Title NR, Natural Resources Code

Sec. 51.013. CLASSIFICATION OF LAND. (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, including a classification as agricultural, grazing, timber, or a combination of these cl…

Sec. 51.014. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and may alter or amend the rules to protect the public interest. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2418, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg.…

Sec. 51.015. FORMS. 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 general prepare the forms. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2418, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.

Sec. 51.016. DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 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, 65th Leg., p. 2418, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.

Sec. 51.017. FURNISHING DATA TO TEXAS PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND CORPORATION. On request, the commissioner shall furnish to the Texas Permanent School Fund Corporation all available data. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2418, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by: Acts 2021…

Sec. 51.018. RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS. 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 public school land and shall keep accurate accounts with each purchaser or lessee. Acts 1977…

Sec. 51.019. SPECIAL FEE. 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 in the manner provided in Section 32.110 of this code. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2419, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.…

Sec. 51.020. REFUNDS. (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 of public land or minerals to which the fund is not entitled may be offset or credited by the commissioner against other sums owing o…

Sec. 51.051. SALE OF LAND. 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., p. 2419, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1098 (H.B. 2217), Sec. 5, e…

Sec. 51.052. CONDITIONS FOR SALE OF LAND. (a) Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1175, Sec. 33(2), eff. June 19, 2009. (b) A purchaser of land under this subchapter may make a down payment of an amount determined by the board and the board may set the terms and condition…

Sec. 51.054. RESERVATION OF MINERALS. (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 board of not less than one-eighth of all sulphur and other mineral substances from which sulphur m…

Sec. 51.0551. LISTS OF PUBLIC LAND OFFERED FOR SALE: CRIMINAL PENALTIES. (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, or mimeographed list prepared by or under the …

Sec. 51.056. APPLICATION OR REQUEST TO PURCHASE LAND. A person who wants to purchase public school land shall submit to the commissioner a written application or request in a form designated by the commissioner. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2420, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1…

Sec. 51.065. NOTICE AND RECORD OF SALE. (a) The commissioner shall send a written notice of the sale of a tract of public school land to the county clerk of the proper county that includes the name and address of the purchaser and the price of the land. (b) After receiving a noti…

Sec. 51.066. LAND AWARD. (a) The commissioner shall prepare and issue a land award for each tract of sovereign land sold. (b) Each land award shall be appropriately numbered and shall be worded in a manner that will constitute a receipt for the first or full payment after it is s…

Sec. 51.067. INFORMATION REQUIRED WITH PAYMENTS. 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 and shall sufficiently designate the land. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2422, ch. 871, art. I, Sec…

Sec. 51.068. FUND ACCOUNTS. (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 comptroller shall deposit 90 percent of the payments on land received each month to the probable fund to wh…

Sec. 51.069. DISPOSITION OF PAYMENTS ON PUBLIC SCHOOL LAND. 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 the comptroller to be credited to the permanent school f…

Sec. 51.070. UNPAID PRINCIPAL ON PUBLIC SCHOOL LAND SALES. (a) Unpaid and delinquent principal on sales of public school land shall bear interest at a rate set by the board, which principal and interest shall be payable at the times and on such terms as are established by the boa…

Sec. 51.071. FORFEITURE OF LAND. (a) If principal, accrued interest, late charges, and other fees and expenses on a sale of sovereign land are not paid when due as required by the terms set by the board, the land is subject to forfeiture by the commissioner by entry on the file c…

Sec. 51.072. EFFECT OF FORFEITURE. 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. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 280, Sec. 15, e…

Sec. 51.073. CLASSIFICATION AND SALE OF LEASED AND FORFEITED LAND. Before it is sold, the commissioner shall classify and determine the market value of land on which leases have expired and land forfeited to the state. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2423, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. …

Sec. 51.074. REINSTATEMENT OF LAND PURCHASES. (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 for nonpayment of principal and interest, may have the claim reinstated on wri…

Sec. 51.075. FORFEITURE OF A DECEASED PURCHASER'S LAND. (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 in which to make payment before the commissioner declares the land to be forf…

Sec. 51.076. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. 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: (1) to enforce a forfeiture; (2) to recover the full amount of principal and inter…

Sec. 51.077. LIEN. 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 for the use and benefit of the fund to which the land belongs. The lien is in addition to any right and remedy that the state h…

Sec. 51.0771. REINSTATEMENT FEE. (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 delinquent at the time of the reinstatement. (b) The comptroller must receive the reinstatement fee…

Sec. 51.078. TRANSFER OF INDEBTEDNESS. (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, pays to the state the principal and interest due on any obligation given for the land, the commissioner, on written …

Sec. 51.079. TRANSFERS GENERALLY. (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 tract. (b) If land to be sold is separated from another portion of land but is not sufficiently designated by metes and bo…

Sec. 51.080. PERSONAL TRANSFERS. (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 or who obtains through personal transfer a portion of a survey purchased from the state as a whole or in a quantit…

Sec. 51.081. TRANSFERS OTHER THAN PERSONAL TRANSFER. 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 whole survey purchased from the state, with the approval of the commissioner, may have the porti…

Sec. 51.082. LIABILITY OF VENDEE. 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 its pro rata part of the principal and interest due and paid to November 1 preceding the date of the filing of …

Sec. 51.083. PATENT ON PART OF A TRACT. (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 a portion of the whole tract, the owner or claimant, with the approval of the commissioner, may file field notes for…

Sec. 51.085. TIME FOR PURCHASE OF LAND. 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 for the land. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2426, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.

Sec. 51.086. SALE OF ESCHEATED PERMANENT SCHOOL LAND. (a) All sales of escheated land that is a part of the permanent school fund must be made at a price that may not be less than the minimum price set by the court under Section 71.107, Property Code, and in the same manner as th…

Sec. 51.121. LEASE OF UNSOLD LAND. (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 conditions set by the commissioner. Improvements on land under this subsection shall not become the prop…

Sec. 51.122. ADVERTISEMENT OF LEASES. 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. 2426, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.

Sec. 51.123. LEASE APPLICATION. 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. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2426, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.

Sec. 51.124. AWARD OF 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 commissioner considers to be in the best interest of the state and not inconsistent with the equities of the occup…

Sec. 51.125. REJECTION OF BID OR OFFER TO LEASE. 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 signed. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2426, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended …

Sec. 51.126. NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND EXECUTION OF LEASE. 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 execute a lease to the applicant in the name and by the…

Sec. 51.127. RECORDING MEMORANDUM OF LEASE. (a) The commissioner shall prepare a descriptive memorandum of the lease at the time the lease is executed and deliver the lease and the memorandum to the lessee. (b) The lessee shall deliver the memorandum of the lease to the clerk of …

Sec. 51.129. LIEN. (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 on the leased premises to secure payment of rent due. (b) The lien is superior to all other liens. (c) A reservation of the l…

Sec. 51.131. SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION PLANS. (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 conservation plan approved by the commissioner. The commissioner, in reviewi…

Sec. 51.171. PURPOSE; APPLICATION OF OTHER LAW. (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 vacancy exists; and (2) sell and lease vacant land. (b) To the extent a provision of …

Sec. 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…