VERNON'S TEXAS CIVIL STATUTES
TITLE 86. LANDS--PUBLIC
CHAPTER 3. SURFACE AND TIMBER RIGHTS
Art. 5311b. Validating sales
In cases where public free school and asylum land has been
advertised as being subject to forfeiture for non-payment of
interest and to be forfeited and canceled and come on the market for
sale at some future sale date and such land was declared forfeited
and the sale canceled on the records of the General Land Office and
sale awards issued upon applications filed at such sale date, and
said sale award has been held by the Supreme Court to be void and all
other sale awards which may be void or voidable or the titles to
which may have become defective from any cause, are hereby
validated, and when the said land shall be fully paid for together
with payment of all fees it shall be patented; provided, in cases
where the sale award of the land advertised as aforesaid has not
stood one year the owner of said land at date of forfeiture shall
have the right to apply to the General Land Office for a
re-instatement of said former sale upon the payment of all past due
interest at any time within six months after the taking effect of
this Act.
Acts 1925, p. 332, 39th Leg., ch. 130, Sec. 4.
Art. 5326i. Reinstatement of purchases in Hutchinson county
Sec. 1. In cases where lands belonging to the Public Free School
Funds located in Hutchinson County, Texas, stand forfeited on the
records of the General Land Office, and where said forfeitures have
been made by the Commissioner of the General Land Office after
September 1, 1942, and prior to February 1, 1943, and where such
lands have been used or occupied by the original purchaser of said
lands from the State of Texas for a continuous period of
twenty-seven years or more, the said forfeitures may be set aside
and the original purchases re-instated by the said Commissioner
upon the payment of all moneys due and owing on such land, including
interest and principal; providing that such re-instatement shall
not be effective as to any intervening rights of third parties.
Sec. 2. In cases where lands belonging to the Public Free School
Fund located in Hardeman County stand forfeited on the records of
the General Land Office and said forfeitures having been made by the
Commissioner of the General Land Office prior to September 25,
1943, and after January 1, 1943, and where the lands have been
improved by the present occupant or user to the extent of One
Hundred ($100.00) Dollars or more, the said forfeitures may be set
aside and the original purchases re-instated by the said
Commissioner upon payment of all moneys due and owing on such land,
including interest and principal; providing that such
reinstatement shall not be effective as to any intervening rights
of third parties.
Sec. 3. If any section, sub-section, clause, sentence, or provision
of this Act, for any reason, be held to be invalid or
unconstitutional, it shall not affect in any wise the remaining
provisions of this Act not so held, and all that portion not so held
invalid shall remain in full force and effect; it being the express
intention of the Legislature to enact such Act without respect to
such section, sub-section, clause, sentence, or provision, or a
part thereof, so held to be invalid or unconstitutional.
Acts 1950, 51st Leg., 1st C.S., p. 84, ch. 21.
Art. 5330a. Regulating sale and patenting of lands formerly part of
Oklahoma; Special Land Board abolished; powers and duties of
General Land Office
Land Offered to Claimants; Consideration
Sec. 1. All of the lands along the 100th degree of west longitude on
the East side of the Panhandle of the State of Texas and the west
side of the State of Oklahoma, found to be in the State of Texas by
the final decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered
March 17th, 1930, in the case of the State of Oklahoma vs. the State
of Texas, the United States of America, Intervenor, theretofore
claimed by Oklahoma but now located in Lipscomb, Hemphill, Wheeler,
Collingsworth and Childress Counties, are hereby offered for sale
to the claimants of said lands as reflected by the Deed Records or
other public records of the State of Oklahoma and under the laws of
the State of Oklahoma at the time of the rendition of said decree by
the Supreme Court of the United States, and said lands shall be sold
to such claimants as would have then owned said lands had the same
been a part of Oklahoma, or who have acquired or may hereafter
acquire title by foreclosure of a line valid and enforceable under
the laws of Oklahoma at the time of the rendition of such decree.
The consideration for such sale shall be the sum of One ($1.00)
Dollar per acre.
Special Land Board Abolished; Transfer of Rights and Duties
Sec. 2. The rights and duties of the Special Land Board are
transferred to the General Land Office, and the Special Land Board
is abolished. The General Land Office shall have the power to
ascertain the bona fide claimants of said lands as shown by the
public records and under the laws of the State of Oklahoma, to make
such surveys and investigations as may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Act, and to adopt such rules, regulations and
forms as it may deem expedient.
