By Lewis H.B. No. 1492
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to actions affecting Permanent School Fund Land, relating
1-3 to acquisition of real property abutting tidally influenced waters
1-4 of the state, relating to the sale of state land acquired through
1-5 tax foreclosure, and relating to the sale or lease of permanent
1-6 school fund lands.
1-7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-8 SECTION 1. Section 5.115, Chapter 5, Water Code, is hereby
1-9 amended to read as follows:
1-10 Section 5.115. Notice of Application. (a) At the time an
1-11 application for a permit or license under this code is filed with
1-12 the executive director and is administratively complete, the
1-13 commission shall give notice of the application to any person who
1-14 may be affected by the granting of the permit or license.
1-15 (b) At the time an application for any formal action by the
1-16 commission which will affect lands dedicated to the permanent
1-17 school fund is filed with the executive director or the commission
1-18 and is administratively complete, the commission shall give notice
1-19 to the School Land Board. Notice of the proposed action to the
1-20 board shall be delivered by certified mail return, receipt
1-21 requested, addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of the Asset
1-22 Management Division of the General Land Office. Delivery shall not
1-23 be deemed complete until the return receipt is signed by the Deputy
2-1 Commissioner of the Asset Management Division of the General Land
2-2 Office and returned to the commission.
2-3 (c) <(b)> The commission shall adopt rules for the notice
2-4 required by this section.
2-5 (d) <(c)> The notice must state:
2-6 (1) the identifying number given the application by
2-7 the commission;
2-8 (2) the type of permit or license sought under the
2-9 application;
2-10 (3) the name and address of the applicant;
2-11 (4) the date on which the application was submitted;
2-12 and
2-13 (5) a brief summary of the information included in the
2-14 permit application.
2-15 (e) The notice to the School Land Board under this Section
2-16 shall additionally:
2-17 (1) state the location of the permanent school fund
2-18 land to be affected; and
2-19 (2) describe any foreseeable impact or effect of the
2-20 commission's action on permanent school fund land.
2-21 (f) Any formal action or ruling by the commission on an
2-22 application affecting permanent school fund land without the notice
2-23 required by this section is voidable by the School Land Board as to
2-24 all affected permanent school fund lands.
2-25 SECTION 2. Section 43.022(c), Texas Local Government Code,
3-1 is hereby amended to read as follows:
3-2 Section 43.022(c).
3-3 (c) Public notice of the election must be given in the
3-4 manner provided for other municipal elections. Notice of the
3-5 election and the intent of the municipality to annex any state
3-6 lands belonging to the permanent school fund shall be given to the
3-7 School Land Board by certified mail, return receipt requested,
3-8 addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of the Asset Management
3-9 Division of the General Land Office at least 30 days before the
3-10 specified election date. Delivery shall not be deemed complete
3-11 until the return receipt is signed by the Deputy Commissioner of
3-12 the Asset Management Division of the General Land Office and
3-13 returned to the municipality. Any annexation without notice
3-14 required by this section which affects state land dedicated to the
3-15 permanent school fund shall not be effective as to the permanent
3-16 school fund lands sought to be annexed.
3-17 SECTION 3. Section 11.001, Chapter 11, Natural Resources
3-18 Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
3-19 Sec. 11.001. Definitions. In this chapter:
3-20 (1) "state" means the State of Texas.
3-21 (2) "land office" means the General Land Office.
3-22 (3) "commissioner" means the Commissioner of the
3-23 General Land Office.
3-24 (4) "board" means the School Land Board.
3-25 (5) "agency" means any department, board, bureau,
4-1 commission, office, authority, council, institution, county,
4-2 municipality, district, or other political subdivision of the
4-3 state.
4-4 (6) "action" means the formal adoption of an agency
4-5 policy, the final adoption of an agency administrative rule, the
4-6 issuance of findings of fact and/or law, the issuance of an
4-7 administrative order in an administrative hearing, or the adoption
4-8 of a local ordinance or resolution.
4-9 (7) "initiation" means the commencement of the first
4-10 phase of public consideration of a formal policy, rule, or
4-11 ordinance, or a hearing undertaken by the agency which is intended
4-12 to result in final adoption of agency action.
4-13 SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Natural Resources Code,
4-14 is hereby amended by adding Section 11.082 to read as follows:
4-15 Sec. 11.082. Notice to School Land Board. (a) A state
4-16 agency may not formally take any action that may affect state land
4-17 dedicated to the permanent school fund without giving notice of
4-18 such action to the board. Notice of the proposed action to the
4-19 board shall be delivered by certified mail, return receipt
4-20 requested, addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of the Asset
4-21 Management Division of the General Land Office on or before the
4-22 state agency's formal initiation of the action. Delivery shall not
4-23 be deemed complete until the return receipt is signed by the Deputy
4-24 Commissioner of the Asset Management Division of the General Land
4-25 Office and returned to the agency. The notice shall:
5-1 (1) describe the proposed action;
5-2 (2) state the location of the permanent school fund
5-3 land to be affected; and
5-4 (3) describe any foreseeable impact or effect of the
5-5 state agency's action on permanent school fund land.
