reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
TX Nat Res Code § 52.133 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter D. Royalties|Section 52.133. Payment of Royalty in Kind

Sec. 52.133.  PAYMENT OF ROYALTY IN KIND.  (a)  Each oil or gas lease covering land leased by the board, by a board for lease, or by the surface owner of land under which the state owns the minerals, commonly referred to as Relinquishment Act land, which shall be subject to approval by the commissioner before it is effective, shall include a provision granting the board authorized to lease the land or the owner of the soil of Relinquishment Act land and the commissioner authority to take their royalty in kind, and the commissioner and the boards for lease may include any other reasonable provisions that are not inconsistent with this section.(b)  The option to take the royalty in kind may be exercised at any time or from time to time on not less than 60 days' notice to the holder of the lease.(c)  The commissioner, the owner of the soil under Subchapter F, or the commissioner acting on the behalf of and at the direction of an owner of the soil under Subchapter F, the board, or a board for lease, or at the direction of the Board for Lease of University Lands, may negotiate and execute contracts or any other instruments or agreements necessary to dispose of or enhance their portion of the royalty taken in kind, including contracts for sale, marketing, purchase, transportation, including purchase and exchange agreements necessary to transport gas, and storage and including insurance contracts or other agreements, to secure or guarantee payment.(d)  The commissioner, the owner of the soil under Subchapter F, or the commissioner acting on behalf of and at the direction of an owner of the soil under Subchapter F, the board, or a board for lease may negotiate and execute contracts or any other instruments or agreements necessary to convert that portion of the royalty taken in kind into other forms of energy, other than electricity.(e)  This section shall not be construed to surrender or in any way affect the right of the state or the owner of the soil under existing or future leases to receive royalty from its lessee on the basis of the market value of the production from state public land or land under the provisions of Subchapter F of this chapter.(f)  For the purposes of this section, royalty taken in kind includes oil or gas sold or marketed by the commissioner that has been produced on state mineral lands or from the first three miles of federal waters adjacent to the state boundaries, also known as the 8g zone.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2455, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.  Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 897, Sec. 31, eff. Sept. 1, 1993;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 427, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1995;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 49, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.Amended by: Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 53 (H.B. 2263), Sec. 1, eff. May 17, 2019.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.134 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter D. Royalties|Section 52.134. Filing Contracts and Agreements

Sec. 52.134.  FILING CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS.  Copies of contracts for the sale or processing of gas and subsequent agreements and amendments to those contracts shall be filed in the land office within 30 days after the contracts, agreements, or amendments are made.  These contracts and agreements received by the land office shall be held in confidence by the land office unless otherwise authorized by the lessee.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2456, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.136 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter D. Royalties|Section 52.136. Lien

Sec. 52.136.  LIEN.  (a)  The state has a statutory first lien on all oil and gas produced on any lease area to secure payment of unpaid royalty and other amounts due.(b)  By acceptance of a lease, the lessee grants to the state an express contractual lien on and security interest in all oil and gas in and extracted from the area covered by the lease, all proceeds which may accrue to the lessee from the sale of the oil and gas, whether the proceeds are held by the lessee or another person, and all fixtures on and improvements to the area covered by the lease used in connection with the production or processing of the oil and gas, to secure the payment of royalties and other amounts due or to become due under the lease or this subchapter and to secure payment of damages or loss that the state may suffer by reason of the lessee's breach of a covenant or condition of the lease, whether express or implied.(c)  The statutory and contractual liens and security interests described in this section may be foreclosed with or without court proceedings in the manner provided under Chapter 9, Business & Commerce Code.  The state may require the lessee to execute and record instruments reasonably necessary to acknowledge, attach, or perfect the liens.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2456, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1324, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1998.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.137 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter D. Royalties|Section 52.137. Suit After Protest

