reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:92. Contracts; reservation of mineral rights

RS 41:92 - Contracts; reservation of mineral rights
The grants shall be evidenced by contracts and may be upon such terms and conditions as the register of the state land office may deem to be to the best interest of the state, and shall be subject to approval of the governor. The contracts shall provide that default on the part of the grantee in the performance of any term or condition thereof shall operate ipso facto and without a putting in default by the state, as a cancellation of the grant. All mineral rights on any lands granted under this Chapter shall be reserved to the state.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:96. Withdrawal from sale or entry of certain lands

RS 41:96 - Withdrawal from sale or entry of certain lands
The governor shall withdraw from sale or entry any of the vacant and unappropriated public lands belonging to the State of Louisiana, now existing or hereafter acquired by accretion or otherwise, located south of the following lines and described and bounded as follows:
All of that area bounded on the east by the axis of the Mississippi River to the head of the passes at the mouth of the Mississippi River bounded on the northwest by a line, commencing at Cubits Gap Lighthouse and running south thirty-five degrees (35°) west (true bearing) through Cubits Gap Lighthouse, latitude 29°11'36.70" north, longitude 89°15'53.75" west; bounded on the northeast by a line beginning on and at the axis of the Mississippi River at a point, north of the head of the passes of the Mississippi River, and at the juncture of the channels of the Mississippi River and Pass A L'Outre, and running along and through the channel of Pass A L'Outre, along and through the channel of the North Pass, north of Pass A L'Outre Lighthouse to deep water in the Gulf of Mexico; and bounded on the south by deep water in the Gulf of Mexico, all as described on the copy of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart No. 194, to be identified with this Chapter by the signatures to be thereto affixed, of and by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the president of the Senate and the Governor of the State of Louisiana, and to be filed for future reference in the office of and by the Secretary of State.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:98. Withdrawal from sale or entry of mineral lands

RS 41:98 - Withdrawal from sale or entry of mineral lands
The governor may withdraw from sale or entry any of the vacant and unappropriated public lands and lake beds or bottoms belonging to the state, whenever in his opinion, they appear to be more valuable for mineral than for any other purpose, and he may restore to sale or entry all withdrawn lands, at his discretion.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:131. Application to enter or purchase

RS 41:131 - Application to enter or purchase
When any person desires to enter or purchase lands belonging to the state, including public lands donated by congress to the state of Louisiana known as swamp and overflowed lands, internal improvements, indemnity lands, or dried lake lands, or to similar lands of any levee board thereof, and properties adjudicated to the state for nonpayment of taxes during tax years 1880 through 1973, he shall make application to purchase, and deposit with the register of the state land office, or in the case of lands of any levee board, with the president of the levee board, an amount determined by the register of the state land office to be sufficient to cover the expense of advertising as evidence of good faith. Should the applicant at the sale provided for in this Chapter fail to purchase the land, then the money so deposited shall be returned to him; provided that should no one at the sale bid up to the minimum price stipulated in this Chapter, then the money shall be retained to pay the expense of the sale.
Amended by Acts 1960, No. 568, §1; Acts 2010, No. 282, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:132. Information to be secured as to value of land

RS 41:132 - Information to be secured as to value of land
On receipt of any application to purchase land so subject to sale, accompanied with the required deposit, the register of the state land office, or the president of the levee board, may require the parish surveyor of the parish wherein the lands are situated to furnish full information as to the character of the timber on the land, the quantity and kind thereof, or any other information affecting the value of the land. The register or the president, as the case may be, may also consult the assessment roll as to the assessment of lands of like character adjacent to the lands for which application is made and he may call in the services of timber experts in order to obtain reliable means of arriving at the fair value of the lands. The information so obtained shall be placed of record in his office and shall constitute a part of the permanent archives of his office.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:133. Advertisement

RS 41:133 - Advertisement
The register of the state land office or the president of the levee board, as the case may be, shall cause to be published for thirty days in the official journal of the state and in the official journal of the parish where the land is located, an advertisement setting forth the description of the land, the time, place, and terms of the sale, and in the case of adjudicated properties, the name of the tax debtor and the year for which taxes were not paid. He may also require that the land shall be sold in lots of forty acres. In no case shall lands be sold in tracts exceeding quarter sections.
Acts 2010, No. 282, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:134. Sale; minimum prices

