BILL ANALYSIS H.J.R. 82 By: McCoulskey (Armbrister) State Affairs 5-25-95 Senate Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Throughout its history, Texas has been faced with problems regarding title to sovereign lands sold or disposed of to private persons in cases where a patent was never issued from the State or Republic passing legal title to the land. In the absence of the patent, legal title remains with the sovereign. The current day "owner" of the land is usually totally unaware of the title defect and is without any legal way to require or cause a patent to be issued, as the lands of the public domain are now constitutionally dedicated to the Permanent School Fund (PSF). The Texas General Land Office and the School Land Board, legally charged with the management and administration of PSF, are also powerless to issue the patent, being constitutionally bound to receive land's fair market value in full before the patent is issued. The only solution to this situation has been to amend the Texas Constitution (Article VII) either to directly relinquish the PSF's interest in a specific survey or tract of land (as in the 1993 instance of the Shelby, Frazier, and McCormick League Grant in Austin and Fort Bend counties) or to constitutionally allow the General Land Office, through the School Land Board, to issue the patent if certain conditions are met. This latter process, however, has in past amendments (1987 and 1991) been created so as to automatically expire on December 31st of the year following adoption. PURPOSE As proposed, H.J.R 82 allows the legislature to provide by law the release of land subject to title defects to persons holding the land under color of title. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this resolution does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Article VII, Texas Constitution, by adding Section 2B, as follows: Sec. 2B. (a) Authorizes the legislature to provide by law for the release of all or part of the state's interest in land, including mineral rights, if the land is surveyed, unsold, permanent school fund land, the land is not patentable under the law in effect before January 1, 1996, and the person claiming title to the land: (A) holds the land under color of title; (B) holds the land under a chain of title that originated before January 1, 1946 and is not based on a patent or grant from the sovereign; (C) acquired the land without knowledge that the title to the land was not based on a patent or grant from the sovereign, (D) has a deed to the land recorded in the appropriate county; and (E) has paid all taxes due on the land and any interest and penalties associated with any period of tax delinquency. (b) Provides that this section does not apply to beach land, submerged or filled land, or islands; or land found to be state-owned in a decision by a court rendered on or after January 1, 1946. (c) Prohibits this section from being used to resolve boundary disputes or change a mineral reservation in an existing patent. (d) Effective date for this section: January 1, 1996. Expiration date for this subsection: January 2, 1996. SECTION 2. Requires this proposed constitutional amendment to be submitted to the voters at an election to be held on November 7, 1995. Sets forth the required language for the ballot.