(1) (a) The public lands of the state may be leased by the state board of land commissioners in such manner and to such persons as will be consistent with article IX of the constitution of the state of Colorado. A lease of lands for grazing or agricultural purposes shall be for a period of ten years unless an alternate term is agreed to by the board and the lessee.
(b) (I) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (b), in determining the renewal of any expiring lease, the board shall consider, among other things, the care and use given the land and the development work done by the lessee in conserving and promoting the productivity thereof and in promoting benefit for the trusts.
(II) In determining the renewal or termination of an expiring agricultural or grazing lease, or the sale or exchange of land for agricultural or grazing purposes, the board shall consider the benefit that continued agricultural and grazing use of the land contributes to the purposes of the respective trusts by the preservation of the stability of the local community, the revenue provided for trust purposes, and the lessee's stewardship of the land.
(c) Before land is leased to anyone other than the present lessee for agricultural or grazing uses, the present lessee shall be given ten days' notice to begin negotiations and ninety days to complete negotiations with the state board of land commissioners concerning a new lease. The board shall not lease land that is being leased for agricultural or grazing uses to anyone other than the present lessee for agricultural or grazing uses unless the board and lessee fail to agree on lease terms, the present lessee does not wish to renew his or her lease, or the present lessee has failed to comply with any provision of the lease. If the land will not continue to be leased for agricultural or grazing purposes, the board shall find that the benefit of continued agricultural and grazing use of the land is outweighed by the benefit that will be provided by the new use and that continued agricultural or grazing use is incompatible with other purposes for which the land is to be leased.
(d) For agricultural or grazing leases expiring on or after July 1, 1998, the board shall provide the lessee with written notice, one year prior to the expiration of such lease, of its intent not to renew the lease for agricultural or grazing uses.
(1.5) In entering into lease agreements for agricultural use of any land of the state, the state board of land commissioners shall include in such leases terms, incentives, and lease rates that will promote sound stewardship and land management practices, long-term agricultural productivity, and community stability.
(2) Prior to the quarter period beginning April 1, 1955, and prior to each quarter period thereafter, the board shall make a listing of all grazing and other agricultural leases which expire within the second succeeding quarter period thereafter, giving a description of the land leased, the name of the lessee, and the expiration date of the lease. At least five days prior to the beginning of each such quarter period, a copy of such listing shall be certified to and transmitted by the board to the county clerk and recorder of each county in which any such land to be leased is situate and shall, by said county clerk and recorder, immediately upon receipt thereof, be posted in the courthouse in a conspicuous place to which the public has access and kept so posted until all leases listed thereon have expired. A copy of such quarterly listing shall also be posted at the times above provided in the main office of the state board of land commissioners, available for public inspection.
(3) (a) All applications to lease or to renew a lease shall be made in writing to the board, stipulating the rental the applicant is willing to pay, and under such other regulations, not in conflict with the law, as the board may prescribe.
(b) The board shall require from any applicant for a lease that he give evidence of his responsibility to carry out the terms of the lease. Any applicant, except the present lessee, shall deposit with his application a sum of money equal to the first annual rental offered in his application.
(c) The board shall also require that an applicant state under oath the total acreage of agricultural or grazing land, if any, owned and to be operated by him in connection with the land to be leased, and the intended use, during the term of the lease, of both such private land, if any, and public land, either as to agricultural products to be produced thereon or as to the carrying capacity of such lands in terms of the number of livestock such tracts are expected to reasonably support; and, if a renewal, a history, for such period of time as prescribed by the board, of the past use of both such private land, if any, and public land, as to agricultural products produced and the number of livestock grazed thereon.
