By:  Chavez                                                       H.B. No. 3333


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sale or transfer of interest of real property to certain federally recognized Indian tribes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Sections 202.021(b) and (c), Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows: (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), real property shall be transferred or sold with the following priorities: (1) to a governmental entity with the authority to condemn the property; [or] (2) to abutting or adjoining landowners, including a federally recognized Indian tribe whose reservation is located within counties of this state bordering the Republic of Mexico and that is not subject to the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act; or (3) to the general public. (c) A highway right-of-way shall be transferred or sold with the following priorities: (1) to a governmental entity with the authority to condemn the property; (2) to abutting or adjoining landowners; [or] (3) to a federally recognized Indian tribe whose reservation is located within counties of this state bordering the Republic of Mexico and that is not subject to the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act; or (4) to the general public. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.