OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Baeoom Gl~ar 

Coxmlutloner, Geaerel Lsnd Gtrlos 

Austin, Texas 

13, 10S9v you request 

8ha abovs rererred to 

aquast es r0iiow6: 

t0r 0r sin01air to this 0rrf00 dataa 

, they desire to know if a persilt oould 

9 t&s Mate authorizlne theis to eonroadway eoroes 68B. whlah is an tbs aoast 

tholr wall loaatlon on 688 thus giving 

thm'an outlst to their preprrty. fn oux da 

letter 0r 3cqeiembar 67, we enalosed copier of our 

aorrsapondenaa with sinalair in aoumotion with 

thin 3Jiatter. 3sversl of our mineral laws oppsar 

to et least lmpl that every aeslntanoe posslbla 

shell be rendere i the owmma at Ststa leases fn 

developing tho ppopert 

to 

Bawwar, this 18 tha 

first instanob or whia f sm edvSaed where 8ha 

State hma been aalled an tbo gfaat suoh parzait 0s 
Honorable 6asaom Gilee, Page 2 

req,ueatad by Slnalelr. Pill you kindly advise 

this d epartmeat if, in your opinion, we would 

be authorized in lsauing suoh permit to Ave 

Sinclair aocess to this Traot 088 aaross Trsot 

665. 

“This is to request that you disregard our 

letter of September 27, 1939, and to substitute this 

request for an opinion in lieu thereof.” 

Your question cells for our opinion as to whether 

or not the ComMsaloner of the Land Wfioe, under the faots 

and olroumstanoes related in your letter, has the authority 

to Issue a permit to Ylnolalr Prairie 011 Company authorizing 

that oompany to areot’a roadway aoros6 State owned submerged 

tract No.666. 

Seotlon 23 of Artlale 4 of the Texas Constitution 

creates the offloe OS the Dommlssloner OS the General Land 

Orfloe, but presorlbes no spaoliio duties of suoh otilaer 

other than that he shall perform “Etaoh duties as are or 

map be required of him by law”. 

Artlole 52151, R. C. S., 1925, presariber tha 

general duties of the Commlmelonor of the General Land 

Offlae in the rollowing lan@age: 

Vhe Commissioner shall superintend, eontrol and dfr8ot the official oonduot of all subordlnata ofl’laera of the General Land Offloe, and 

execute and perfo~rm all eots and things touching 

or respaotlne the publla land of this State or 

ri@ts of individuals In relation thereto, as may 

be required by law, and make and enforoe suitable 

rul,es oonslstent therewith. He shall plve lnformation to the Governor and ~egislaturs aona6rnlng 

the pus110 lands, or ths General Land OU’iae, 

when required.* 

The statutes In force at the time Sinolair Preirie 

Oil Company secured Its lease on submerfied traot 683 in 

Nueoee Bay did not speolfloally empower the Land COnmissioner 

to issue a permit of the nature now requested by Sinolafr 

Prairie Oil Company. It Is a well settled prtnolple in 

this State that publia ofrlasrs possess only suoh pWerS 

as are 8Xpresdy OOeiWr8d UpOn them by IsW Or are x- 
423 

Honorable Baaoom Glles, Page 3 

d aesaaril lmplled from the powers 80 conferred. They 

laws. 

ei3allY perform acts not authorized by exlatlng 

See 34 Tex. Jur., 

MoCowan, 

See. 67, 440; Galleghan v. 

90 S. Vi. 319 (Clv. App. Writ of Error Ref.); 

liarlingen Independent Sohool Diatrlot v. C. R. Page & 

Bra., 48 S. W. (2) 983 (Conan. App.). 

Section 8 of Chapter 271, Aota 1931, whlah 

was In efteot et the time of the leasing of tract 688, 

provides: 

*AI1 Islands, salt water lakes, bays, inlets, marshes and reera owned by the State 

within tide water limits, and that portion of' 

the Gulf of Mexico within the jurladlotlon of 

Texas, and all unsold publio free aahool land, 

both surveyed end unaurveyad, shall be aubjeat 

to leaee by the Commlaaloner to en9 person, firm 

or corporation for the production of the minerals 

except Gold, allver,'pletlnum, olnnabar and other 

mete&s, that may be therein or thereunder, ln 

aaoordanoe with the provlalone or thla Act and 

aubdlvlalon 2, Chapter 4, Title 86, Eevlsed 

Statutes of 1925, relating to leasing public 

areas, Insofar as same la not in oonfliat herewith." 

Subdivision 2 of Chapter 4, Title 86, R. C. s. 

1925,:.(Artlolea 5353-5366, Inolualve, R. C. S. 1925), together with Chapter 271, Acta 1931, whloh aonfer upon the 

Lend Oommlaaloner pr?YJer and authority to lease the area 

in question and prescribe the prooedure to be followed 

In making leases do not, in our opinion, either expressly 

or by necessary lmplloatlon, authorize the Land Commissioner 

to issue a permit of the kind now requested by Slnolalr 

Prairie Of1 Company under the facts submitted by you. 

Accordingly, we answer your question by statlng that, in our opinion, under the hots Submitted In 

E 

our letter and the file aocompanying the asme, the 

ornmlasloner of the General Land Office has no authority 

to 1~5~0 a permit to Sinolalr Prairie Oil Oompany to 

construct a roadway aoroas submere.ed tract 685. 

In oonoluaion, we wish to make olaar that in 

this opinion we are not passing upon the question Of the 
Honorable Bssoom Glles, Page 4 

right of the Sinolafr Prairie Cl1 Company to a ray o? 

neoeseity over tract 685. Oar opinion is confined to 

a holding that under existing statutes the Land Co+ 

nissloner is not authorized to Issue a permit of the 

kind requested. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORHEY Cl!NEHAL OF TEXAS 

HltKrBT 

, -. 

rbert