The board may grant or lease certain easements on department land, but usually only for fair and adequate consideration, and grants or leases must reserve minerals and may include reasonable conditions.
Sec. 496.004. EASEMENTS. (a) The board may grant or lease permanent or temporary right-of-way easements on department land for: (1) public highways, roads and streets, and ditches; (2) electric lines and pipelines, including necessary wires, pipes, poles, and other equipment used to transmit, convey, or distribute water, electricity, gas, oil, or similar substances or commodities; (3) electrical substations; or (4) the provision of utilities for the operation of facilities of the department and roadways for access to facilities of the department. (b) The board may not grant or lease an easement unless the board receives fair and adequate consideration. However, the board may without consideration grant a state highway easement to the Texas Department of Transportation, a roadway easement to a county for connecting roads between state highways, easements to utility providers for utilities to serve facilities of the department, and roadway easements to a city or a county to provide roadways for facilities of the department. (c) A grant or lease must contain a full reservation of minerals in and under the land. The board may impose other fair and reasonable conditions, covenants, and provisions. (d) The department shall deposit money received from a grant or lease of easements and money received from damages to department land in the general revenue fund to the credit of a special account. Money received under this section may be used only for the payment of operating expenses of the department. Sections 403.094 and 403.095 do not apply to the dedication of money under this section. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 212, Sec. 2.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Renumbered from Sec. 495.004 and amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 10.01(a), eff. Aug. 26, 1991. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 508, Sec. 1, eff. June 13, 1991; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 22(37), eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, Sec. 1.021, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.