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State Law
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Texas Natural Resources Code - Chapter 51 Land, Timber, And Surface ResourcesLegal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Natural Resources Code > Texas Natural Resources Code - Chapter 51 Land, Timber, And Surface Resources In this chapter: (1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the General Land Office. (2) "Land office" means the General Land Office. (3) "Board" means the ... (a) Any land that is set apart to the permanent school fund under the constitution and laws of this state together with the mineral estate ... Subject to the authority of the board and to exceptions and restrictions that may be imposed by the constitution and laws of this state, the ... Land that belongs to the permanent school fund as a result of having been deeded or given to the state and that has been used ... (a) As the public interest may require, the commissioner shall classify or reclassify all public school land and shall include a designation of the land, ... (a) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and may alter or amend the rules to protect the ... The commissioner shall adopt forms that are necessary or proper to transact business that he is required to transact and may request that the attorney ... The attorney general shall furnish the commissioner with advice and legal assistance that may be required to execute the provisions of this chapter. Acts 1977, ... On request, the commissioner shall furnish to the State Board of Education all available data. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2418, ch. 871, art. I, ... The commissioner shall keep in his custody as records of his office each application, affidavit, obligation, and paper relating to the sale and lease of ... Each bidder on a mineral lease or land sale by the board shall remit by separate check a special sale fee in the amount and ... (a) On presentation of proper proof, money paid in good faith to a fund in the State Treasury for public land or by a lessee ... All sales of land described in Section 51.011 shall be made by or under the direction of the school land board. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., ... (a) Land sold under the provisions of this subchapter shall be sold without condition of settlement and residence. (b) A purchaser of land under this ... (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, land dedicated to the permanent school fund shall be sold subject to a reservation set by the ... (a) A person, including a corporation or an association, commits an offense if he reproduces, prints, or prepares or sells or furnishes a printed, multigraphed, ... (a) A person who wants to purchase public school land shall submit to the commissioner a separate written application for each tract. (b) Each application ... (a) An application for the purchase of public school land shall be delivered to the land office in a sealed envelope addressed to the commissioner ... (a) An applicant shall submit with his application the required first payment in the form of money or remittance collectible on demand in Austin and ... (a) On the date of sale, the application envelopes shall be opened and the applications shall be filed and the information entered on the docket ... (a) After each application envelope is opened and the first payment for the land is in the land office, the commissioner shall have the payment ... (a) The comptroller shall immediately collect all collectible remittances and shall report to the commissioner all remittances not collectible in Austin. (b) Any remittances that ... (a) The comptroller shall retain all first payments he has collected until the commissioner notifies him of the final disposition of the applications to purchase ... If two or more applicants submit the same bid for a tract of land and the bids are the highest bids offered on the sale ... (a) Any public school land offered for sale for which no application is made under Section 51.056 of this code may be sold to any ... (a) The commissioner shall notify the county clerk of the proper county of the sale of each tract of land, the name and address of ... (a) The commissioner shall prepare and issue a notice of award for each tract of land sold. (b) Each notice of award shall be appropriately ... A person who is making a payment of principal, interest, or lease rental on land shall give the name of the original purchaser or lessee ... (a) Payments of principal, interest, and lease rental shall be accounted for in a similar form but separate from first payments on land. (b) The ... Payments on public school land received by the commissioner, including payments received as interest on the purchase of public school land, shall be transmitted to ... (a) Unpaid and delinquent principal and interest on sales of public school land shall bear interest at a rate set by the board, which principal ... (a) If principal and interest on a sale of land is not paid when due, the land is subject to forfeiture by the commissioner by ... In cases of forfeiture, the original obligations and reinstatement fees are as binding as if no forfeiture occurred. