By: Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.B. No. 2610

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 2017; May 8, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Transportation; May 17, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 17, 2017, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the term for a lease of land owned by certain navigation districts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 60.039, Water Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the [The] commission may lease the surface of land for not more than 50 years by the entry of an order on the minutes of the commission and the execution of a lease in the manner provided by the original order. The lease may not be extended beyond the 50-year period by renewal, extension, or otherwise.

(c) This subsection applies only to a district that operates a port in this state that is wholly located in a county that borders the Gulf of Mexico and that is adjacent to a county that contains an international border and borders the Gulf of Mexico. The district may lease the surface of land for not more than 99 years or may extend a lease to a period not to exceed 99 years only if:

(1) the lease conveys an interest in the surface of the land for residential purposes only;

(2) at the time the lease will be entered into or extended, the district has not less than 50 leases in effect that convey an interest in the land surface for residential purposes only; and

(3) any part of the land owned by the district is subdivided into lots intended for residential use.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.

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