NATURAL RESOURCES CODE
TITLE 2. PUBLIC DOMAIN
SUBTITLE A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 11. PROVISIONS GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 11.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "State" means the State of Texas.
(2) "Land office" means the General Land Office.
(3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the
General Land Office.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2349, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
SUBCHAPTER B. TERRITORY AND BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE
§ 11.011. VACANT AND UNAPPROPRIATED LAND. So that the
law relating to the public domain may be brought together, the
following extract is taken from the joint resolutions of the
Congress of the United States relating to the annexation of Texas to
the United States, which was approved June 23, 1845: "Said State,
when admitted into the Union, . . . shall also retain all the
vacant and unappropriated lands lying within its limits, to be
applied to the payment of debts and liabilities of said Republic of
Texas, and the residue of said lands, after discharging said debts
and liabilities, to be disposed of as said State may direct. . . ."
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2349, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.0111. LOCATION OF COASTAL BOUNDARIES. (a) The
commissioner shall:
(1) have the area between the coastline of the Gulf of
Mexico and the Three Marine League line compiled and platted; and
(2) locate and set the boundary lines between the
coastal counties from the coastline to the Three Marine League
line.
(b) The commissioner shall locate and set the boundary lines
between the counties from the coastline to the Three Marine League
line in accordance with established engineering practice.
(c) The legal description of the boundary lines set between
the counties from the coastline to the continental shelf shall be
filed and recorded in the office of the county clerk of the affected
county.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1091, § 30, eff. June 20,
2003.
§ 11.012. GULFWARD BOUNDARY OF TEXAS. (a) The
gulfward boundary of the State of Texas is the boundary determined
in and pursuant to the decision of the United States Supreme Court
in Texas v. Louisiana, 426 U.S. 465 (1976).
(b) The State of Texas has full sovereignty over the water,
the beds and shores, and the arms of the Gulf of Mexico within its
boundaries as provided in Subsection (a) of this section, subject
only to the right of the United States to regulate foreign and
interstate commerce under Article I, Section 8 of the United States
Constitution, and the power of the United States over admiralty and
maritime jurisdiction under Article III, Section 2 of the United
States Constitution.
(c) The State of Texas owns the water and the beds and shores
of the Gulf of Mexico and the arms of the Gulf of Mexico within the
boundaries provided in this section, including all land which is
covered by the Gulf of Mexico and the arms of the Gulf of Mexico
either at low tide or high tide.
(d) None of the provisions of this section may be construed
to relinquish any dominion, sovereignty, territory, property, or
rights of the State of Texas previously held by the state.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2349, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.013. GULFWARD BOUNDARIES OF COUNTIES, CITIES,
TOWNS, OR VILLAGES. (a) The gulfward boundary of each county
located on the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico is the Three Marine
League line as determined by the United States Supreme Court.
(b) The area in the extended boundaries of the counties as
provided in this section becomes a part of the public free school
land and is subject to the constitutional and statutory provisions
of this state pertaining to the use, distribution, sale, and lease
of public free school land in this state.
(c) The gulfward boundaries of any city, town, or village
created and operating under the general laws of the State of Texas
shall not be established or extended by incorporation or annexation
more than 5,280 feet gulfward beyond the coastline. The governing
body of such a city, town, or village may, by ordinance, extend the
municipal boundaries up to 5,280 feet gulfward. Any inclusion of
territory in any such city, town, or village more than 5,280 feet
gulfward beyond the coastline is void. The term "coastline" as used
in this subsection means the line of mean low tide along that
portion of the coast which is in direct contact with the open Gulf
of Mexico. The term "city, town, or village created and operating
under the general laws of the State of Texas" shall not include any
city operating under a home-rule charter.
If any such general-law city, town, or village has heretofore
been established by incorporation or attempted incorporation more
than 5,280 feet gulfward beyond the coastline, the corporate
existence of such general-law city, town, or village is in all
things validated, ratified, approved, and confirmed.