Application; fee; Investigation and Award
Sec. 3. Any claimant to any portion of said lands who would have had
title to same had it been located in Oklahoma, may make application
to the Commissioner of the General Land Office to purchase the land
claimed. Such application shall be accompanied by field notes of
the tract claimed, together with a filing fee of One ($1.00) Dollar,
an examination fee of Fifteen (.15¢) Cents per acre, and with such
other information as the Land Board may require to be given,
including certified copies of all muniments of title under the laws
of Oklahoma. Upon receipt of such application the Land Board shall
cause an investigation to be made as to the status of the public
records of the State of Oklahoma, and in event it is found that the
applicant would have been the owner of said land at the time of the
decree of the Supreme Court of the United States had the same been
located in Oklahoma, or holds title by reason of foreclosure of a
lien valid and enforceable under the laws of Oklahoma at the time of
such decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, such
application shall be approved, and said land awarded to said
applicant. Within sixty days after such award such applicant shall
pay to the Commissioner of the General Land Office the sum of One
($1.00) Dollar per acre for said land, and upon receipt of such
payment the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall issue to
the claimant a patent to said lands in such form as the Land
Commissioner shall prescribe.
Sale to Lien Holder
Sec. 4. In event the claimant fails or refuses to purchase same or
to apply for a patent as provided for herein, then the holder of a
lien against any of said lands may make such purchase or apply for
such patent on behalf of said owner and pay the consideration
provided for, and all fees and expenses, and such amounts when paid
by such lien holder shall be added to and become a part of the total
amount secured by the lien. A failure on the part of the said owner
to make purchase, or application for patent, for a period of four
months after the last publication by said Land Board as provided in
this Act shall constitute such failure to apply as will warrant the
lien holder in making such application to purchase. The patent
issued upon application and purchase of a lien holder shall be in
the name of the person, persons or company who would have owned said
lands had the same been a part of Oklahoma.
Recording Deeds, Mortgages, Etc.; Evidence; Force and Effect
Sec. 5. All deeds, mortgages, contracts and instruments of every
nature, or in case of loss of any such instrument a certified copy
from the record in the Oklahoma County may be so used, affecting the
title to said lands, or that would have formed a part of the chain of
title to the same under the laws of the State of Oklahoma, and now of
record on the public records of the State of Oklahoma, may be filed
and recorded in the county in Texas in which the land is now
located. All deeds, mortgages, conveyances and all other
instruments which would be valid under the laws of the State of
Oklahoma and admissible in evidence under the laws of said State,
shall be valid in Texas and shall be admissible in evidence in any
court in this State, and copies of said instruments certified as
provided by the laws of Oklahoma, as well as the originals thereof,
may be introduced in evidence in the same manner as if executed with
the formalities required by the laws of the State of Texas, and as
if certified as required by the laws of this State. All such deeds,
deeds of trust, mortgages, conveyances and contracts, affecting the
title to any of said lands shall be given the same force and effect
in the State of Texas as same would have been given in the State of
Oklahoma, and all bona fide liens, incumbrances, or debentures, now
outstanding and unsatisfied, and existing against said lands at the
time of the rendition of said decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States are here expressly validated, save and except as to
purchase money due to the State of Oklahoma, or the United States,
and except taxes, general or special, due to the State of Oklahoma,
or any city, county, school district or other political subdivision
of the State of Oklahoma. In determining whether any lien against
said land shall be enforced, the period of time intervening between
the rendition of the decision by the Supreme Court of the United
States and the issuance of a patent to the land involved by the
State of Texas, shall not be computed in applying the Statutes of
Limitation of either the State of Oklahoma or the State of Texas,
and this Act shall be liberally construed in the enforcement of
liens against said land, it being the intention of the Legislature
that all sections and parts hereof are independent of each other,
and if any section or part hereof be held unconstitutional such
invalid section shall not affect the remaining sections or parts
hereof.
Deposit and Use of Fees
Sec. 6. The examination fees provided for in Section 3 of this Act
shall be deposited with the Comptroller in a special fund to the
credit of the Land Board created in Section 2 hereof. All such
moneys so paid into the State Treasury are hereby specifically
appropriated to said Land Board for the purpose of defraying the
authorized and necessary expenses incident to the enforcement of
this Act incurred by said Board in determining the identity of
persons entitled to the benefits of this Act. The Comptroller
shall, from time to time, upon requisition of the Commissioner of
the General Land Office, draw warrants upon the State Treasury for
the amounts specified in such requisition, not exceeding, however,
the amount of such fund on deposit at the time of the making of any
requisition therefor. Any sum remaining in such fund after all
expenses have been paid shall be transferred to the Permanent
School Fund. The amount of money accruing to the State of Texas as
consideration for the sale of the land as provided for in Section 3
hereof shall be placed to the credit of the Permanent School Fund.
