By Mowery H.B. No. 2746
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to calculation of interest on sales of public school land,
1-3 recording of patents, the sale of minerals under lands dedicated to
1-4 the permanent school fund, and the commissioner's discretion to
1-5 issue permits to prospect for minerals:
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Section 51.070(a), Natural Resources Code, is
1-8 amended to read as follows:
1-9 (a) Unpaid and delinquent interest on sales of public school
1-10 land shall bear interest at a rate set by the board, <compounded
1-11 annually as it accrues on the date of payment set by the board>
1-12 which interest shall be payable at the times and on such terms as
1-13 are established by the board by rule or by contract.
1-14 SECTION 2. Section 51.244, Natural Resources Code, is
1-15 amended to read as follows:
1-16 (a) When a patent is ready for delivery, the commissioner
1-17 shall send it, together with the check for payment of the fee
1-18 required by Section 51.242 of this code and the name and address of
1-19 the owner or his agent, by <registered> certified mail to the clerk
1-20 of the proper county.
1-21 (b) On receiving the patent, the clerk shall record it and
1-22 shall send the patent, together with the name and address of the
1-23 owner or his agent and the remaining recording fees, by
2-1 <registered> certified mail to the clerk of another proper county
2-2 until the patent has been recorded in each county in which all or
2-3 part of the land is located.
2-4 (c) After the patent is recorded in all the proper counties,
2-5 it shall be sent by <registered> certified mail to the proper
2-6 party.
2-7 SECTION 3. Section 51.054(a), Natural Resources Code, is
2-8 amended to read as follows:
2-9 Sec. 51.054. Reservation of Minerals.
2-10 (a) <Land> Except as otherwise provided in this section,
2-11 land dedicated to the permanent school fund shall be sold subject
2-12 to a reservation set by the <School Land Board> board of not less
2-13 than one-eighth of all sulphur and other mineral substances from
2-14 which sulphur may be derived or produced and not less than
2-15 one-sixteenth of all other minerals to the state; provided, that if
2-16 leasing rights are retained hereunder, the reserved minerals shall
2-17 be subject to lease as provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 52,
2-18 Natural Resources Code, and Subchapters B and E, Chapter 53,
2-19 Natural Resources Code. The mineral reservation to the state shall
2-20 be determined by the board before the land is offered for sale. If
2-21 the board determines that a mineral reservation under this section
2-22 would substantially reduce the value of the surface of land by
2-23 restricting its suitability for agricultural, commercial, or
2-24 residential use, the board may take such action or waive such
2-25 rights as are in the best interest of the permanent school fund,
3-1 including, without limitation, establishing designated exploration
3-2 or drilling sites, waiving surface or other rights of access or
3-3 development, or conveying the land with no mineral reservation.
3-4 SECTION 4. Section 53.013(a), Natural Resources Code, is
3-5 amended to read as follows:
3-6 Sec. 53.013. CONDITIONS OF PERMIT. (a) <After the receipt
3-7 of the rental payment set by the commissioner, the> The
3-8 commissioner <shall> may issue to the first applicant a permit to
3-9 prospect the area designated in the applicant's application for a
3-10 period <of> up to one year from the date the application is filed.
3-11 If the commissioner elects to grant the application for a permit to
3-12 prospect under the provisions of this subchapter, the permit shall
3-13 not be issued until after the land office receives the rental
3-14 payment set by the commissioner.
3-15 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
3-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-20 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-21 passage, and it is so enacted.