The boundaries of such general-law city, town, or village,
including the gulfward boundaries to the extent of 5,280 feet
gulfward beyond the coastline, are in all things validated,
ratified, approved, and confirmed and shall not be held invalid by
reason of the inclusion of more territory than is expressly
authorized in Article 971, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925,
as amended, or by reason of the inclusion of territory other than
that which is intended to be used for strictly town or city purposes
as required by Section 7.002, Local Government Code or by reason of
not constituting a city, town, or village.
Neither this Act nor the general laws nor the special laws of
the state shall have the effect of validating, ratifying,
approving, or confirming the inclusion of territory in any such
general-law city, town, or village more than 5,280 feet gulfward
beyond the coastline.
If for any reason it should be determined by any court of
competent jurisdiction that any such general-law city, town, or
village has heretofore been incorporated in violation of the laws
of the state in effect as of the date of such incorporation or is
invalid, the corporate boundaries of any such general-law city,
town, or village shall be revised and reformed to exclude all
territory more than 5,280 feet gulfward of the coastline.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2349, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977. Amended by Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2165, ch. 828, § 1,
eff. June 14, 1979; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, § 24, eff.
Sept. 1, 1987.
§ 11.0131. JURISDICTION OF HOME-RULE CITIES OVER
SUBMERGED LANDS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Coastline" has the meaning assigned by Section
11.013(c) of this code.
(2) "State-owned submerged lands" means the
state-owned submerged lands described by Section 11.012 of this
code.
(b) The boundary of a home-rule city may not extend into the
gulf outside of an area that is enclosed by:
(1) for home-rule cities which have not prior to May 1,
1983, annexed gulfward from the coastline:
(A) drawing a straight line connecting the two
most remote points on the part of the coastline located in the city
on June 1, 1983, the distance to be measured along the coastline;
(B) drawing straight lines that extend gulfward
for one marine league from each of the two ends of the line drawn
under Paragraph (A) of Subdivision (1) of this subsection and that
are perpendicular to the line drawn under Paragraph (A); and
(C) drawing a straight line connecting the two
gulfward ends of the lines drawn under Paragraph (B) of Subdivision
(1) of this subsection; or
(2) for home-rule cities which have, prior to May 1,
1983, annexed no farther than one marine league gulfward from the
coastline:
(A) drawing a straight line that connects the two
most remote points on the part of the coastline located in the city
on June 1, 1983, and that extends through those two points as far as
necessary to draw the lines described by Paragraph (B) of
Subdivision (2) of this subsection;
(B) drawing two straight lines that extend
gulfward for one marine league, that are perpendicular to the line
drawn under Paragraph (A) of Subdivision (2) of this subsection,
and that each extend through one of the two most remote points from
the coastline on the boundary lines extending gulfward from the
coastline;
(C) drawing a straight line connecting the two
gulfward ends of the lines drawn under Paragraph (B) of Subdivision
(2) of this subsection; or
(3) for home-rule cities which have, prior to May 1,
1983, annexed farther than one marine league gulfward from the
coastline:
(A) drawing lines following the two current
boundary lines extending gulfward from the coastline for a distance
of one marine league;
(B) drawing a straight line connecting the two
gulfward ends of the lines drawn under Paragraph (A) of Subdivision
(3) of this subsection.
(c) A contract or agreement by which a home-rule city
purports to pledge, directly or indirectly, taxes or other revenue
from or attributable to state-owned submerged lands or other lands
located outside the area described by Subsection (b) of this
section does not create an enforceable right to prevent the
reformation of the city's boundary under Subsection (d) of this
section.
(d) The boundary of a home-rule city is void to the extent
that it violates Subsection (b) of this section, and the boundary is
reformed on the effective date of this Act to exclude the territory
situated outside the area described by Subsection (b) of this
section.
(e) A home-rule city may create industrial districts in the
area that is outside the city limits and that is located in an area
formed in the manner prescribed by Subsection (b) of this section
except that the lines drawn under Paragraph (B) of Subdivision (1),
Paragraph (B) of Subdivision (2) or Paragraph (A) of Subdivision
(3) of Subsection (b) may be extended for no more than five statute
miles instead of one marine league. The governing body of such city
shall have the right, power, and authority to designate the area
described as an industrial district, as the term is customarily
used, and to treat such area from time to time as such governing
body may deem to be in the best interest of the city. Included in
such rights and powers of the governing body of any city is the
right and power to enter into contracts or agreements with the
owner(s) or lessee(s) of land in such industrial district upon such
terms and considerations as the parties might deem appropriate.
