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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Grandfather's Blind, Limited, and Donner Properties |
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allege that: |
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(1) Grandfather's Blind, Limited, owns the surface of |
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a body of land in Refugio County, Texas, that is estimated to |
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contain approximately 3,800 acres and that is commonly known as |
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"Negley Ranch," "Swan Lake Ranch," "Duncan Point," and other names; |
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(2) all the surface of this property was patented by |
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the State of Texas into private ownership through 13 patents or |
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awards, dating from 1861 through 1956, that together state a |
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collective patented area in Refugio County of 3,827.37 acres and |
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included inland lake waters; |
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(3) in five of these patents, dated 1946 or 1952, the |
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state reserved as a free royalty a one-sixteenth royalty on all oil |
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and gas production and a one-eighth royalty on sulphur and other |
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minerals, and in three of these patents, dated 1956, the state |
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reserved as a free royalty one-eighth of all oil, gas, sulphur, and |
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other minerals; |
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(4) since the issuance of the patents, various |
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landowners, mineral owners, and others have relied in good faith on |
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these patents, including the free royalty mineral reservations |
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stated therein, and with the exception of those free royalty |
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mineral reservations, all the minerals within the boundaries |
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described by each of the 13 patents are today owned by Donner |
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Properties, except for a portion owned by ConocoPhillips; |
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(5) the potential value of the property for future |
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mineral development is currently believed to be minimal; |
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(6) the property, which is mostly undeveloped, offers |
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a wildlife habitat having importance publicly recognized by the |
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United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the |
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Interior, and the principal use of the property is recreation and |
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enjoyment of its natural beauty; |
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(7) of the property conveyed by the 13 patents, |
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approximately 70 percent was conveyed by means of, and is owned |
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under, patents whose boundaries are defined entirely or almost |
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entirely by metes and bounds calls of course and distance and not by |
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calls to any shore or waters or other natural monument; |
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(8) of the property conveyed by the 13 patents, |
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approximately 30 percent was conveyed by means of, and is owned |
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under, patents that have at least one boundary defined by a call to |
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the shore of Hynes Bay, San Antonio Bay, or Guadalupe Bayou; |
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(9) under timeless rules of coastal geography law, the |
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shores of Hynes Bay, San Antonio Bay, and Guadalupe Bayou are |
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continuous, can be easily located and surveyed, and for survey and |
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boundary purposes exist today in substantially the same locations, |
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without gaps, as their locations reflected by the maps, surveys, |
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and property descriptions filed in the General Land Office in |
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connection with the patents; |
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(10) under Section 18.033, Civil Practice and Remedies |
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Code, the maps, surveys, and property descriptions filed in the |
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General Land Office in connection with each of the 13 patents are |
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presumed to accurately depict the boundaries between the patents |
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and the adjacent state-owned lands submerged beneath Hynes Bay, San |
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Antonio Bay, and Guadalupe Bayou; |
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(11) all waters situated within the footprint of the |
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13 patents, being neither navigable in fact nor navigable in law, |
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are not in any part public water but are private water in which the |
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public has no right to boat or fish, and the right of the owners to |
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exclude the public from those waters is not subject to any public |
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easement or piscatory rights but is absolute and unqualified; |
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(12) for decades, private owners have paid property |
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taxes on all of the property conveyed by the 13 patents, including |
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the land covered by water; |
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(13) the General Land Office has never assigned state |
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lease tract numbers to any property located within the recorded |
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boundaries of any of the 13 patents but has created state lease |
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tracts adjacent to the property whose boundaries follow, adjoin, |
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respect, and agree with the private boundaries as shown on the maps, |
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surveys, and property descriptions filed in the General Land Office |
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in connection with the 13 patents, and the electronic "Interactive |
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Land/Lease Mapping System" published and maintained on the Internet |
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by the General Land Office also shows boundaries that agree with the |
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boundaries established by the patents; |
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(14) over time, land within the 13 patents has eroded |
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or accreted in various places, and as a result, some private waters |
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over the 13 patents are not physically separated by land from public |
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waters of adjacent bays; |
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(15) members of the public, especially during hunting |
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season, have invaded and disturbed the owners' peaceful enjoyment |
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of their property, creating an unreasonable risk of breaches of the |
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peace, potential premises liability issues, and other problems |
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inconsistent with this state's system of property rights; |
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(16) the public confusion and resulting risk of injury |
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and harm can be dispelled, and the peace restored, only by a court |
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decree fixing and determining with certainty the location of the |
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boundary that separates the land and private water owned by the |
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owners under the 13 patents from the state-owned submerged land and |
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public water of Hynes Bay, San Antonio Bay, and Guadalupe Bayou that |
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surround the property on three sides, and also determining the |
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rights of the owners to exclude the public from the land and the |
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water within the bounds of the 13 patents; |
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(17) Grandfather's Blind, Limited, has attempted to |
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affirm the boundaries originally established by the 13 patents |
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issued by the General Land Office and has been told by the General |
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Land Office that it no longer owns the land covered by water; |
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(18) the owners do not seek recovery of monetary |
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damages from the state, but seek only to obtain the determination of |
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their boundary and determination of their rights through a court |
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order that: |
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(A) fixes and determines the boundary that |
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separates the land privately owned by the owners under the 13 |
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patents from the adjacent land owned by the state; |
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(B) decrees that the owners have the absolute and |
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exclusive right to use and enjoy all of the land within the outer |
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perimeter of the 13 patents and to exclude the public therefrom, |
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including land that is covered by water; |
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(C) decrees that with the exception of those |
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certain mineral interests reserved to the state as a free royalty |
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under the express terms of some of the patents, all of the minerals |
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within the outer perimeter of the boundary established by those |
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patents, including minerals lying under lands covered by water, are |
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owned according to the terms of the conveyances made under the |
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patents; and |
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(D) decrees that the owners have the absolute and |
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exclusive right to use and enjoy all of the water within the outer |
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perimeter of the 13 patents, which is private water that is not |
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navigable and to exclude the public from boating on, fishing in, or |
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otherwise using that water; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That |
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Grandfather's Blind, Limited, and Donner Properties are granted |
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permission to sue the State of Texas, the General Land Office, and |
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the School Land Board subject to Chapter 107, Civil Practice and |
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Remedies Code; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the suit authorized by this resolution may be |
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brought in Refugio or Travis County; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the relief awarded in the suit authorized by |
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this resolution is limited to the relief authorized under Chapter |
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37, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, or Chapter 22, Property Code, |
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or both; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the commissioner of the General Land Office, |
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and the chairman of the School Land Board, both offices currently |
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being held by the same person, be served process as provided by |
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Subdivision (3), Subsection (a), Section 107.002, Civil Practice |
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and Remedies Code. |