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2423, ch. ... (a) Before it is sold, the commissioner shall classify and determine the market value of land on which leases have been cancelled or have expired ... (a) If no rights of third persons have intervened, the purchasers or their vendees, heirs, or legal representatives, who claim land that has been forfeited ... (a) If a purchaser of land dies, the heirs or legal representatives of the deceased have one year following November 1 after the purchaser's death ... None of the provisions of Sections 51.071 through 51.072 and 51.074 through 51.075 of this code shall prevent the state from instituting legal proceedings necessary: ... To secure the payment of principal and interest due on a sale of public school land and university land the state has an express lien ... (a) A reinstatement fee is due when a forfeited award is reinstated. The reinstatement fee is calculated at one and one-half percent of all amounts ... (a) If a person or the Federal Farm Loan Bank, with the consent of the owner of land covered by Section 51.077 of this code, ... (a) An owner of public school land purchased from the state may sell the land or a definite portion of the land in any size ... (a) A vendee who obtains through personal transfer a whole survey or a whole portion of a survey purchased from the state as a whole ... A person who claims title through a source other than by personal transfer to a definite portion of a survey that is less than the ... After a separation of land is made on the records of the land office, the portion that is separated shall be charged and credited with ... (a) If an owner or claimant of land whose ownership or claim is shown on the records of the land office desires a patent on ... No sale made without condition of settlement may be questioned by the state or any person after one year from the date of the sale. ... Each purchaser of land has the option of paying the purchase price in full at any time, together with all fees, and obtaining a patent ... (a) All sales of escheated land that is a part of the permanent school fund must be made to the highest bidder at a price ... (a) Unsold public school land may be leased for any purpose the commissioner determines is in the best interest of the state under terms and ... Leases under the provisions of this subchapter may be advertised in the manner provided in Section 32.107 of this code. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. ... A person who desires to lease land shall submit a written application to the commissioner specifying and describing the particular land he desires to lease. ... (a) A lease shall be awarded to the highest responsible bidder. (b) The lease shall be awarded under the rules and in the quantities the ... Any bid or offer to lease may be rejected by the commissioner for fraud, collusion, or other good and sufficient cause before the lease is ... After the applications are received, the commissioner shall give written notification to the successful applicant that his bid or offer to lease is accepted and ... (a) After the lessee has paid the rent for the land for a year in advance, the commissioner shall deliver the lease to the clerk ... (a) If a lessee fails to pay rent within 15 days after it is due, the lessee shall owe a penalty of 10 percent of ... (a) During the continuance of the lease and after forfeiture, the state has a lien on all property owned by the lessee which is located ... An improvement made by a lessee on land leased by him may be removed by the lessee on the expiration of the lease or, at ... (a) For each lease issued under this subchapter for agricultural or grazing purposes, the commissioner may require the lessee to implement a soil and water ... (a) This subchapter controls the purchase and lease of vacant land and the authority of the commissioner and the board to: (1) determine whether a ... 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 ... (a) Vacant and unsurveyed public school land shall be located, sold, and leased under this subchapter, except: (1) submerged lands within tidewater limits; (2) all ... (a) The commissioner may: (1) delegate responsibility for implementing this subchapter; (2) perform any other act necessary to administer and implement the purposes of this ... (a) The board shall set the terms and conditions for each sale and lease of a vacancy. (b) The board shall adopt rules governing the ... (a) To purchase or lease land claimed to be vacant, a person must file a vacancy application on a form prescribed by the commissioner. A ... (a) Not later than the 45th day after the date the applicant files the duplicate copies with the commissioner as provided by Section 51.176(f), the ... (a) The commissioner may recover from the applicant state funds expended in evaluating and investigating the application, providing notice, preparing a survey, appointing an attorney ... (a) The commissioner shall deposit all initial and supplemental deposits received under this subchapter to the credit of a separate trust account in the state ... (a) The applicant must provide evidence to the commissioner to establish the applicant's ownership of all interests in the land surrounding the land claimed to ... (a) Not later than the 30th day after the application commencement date, the commissioner shall provide to each necessary party a written notice that: (1) ... (a) Not later than the 60th day after the date of the commissioner's notice under Section 51.181(a), a necessary party may file an exception to ... (a) The commissioner shall conduct an investigation of the vacancy application. (b) The investigation shall include: (1) an evaluation of the vacancy application; (2) a ... (a) To investigate a vacancy application under Section 51.183, the