Sec. 6 amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1423, Sec. 21.54, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Determination by Board; Proclamation; Time for Application
Sec. 7. The Land Board, upon the passage of this Act, is authorized
to determine when such lands are available for purchase, and said
Board shall by proper proclamation give notice to all persons
desiring to file an application to purchase said land, by causing
such proclamation to be published once each week for two
consecutive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in each
county in which any part of said lands may be located, and by filing
a copy of such proclamation with the County Clerk of each such
county. Applications to purchase such lands shall be filed with the
Commissioner of the General Land Office within four months from and
after the last publication, and if said claims are not filed within
said time an additional filing fee of Ten (10¢) Cents per acre shall
be required. No land shall be patented or sold under the provisions
of this Act unless claimed and applied for within twelve months
after the publication of said proclamation, and the proclamation
shall so state.
Acts 1931, 42nd Leg., p. 311, ch. 185. Amended by Acts 1941, 47th
Leg., p. 242, ch. 170, Sec. 1; Acts 1951, 52nd Leg., p. 298, ch.
177, Sec. 1.
Art. 5330b. Sale of public lands along western Oklahoma and eastern
Texas boundary authorized
From and after the effective date of this Act all public lands in
this State situate along the western boundary of the State of
Oklahoma and the eastern boundary of the State of Texas and along
the 100th degree of west longitude, found to be in the State of
Texas by final decree of the Supreme Court of the United States
entered March 17, 1930, in the case of the State of Oklahoma vs. the
State of Texas, the United States of America, intervenor,
theretofore claimed by Oklahoma but now located in Lipscomb,
Hemphill, Wheeler, Collingsworth and Childress Counties, are to be
offered for sale in accordance with the provisions of Article
5330A, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas Acts 1931, Forty-second
Legislature, Page 311, Chapter 185.
Acts 1939, 46th Leg., p. 478, Sec. 1.
Art. 5337-2. Execution in favor of Nueces County Water Control and
Improvement District No. 4 for water supply
Sec. 1. The Commissioner of the General Land Office is hereby
authorized and empowered, acting for and on behalf of the State of
Texas, to execute any and all grants of easements in, on, and across
all unsold Public Free School Lands, and in, on, and across all
islands, salt water lakes, bays, inlets, marshes, and reefs owned
by the state within the tidewater limits, and in, on, and across
that portion of the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of Texas,
to Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District Number 4
for right-of-ways for pipe lines and for the installation of all
works, facilities, and appliances, in any and all manners incident
to, helpful or necessary for securing, storing, processing,
treating, transporting, and selling an adequate supply of fresh
water; provided, however, said Nueces County Water Control and
Improvement District Number 4 shall pay the sum of Ten Dollars
($10.00) as consideration for the granting of each easement.
Sec. 2. The Commissioner of the General Land Office may grant the
easements provided in Section 1 hereof for such term and shall cover
only such area which in the judgment of the Commissioner may be
required to carry out the purposes for which said District was
created, and, if he deems it necessary, the Commissioner of the
General Land Office may grant such easements perpetually.
Sec. 3. During the existence of the easements authorized and
granted pursuant hereto the officers and employees, contractors and
sub-contractors of the Nueces County Water Control and Improvement
District Number 4 are hereby authorized to go in and upon the lands
described herein to construct such pipe lines and to install all
works, facilities, appliances, and to repair and to remove same
from time to time.
Sec. 4. All easements granted under Section 1 of this Act shall be
on forms approved by the Attorney General.
Sec. 5. All income received by the Land Commissioner under this Act
from Public School Lands shall be credited to the Permanent School
Fund.
Sec. 6. The powers and authority herein conferred and vested in the
Commissioner of the General Land Office shall be cumulative of all
powers and authority heretofore and hereafter vested in the
Commissioner of the General Land Office under the Constitution and
laws of this state.
Acts 1959, 56th Leg., p. 688, ch. 314.
Sec. 5 amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 328, Sec. 10.