The city shall have no authority to regulate oil and gas
exploration, production, and transportation operations in an
industrial district established pursuant to this Act, but in
consideration of such relinquishment and the relinquishment of
other rights under Section 42.044, Local Government Code, the city
is expressly authorized to require payments of a property owner or
lessee(s) in such industrial district in an amount not to exceed 35
percent of the revenue that would be produced if the city imposed a
property tax in the industrial district. Nothing herein shall
prohibit a city and property owner or lessee(s) from agreement by
contract for payments in a lesser amount.
Added by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 3057, ch. 803, § 1, eff. Aug.
31, 1981. Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3134, ch. 538, § 1,
eff. June 19, 1983; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, § 38, eff.
Sept. 1, 1987.
§ 11.014. LAND ACQUIRED FROM OKLAHOMA. (a) Land
acquired by the state in Oklahoma v. Texas, 272 U.S. 21 (1926) and
subsequent orders of the United States Supreme Court relating to
that case, is incorporated into the counties which are adjacent to
the land, and the north and south lines of the adjacent counties,
Lipscomb, Hemphill, Wheeler, Collingsworth, and Childress, are
extended east to the 100th degree of west longitude as it is fixed
in the final judgment.
(b) The land acquired from Oklahoma shall become a part of
the respective counties as though it were originally included in
each county for governmental purposes and shall be assessed for
taxes and have taxes collected under the provisions of existing
law.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2350, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.015. EXTENSION OF TEXAS-NEW MEXICO
BOUNDARY. (a) The boundary lines of all counties in the Texas
Panhandle that border on the New Mexico boundary line are extended
by extending the north and south lines of certain counties west to
the Texas-New Mexico line, which was established by the survey of
John H. Clark in 1859 and later retraced to completion on September
26, 1911, by the Boundary Commission composed of Francis M.
Cockrell and Sam R. Scott, under authority of S.J.R. No. 124, of the
61st Congress, Third Session.
(b) The boundary line is referred to as the 103rd Meridian
and is described as follows:
Beginning at the point where the one hundred and
third degree of longitude west from Greenwich
intersects the parallel of thirty-six degrees and
thirty Minutes North latitude, as determined and fixed
by John H. Clark, the Commissioner on the part of the
United States in the years eighteen hundred and
fifty-nine and eighteen hundred and sixty; thence
South with the line run by said Clark for the said one
hundred and third degree of longitude to the
Thirty-second parallel of North latitude to the point
marked by said Clark as the Southeast corner of New
Mexico; and thence West with the thirty-second degree
of North latitude as determined by said Clark to the
Rio Grande.
(c) Copies of the deeds certified by the custodian of
records in each of the counties in New Mexico in which the land is
located and other instruments of title are admissible as evidence
in suits filed in this state to the same extent as the original
deeds or certified copies of them.
(d) The county clerk of each of the counties in Texas in
which the land is now located may file the certified copies of deeds
and other instruments affecting title in the same manner as the
original deeds could have been filed.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2350, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.016. LAND ACQUIRED FROM MEXICO IN 1933. (a) The
State of Texas recognizes the provisions of 54 Stat. 21 (1940) and
accepts as part of its territory and assumes civil and criminal
jurisdiction over all of certain parcels or tracts of land lying
adjacent to the territory of the State of Texas which were acquired
by the United States under a convention between the United States of
America and the United Mexican States signed February 1, 1933.
(b) The parcels and tracts of land acquired by the state
constitute a part of the respective counties within whose
boundaries they are located by extending the county boundaries to
the Rio Grande and are subject to the civil and criminal
jurisdiction of these counties.
(c) Any parcels or tracts, parts of which are located in two
separate counties, shall be surveyed by the county surveyors of
both counties, who shall determine the portion of the land located
in their respective counties and shall file the field notes of the
land in their offices together with a map of the parcels or tracts
in the map records of the county.
(d) For the purpose of determining the boundaries, the
boundary lines of the parcels and tracts established by the
American Section of the International Boundary Commission, United
States and Mexico, shall be accepted as the true boundaries.