Sec. 52.137.  SUIT AFTER PROTEST.  (a)  If a lessee, who has received an audit deficiency assessment and has waived the right to request a hearing before the commissioner or who is required by final order of the commissioner following a hearing to pay additional royalties, contends that such audit deficiency assessment is unlawful or that the commissioner may not legally demand or collect such royalties, and the lessee intends to bring suit under this section, the lessee must submit a protest in writing stating fully and in detail each reason why it contends such royalty is not due.  Such protest shall be made to the commissioner within 30 days of the date of receipt of the audit billing notice or of the date of receipt of the final order of the commissioner following a hearing, as the case may be.  All such mailings shall be by certified mail, return receipt requested.(b)  Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 3 , Sec. 10(2), eff. September 1, 2015.(c)  A suit under this section is barred unless brought in the district courts of Travis County within 90 days after the date of the protest or within 90 days after the date of the final order of the commissioner following hearing, whichever is later.(d)  The issues to be determined in a suit under this section are limited to those arising from the reasons stated in the written protest as originally filed.(e)  The trial of the issues in a suit under this section is de novo and the substantial evidence rule will not apply.|Added by Acts 1986, 69th Leg., 3rd C.S., ch. 5, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 30, 1986.  Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 948, Sec. 25, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1423, Sec. 14.13, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 328, Sec. 7.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 3 (S.B. 903), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2015.Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 3 (S.B. 903), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2015.Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 3 (S.B. 903), Sec. 10(2), eff. September 1, 2015.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.139 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter D. Royalties|Section 52.139. Limitations on Audit Assessments

Sec. 52.139.  LIMITATIONS ON AUDIT ASSESSMENTS.  (a)  If an audit billing notice has been issued under Section 52.135 and any outstanding audit deficiency assessment has been paid either:(1)  voluntarily;(2)  after a hearing was requested and the commissioner has entered a final non-appealable order concerning the assessment; or(3)  after a final non-appealable judgment has been rendered by a court after filing of a suit under Section 52.137, then the commissioner may not issue another deficiency assessment which covers the same issues, time periods, and leases as those covered by the previous assessment.(b)  If the commissioner audits a lessee's books and records under Section 52.135 of this code the commissioner shall notify the lessee upon completion of his findings.  If the commissioner notifies the lessee that no additional royalties are due, the commissioner may not again audit the books and records covering the same issues, time periods, and leases involved in the first audit.(c)  This section shall not preclude the commissioner from conducting subsequent audits or examinations covering the same issues, time periods, and leases in cases where fraud exists or where the first audit deficiency assessment results only from an examination of documents, records, or reports submitted to the commissioner and not from a complete audit of the books, accounts, reports, or other records of a lessee.|Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 948, Sec. 26, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 3 (S.B. 903), Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2015.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.140 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter D. Royalties|Section 52.140. Audit Information Confidential

Sec. 52.140.  AUDIT INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL.  (a)  All information secured, derived, or obtained during the course of an inspection or examination of books, accounts, reports, or other records, as provided in Section 52.135 of this code, is confidential and may not be used publicly, opened for public inspection, or disclosed, except for information set forth in a lien filed under this chapter and except as permitted under Subsection (d) of this section.(b)  All information made confidential in this section shall not be subject to subpoena directed to the commissioner, the attorney general, or the governor except in a judicial or administrative proceeding in which this state is a party.(c)  The commissioner or the attorney general may use information made confidential by the provisions of this section and contracts made confidential by Section 52.134 of this code to enforce any provisions of this chapter or may authorize their use in judicial or administrative proceedings in which this state is a party.(d)  This section does not prohibit:(1)  the delivery of information made confidential by this section to the lessee or its successor, receiver, executor, guarantor, administrator, assignee, or representative;(2)  the publication of statistics classified to prevent the identification of a particular audit or items in a particular audit;(3)  the release of information which is otherwise available to the public;  or(4)  the release of information concerning the amount of royalty assessed as a result of an examination conducted under Section 52.135 of this code or the release of other information which would have been properly included in reports required under Section 52.131 of this code.|Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 948, Sec. 27, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.151 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter E. Unitization of Leased Areas|Section 52.151. Authorization to Operate Areas as Units

