Natural Resources Code
TITLE 2. PUBLIC DOMAIN
SUBTITLE A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 11. PROVISIONS GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 11.001. Definitions.
In this chapter:
(1) "State" means the State of Texas.
(2) "Land office" means the General Land Office.
(3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the General Land
Office.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2349, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
SUBCHAPTER B. TERRITORY AND BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE
Sec. 11.011. Vacant and Unappropriated Land.
So that the law relating to the public domain may be brought
together, the following extract is taken from the joint
resolutions of the Congress of the United States relating to the
annexation of Texas to the United States, which was approved June
23, 1845: "Said State, when admitted into the Union, . . .
shall also retain all the vacant and unappropriated lands lying
within its limits, to be applied to the payment of debts and
liabilities of said Republic of Texas, and the residue of said
lands, after discharging said debts and liabilities, to be
disposed of as said State may direct. . . ."
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2349, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.012. Gulfward Boundary of Texas.
(a) The gulfward boundary of the State of Texas is the boundary
determined in and pursuant to the decision of the United States
Supreme Court in Texas v. Louisiana, 426 U.S. 465 (1976).
(b) The State of Texas has full sovereignty over the water, the
beds and shores, and the arms of the Gulf of Mexico within its
boundaries as provided in Subsection (a) of this section, subject
only to the right of the United States to regulate foreign and
interstate commerce under Article I, Section 8 of the United
States Constitution, and the power of the United States over
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction under Article III, Section 2
of the United States Constitution.
(c) The State of Texas owns the water and the beds and shores
of the Gulf of Mexico and the arms of the Gulf of Mexico within
the boundaries provided in this section, including all land which
is covered by the Gulf of Mexico and the arms of the Gulf of
Mexico either at low tide or high tide.
(d) None of the provisions of this section may be construed to
relinquish any dominion, sovereignty, territory, property, or
rights of the State of Texas previously held by the state.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2349, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.013. Gulfward Boundaries of Counties, Cities, Towns, or Villages.
(a) The gulfward boundary of each county located on the
coastline of the Gulf of Mexico is the Three Marine League line
as determined by the United States Supreme Court.
(b) The area in the extended boundaries of the counties as
provided in this section becomes a part of the public free school
land and is subject to the constitutional and statutory
provisions of this state pertaining to the use, distribution,
sale, and lease of public free school land in this state.
(c) The gulfward boundaries of any city, town, or village
created and operating under the general laws of the State of
Texas shall not be established or extended by incorporation or
annexation more than 5,280 feet gulfward beyond the coastline.
The governing body of such a city, town, or village may, by
ordinance, extend the municipal boundaries up to 5,280 feet
gulfward. Any inclusion of territory in any such city, town, or
village more than 5,280 feet gulfward beyond the coastline is
void. The term "coastline" as used in this subsection means the
line of mean low tide along that portion of the coast which is in
direct contact with the open Gulf of Mexico. The term "city,
town, or village created and operating under the general laws of
the State of Texas" shall not include any city operating under a
home-rule charter.
If any such general-law city, town, or village has heretofore
been established by incorporation or attempted incorporation more
than 5,280 feet gulfward beyond the coastline, the corporate
existence of such general-law city, town, or village is in all
things validated, ratified, approved, and confirmed.
The boundaries of such general-law city, town, or village,
including the gulfward boundaries to the extent of 5,280 feet
gulfward beyond the coastline, are in all things validated,
ratified, approved, and confirmed and shall not be held invalid
by reason of the inclusion of more territory than is expressly
authorized in Article 971, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925,
as amended, or by reason of the inclusion of territory other than
that which is intended to be used for strictly town or city
purposes as required by Section 7.002, Local Government Code or
by reason of not constituting a city, town, or village.
Neither this Act nor the general laws nor the special laws of
the state shall have the effect of validating, ratifying,
approving, or confirming the inclusion of territory in any such
general-law city, town, or village more than 5,280 feet gulfward
beyond the coastline.
