By Saunders H.B. No. 2756
74R2754 SMH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to reporting ownership of mineral interests severed from
1-3 the surface estate and the vesting of title by judicial proceeding
1-4 to certain abandoned mineral interests.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Title 4, Property Code, is amended by adding
1-7 Chapter 29 to read as follows:
1-8 CHAPTER 29. VESTING OF TITLE TO
1-9 ABANDONED MINERAL INTEREST IN SURFACE OWNER
1-10 Sec. 29.001. Applicability. This chapter does not apply to
1-11 a mineral interest owned by a governmental entity.
1-12 Sec. 29.002. Definitions. In this chapter:
1-13 (1) "Abandonment" means the termination of the use of
1-14 a mineral interest by the owner of the interest.
1-15 (2) "Interest in the surface" means a fee interest,
1-16 whether conditional or not, from which a mineral interest has been
1-17 severed.
1-18 (3) "Mineral interest" means an interest in oil, gas,
1-19 or other minerals in place that is severed from the ownership of an
1-20 interest in the surface and includes a fee interest, whether
1-21 conditional or not, life estate, estate for years, remainder
1-22 interest, reversion, possibility of reverter, right of entry,
1-23 executory interest, leasehold interest, royalty interest, executive
1-24 right, or other present possessory interest, future interest,
2-1 equitable interest, or concurrent ownership interest.
2-2 (4) "Surface owner" means a person who has concurrent
2-3 or sole legal right or title to a present interest in real property
2-4 from which a mineral interest has been severed, except the holder
2-5 of a leasehold interest or an estate for years.
2-6 (5) "Use of a mineral interest" means:
2-7 (A) production of minerals under the interest;
2-8 (B) conduct of operations for injection,
2-9 withdrawal, storage, or disposal of water, gas, or other fluid
2-10 substances in connection with the interest;
2-11 (C) payment by the interest's owner of rentals
2-12 or royalties for the purpose of delaying or enjoying the use of the
2-13 interest;
2-14 (D) unitization or pooling of the interest for
2-15 production purposes with another tract on which the use is carried
2-16 out;
2-17 (E) production from a common vein or seam, in
2-18 the case of coal or other solid minerals, by the owners of two or
2-19 more mineral interests;
2-20 (F) payment of taxes on the interest by the
2-21 owner; or
2-22 (G) any other use authorized by the instrument
2-23 creating the interest.
2-24 Sec. 29.003. Report of Ownership of Mineral Interest. (a)
2-25 A person who owns a mineral interest on September 1, 1995, must,
2-26 before September 1, 1996, file a report with the county clerk of
2-27 each county in which part of the interest is located. A person who
3-1 acquires or creates a mineral interest after September 1, 1996,
3-2 must file a report with the county clerk of each county in which
3-3 part of the interest is located before the first anniversary of the
3-4 date the person acquires or creates the interest.
3-5 (b) The report must be subscribed and acknowledged in the
3-6 same manner as required for a deed and must contain:
3-7 (1) the name of the person claiming the interest;
3-8 (2) the date the person acquired or created the
3-9 interest;
3-10 (3) a legal description of the interest; and
3-11 (4) a general description of the nature of the
3-12 interest.
3-13 Sec. 29.004. Recording of Reports. (a) A county clerk may
3-14 charge the same filing fee for recording a report under Section
3-15 29.003 as authorized for recording a deed.
3-16 (b) Each county clerk shall maintain a public record of
3-17 reports filed under Section 29.003 separately from other records in
3-18 the clerk's office. The clerk shall maintain the record in the
3-19 same manner as required for deeds.
3-20 Sec. 29.005. Presumption of Abandonment on Failure to
3-21 Report. (a) An owner of a mineral interest who fails to file a
3-22 report as required by Section 29.003 is presumed to have abandoned
3-23 the interest, and title to the interest is presumed to belong to
3-24 the surface owner.
3-25 (b) A mineral interest is not abandoned if the owner of the
3-26 interest files a report under Section 29.003 before the court
3-27 renders a judgment under Section 29.006 declaring the interest
4-1 abandoned.
4-2 Sec. 29.006. Judicial Proceeding. (a) A surface owner may
4-3 file a petition for declaratory judgment in the district court of
4-4 the county in which the real property is located, requesting the
4-5 court to declare a mineral interest abandoned.
4-6 (b) Except as provided by Section 29.005, the court may
4-7 declare a mineral interest abandoned only if the abandonment has
4-8 lasted for 10 years or more. The 10-year period does not begin to
4-9 run before September 1, 1995.
4-10 Sec. 29.007. Notice of Proceeding. In an action for
4-11 declaratory judgment under Section 29.006, citation shall be issued
4-12 to the last known owner or owners of the abandoned mineral interest
4-13 as shown by the official records of the county clerk of the county
4-14 in which the property is located and shall be served in accordance
4-15 with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
4-16 Sec. 29.008. Vesting of Title. (a) If a court declares a
4-17 mineral interest abandoned, title to the interest vests in the
4-18 owner or owners of the surface interest from which it was severed,
4-19 with each owner taking the same share and the same type of
4-20 ownership in the mineral interest as the person has in the surface.
4-21 (b) A person who acquires title to a mineral interest in an
4-22 abandonment proceeding under this chapter may record, in the same
4-23 manner as a deed, a certified copy of the judgment as evidence of
4-24 title.
4-25 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
4-26 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-27 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.