(1) Should anyone lease, purchase, or receive through an exchange any of the lands belonging to the state upon which there are authorized improvements belonging to the lessee, the new owner or new lessee shall pay the former lessee for such authorized improvements. Before a lease shall issue or before title to the land is conveyed or exchanged, the new owner or new lessee shall file in the office of the state board of land commissioners a receipt showing that the value of the improvements, as agreed upon by the parties or established by the state board, has been paid to the owner thereof in full or shall make satisfactory proof that he or she has tendered to such owner the value of the improvements so agreed upon or established by the board.
(2) Should the state board terminate or cancel a lease of state lands upon which there are authorized improvements belonging to the lessee, the board shall pay the value of the authorized improvements established by the board to the lessee subject to available funding for such purpose and subject to the lessee having satisfied all outstanding obligations to the state in relation to the lease, or unless otherwise agreed to by the lessee, or unless the value of the authorized improvements is paid by a third party.
Source: L. 19: p. 643, § 11. C.L. § 1164. CSA: C. 134, § 63. CRS 53: § 112-3-19. C.R.S. 1963: § 112-3-19. L. 75: Entire section amended, p. 222, § 76, effective July 16. L. 97: Entire section amended, p. 1153, § 3, effective May 28.
ANNOTATION
Duty to discover parties and improvements on land. This section makes it the duty of an applicant for a lease to exercise at least some diligence to discover whether another party is upon the land and, if so, what has been done by him in pursuance of his occupancy; and, if improvements have been made by him, the payment or tender to him of the price of the improvements is made a condition precedent to the granting of the lease. Am. Sulphur & Mining Co. v. Brennan, 20 Colo. App. 439, 79 P. 750 (1905) (decided prior to earliest source of this section).