RS 41:134 - Sale; minimum prices
A. The land so advertised shall be sold by the sheriff of the parish where the land is located. The sale shall be at the principal door of the court house between the hours of eleven o'clock A.M. and four o'clock P.M. and shall be to the last and highest bidder.
B. The register shall fix the minimum price in all advertisements under this Chapter based on an appraisal of the property to be made by a person who shall be appointed by the register. The register shall pay the appraiser a reasonable compensation to be fixed by the register who shall be reimbursed for such compensation out of the moneys from the sale of such property. Based upon the appraisal thus made the register shall determine and fix a fair and reasonable price which shall constitute the minimum price which will be accepted. Nothing less than such minimum price shall be received for the property at the sale.
C. The sheriff making the sale shall make a provisional deed to the last and highest bidder, who has complied with his bid by paying the price of the adjudication. Upon surrender of this provisional deed to the register of the state land office or the president of the levee board, as the case may be, the holder thereof shall be entitled to a patent signed by the register or the president of the levee board, and the governor of the state.
D. Notwithstanding any provisions of law, or this Section, when the register of the state land office determines that the disposition of state-owned immovable property by sheriff sale is not in the best interest of the state, the register of the state land office may conduct such a sale by utilizing sealed bids. The sale may be confected to the highest bidder at a price not less than ninety percent of the appraised value; however, prior to such a sale, the register of the state land office shall advise the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and Senate Committee on Natural Resources of its reasons for utilizing sealed bids to dispose of the property.
Amended by Acts 1960, No. 568, §1; Acts 1987, No. 887, §1; Acts 2008, No. 580, §5; Acts 2010, No. 282, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:135. Disposition of proceeds of sale

RS 41:135 - Disposition of proceeds of sale
A. The sheriff making the sale shall deduct therefrom the expenses of advertising and his commission which shall be two percent of the amount of the bid, provided that this commission shall not exceed fifty dollars for any one day's adjudication. Except as otherwise agreed by the holders of statutory impositions and governmental liens, all proceeds from the sale of adjudicated property after deduction of the costs of the sale shall be paid pro rata to those holders, and except for the sale of property belonging to the Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District, the balance of the monies derived from the sale shall be forwarded to the register of the state land office for deposit in the state treasury without delay, together with a certified statement showing the amount of the bid, the expenditure for advertising, and the amount withheld by him as commission. The balance of the monies derived from the sale of property belonging to the Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District shall be forwarded directly to the Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District for deposit in that board's bank accounts without delay, together with a certified statement showing the amount of the bid, the expenditure for advertising, and the amount withheld by him as commission. The levee district shall not sell any property located in the Bohemia Spillway.
B. The sheriff shall at the same time forward to the register of the state land office a proces verbal of the sale wherein he shall give a correct description of the property sold with the recital of the acts performed by him in effecting the sale, the amount of the purchase price received, the expense of advertising, the amount of his commission, and the amount in cash being forwarded to the register of the state land office.
Acts 1989, No. 511, §1; Acts 1997, No. 592, §1, eff. July 3, 1997; Acts 2010, No. 282, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:136. Expenses

RS 41:136 - Expenses
The newspapers publishing the advertisement of the sale of land shall receive therefor not more than the legal rate of advertising. All bills for expenses incurred by the register of the state land office, or the president of the levee board, shall be paid from the proceeds of the land sold, when realized.
Amended by Acts 1960, No. 568, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:137. Sale, exchange, or lease of state lands; research and development park

RS 41:137 - Sale, exchange, or lease of state lands; research and development park
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the state, or any of its departments, agencies, or boards, may sell, lease for a term of up to ninety-nine years, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any real property, or portions thereof, to political or public corporations, to municipalities, to other state agencies, departments, or boards, or to private persons, without the necessity of advertisement or bid, if the property sold, exchanged, or leased is dedicated for the purpose of creating a research and development park in cooperation with the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Board of Supervisors of Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, or the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities, and the governing authority of the appropriate municipality or parish.
B. The assumption of the obligation by the vendee or lessee of the property to establish, operate, and manage a research and development park in accordance with restrictions and covenants mutually agreed upon between the state, or its department, agency, or board, and the lessee or vendee shall constitute valid consideration to the state for the sale, lease, or exchange of the dedicated property.
Acts 1992, No. 110, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:138. Restrictions in sale of state lands to levee or drainage districts

RS 41:138 - Restrictions in sale of state lands to levee or drainage districts
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, no land within the boundaries of any levee district or levee and drainage district, or any land that may in the future be included within the boundaries of any levee district or levee and drainage district, that presently belongs to or that may hereafter belong to the state shall be conveyed to a levee district or levee and drainage district or to the governing authorities of such districts unless such land is needed for immediate use for the construction of a levee or other flood control measure. In the event any such land is conveyed to a levee or levee and drainage district for the purpose of constructing a levee or other flood control measure and it is later found that all or a part of such land is not needed for such purpose, the portion of the land not needed shall immediately revert to state ownership and control.
Acts 1958, Ex.Sess., No. 12, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:139. Notice to local governing authorities of intention to dispose of real property