commissioner may require a survey. If the commissioner requires a survey, the commissioner shall appoint ... (a) Not later than the 120th day after the date a surveyor is appointed under Section 51.184, the surveyor shall file a written report of ... (a) The commissioner shall serve a true copy of the survey report filed by the surveyor on each necessary party, including those named in the ... (a) If the commissioner has not issued a final order with a finding of "Not Vacant Land" on or before the first anniversary of the ... (a) At any time during or after an investigation of or hearing regarding a vacancy application, the commissioner may determine that land claimed to be ... (a) A final order with a finding of "Not Vacant Land" under Section 51.188 may not be appealed. The final order is conclusive regarding the ... In an appeal of the commissioner's final order determining that a vacancy exists, the district court shall conduct a trial de novo. Amended by Acts ... The court may review the commissioner's declaration of good-faith-claimant status only in conjunction with a review of a final order determining that a vacancy exists. ... A person may appeal the commissioner's final order determining that a vacancy exists if the person: (1) is a necessary party; (2) has a present ... (a) A necessary party may apply for good-faith-claimant status not later than the 90th day after the date the commissioner issues a final order finding ... (a) A good-faith claimant who has been notified by the commissioner that a vacancy exists under this subchapter has a preferential right to purchase or ... (a) If no good-faith claimant exists or if no good-faith claimant exercises a preferential right within the applicable period, the applicant has a preferential right ... The commissioner shall issue a patent when the records of his office reflect that full payment for land has been made where required and fees ... When a person applies for a patent, he shall pay to the land office in addition to all other required payments a fee set by ... (a) Each patent for land from the state shall be issued in the name and by authority of the state under the state seal and ... (a) When a patent is ready for delivery, the commissioner shall send it, together with the check for payment of the fee required by Section ... A patent issued in the name of a person who is deceased at the time the patent is issued conveys and secures valid title to ... (a) If the area of a tract of land that is titled or patented exceeds the quantity provided in the title or patent and if ... (a) Any headright survey, homestead donation, preemption survey, scrip survey, or other survey awarded or sold before August 20, 1931, which has been held and ... If it appears to the commissioner from the records of his office or from information given to him under oath that there is an illegality ... If conflicts exist between surveys, the commissioner shall issue patents to the portions of the surveys that are free from conflict. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., ... (a) If a patent to land is issued by mistake on any valid claim for land and is afterwards found to be in conflict with ... If there is only a partial conflict of title under a patent, the commissioner in the manner provided in Section 51.250 of this code may ... (a) If a patent cannot be issued for land because of a conflict, erroneous survey, or illegal sale or if a patent is issued for ... (a) An owner of land in one or more patented surveys may apply to the General Land Office for a corrected patent to correct scriveners' ... (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, the commissioner may execute grants of easements for rights-of-way across, through, and under unsold public ... The commissioner may execute grants of easements or leases for electric substations, pumping stations, loading racks, and tank farms to be located on state land ... (a) The Board of Regents of The University of Texas System may continue to execute all right-of-way easements under authority already granted across land that ... Easements granted under Sections 51.291 through 51.293 of this code shall be granted on forms approved by the attorney general. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. ... Telephone, telegraph, electric transmission, powerline, and pipeline right-of-way easements and easements or rights-of-way for irrigation canals, laterals, and water pipelines shall be executed on terms ... (a) Except as provided in Subsection (b) of this section, no grant of easement or lease enumerated under Section 51.293 of this code may be ... (a) Each easement granted under Sections 51.291 through 51.293 of this code shall be recorded in the county clerk's office of the county in which ... (a) A person who occupies or uses any unsold public school land, any islands, saltwater lakes, bays, inlets, marshes, or reefs owned by the state ... The rent to be charged for an easement or lease for an electric substation site, pumping station, loading rack, tank farm, or road or for ... The commissioner may waive or reduce an easement fee if the easement granted is to improve the infrastructure of the land, including production and transportation ... Income received by the commissioner under this subchapter from public school land shall be credited to the permanent school fund, and income received from university ... (a) Payments under this subchapter that are past due shall bear interest at a rate of 10 percent a year. (b) If no