5-6 (b) Any action taken by a state agency without notice
5-7 required by Section 11.082(a) which affects state land dedicated to
5-8 the permanent school fund shall not be effective as to permanent
5-9 school fund land.
5-10 SECTION 5. Section 32.112(a) and (b), Natural Resources
5-11 Code, is hereby amended to read as follows:
5-12 (a) <The board may sell by sealed bid all real property
5-13 placed in the name of the state as a result of any tax foreclosure
5-14 sale. The sealed bid sales shall be conducted in the same manner
5-15 as sealed bid sales for public school land.> All real property or
5-16 any interest therein placed in the name of the state as a result of
5-17 any tax foreclosure sale may be sold or leased by the board in the
5-18 same manner as provided for sales and/or leases of land in Chapter
5-19 51 of this Code.
5-20 (b) The board may retain from the proceeds of a sale or
5-21 lease conducted under <this> section (a) the cost of conducting the
5-22 <sale> transaction, including advertising, appraisal, and
5-23 administrative costs. The balance of the proceeds shall be
5-24 deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Texas capital
5-25 trust fund.
6-1 SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 33, Natural Resources Code,
6-2 is hereby amended by adding Section 33.135 to read as follows:
6-3 Section 33.135. Notice to Purchaser or Grantee of Coastal
6-4 Area Property. (a) Any person who sells, transfers, or conveys an
6-5 interest other than a mineral, leasehold, or security interest in
6-6 real property adjoining and abutting the tidally influenced waters
6-7 of the state, shall include as a part of any written executory
6-8 contract for the sale, transfer, or conveyance a statement and
6-9 notice of the following information:
6-10 (1) The real property described in and subject to this
6-11 contract adjoins and shares a common boundary with the tidally
6-12 influenced submerged lands of the state.
6-13 (2) The boundary line between the property described
6-14 in and subject to this contract and the submerged lands of the
6-15 state is legally defined and declared to be the line of mean
6-16 high-tide or the line of mean higher-high-tide, as determined by
6-17 the date of the original grant from the sovereignty.
6-18 (3) The applicable tide line is a dynamic boundary
6-19 line, subject to change by natural forces. Changes in this
6-20 boundary line cannot legally result from artificial or man-made
6-21 causes.
6-22 (4) Seller, transferor, or grantor has no knowledge of
6-23 any prior artificial or man-made alteration of the applicable tide
6-24 line as it relates to the property described in and subject to this
6-25 contract.
7-1 (5) The owner of the uplands property adjoining the
7-2 submerged lands may gain, or lose, portions of the uplands tract
7-3 because of natural changes in the applicable tide line, such as
7-4 accretion or erosion.
7-5 (6) State law prohibits the use, encumbrance,
7-6 construction, or placing of any structure in, on, or over state
7-7 owned submerged lands below the applicable tide line, without
7-8 proper permission.
7-9 (7) Information regarding the location of the
7-10 applicable tide line as to the property described in and subject to
7-11 this contract may be obtained from the surveying division of the
7-12 General Land Office.
7-13 (8) Permission to use any part of the submerged lands
7-14 adjacent to the land described in and subject to this contract may
7-15 be obtained only from the General Land Office.
7-16 (9) The purchaser or grantee is hereby advised to seek
7-17 the advice of an attorney or other qualified person as to the legal
7-18 nature and effect of the facts set forth in this notice on the
7-19 property described in and subject to this contract.
7-20 (b) If property is sold, transferred, or conveyed without an
7-21 executory contract for conveyance, a written statement containing
7-22 notice of the information set forth in subsection (a), (1)-(9),
7-23 inclusive, must be delivered to the grantee for execution and
7-24 acknowledgement of receipt prior to the recording of any
7-25 conveyance.
8-1 (c) Failure to include the prescribed information in the
8-2 written executory contract, or to give written notice thereof for
8-3 execution and acknowledgement by grantee in the absence of a
8-4 written executory contract, shall:
8-5 (1) constitute a legal right in the purchaser to
8-6 terminate such contract or to renounce a sale, transfer, or
8-7 conveyance;
8-8 (2) require that any earnest money, down payment, or
8-9 deposit paid by grantee be forthwith returned to grantee; together
8-10 with a cancellation of any promissory note and security instrument
8-11 given in consideration for the sale, conveyance, or transfer; and
8-12 (3) constitute a deceptive act under Section 17.46,
8-13 Business and Commerce Code.