If for any reason it should be determined by any court of
competent jurisdiction that any such general-law city, town, or
village has heretofore been incorporated in violation of the laws
of the state in effect as of the date of such incorporation or is
invalid, the corporate boundaries of any such general-law city,
town, or village shall be revised and reformed to exclude all
territory more than 5,280 feet gulfward of the coastline.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2349, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Amended by Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2165, ch. 828, Sec. 1, eff.
June 14, 1979; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 24, eff. Sept.
1, 1987.
Sec. 11.0131. Jurisdiction of Home-Rule Cities Over Submerged Lands.
(a) In this section:
(1) "Coastline" has the meaning assigned by Section
11.013(c) of this code.
(2) "State-owned submerged lands" means the state-owned
submerged lands described by Section 11.012 of this code.
(b) The boundary of a home-rule city may not extend into the
gulf outside of an area that is enclosed by:
(1) for home-rule cities which have not prior to May 1,
1983, annexed gulfward from the coastline:
(A) drawing a straight line connecting the two most
remote points on the part of the coastline located in the
city on June 1, 1983, the distance to be measured along the
coastline;
(B) drawing straight lines that extend gulfward for one
marine league from each of the two ends of the line drawn
under Paragraph (A) of Subdivision (1) of this subsection
and that are perpendicular to the line drawn under Paragraph
(A); and
(C) drawing a straight line connecting the two gulfward
ends of the lines drawn under Paragraph (B) of Subdivision
(1) of this subsection; or
(2) for home-rule cities which have, prior to May 1, 1983,
annexed no farther than one marine league gulfward from the
coastline:
(A) drawing a straight line that connects the two most
remote points on the part of the coastline located in the
city on June 1, 1983, and that extends through those two
points as far as necessary to draw the lines described by
Paragraph (B) of Subdivision (2) of this subsection;
(B) drawing two straight lines that extend gulfward for
one marine league, that are perpendicular to the line drawn
under Paragraph (A) of Subdivision (2) of this subsection,
and that each extend through one of the two most remote
points from the coastline on the boundary lines extending
gulfward from the coastline;
(C) drawing a straight line connecting the two gulfward
ends of the lines drawn under Paragraph (B) of Subdivision
(2) of this subsection; or
(3) for home-rule cities which have, prior to May 1, 1983,
annexed farther than one marine league gulfward from the
coastline:
(A) drawing lines following the two current boundary
lines extending gulfward from the coastline for a distance
of one marine league;
(B) drawing a straight line connecting the two gulfward
ends of the lines drawn under Paragraph (A) of Subdivision
(3) of this subsection.
(c) A contract or agreement by which a home-rule city purports
to pledge, directly or indirectly, taxes or other revenue from or
attributable to state-owned submerged lands or other lands
located outside the area described by Subsection (b) of this
section does not create an enforceable right to prevent the
reformation of the city's boundary under Subsection (d) of this
section.
(d) The boundary of a home-rule city is void to the extent that
it violates Subsection (b) of this section, and the boundary is
reformed on the effective date of this Act to exclude the
territory situated outside the area described by Subsection (b)
of this section.
(e) A home-rule city may create industrial districts in the
area that is outside the city limits and that is located in an
area formed in the manner prescribed by Subsection (b) of this
section except that the lines drawn under Paragraph (B) of
Subdivision (1), Paragraph (B) of Subdivision (2) or Paragraph
(A) of Subdivision (3) of Subsection (b) may be extended for no
more than five statute miles instead of one marine league. The
governing body of such city shall have the right, power, and
authority to designate the area described as an industrial
district, as the term is customarily used, and to treat such area
from time to time as such governing body may deem to be in the
best interest of the city. Included in such rights and powers of
the governing body of any city is the right and power to enter
into contracts or agreements with the owner(s) or lessee(s) of
land in such industrial district upon such terms and
considerations as the parties might deem appropriate. The city
shall have no authority to regulate oil and gas exploration,
production, and transportation operations in an industrial
district established pursuant to this Act, but in consideration
of such relinquishment and the relinquishment of other rights
under Section 42.044, Local Government Code, the city is
expressly authorized to require payments of a property owner or
lessee(s) in such industrial district in an amount not to exceed
35 percent of the revenue that would be produced if the city
imposed a property tax in the industrial district. Nothing
herein shall prohibit a city and property owner or lessee(s) from
agreement by contract for payments in a lesser amount.