(e) Any parcels or tracts of land that are adjacent to or
contiguous to a water improvement district or a conservation and
reclamation district may be included within the district by a
written contract entered into between the owner of the land and the
board of directors of the district. The contract shall
specifically describe the land to be included in the district, the
character of water service to be furnished to the land, and the
terms and conditions on which the land is to be included in the
district and shall be acknowledged in the manner required for the
acknowledgment of deeds and recorded in the deed records of the
county in which the land is located.
(f) None of the provisions of this section may be construed
to affect the ownership of the land.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2350, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.017. CHAMIZAL AREA. (a) The State of Texas
accepts as part of its territory and assumes civil and criminal
jurisdiction over the tract of land lying adjacent to the State of
Texas which was acquired by the United States of America from the
United Mexican States under the Convention for the Solution of the
Problem of the Chamizal, signed August 29, 1963, and ceded to Texas
by Act of Congress.
(b) The territory shall be a part of El Paso County.
(c) None of the provisions of this section affect the
ownership of the land.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2351, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.018. CESSION OF CERTAIN EL PASO LAND. (a) To
facilitate the project for rectification of the Rio Grande in the El
Paso-Juarez Valley under the convention between the United States
of America and the United Mexican States signed February 1, 1933,
without cost to the state, all right, title, and interest of the
State of Texas in and to the bed and banks of the Rio Grande in El
Paso County and Hudspeth County which may be necessary or expedient
in the construction of the project is ceded to the United States of
America.
(b) This cession is made on the express condition that the
State of Texas retain concurrent jurisdiction with the United
States of America over every portion of land ceded which remains
within the territorial limits of the United States after the
project is completed so that process may be executed in the same
manner and with the same effect as before the cession took place.
(c) None of the provisions of this section may be construed
as a cession or relinquishment of any rights which the State of
Texas, its citizens, or any property owners have in the water of the
Rio Grande, its use, or access to it.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2351, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
SUBCHAPTER C. SPECIAL FUNDS
§ 11.041. PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND. (a) In addition to
land and minerals granted to the permanent school fund under the
constitution and other laws of this state, the permanent school
fund shall include:
(1) the mineral estate in river beds and channels;
(2) the mineral estate in areas within tidewater
limits, including islands, lakes, bays, and the bed of the sea which
belong to the state; and
(3) the arms and the beds and shores of the Gulf of
Mexico within the boundary of Texas.
(b) The land and minerals dedicated to the permanent school
fund shall be managed as provided by law.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2352, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.042. ASYLUM FUND. The 400,000 acres of land set
apart for the various asylums in equal portions of 100,000 acres for
each by act of the legislature, approved August 30, 1856, is
recognized and set apart to provide a permanent fund for the
support, maintenance, and improvement of the asylums.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2352, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.043. UNIVERSITY FUND. After payment of the amount
due to the permanent school fund for proceeds from the sale of the
portion of the public land set aside for payment of the public debt
by act of the legislature in 1879 and payment directed to be made to
the permanent school and university funds by act of the legislature
in 1883, the remainder of the land not to exceed two million acres
or the proceeds from their sale shall be divided in half and one of
the halves shall constitute a permanent endowment fund for The
University of Texas System.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2352, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
SUBCHAPTER D. REGULATION OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
§ 11.071. RECOVERY OF VALUE OF MINERALS AND
TIMBER. (a) At least semiannually, the commissioner and the
county attorney of each county shall report to the attorney general
the name and address of each person who has taken any minerals or
other property of value from public land or who has cut, used,
destroyed, sold, or otherwise appropriated any timber from public
land and shall report any other data within their knowledge. The
county attorneys also shall assist the attorney general relating to
these matters in any manner he requests.
(b) The attorney general shall file suit in any county in
which all or part of the injury occurred or in the county in which
the defendant resides to recover the value of the property, or with
the consent of the governor, the attorney general may compromise
and settle any of these liabilities with or without suit.
(c) The attorney general shall pay all amounts collected or
received by him to the permanent funds to which they belong.
