OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS **AUSTIN**

HonorableBaeoom 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 authorizlnetheis 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 the owmma at Ststa leases fn

i developingtho ppopert to Bawwar, this 18 tha first instanobor whia f sm edvSaed where 8ha State hma been aalled an tbo gfaat suoh parzait

0sHonorable 6asaom Gilee, Page 2

req,ueatad

by Slnalelr. Pill you kindly advise thisd epartmeat if, in your opinion,we would be authorizedin lsauingsuoh permit to Ave Sinclair aocess to this Traot 088 aaross Trsot 665. “This is to request that you disregardour letter of September 27, 1939, and to substitutethis request for an opinion in lieu thereof.”
Your questioncells 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 YlnolalrPrairie 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 DommlsslonerOS the General Land Orfloe,but presorlbesno spaoliioduties 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, presaribertha general duties of the Commlmelonor of the General Land Offlae in the rollowing lan@age:

Vhe Commissionershall superintend,eontrol and dfr8ot the official oonduot of all subordlnata ofl’laera

of the GeneralLand Offloe, and execute and perfo~rm all eots and things touching or respaotlnethe publla land of this State or ri@ts of individualsIn relation thereto, as may be requiredby law, and make and enforoe suitable rul,es oonslstenttherewith. He shall plve lnformation to the Governor and ~egislatursaona6rnlng the pus110 lands, or ths GeneralLand 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 requestedby Sinolafr Prairie Oil Company. It Is a well settledprtnolple in this State that publia ofrlasrspossess only suoh pWerS as are **8Xpresdy** OOeiWr8d **UpOn** them by IsW Or are x-

### 423

HonorableBaaoom Glles, Page 3


# d aesaaril lmplledfrom the powers 80 conferred. They laws. ei3allY

perform acts not authorizedby exlatlng See 34 Tex. Jur., MoCowan, See. 67, 440; Galleghanv.

90 S. Vi.

319 (Clv.App. **Writ** of Error Ref.); liarlingen

Independent

Sohool Diatrlotv. 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 surveyedend unaurveyad,shall be aubjeat to leaee by the Commlaalonerto en9 person, firm or corporationfor the productionof the minerals except Gold, allver,'pletlnum, olnnabar and other mete&s, that may be therein or thereunder,ln aaoordanoe

with the provlaloneor thla Act and aubdlvlalon2, Chapter 4, Title 86, Eevlsed Statutes of 1925, relating to leasing public areas, Insofaras same la not in oonfliatherewith." Subdivision2 of Chapter 4, Title 86, R. C. s. 1925,:.(Artlolea

5353-5366,Inolualve, R. C. S. 1925), togetherwith Chapter 271, Acta 1931,whloh aonfer upon the Lend Oommlaaloner

pr?YJer and authorityto lease the area in question and prescribethe prooedureto be followed In making leases do not, in our opinion, either expressly or by necessary lmplloatlon, authorizethe Land Commissioner to issue a permit of the kind now requestedby Slnolalr Prairie Of1 Companyunder the facts submittedby you.

Accordingly,

we answer your questionby 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 SinolalrPrairie Oil Oompany to constructa roadway aoroas submere.ed tract 685.
In oonoluaion,

we wish to make olaar that in this opinionwe are not passing upon the questionOf theHonorableBssoom Glles, Page 4

right of the SinolafrPrairie Cl1 Company to a ray o? neoeseityover tract 685. Oar opinion is confinedto a holding that under existingstatutesthe Land Co+ nissloner is not authorizedto Issue a permit of the kind requested.
Yours very truly **ATTORHEY**

Cl!NEHAL

OF TEXAS

HltKrBT 

# , -. **rbert**