(4) (a) The board may, in its discretion, offer for sale any land leased at any time during the term of the lease as though said lease had not been executed, or it may withdraw such land from sale during the full term of the lease; except that the board may not sell or exchange land subject to a lease for agricultural or grazing purposes during the term of the lease unless the board complies with the requirements of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section and paragraph (b) of this subsection (4). The board shall subject the sale or exchange of land currently leased for agricultural or grazing purposes to the continuation of the terms of the current lease unless the lessee agrees otherwise, the board or third party buys out the lease at a price equal to the current year's lease rate for each year, or fraction thereof, remaining in the lease, or unless subjecting the sale or exchange of such land to the current lease terms would violate article IX of the constitution of the state of Colorado. In any event, the board may cancel or terminate the lease on land subject to the lease up to a total of eighty acres during the term of the lease without payment as long as such cancellation or termination is done in compliance with paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section.
(b) If the board determines that all or a portion of land being leased for agricultural or grazing purposes may be offered for sale or nonsimultaneous exchange, and if the agricultural or grazing lessee is in compliance with the provisions of the lease, and if the lessee is in attendance or represented on the day of sale or at the bid opening for nonsimultaneous exchange of the land, the lessee may exercise his or her rights pursuant to this paragraph (b) to match the highest bid received. The lessee shall have the right to offer matching bids until such time as the high bidder refuses to raise the bid or until the lessee decides not to match the bid, whichever first occurs. If the successful bidder fails to comply with the terms of the sale or nonsimultaneous exchange, the next-highest bidder shall be offered the land without further auction process.
(5) The board may cancel and terminate any lease at any time if it finds that a lessee has violated any of the provisions of the lease or made any false statement in the application therefor.
(6) The board shall as soon as practicable, and not more than thirty days after the close of every quarter period, post, in the main office of the board, a complete listing of leases executed during that quarter period, together with rental figures for the same.
(7) The board may cancel and terminate any lease or other use of state lands procured through fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
Source: L. 19: p. 643, § 10. C.L. § 1163. CSA: C. 134, § 62. L. 45: p. 523, § 2. CRS 53: § 112-3-18. L. 55: p. 681, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 112-3-18. L. 76: (2) amended, p. 749, § 1, effective February 20. L. 97: (1.5) added, p. 840, § 14, effective May 21; (1), (4), and (5) amended and (7) added, p. 1151, § 1, effective May 28.
ANNOTATION
Annotator's note. Cases relevant to the subject matter of this section which were decided prior to its earliest source have been included in the annotations to this section.
The general assembly has the constitutional authority to regulate the board's activities. Evans v. Simpson, 190 Colo. 426, 547 P.2d 931 (1976).
The board's activities may not contradict or exceed specific statutory limits. Evans v. Simpson, 190 Colo. 426, 547 P.2d 931 (1976).
Lease term providing for cancellation to obtain maximum revenues. The constitution mandates that, unless limited by express statutory regulations, the board shall enter into whatever leases it deems to be most beneficial to the state. It may therefore utilize any lease terms not prohibited by law, such as provision for cancellation to obtain maximum revenues. Evans v. Simpson, 190 Colo. 426, 547 P.2d 931 (1976).
The limitation in the second sentence of this section is a regulation fairly within the power of the general assembly to fix. It was not the intention of the general assembly in adopting the provisos to destroy or impair the force of this second sentence of the section. In re Leasing of State Lands, 18 Colo. 359, 32 P. 986 (1893).
Time limitations do not apply to coal lands. The provisions of this section limiting the time that any lease of state lands shall run and regulating the methods of renewing such leases have no application to the leasing of coal lands. Colo. Fuel & Iron Co. v. Adams, 14 Colo. App. 84, 60 P. 367 (1889).
Forfeiture by lessee in default. A lessee of state lands who is in default in some particular under the terms of his lease will be held to have forfeited any preference which otherwise should be accorded him as a prior lessee. Wilson v. Collins, 114 Colo. 407, 165 P.2d 663 (1946).
Mandamus will lie to compel collection of sum in default. Where a lessee of state lands is in default for failure to pay over to the state moneys collected by him, as required by the lease, the board of land commissioners is obligated to use all proper means to collect the sum so in default, and a taxpayer is entitled to maintain a suit to compel the performance of such duty. Wilson v. Collins, 114 Colo. 407, 165 P.2d 663 (1946).