Texas Natural Resources Code - Section 51.172. Definitions
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§ 51.172. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Administratively complete" means a vacancy
application that complies with Section 51.176 and any rule adopted
by the commissioner regarding the filing of a vacancy application.
(1-a) "Applicant" means any person, including a
good-faith claimant, who files a vacancy application.
(1-b) "Application commencement date" means:
(A) the date, as designated in the commissioner's
notice to the applicant required by Section 51.177(b); or
(B) the date, as designated in the commissioner's
notice to the applicant required by Section 51.177(d), indicating
that any deficiency in the vacancy application has been resolved.
(2) "Good-faith claimant" means a person who, on the
application commencement date:
(A) occupies or uses or has previously occupied
or used, or whose predecessors in interest in the land claimed to be
vacant have occupied or used, the land or any interest in the land
for any purposes, including occupying or using:
(i) the surface or mineral estate for any
purposes, including exploring for or removing oil, gas, sulphur, or
other minerals and geothermal resources from the land;
(ii) an easement or right-of-way; or
(iii) a mineral royalty or leasehold
interest;
(B) has had, or whose predecessors in interest
have had, the land claimed to be vacant enclosed or within definite
boundaries recognized in the community and in possession under a
chain of title for a period of at least 10 years with a good-faith
belief that the land was included within the boundaries of a survey
or surveys that were previously titled, awarded, or sold under
circumstances that would have vested title in the land if the land
were actually located within the boundaries of the survey or
surveys;
(C) is the owner of land:
(i) that adjoins the land claimed to be
vacant; and
(ii) for which no vacancy application has
been previously filed; or
(D) holds title under a person described by
Paragraph (A), (B), or (C) or is entitled to a distributive share of
a title acquired under an application filed by a person described by
Paragraph (A), (B), or (C).
(3) "Interest" means any right or title in or to real
property, including a surface, subsurface, or mineral estate.
"Interest" includes a right or title described as follows:
(A) a fee simple title;
(B) a determinable fee or other leasehold or
mineral interest created under a conveyance instrument, including a
mineral lease;
(C) a mineral royalty, nonparticipating royalty,
or overriding royalty interest described by Section 51.194(c);
(D) a life estate;
(E) a remainder or reversionary interest; or
(F) a secured interest under a lien.
(4) "Necessary party" means:
(A) an applicant or good-faith claimant whose
present legal interest in the surface or mineral estate of the land
claimed to be vacant may be adversely affected by a vacancy
determination;
(B) a person who asserts a right to or who claims
an interest in land claimed to be vacant;
(C) a person who asserts a right to or who claims
an interest in land claimed to be vacant or in land adjoining land
claimed to be vacant as shown in the records of the land office or
the county records, including tax records, of any county in which
all or part of the land claimed to be vacant is located;
(D) a person whose name appears in the records
described by Paragraph (C); or
(E) an attorney ad litem appointed under Section
51.180.
(5) "Survey report" means a written report of a survey
conducted by a licensed state land surveyor or a county surveyor of
the county in which a majority of the land claimed to be vacant is
located.
(6) "Vacancy" means an area of unsurveyed public
school land that:
(A) is not in conflict on the ground with land
previously titled, awarded, or sold;
(B) has not been listed on the records of the land
office as public school land; and
(C) was not, on the application commencement
date:
(i) subject to an earlier subsisting
application;
(ii) subject to a vacancy application
denied with prejudice;
(iii) the subject of pending litigation
relating to state ownership or possession of the land; or
(iv) subject to a previous vacancy
application that has been finally adjudicated by the commissioner
or a court of this state or the United States.
(7) "Vacancy application" means a form submitted to
the commissioner by an applicant to:
(A) initiate a determination by the commissioner
whether land claimed to be vacant is vacant;
(B) purchase vacant land; or
(C) lease vacant land.
Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1418, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
2001; Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 874, § 1, eff. June 17, 2005.
Section: 51.126 51.127 51.128 51.129 51.130 51.131 51.171 51.172 51.173 51.174 51.175 51.176 51.177 51.178 51.179
Last modified: August 10, 2007
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