Added by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 3057, ch. 803, Sec. 1, eff.
Aug. 31, 1981. Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3134, ch.
538, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 1983; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149,
Sec. 38, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 11.014. Land Acquired From Oklahoma.
(a) Land acquired by the state in Oklahoma v. Texas, 272 U.S.
21 (1926) and subsequent orders of the United States Supreme
Court relating to that case, is incorporated into the counties
which are adjacent to the land, and the north and south lines of
the adjacent counties, Lipscomb, Hemphill, Wheeler,
Collingsworth, and Childress, are extended east to the 100th
degree of west longitude as it is fixed in the final judgment.
(b) The land acquired from Oklahoma shall become a part of the
respective counties as though it were originally included in each
county for governmental purposes and shall be assessed for taxes
and have taxes collected under the provisions of existing law.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2350, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.015. Extension of Texas-New Mexico Boundary.
(a) The boundary lines of all counties in the Texas Panhandle
that border on the New Mexico boundary line are extended by
extending the north and south lines of certain counties west to
the Texas-New Mexico line, which was established by the survey of
John H. Clark in 1859 and later retraced to completion on
September 26, 1911, by the Boundary Commission composed of
Francis M. Cockrell and Sam R. Scott, under authority of S.J.R.
No. 124, of the 61st Congress, Third Session.
(b) The boundary line is referred to as the 103rd Meridian and
is described as follows:
Beginning at the point where the one hundred and third
degree of longitude west from Greenwich intersects the parallel
of thirty-six degrees and thirty Minutes North latitude, as
determined and fixed by John H. Clark, the Commissioner on the
part of the United States in the years eighteen hundred and
fifty-nine and eighteen hundred and sixty; thence South with
the line run by said Clark for the said one hundred and third
degree of longitude to the Thirty-second parallel of North
latitude to the point marked by said Clark as the Southeast
corner of New Mexico; and thence West with the thirty-second
degree of North latitude as determined by said Clark to the Rio
Grande.
(c) Copies of the deeds certified by the custodian of records
in each of the counties in New Mexico in which the land is
located and other instruments of title are admissible as evidence
in suits filed in this state to the same extent as the original
deeds or certified copies of them.
(d) The county clerk of each of the counties in Texas in which
the land is now located may file the certified copies of deeds
and other instruments affecting title in the same manner as the
original deeds could have been filed.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2350, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.016. Land Acquired From Mexico in 1933.
(a) The State of Texas recognizes the provisions of 54 Stat. 21
(1940) and accepts as part of its territory and assumes civil and
criminal jurisdiction over all of certain parcels or tracts of
land lying adjacent to the territory of the State of Texas which
were acquired by the United States under a convention between the
United States of America and the United Mexican States signed
February 1, 1933.
(b) The parcels and tracts of land acquired by the state
constitute a part of the respective counties within whose
boundaries they are located by extending the county boundaries to
the Rio Grande and are subject to the civil and criminal
jurisdiction of these counties.
(c) Any parcels or tracts, parts of which are located in two
separate counties, shall be surveyed by the county surveyors of
both counties, who shall determine the portion of the land
located in their respective counties and shall file the field
notes of the land in their offices together with a map of the
parcels or tracts in the map records of the county.
(d) For the purpose of determining the boundaries, the boundary
lines of the parcels and tracts established by the American
Section of the International Boundary Commission, United States
and Mexico, shall be accepted as the true boundaries.
(e) Any parcels or tracts of land that are adjacent to or
contiguous to a water improvement district or a conservation and
reclamation district may be included within the district by a
written contract entered into between the owner of the land and
the board of directors of the district. The contract shall
specifically describe the land to be included in the district,
the character of water service to be furnished to the land, and
the terms and conditions on which the land is to be included in
the district and shall be acknowledged in the manner required for
the acknowledgment of deeds and recorded in the deed records of
the county in which the land is located.
(f) None of the provisions of this section may be construed to
affect the ownership of the land.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2350, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.017. Chamizal Area.
