) ("(a) The driver's license must include:"). While subsection (a) generally requires that the Department of Public Safety ("DPS") include a licensee's residence address on the person's driver's license, subsection (c) excludes from this requirement judges and judges' spouses who elect to omit their residence address from their driver's license. Id. § 521.121(c); see also id. § 521.1211(b) (excluding peace officers from subsection 521.121(a)).

The potential conflict about which you inquire arises from section 11.13 of the Tax Code, which establishes a homestead exemption from residential property taxes. TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § 11.13 (West 2008). Under subsection (j) of section 11.43, in order for a home owner to qualify for a homestead exemption, the applicant for a homestead exemption must produce "a copy of the applicant's driver's license or state-issued personal identification certificate." Id. § 11.43(j)(4) (West Supp. 2012). Subsection 11.43(n) provides the following:

(n) A chief appraiser may not allow an exemption provided by Section 11.13 unless:
(1) the address on the driver's license or state-issued personal identification certificate provided by the applicant under Subsection (j) corresponds to the address on the applicant's vehicle registration receipt or utility bill provided under that subsection; and
(2) the address indicated in Subdivision (1) corresponds to the address of the property for which the exemption is claimed.

Id. § 11.43(n). Under the plain language of the statute, the Legislature has prohibited a chief appraiser from granting a homestead exemption to an individual who does not provide a driver's license or a state-issued identification certificate. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0924 (2012) at 5. See also Molinet v. Kimbrell, 356 S.W.3d 407, 411 (Tex. 2011) (legislative intent is best expressed through the plain language of a statute). And under the plain terms of subsection 11.43(n), the "address on the driver's license" must correspond to "the address on the applicant's vehicle registration receipt or utility bill," and that address must correspond "to the address of the property for which the exemption is claimed." See TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § 11.43(n) (West Supp. 2012). But, as you note, under subsection 521.121(c) and subsection 521.1211(b) of the Transportation Code, the driver's license of a judge, a judge's spouse, or a peace officer may not include the licensee's residence address. You ask how this apparent conflict may be resolved.

The Texas Supreme Court has stated that "[g]enerally, courts are to construe statutes so as to harmonize with other relevant laws, if possible." In re United Servs. Auto. Ass'n, 307 S.W.3d 299, 311 (Tex. 2010) (quoting La Sara Grain Co. v. First Nat'l Bank, 673 S.W.2d 558, 565 (Tex. 1984)). The statutes under consideration here may be harmonized, so that a judge, a judge's spouse, or a peace officer whose driver's license does not contain his or her residence address may nevertheless claim a homestead exemption under section 11.13 of the Tax Code. Subsection 11.43(j)(4) of the Tax Code allows an applicant for a homestead exemption to produce either a driver's license or a personal identification certificate bearing the required address. See TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § 11.43(j)(4) (West Supp. 2012). And under subsection 521.101(d) of the Transportation Code, the DPS may require personal identification certificate applicants to furnish residential address information. TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 521.101(d) (West Supp. 2012).

Thus, the Department may issue to a judge, a judge's spouse, or a peace officer a personal identification certificate that contains the residence address of the relevant individual. Moreover, no statute or DPS rule prohibits a person who holds a Texas driver's license from applying for and receiving a Texas personal identification certificate. As a result, a federal or state judge, or the spouse of a federal or state judge, as well as a peace officer, may obtain a personal identification certificate showing his or her residence address and may use that certificate to comply with the requirement of subsection 11.43(n) of the Tax Code, i.e., that the address on a "state-issued personal identification certificate ... corresponds to the address on the applicant's vehicle registration receipt or utility bill," and that "the address ... corresponds to the address of the property for which the exemption is claimed." See TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § 11.43(n)(1)-(2) (West Supp. 2012).

We recognize the potential inconvenience to some state or federal judges, their spouses, and peace officers that have been caused by the Legislature's decision to allow no exceptions to the identification required to obtain a homestead exemption. We received briefs urging us to conclude that, in the case of a judge, judge's spouse, or peace officer who lacks a driver's license containing his or her address, chief appraisers may allow a homestead exemption if the applicant provides proof of residence other than a driver's license or personal identification certificate.[2] Such a conclusion, however, would ignore the plain terms of section 11.43(n) of the Tax Code, which this office cannot do. See Omaha Healthcare Ctr. v. Johnson, 344 S.W.3d 392, 395 (Tex. 2011) (plain language of statute controls construction). Just as the courts do, we presume that the Legislature chooses its words carefully when it enacts a statute. See TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. v. Combs, 340 S.W.3d 432, 439 (Tex. 2011). In the case of section 11.43(n), the Legislature plainly prohibited chief appraisers from granting a homestead exemption unless the applicant provides the required identification, bearing the required address. The Legislature permitted no exceptions to this requirement. An opinion of this office may not ignore a statute or create exceptions to it. We can only advise you regarding the current state of the law as written by the Legislature. The Legislature may, of course, modify the law as it deems fit.

SUMMARY

If a federal or state judge, the spouse of a federal or state judge, or a peace officer is otherwise entitled to claim a homestead exemption under section 11.13 of the Tax Code, he or she may comply with the requirements of section 11.43(n) of the Tax Code by producing a personal identification certificate issued by the Department of Public Safety and showing his or her residence address. The Legislature has prohibited chief appraisers from accepting alternative forms of identification from homestead exemption applicants.

Very truly yours,

DANIEL T. HODGE
First Assistant Attorney General

JAMES D. BLACKLOCK
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

JASON BOATRIGHT
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

[1] Letter from Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Comm. on Criminal Justice, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Tex. Att'y Gen. (May 9, 2012), http://texasattorneygeneral.gov ("Request Letter").

[2] See Brief from Rick L. Kuehler, President, Tex. Ass'n of Appraisal Dists. at 7 (June 19, 2012); Brief from Michael B. Gary, Legal Counsel, Harris Cnty. Appraisal Dist. at 7 (June 19, 2012).