An owner of the soil may take an assignment of a lease, but the assignment must follow notice, approval, and payment rules.
Sec. 52.188. ASSIGNMENTS TO THE OWNER OF THE SOIL. (a) An owner of the soil may acquire by assignment a lease which he executed on land subject to the Relinquishment Act, Subchapter F, Chapter 52 of this code; however, such an assignment is subject to the terms of this section. (b) When an owner of the soil seeks an assignment under Subsection (a) of this section, both the current lessee and the owner of the soil should notify the General Land Office of the proposed assignment. This notification must include proof of the consideration to be paid for the assignment. The land commissioner may then approve the assignment; if the commissioner does approve it, then both the current lessee and the owner of the soil will receive written notice of this approval. Such written approval shall also become part of the General Land Office's mineral file on this land. (c) A lease which has been assigned to an owner of the soil without the advance approval of the land commissioner is void as of the time of assignment. In addition, the land commissioner may also forfeit the agency powers of the owner of the soil, and the state will execute a subsequent lease pursuant to Section 52.175 of this code. (d) Whenever an owner of the soil is assigned a Relinquishment Act lease that he executed, he shall be accountable to the state as follows: (1) If the lease was assigned to the owner of the soil without the advance approval of the commissioner and the owner of the soil subsequently assigns the lease, the owner of the soil must pay the state two times the entire consideration that he received upon subsequent assignment of the lease. Payment of this money in no way alters the fact that the lease is void under Subsection (c) of this section. (2) When an assignment to an owner of the soil has the commissioner's advance approval and the owner of the soil subsequently assigns the lease, the owner of the soil must pay the state one-half of his profit on the subsequent assignment. His profit is the difference between what he paid for his assignment and what he received for the subsequent assignment. (e) Under this section, an assignment will be treated as if it were made to the owner of the soil when: (1) the assignee is a nominee of the owner of the soil; (2) the assignee is a corporation or subsidiary in which the owner of the soil is a principal stockholder or is an employee of such a corporation or subsidiary; (3) the assignee is a partnership in which the owner of the soil is a partner or is an employee of such a partnership; (4) the assignee is a principal stockholder or employee of the corporation which is the owner of the soil; (5) the assignee is a partner or employee in a partnership which is the owner of the soil; (6) the assignee is a fiduciary for the owner of the soil, including but not limited to a guardian, trustee, executor, administrator, receiver, or conservator for the owner of the soil; or (7) the assignee is a family member of the owner of the soil or related to the owner of the soil by marriage, blood, or adoption. Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 624, Sec. 45, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Renumbered from Sec. 52.187 and amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 912, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 31, 1987.