If the soil owner cannot be located, an affidavit and notice process can lead to the land being leased; the owner may lose revenue rights unless they respond within the stated timeframes.
Sec. 52.186. LEASE OF CERTAIN MINERALS WHEN OWNER OF THE SOIL UNAVAILABLE. (a) If an owner of the soil or of any undivided interest therein of any land subject to the terms of this subchapter or Subchapter C, Chapter 53, of this code is found to be unavailable under Subsection (b) of this section to act as the state's agent for leasing oil and gas or any mineral leased under Subchapter C, Chapter 53, of this code, such land or undivided interest therein shall be subject to lease for the applicable minerals under the procedure provided by Subchapter B of this chapter for the leasing of unsold surveyed public school lands. The substantive provisions of Subchapter B of this chapter and Subchapters D and E, Chapter 32, of this code shall apply to a lease of land subject to lease under this subchapter. The substantive provisions of Subchapter E, Chapter 53, of this code and Subchapters D and E, Chapter 32, of this code shall apply to a lease of land subject to lease under Subchapter C, Chapter 53, of this code. Subject to the provisions of Subsection (b)(4) of this section, the owner of the soil shall not be entitled to any revenue generated by a lease executed pursuant to this section. (b) An owner of the soil or of an undivided interest therein may be found to be unavailable to act as the state's agent for leasing oil and gas or any mineral leased under Subchapter C, Chapter 53, of this code, if the following conditions have been satisfied: (1) Any party who has been unable to locate an owner of any interest, including an undivided interest, in the surface of land subject to this subchapter or Subchapter C, Chapter 53, of this code must submit a written affidavit to the commissioner stating that the party (hereafter called affiant) has been unable to locate said owner. This affidavit must specify the legal description of the land which the affiant has been unable to lease and the extent of the interest and type of mineral which the affiant has been unable to lease. In the affidavit, the affiant must also attest to the fact that he diligently searched the county clerk's records and the tax assessor's records to determine the name, identity, and last known place of residence of the owner of the soil who could lease the interest that the affiant has been unable to lease. The affiant must further attest to the results of his search of such records and to any other steps taken to locate the owner of the soil. (2) The commissioner shall provide notice to any owner of the soil identified by the affiant in Subdivision (1) of this subsection of the consequences of a finding that such owner of the soil is unavailable to act as the state's leasing agent. Such notice shall be in writing to the owner of the soil's last known address and shall also be provided by publication in the manner provided by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure for citation by publication in actions against unknown owners or claimants of an interest in land. (3) If the owner of the soil has not contacted the commissioner within 30 days after the completion of all notice procedures provided under Subdivision (2) of this subsection, then the owner of the soil will be deemed unavailable to act as the state's leasing agent and the School Land Board may lease the state's mineral interest under Subsection (a) of this section. However, if prior to the execution of a lease under Subsection (a) the owner of the soil notifies the commissioner in writing that he can and will act as the state's agent, then the owner of the soil's ability to act as a leasing agent under this subchapter or under Subchapter C, Chapter 53, of this code shall be reinstated. (4) If the owner of the soil or of any undivided interest therein appears within two years after the execution of a lease on his land pursuant to this section, he shall be entitled to one-half of all royalties theretofore paid or thereafter to be paid under such lease, reduced in the proportion which his interest bears to the whole and undivided surface estate, upon showing to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the information submitted under Subsection (b)(1) was inaccurate or that a reasonably diligent search would have resulted in his being located. (c) Upon the termination or expiration of a lease for oil and gas or any mineral leased under Subchapter C, Chapter 53, of this code executed pursuant to this section, the rights of the owner of the soil to act under this subchapter shall be ipso facto reinstated. Added by Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 860, ch. 384, Sec. 1, eff. June 6, 1979. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 912, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 31, 1987; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 897, Sec. 37, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.