Sec. 52.151.  AUTHORIZATION TO OPERATE AREAS AS UNITS.  (a)  The commissioner, on behalf of the state or any fund that belongs to the state, may execute agreements that provide for operating areas as a unit for the exploration, development, and production of oil or gas or both and to commit to the agreements:(1)  the royalty interests in oil, gas, or both oil and gas, reserved to the state or any fund of the state by law, in a patent, in a contract of sale, or under the terms of an oil and gas lease legally executed by an official, board, agent, agency, or authority of the state;  or(2)  the free royalty interests, whether leased or unleased, reserved to the state pursuant to Section 51.201 or 51.054 of this code.(b)  Before executing an agreement authorized by Subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner must find that the agreement is in the best interest of the state.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2456, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.  Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 948, Sec. 28, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;  Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 897, Sec. 32, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.152 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter E. Unitization of Leased Areas|Section 52.152. Approval of Agreements

Sec. 52.152.  APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS.  (a)  An agreement must be approved by the board and executed by the commissioner to be effective if the agreement commits:(1)  a royalty interest in land belonging to the permanent school fund or the asylum funds, in riverbeds, inland lakes, and channels, or in an area within tidewater limits, including islands, lakes, bays, inlets, marshes, reefs, and the bed of the sea;  or(2)  the free royalty interests, whether leased or unleased, reserved to the state pursuant to Section 51.201 or 51.054 of this code.(b)  An owner of the soil who is subject to Subchapter F  of this chapter may grant to a lessee prior authority to pool or unitize the interest of the owner in a lease executed under that subchapter.  For the provisions of an agreement to bind the interest of an owner of the soil who is subject to Subchapter F of this chapter and who has not granted the lessee prior authorization to pool or unitize the owner's interest in an oil and gas lease executed under that subchapter, the agreement must be executed by the owner of the soil.(c)  An agreement that commits any interest in any land not listed in Subsection (a) of this section must be approved by the board, official, agent, agency, or authority of the state which has the authority to lease or to approve the lease of the land for oil and gas and must be executed by the commissioner to be effective.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2457, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.  Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 948, Sec. 29, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;  Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 897, Sec. 33, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.153 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter E. Unitization of Leased Areas|Section 52.153. Provisions of Agreement

Sec. 52.153.  PROVISIONS OF AGREEMENT.  (a)  An agreement executed under this subchapter may include the following provisions:(1)  that operations incident to drilling a well on any portion of a unit shall be considered for all purposes to be conduct of the operations on each tract in the unit;(2)  that production allocated by the agreement to each tract included in the unit when produced shall be considered for all purposes to have been production from the tract;(3)  that the interest reserved to or provided for the state or any of its funds on production from any tract included in the unit shall be paid only on that portion of the production from the unit that is allocated to the tract under the agreement;  and(4)  that each lease included in the unit shall remain in effect as long as the agreement remains in effect and that on termination of the agreement each lease shall continue in effect under the terms and conditions of the lease.(b)  The agreement may include any other terms and conditions the commissioner or any board, official, agent, agency, or authority of the state that has the authority to lease or to approve a lease of the land for oil and gas may consider to be in the best interest of the state.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2457, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.  Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 897, Sec. 34, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.154 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter E. Unitization of Leased Areas|Section 52.154. Ratifications and Other Agreements

Sec. 52.154.  RATIFICATIONS AND OTHER AGREEMENTS.  (a)  The board may approve, by rule or order, a ratification or other agreement that includes in the benefits of production a mineral or royalty interest in land belonging to the permanent school fund or the asylum funds.(b)  An agreement approved by the board under this section must be executed by the commissioner to be effective.(c)  A ratification or other agreement that commits any of the interests listed in Subsection (a) of this section in land not belonging to the permanent school fund or the asylum funds must be approved by the board, official, agent, agency, or authority of the state that has the authority to lease or to approve the lease of the land for oil and gas and must be executed by the commissioner to be effective.|Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 897, Sec. 35, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.171 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter F. Relinquishment|Section 52.171. School and Asylum Lands