8-14 (d) Nothing contained in this section, nor the action of any
8-15 party subject hereto, shall diminish or modify the beach access and
8-16 use rights of the public as acquired by statute or under common
8-17 law.
8-18 SECTION 7. Section 51.052, Natural Resources Code, is hereby
8-19 amended to read as follows:
8-20 Section 51.052. Conditions for Sale of Land.
8-21 (a) Land sold under the provisions of this subchapter shall
8-22 be sold without condition of settlement and residence.
8-23 (b) A purchaser of land under this subchapter may make a
8-24 down payment of an amount determined by the board and the board may
8-25 set the terms and conditions of the sale, including the interest
9-1 rate. On full payment and satisfaction of other conditions, the
9-2 purchaser is entitled to a patent for the land. This subsection
9-3 does not prevent the board from requiring a tract of land to be
9-4 purchased for cash.
9-5 (c) Repealed by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 208, Sec. 14, eff.
9-6 Aug. 31, 1987.
9-7 (d) Before the land under this subchapter is sold, the
9-8 appraisers for the land office must appraise the land at its market
9-9 value and file a copy of the appraisal with the commissioner. No
9-10 land covered by this subchapter may be sold for less than the
9-11 market value that appears in the appraisal made under this
9-12 subsection.
9-13 (e) The owner of land that surrounds land in a tract of
9-14 <320> 700 acres or less shall have a preference right to purchase
9-15 the tract before the land is made available for sale to any other
9-16 person, provided the person having the preference right pays not
9-17 less than the market value for the land as determined by the board.
9-18 (f) If the surrounding land is owned by more than one
9-19 person, the owners of land with a common boundary with a tract of
9-20 <320> 700 acres or less that is for sale shall have a preference
9-21 right to purchase the tract before it is made available to any
9-22 other person, provided the person with the preference right pays
9-23 not less than the market value of the land as determined by the
9-24 board and the board finds use of the preference to be in the best
9-25 interest of the state. The board shall adopt rules to implement
10-1 this preference right.
10-2 (g) If land is located within the boundaries of or adjacent
10-3 to any state park, refuge, natural area, or historical site subject
10-4 to the management and control of the Parks and Wildlife Department,
10-5 the department has a preference right to purchase the land before
10-6 it is made available for sale to any other person. A sale to the
10-7 department under this section may not be for less than the fair
10-8 market value of the land, as determined by the board.
10-9 (h) The board may sell or exchange any interest in the
10-10 surface estate of public school land directly to any state agency,
10-11 board, commission, or political subdivision or other governmental
10-12 entity of this state without the necessity of a sealed bid sale.
10-13 All sales or exchanges made pursuant to this subsection shall be
10-14 for not less than fair market value as determined by the board and
10-15 under such other terms and conditions the board determines to be in
10-16 the best interest of the state.
10-17 (i) If no bids meeting minimum requirements are received, as
10-18 to a tract of land offered at a sealed bid sale under the
10-19 provisions of Section 32.101, et seq., of this code, the asset
10-20 management division of the general land office may solicit
10-21 proposals or negotiate a sale, exchange, or lease of the property
10-22 to any person or entity, provided that the sales price may not be
10-23 less than the appraised value of the land as determined by the
10-24 asset management division. The board must approve any negotiated
10-25 sale, trade, or lease of any land under this section.
11-1 SECTION 8. Section 51.291, Natural Resources Code, is hereby
11-2 amended to read as follows:
11-3 Section 51.291. Grants of Easements. The commissioner may
11-4 execute grants of easements for rights-of-way across, through, and
11-5 under unsold public school land, the portion of the Gulf of Mexico
11-6 within the jurisdiction of the state, the riverbeds and beds of
11-7 navigable streams of the public domain, and all islands, saltwater
11-8 lakes, bays, inlets, marshes, and reefs owned by the state within
11-9 tidewater limits for:
11-10 (1) telephone, telegraph, electric transmission, and
11-11 powerlines;
11-12 (2) oil pipelines, including pipelines connecting the
11-13 onshore storage facilities with the offshore facilities of a
11-14 deepwater port, as defined by the federal Deepwater Port Act of
11-15 1974 (33 U.S.C.A. Section 1501 et seq.), gas pipelines, sulphur
11-16 pipelines, and other electric lines and pipelines of any nature;
11-17 (3) irrigation canals, laterals, and water pipelines;
11-18 (4) roads; and
11-19 (5) any other purpose the commissioner considers to be
11-20 in the best interest of the state.
11-21 SECTION 9. Chapters 11, 32, 33 and 51, Natural Resources
11-22 Code, are hereby re-enacted subject to the preceding amendments
11-23 thereto.
11-24 SECTION 10. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation
11-25 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
12-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
12-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
12-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.