(d) From amounts recovered by suit, the attorney general
shall receive a fee of 10 percent and the county attorney shall
receive a fee of five percent, and from amounts recovered by
compromise, the attorney general and county attorney shall each
receive one-half of the fees to be taxed against the defendant as
costs. No county attorney may receive compensation from cases not
reported by him to the attorney general.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by law, no person may use
for his benefit or cut or remove any mineral, plant, or anything of
value located on land belonging to the permanent school fund
without proper authority from the commissioner.
(f) In addition to any other penalties provided by law, a
person violating the provisions of Subsection (e) of this section
shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for
each thing of value cut, used, or removed. All civil penalties
collected under this subsection shall be credited to the permanent
school fund.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2352, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 208, § 9, eff. Aug.
31, 1987.
§ 11.072. FENCES WITH AND WITHOUT GATES. (a) A person
who has used any of the pasture land by joining fences or otherwise
and who builds or maintains more than three miles lineal measure of
fences running in the same general direction without a gate in it
shall be fined not less than $200 nor more than $1,000.
(b) The gate in the fence described in Subsection (a) of
this section shall be at least 10 feet wide and shall not be locked
or kept closed so that it obstructs free ingress or egress.
(c) The provisions of this section do not apply to persons
who have previously settled on land not their own, if the enclosure
is 200 acres or less and if the principal pursuit of the person on
the land is agriculture.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.073. DEFINITION OF FENCING. In Sections 11.074 and
11.075 of this code, "fencing" means the erection of any structure
of wood, wire, wood and wire, or any other material, whether it
encloses land on all sides or only one or more sides, which is
intended to prevent the passage of cattle, horses, mules, sheep,
goats, or hogs.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.074. HERDING AND LINE-RIDING. (a) No owner of
stock, manager, agent, employee, or servant may fence, use, occupy,
or appropriate by herding or line-riding any portion of the public
land of the state or land which belongs to the public schools or
asylums unless he obtains a lease for the land from the proper
authority.
(b) Any owner of stock or his manager, agent, employee, or
servant who fences, uses, occupies, or appropriates by herding or
line-riding any portion of the land covered by Subsection (a) of
this section without a lease for the land, on conviction, shall be
fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and confined in the
county jail for not less than three months nor more than two years.
Each day for which a violation continues constitutes a separate
offense.
(c) Prosecution under this section may take place in the
county in which a portion of the land is located or to which the
county may be attached for judicial purposes or in Travis County.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.075. APPROPRIATION OF LAND BY
FENCING. (a) Unless a lease for the land is obtained, any
appropriation of public land of the state or land which belongs to
the public schools and asylums by fencing or by enclosures
consisting partly of fencing and partly of natural obstacles or
impediments to the passage of livestock is an unlawful
appropriation of land which is punishable by the penalty provided
in Subsection (b) of Section 11.074 of this code.
(b) Each day that the violation continues constitutes a
separate offense.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.076. UNLAWFUL ENCLOSURES. (a) If the governor is
credibly informed that any portion of the public land or the land
which belongs to any of the special land funds has been enclosed or
that fences have been erected on the land in violation of law, he
may direct the attorney general to institute suit in the name of the
state for the recovery of the land, damages, and fees.
(b) The fee for the attorney general may not be less than $10
if the amount recovered is less than $100, but if the amount of
recovery is over $100, the fee shall be 10 percent paid by the
defendant for the use and occupancy of the land and the removal of
the enclosure and fences.
(c) The damages may not be less than five cents an acre a
year for the period of occupancy.
(d) In a suit brought under this section, the court shall
issue a writ of sequestration directed to any sheriff in the state
requiring him to take into actual custody the land and any property
on the land which belongs to the person who is unlawfully occupying
the land and to hold the land and other property until the court
issues further orders. The writ may be executed by the sheriff to
whom it is delivered, and he shall proceed to execute the writ.
(e) The defendant in the suit may replevy the property as
provided in other cases by executing the bond required by law.
(f) An appeal from a suit brought under this section has
precedence over other cases.
(g) If judgment is recovered by the state in the suit, the
court shall order the enclosure or fences removed and shall charge
the costs of the suit to the defendant. Property on the land which
belongs to the defendant and which is not exempt from execution may
be used to pay costs and damages in addition to the personal
liability of the defendant.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 2644, ch. 707, §
4(32), eff. Aug. 31, 1981.