(a) The State of Texas accepts as part of its territory and
assumes civil and criminal jurisdiction over the tract of land
lying adjacent to the State of Texas which was acquired by the
United States of America from the United Mexican States under the
Convention for the Solution of the Problem of the Chamizal,
signed August 29, 1963, and ceded to Texas by Act of Congress.
(b) The territory shall be a part of El Paso County.
(c) None of the provisions of this section affect the ownership
of the land.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2351, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.018. Cession of Certain El Paso Land.
(a) To facilitate the project for rectification of the Rio
Grande in the El Paso-Juarez Valley under the convention between
the United States of America and the United Mexican States signed
February 1, 1933, without cost to the state, all right, title,
and interest of the State of Texas in and to the bed and banks of
the Rio Grande in El Paso County and Hudspeth County which may be
necessary or expedient in the construction of the project is
ceded to the United States of America.
(b) This cession is made on the express condition that the
State of Texas retain concurrent jurisdiction with the United
States of America over every portion of land ceded which remains
within the territorial limits of the United States after the
project is completed so that process may be executed in the same
manner and with the same effect as before the cession took place.
(c) None of the provisions of this section may be construed as
a cession or relinquishment of any rights which the State of
Texas, its citizens, or any property owners have in the water of
the Rio Grande, its use, or access to it.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2351, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
SUBCHAPTER C. SPECIAL FUNDS
Sec. 11.041. Permanent School Fund.
(a) In addition to land and minerals granted to the permanent
school fund under the constitution and other laws of this state,
the permanent school fund shall include:
(1) the mineral estate in river beds and channels;
(2) the mineral estate in areas within tidewater limits,
including islands, lakes, bays, and the bed of the sea which
belong to the state; and
(3) the arms and the beds and shores of the Gulf of Mexico within
the boundary of Texas.
(b) The land and minerals dedicated to the permanent school fund
shall be managed as provided by law.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2352, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.042. Asylum Fund.
The 400,000 acres of land set apart for the various asylums in
equal portions of 100,000 acres for each by act of the
legislature, approved August 30, 1856, is recognized and set
apart to provide a permanent fund for the support, maintenance,
and improvement of the asylums.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2352, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.043. University Fund.
After payment of the amount due to the permanent school fund
for proceeds from the sale of the portion of the public land set
aside for payment of the public debt by act of the legislature in
1879 and payment directed to be made to the permanent school and
university funds by act of the legislature in 1883, the remainder
of the land not to exceed two million acres or the proceeds from
their sale shall be divided in half and one of the halves shall
constitute a permanent endowment fund for The University of Texas
System.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2352, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
SUBCHAPTER D. REGULATION OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
Sec. 11.071. Recovery of Value of Minerals and Timber.
(a) At least semiannually, the commissioner and the county
attorney of each county shall report to the attorney general the
name and address of each person who has taken any minerals or
other property of value from public land or who has cut, used,
destroyed, sold, or otherwise appropriated any timber from public
land and shall report any other data within their knowledge. The
county attorneys also shall assist the attorney general relating
to these matters in any manner he requests.
(b) The attorney general shall file suit in any county in which
all or part of the injury occurred or in the county in which the
defendant resides to recover the value of the property, or with
the consent of the governor, the attorney general may compromise
and settle any of these liabilities with or without suit.
(c) The attorney general shall pay all amounts collected or
received by him to the permanent funds to which they belong.
(d) From amounts recovered by suit, the attorney general shall
receive a fee of 10 percent and the county attorney shall receive
a fee of five percent, and from amounts recovered by compromise,
the attorney general and county attorney shall each receive
one-half of the fees to be taxed against the defendant as costs.
No county attorney may receive compensation from cases not
reported by him to the attorney general.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by law, no person may use for
his benefit or cut or remove any mineral, plant, or anything of
value located on land belonging to the permanent school fund
without proper authority from the commissioner.
(f) In addition to any other penalties provided by law, a person
violating the provisions of Subsection (e) of this section shall
be liable for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each
thing of value cut, used, or removed. All civil penalties
collected under this subsection shall be credited to the
permanent school fund.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2352, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 208, Sec. 9, eff. Aug. 31,
1987.
