This section requires the board to set and determine mineral reservations when school-fund land is sold, and it lets the board waive or adjust those reservations if needed to protect the permanent school fund.
Sec. 51.054. RESERVATION OF MINERALS. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, land dedicated to the permanent school fund shall be sold subject to a reservation set by the board of not less than one-eighth of all sulphur and other mineral substances from which sulphur may be derived or produced and not less than one-sixteenth of all other minerals to the state; provided, that if leasing rights are retained hereunder, the reserved minerals shall be subject to lease as provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 52, Natural Resources Code, and Subchapters B and E, Chapter 53, Natural Resources Code. The mineral reservation to the state shall be determined by the board before the land is offered for sale. If the board determines that a mineral reservation under this section would substantially reduce the value of the surface of land by restricting its suitability for agricultural, commercial, or residential use, the board may take such action or waive such rights as are in the best interest of the permanent school fund, including, without limitation, establishing designated exploration or drilling sites, waiving surface or other rights of access or development, or conveying the land with no mineral reservation. (b) Land that is set apart for the various asylum funds shall be sold with the oil, gas, coal, and all other minerals reserved to the fund to which the land belongs. (c) The provisions of this section do not apply to oil and gas sold from public school land covered by Subchapter F, Chapter 52, of this code. (d) The provisions of this section do not apply to vacancies covered by Section 51.201 of this code. (e) An oil, gas, or other mineral lease on land in which the state reserves a mineral or royalty interest is not effective until a certified copy of the recorded lease is filed in the General Land Office. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2420, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5243, ch. 965, Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 1983; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 923, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 26, 1985; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 354, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 28, 1995; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 280, Sec. 8, eff. June 18, 2003.