§ 11.077. SUIT AGAINST ADVERSE CLAIMANT. If any public
land is held, occupied, or claimed adversely to the state or to any
fund of the state by any person or if land is forfeited to the state
for any reason, the attorney general shall file suit for the land,
for rent on the land, and to recover damages to the land.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2354, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.078. VENUE. A suit brought under the provisions of
Section 11.076 or Section 11.077 of this code shall be brought in
the county in which the land or any part of the land is located.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2354, ch. 871, art. I, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1977.
§ 11.079. ACCESS TO LAND. (a) The state, a permittee
of the state, or a lessee or assignee of state land or minerals
dedicated to the permanent school fund may exercise the power of
eminent domain to obtain an easement whenever it is necessary to
enter or cross the land of another person for the purpose of
obtaining access to any land or interest in land that is owned by
the state and that is dedicated by law to the permanent school fund.
(b) If the state or such permittee, lessee, or assignee and
the private owner of the land through which an easement for access
is sought cannot agree on the place or the terms for the easement to
obtain access, either the state or such permittee, lessee, or
assignee may, in order to provide that access, exercise this power
of eminent domain in the manner provided by Chapter 21, Property
Code.
(c) Easements acquired under this section are declared to be
for the sole use and benefit of the state, its permittee, lessee, or
assignee and may be used only to the extent necessary to achieve the
required access or for the purposes for which the permit, lease, or
assignment was granted. An easement so acquired is hereby
dedicated to the permanent school fund.
(d) If the state desires to utilize the power of eminent
domain to obtain an easement under this section for access to a
tract of land, the attorney general shall institute condemnation
proceedings as provided under Chapter 21, Property Code. If
agreement regarding an easement for access cannot be reached with a
private landowner, a permittee of the state or a lessee or assignee
of land or minerals dedicated to the permanent school fund desiring
to utilize this section to obtain an easement for access to a tract
of land must institute the condemnation proceedings authorized by
this section.
(e) If the easement acquired under this section is taken
solely to benefit a tract of land in which the permanent school fund
owns only a mineral interest, the easement shall not be permanent
but shall be limited to the term that the state minerals are held
under a valid prospect permit or lease. The easement will terminate
when the prospect permit and lease expires or terminates.
(f) This section is cumulative of the provisions of
Subtitles C and D, Title 2, Natural Resources Code, relating to
access to land and to the power of eminent domain. The special fund
accounts established under Sections 51.401, 52.297, and 53.155 of
this code may be used to compensate landowners for an easement to
obtain access under this section.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1061, § 1, eff. Aug. 31, 1987.
§ 11.0791. OTHER PROVISIONS REGARDING ACCESS TO STATE
LANDS. When a state governmental entity sells state land, the
entity shall require that the state have the right of ingress and
egress to remaining state land in the immediate area by an easement
to a public thoroughfare.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1499, § 1.41, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
§ 11.080. DAMAGES TO PERSONS AND PERSONALTY. When
access to any land is obtained by the state under Section 11.079 of
this code, the state shall be liable to the property owner to the
same extent that any private easement holder would be held liable
for the use of access across privately owned property.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1061, § 2, eff. Aug. 31, 1987.
§ 11.081. RULES. The General Land Office of the State
of Texas shall promulgate and enforce rules governing the
construction, maintenance, and use of roads created by access
granted under Section 11.079 of this code.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1061, § 3, eff. Aug. 31, 1987.
§ 11.082. NOTICE TO SCHOOL LAND BOARD. (a) A state
agency or political subdivision may not formally take any action
that may affect state land dedicated to the permanent school fund
without first giving notice of the action to the board. Notice of
the proposed action shall be delivered by certified mail, return
receipt requested, addressed to the deputy commissioner of the
asset management division of the General Land Office on or before
the state agency's or political subdivision's formal initiation of
the action.
(b) The notice must:
(1) describe the proposed action;
(2) state the location of the permanent school fund
land to be affected; and
(3) describe any foreseeable impact or effect of the
state agency's or political subdivision's action on the permanent
school fund land.