Sec. 11.072. Fences With and Without Gates.
(a) A person who has used any of the pasture land by joining
fences or otherwise and who builds or maintains more than three
miles lineal measure of fences running in the same general
direction without a gate in it shall be fined not less than $200
nor more than $1,000.
(b) The gate in the fence described in Subsection (a) of this
section shall be at least 10 feet wide and shall not be locked or
kept closed so that it obstructs free ingress or egress.
(c) The provisions of this section do not apply to persons who
have previously settled on land not their own, if the enclosure
is 200 acres or less and if the principal pursuit of the person
on the land is agriculture.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.073. Definition of Fencing.
In Sections 11.074 and 11.075 of this code, "fencing" means the
erection of any structure of wood, wire, wood and wire, or any
other material, whether it encloses land on all sides or only one
or more sides, which is intended to prevent the passage of
cattle, horses, mules, sheep, goats, or hogs.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.074. Herding and Line-Riding.
(a) No owner of stock, manager, agent, employee, or servant may
fence, use, occupy, or appropriate by herding or line-riding any
portion of the public land of the state or land which belongs to
the public schools or asylums unless he obtains a lease for the
land from the proper authority.
(b) Any owner of stock or his manager, agent, employee, or
servant who fences, uses, occupies, or appropriates by herding or
line-riding any portion of the land covered by Subsection (a) of
this section without a lease for the land, on conviction, shall
be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and confined in
the county jail for not less than three months nor more than two
years. Each day for which a violation continues constitutes a
separate offense.
(c) Prosecution under this section may take place in the county
in which a portion of the land is located or to which the county
may be attached for judicial purposes or in Travis County.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.075. Appropriation of Land by Fencing.
(a) Unless a lease for the land is obtained, any appropriation
of public land of the state or land which belongs to the public
schools and asylums by fencing or by enclosures consisting partly
of fencing and partly of natural obstacles or impediments to the
passage of livestock is an unlawful appropriation of land which
is punishable by the penalty provided in Subsection (b) of
Section 11.074 of this code.
(b) Each day that the violation continues constitutes a
separate offense.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.076. Unlawful Enclosures.
(a) If the governor is credibly informed that any portion of
the public land or the land which belongs to any of the special
land funds has been enclosed or that fences have been erected on
the land in violation of law, he may direct the attorney general
to institute suit in the name of the state for the recovery of
the land, damages, and fees.
(b) The fee for the attorney general may not be less than $10
if the amount recovered is less than $100, but if the amount of
recovery is over $100, the fee shall be 10 percent paid by the
defendant for the use and occupancy of the land and the removal
of the enclosure and fences.
(c) The damages may not be less than five cents an acre a year
for the period of occupancy.
(d) In a suit brought under this section, the court shall issue
a writ of sequestration directed to any sheriff in the state
requiring him to take into actual custody the land and any
property on the land which belongs to the person who is
unlawfully occupying the land and to hold the land and other
property until the court issues further orders. The writ may be
executed by the sheriff to whom it is delivered, and he shall
proceed to execute the writ.
(e) The defendant in the suit may replevy the property as
provided in other cases by executing the bond required by law.
(f) An appeal from a suit brought under this section has
precedence over other cases.
(g) If judgment is recovered by the state in the suit, the
court shall order the enclosure or fences removed and shall
charge the costs of the suit to the defendant. Property on the
land which belongs to the defendant and which is not exempt from
execution may be used to pay costs and damages in addition to the
personal liability of the defendant.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2353, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 2644, ch. 707, Sec. 4(32),
eff. Aug. 31, 1981.
Sec. 11.077. Suit Against Adverse Claimant.
If any public land is held, occupied, or claimed adversely to
the state or to any fund of the state by any person or if land is
forfeited to the state for any reason, the attorney general shall
file suit for the land, for rent on the land, and to recover
damages to the land.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2354, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.078. Venue.
A suit brought under the provisions of Section 11.076 or
Section 11.077 of this code shall be brought in the county in
which the land or any part of the land is located.
Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2354, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1977.
Sec. 11.079. Access to Land.