date for ... (a) No person may construct or maintain any structure or facility on land owned by the state, nor may any person who has not acquired ... (a) The commissioner may remove and dispose of a facility or structure on land owned by the state if the commissioner finds the facility or ... The venue for suits by or against the state under Sections 51.291 through 51.3021 of this code or for violation of provisions of Sections 51.291 ... The commissioner may execute grants of easements on unsold public school land to conservation and reclamation districts for soil conservation and flood prevention projects authorized ... The grant of the easement may contain any provisions that the commissioner considers necessary to protect the interests of the state and may be perpetual ... The consideration paid to the state for the grant of the easement under Section 51.304 of this code shall be determined by the commissioner to ... Mineral rights together with the right to explore for, produce, and market the minerals in land granted as an easement under Section 51.304 of this ... In this subchapter, "timbered land" means land that is valued chiefly for the timber located on it. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2441, ch. 871, ... Timber located on public land shall be sold or leased in full tracts for cash at its market value. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2441, ... Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the commissioner shall adopt rules for the sale of timber which are considered necessary and judicious. Acts 1977, ... An application to purchase timber shall be made in the manner provided for filing an application to purchase land. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2441, ... The purchaser of timber without the land is entitled to ingress and egress on the land for a period of five years after the date ... After the five-year period provided in Section 51.345 of this code, title to the timber reverts to the fund to which the land belongs and ... The board may sell the gayule or lechuguilla growing or found on the public school land, exclusive of timber. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2441, ... The sale of gayule and lechuguilla may be on any terms and conditions and with any limitations that the board considers most advantageous and in ... The board may enter into any contract including an executory contract of sale which they consider wise for the purpose of having the commercial properties ... (a) The board may designate funds received from the sale of permanent school fund land under this chapter and the proceeds of future mineral leases ... (a) The board may use the money designated under Section 51.401 for any of the following purposes: (1) to add to a tract of public ... (a) The board may appoint investment managers to invest the money designated under Section 51.401 by contracting for professional investment management services with one or ... (a) Real property acquired under this chapter shall be conveyed to the state by warranty deed. (b) The board may purchase or acquire title insurance ... The board may enter into contracts for the purchase of property under this subchapter. Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 624, § 40. ... Land acquired under this subchapter is dedicated to the permanent school fund and is subject to sale and lease in the same manner and under ... The board shall adopt rules for the implementation of this subchapter. Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 624, § 40. ... (a) In addition to any other requirements provided by law, the board shall adopt and enforce an ethics policy that provides standards of conduct relating ... (a) A member of the board, the commissioner, an employee of the board, or a person who provides services to the board that relate to ... A consultant, advisor, broker, or other person providing services to the board relating to the management and investment of the funds designated under Section 51.401 ... (a) The board shall prescribe forms for: (1) statements of possible conflicts of interest and waivers of possible conflicts of interest under Section 51.409; and ... (a) Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, the board shall submit to the legislature a report that, specifically and in detail, assesses ... A lessee of real property owned by the permanent school fund and used for grazing or agricultural purposes may apply to the commissioner for a ... A grant under this subchapter shall be made from money collected for surface damages under Sections 52.297 and 53.155. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ... (a) Before a grant is made under Section 51.501, an appraiser employed by the land office must appraise the effect of the improvement for which ... The commissioner shall require each lessee who receives a grant to provide copies of receipts, vouchers, or other evidence of expenditures for the improvement. Added ... Any improvement constructed with money disbursed under this subchapter is the real property of the permanent school fund. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. ... As a condition for a grant under this subchapter, the commissioner shall require the grantee to agree in writing to maintain the improvement in a ... The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to administer this subchapter, including rules establishing a procedure for applying for a grant under Section 51.501 and ... Last modified: August 10, 2007 |