(c) An action taken by a state agency or political
subdivision without the notice required by Subsection (a) of this
section that affects state land dedicated to the permanent school
fund is not effective as to permanent school fund land affected by
the action.
(d) In this section:
(1) "Action" means:
(A) formal adoption of an agency or political
subdivision policy;
(B) final adoption of an administrative rule;
(C) issuance of findings of fact or law;
(D) issuance of an administrative order in an
administrative hearing; or
(E) adoption of a local ordinance or resolution.
(2) "Board" means the School Land Board.
(3) "Initiation" means the commencement of the first
phase of public consideration of a formal policy, rule, or
ordinance, or a hearing undertaken by a state agency or political
subdivision that is intended to result in final adoption of a formal
policy, rule, or ordinance.
(4) "Political subdivision" means a county, public
school district, or special-purpose district or authority.
(5) "State agency" means:
(A) a department, commission, board, office,
bureau, council, or other agency in the executive branch of state
government other than the Texas Department of Transportation and
the Railroad Commission of Texas; or
(B) a university system or an institution of
higher education as defined in Section 61.003, Education Code.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 991, § 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
§ 11.083. RETENTION OF MINERAL RIGHTS. The state shall
retain the mineral rights to state land that is sold unless it is
impractical to do so.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1499, § 1.42, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
§ 11.084. SCHOOL LAND BOARD APPROVAL OF PATENT FOR
INTEREST IN LAND RELEASED BY STATE. (a) The School Land Board may
approve a tract of land for patenting to release all or part of the
state's interest in land, excluding mineral rights, if the board:
(1) finds that:
(A) the land is surveyed, unsold, permanent
school fund land according to the records of the land office;
(B) the land is not patentable under the law in
effect before January 1, 2002; and
(C) the person claiming title to the land:
(i) holds the land under color of title;
(ii) holds the land under a chain of title
that originated on or before January 1, 1952;
(iii) acquired the land without actual
knowledge that title to the land was vested in the State of Texas;
(iv) has a deed to the land recorded in the
appropriate county; and
(v) has paid all taxes assessed on the land
and any interest and penalties associated with any period of tax
delinquency; and
(2) unanimously approves the release of the state's
interest.
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) beach land, submerged or filled land, or islands;
or
(2) land that has been determined to be state-owned by
judicial decree.
(c) This section may not be used to:
(1) resolve boundary disputes; or
(2) change the mineral reservation in an existing
patent.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 310, § 1.
§ 11.085. PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING FOR PATENT FOR INTEREST
IN LAND RELEASED BY STATE. (a) A person claiming title to land
may apply for a patent under Section 11.084 by filing with the
commissioner an application on a form prescribed by the
commissioner. The claimant must attach to the application all
documentation necessary to support the claimant's request for a
patent.
(b) The land office shall review the claimant's application
to determine whether the claimant substantially meets the criteria
for issuance of a patent under Section 11.084.
(c) If the land office determines that the application is
complete for consideration by the board, the commissioner shall
convene the board to determine whether a patent is to be issued
under Section 11.084.
(d) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
administer Section 11.084 and this section.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 310, § 1.
§ 11.086. CONFIDENTIALITY OF CERTAIN INFORMATION
RELATED TO PURCHASE OR SALE OF REAL PROPERTY. (a) Information
relating to the location, or purchase price, or sale price of real
property purchased or sold by or for the School Land Board,
Veterans' Land Board, land office, or commissioner under authority
granted by this code is confidential and exempt from disclosure
under Chapter 552, Government Code, until a deed for the property is
executed. Information that is confidential and exempted from
disclosure under this subsection includes an appraisal, completed
report, evaluation, investigation conducted for the purpose of
locating or determining the purchase or sale price of the property,
or any report prepared in anticipation of purchasing or selling
real property.
(b) Information that is confidential and excluded from
disclosure under Subsection (a) is not subject to a subpoena
directed to the School Land Board, Veterans' Land Board, land
office, commissioner, attorney general, or governor.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1317, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Renumbered from § 11.084 and amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch.
532, § 1, eff. June 20, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1275,
§ 2(111), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