(a) The state, a permittee of the state, or a lessee or
assignee of state land or minerals dedicated to the permanent
school fund may exercise the power of eminent domain to obtain an
easement whenever it is necessary to enter or cross the land of
another person for the purpose of obtaining access to any land or
interest in land that is owned by the state and that is dedicated
by law to the permanent school fund.
(b) If the state or such permittee, lessee, or assignee and the
private owner of the land through which an easement for access is
sought cannot agree on the place or the terms for the easement to
obtain access, either the state or such permittee, lessee, or
assignee may, in order to provide that access, exercise this
power of eminent domain in the manner provided by Chapter 21,
Property Code.
(c) Easements acquired under this section are declared to be
for the sole use and benefit of the state, its permittee, lessee,
or assignee and may be used only to the extent necessary to
achieve the required access or for the purposes for which the
permit, lease, or assignment was granted. An easement so
acquired is hereby dedicated to the permanent school fund.
(d) If the state desires to utilize the power of eminent domain
to obtain an easement under this section for access to a tract of
land, the attorney general shall institute condemnation
proceedings as provided under Chapter 21, Property Code. If
agreement regarding an easement for access cannot be reached with
a private landowner, a permittee of the state or a lessee or
assignee of land or minerals dedicated to the permanent school
fund desiring to utilize this section to obtain an easement for
access to a tract of land must institute the condemnation
proceedings authorized by this section.
(e) If the easement acquired under this section is taken solely
to benefit a tract of land in which the permanent school fund
owns only a mineral interest, the easement shall not be permanent
but shall be limited to the term that the state minerals are held
under a valid prospect permit or lease. The easement will
terminate when the prospect permit and lease expires or
terminates.
(f) This section is cumulative of the provisions of Subtitles C
and D, Title 2, Natural Resources Code, relating to access to
land and to the power of eminent domain. The special fund
accounts established under Sections 51.401, 52.297, and 53.155 of
this code may be used to compensate landowners for an easement to
obtain access under this section.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1061, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 31,
1987.
Sec. 11.080. Damages to Persons and Personalty.
When access to any land is obtained by the state under Section
11.079 of this code, the state shall be liable to the property
owner to the same extent that any private easement holder would
be held liable for the use of access across privately owned
property.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1061, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 31,
1987.
Sec. 11.081. Rules.
The General Land Office of the State of Texas shall promulgate
and enforce rules governing the construction, maintenance, and
use of roads created by access granted under Section 11.079 of
this code.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1061, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 31,
1987.
Sec. 11.082. Notice to School Land Board.
(a) A state agency or political subdivision may not formally
take any action that may affect state land dedicated to the
permanent school fund without first giving notice of the action
to the board. Notice of the proposed action shall be delivered
by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the
deputy commissioner of the asset management division of the
General Land Office on or before the state agency's or political
subdivision's formal initiation of the action.
(b) The notice must:
(1) describe the proposed action;
(2) state the location of the permanent school fund land to
be affected; and
(3) describe any foreseeable impact or effect of the state
agency's or political subdivision's action on the permanent
school fund land.
(c) An action taken by a state agency or political subdivision
without the notice required by Subsection (a) of this section
that affects state land dedicated to the permanent school fund is
not effective as to permanent school fund land affected by the
action.
(d) In this section:
(1) "Action" means:
(A) formal adoption of an agency or political
subdivision policy;
(B) final adoption of an administrative rule;
(C) issuance of findings of fact or law;
(D) issuance of an administrative order in an
administrative hearing; or
(E) adoption of a local ordinance or resolution.
(2) "Board" means the School Land Board.
(3) "Initiation" means the commencement of the first phase
of public consideration of a formal policy, rule, or ordinance,
or a hearing undertaken by a state agency or political
subdivision that is intended to result in final adoption of a
formal policy, rule, or ordinance.
(4) "Political subdivision" means a county, public school
district, or special-purpose district or authority.
(5) "State agency" means:
(A) a department, commission, board, office, bureau,
council, or other agency in the executive branch of state
government other than the Texas Department of Transportation
and the Railroad Commission of Texas; or
(B) a university system or an institution of higher
education as defined in Section 61.003, Education Code.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 991, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 199