Sec. 52.171.  SCHOOL AND ASYLUM LANDS.  The state hereby constitutes the owner of the soil its agent for the purposes herein named, and in consideration therefor, relinquishes and vests in the owner of the soil an undivided fifteen-sixteenths of all oil and gas which has been undeveloped and the value of the same that may be upon and within the surveyed and unsurveyed public free school land and asylum lands and portions of such surveys sold with a mineral classification or mineral reservation, subject to the terms of this law.  The remaining undivided portion of said oil and gas and its value is hereby reserved for the use of and benefit of the public school fund and the several asylum funds.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2457, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.172 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter F. Relinquishment|Section 52.172. Sale and Lease by Agent

Sec. 52.172.  SALE AND LEASE BY AGENT.  The owner of said land is hereby authorized to sell or lease to any person, firm, or corporation the oil and gas that may be thereon or therein upon such terms and conditions as such owner may deem best, subject only to the provisions hereof, and he may have a second lien thereon to secure the payment of any sum due him.  All leases and sales so made shall be assignable.  No oil or gas rights shall be sold or leased hereunder for a delay rental during the primary term of less than 10 cents per acre per year plus royalty, and in case of production, the lessee or purchaser shall pay the state the undivided one-sixteenth of the value of the oil and gas reserved herein, and like amounts to the owner of the soil.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2457, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.  Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 624, Sec. 44, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.174 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter F. Relinquishment|Section 52.174. Failure to Drill Offset

Sec. 52.174.  FAILURE TO DRILL OFFSET.  If such persons fail or refuse to begin the drilling of such well or wells within the time required or to prosecute such drilling as necessary for the purpose intended herein, any lease of such land executed under the provisions of this law shall be subject to forfeiture by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and he shall forfeit same when he is sufficiently informed of the facts which authorize a forfeiture, and shall, on the wrapper containing the papers relating to such lease, write and sign officially words declaring such forfeiture, and the lease and all rights thereunder shall thereupon be forfeited together with all payments made thereunder.  Notice of such action shall forthwith be mailed to the persons shown by the records of the General Land Office to be the owners of the surface and the owners of the forfeited lease at their last known addresses as shown by the records of said office.  Upon proper showing by the owner of the forfeited lease within 30 days after the declaration of forfeiture, the lease may, at the discretion of the commissioner and upon the terms of this subchapter and such other terms as he may prescribe, be reinstated.  If such lease be not reinstated within such time, or if the commissioner finds that any unleased land included in this law is being drained, the commissioner shall notify the person at his last known address, as shown by records of the General Land Office to be the surface owner, that the oil and gas is subject to sale or lease by the owner of the soil in accordance with this law, and that drilling is required.  If such owner shall fail or refuse to obtain the commencement of such a well within 100 days after the date of such notice, the relinquishment herein granted and the rights acquired thereunder shall be subject to forfeiture by the commissioner by endorsing on the file wrapper containing the papers relating to the sale of the land, words indicating such forfeiture, and such rights shall thereupon be forfeited, and notice of such forfeiture shall be forwarded to the county clerk of the county wherein the land is situated.  The rights of any owner of the soil which may have ipso facto terminated under prior laws shall be reinstated and are hereby reinstated, together with all rights acquired thereunder except where rights of third parties may have intervened.  All rights herein reinstated shall be subject to the terms and provisions of this subchapter.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2458, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.|
TX Nat Res Code § 52.175 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Natural Resources Code|Title 2 - Public Domain|Subtitle D - Disposition of the Public Domain|Chapter 52 - Oil and Gas|Subchapter F. Relinquishment|Section 52.175. Lease of Oil and Gas After Forfeiture

Sec. 52.175.  LEASE OF OIL AND GAS AFTER FORFEITURE.  When the relinquishment or agency right herein granted has been forfeited, the land shall be subject to lease for oil and gas under the procedure provided by law 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 the oil and gas lease.  No oil and gas lease shall be executed which provides for a royalty of less than one-eighth, payable to the state for the benefit of the permanent free school fund.  The owner of the soil shall not be entitled to any revenue generated by a lease executed pursuant to this section.  Upon the termination or expiration of a lease so executed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the rights of the surface owner to act under this law shall be ipso facto reinstated.|Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2459, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.  Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 912, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 31, 1987;  Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 897, Sec. 36, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.|