RS 41:139 - Notice to local governing authorities of intention to dispose of real property
The state or any of its boards, commissions, departments or agencies, prior to disposing of any real property held by it, except buildings, shall give notice to the governing authority of the parish and/or municipality in which the property is located. The notice shall be in writing and shall advise such authority of the intention to dispose of the property and shall include a description of the property, the manner in which such property shall be disposed of, and the terms and conditions upon which such disposition is proposed to be made; provided, however, that publication of such notice in the official journal of the parish wherein the property is located shall constitute the required written notification.
Acts 1964, No. 119, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:381. Refund of purchase price in event of invalid sale

RS 41:381 - Refund of purchase price in event of invalid sale
Every person, or his legal representatives who is the purchaser from the state of a tract of land, which had actually and immediately been located by the state and which is or may be void by reason of a prior sale thereof or by any valid right of pre-emption, or for want of title thereto in the state, shall be entitled to a repayment of any sum of money paid for the tract of land, on making proof to the satisfaction of the Register of the State Land Office that the land was erroneously sold by the state. The register may draw a warrant on the State Auditor for the repayment of this money.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:421. Recovery by state for illegal or excessive entry of swamp lands

RS 41:421 - Recovery by state for illegal or excessive entry of swamp lands
Whenever the governor is satisfied from information received, that swamp lands of the state, not subject to tidal overflow, have been illegally and fraudulently entered by private persons or corporations and sold by the state for a price less than one dollar and twenty five cents per acre, or for a price authorized by law, but in a quantity in excess of six hundred and forty acres, he may order the institution of proceedings for the recovery of all such lands in excess of six hundred and forty acres, for the value of timber taken therefrom, or for damage thereto and waste thereon.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:422. Certified abstracts

RS 41:422 - Certified abstracts
The Register of the State Land Office, when requested to do so by the governor, shall prepare from the records of the state land office and deliver to the district attorney of the parish wherein the lands are located, certified abstracts of such lands as may be designated by the governor, as swamp lands illegally and fraudulently entered by private persons or corporations and sold by the state. The abstracts shall show the particulars of each sale or entry, giving the date, price per acre, number of acres entered and sold with full description of the lands by township, range, section or fraction of sections. The abstracts shall also include the name of the person entering or purchasing, and date and number of certificate or patent, if issued, with copy of application to purchase or enter and with copy of the affidavit and proof submitted therewith. The register may charge the state with the cost of the abstract.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:423. Proceedings

RS 41:423 - Proceedings
On receipt of the abstract, the district attorney shall, without delay, institute suit against the claimants or possessors for the recovery of the lands, for the value of such timber as may have been taken therefrom, and for the damage to the lands or the timber thereon whether due to waste or otherwise; and he may sue out such injunctions, sequestrations, or other conservatory process as may be necessary to protect the interests of the state.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:424. Suits in name of state

RS 41:424 - Suits in name of state
All suits or process shall be in the name of and for the use and benefit of the state, and shall be issued and served by the proper officials without advance of costs, or security therefor.
All suits shall be prosecuted to judgment and final execution; and in cases where suits have already been instituted the district attorney shall prosecute them to final judgment and execution.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:425. Compensation of officers and of district attorney

RS 41:425 - Compensation of officers and of district attorney
The state shall make provision for the compensation of the officers of the court and the state land office for their services under this Part in those cases where judgment may be rendered adverse to the state. Where judgment is rendered in favor of the state the parties cast shall be liable for all costs of court. For his compensation the district attorney shall receive such an amount as may be fixed by the attorney general and the governor.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:426. Records and maps to show lands recovered

RS 41:426 - Records and maps to show lands recovered
The lands recovered shall be placed upon the official records and maps of the state land office as lands belonging to the state, and copies of the final judgment decreeing them to be the property of the state shall be kept on file and of record in the office and shall so remain as muniments of title to the lands.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:461. Contest of entries

RS 41:461 - Contest of entries
In all cases where lands belonging to the state are entered under any of the laws requiring their settlement and cultivation as a part of the consideration received or to be received by the state, and particularly where the entries were made under the homestead laws, the graduation laws, or the settlement and cultivation laws, any person or persons desiring to acquire title to them, or any part thereof, and who is otherwise lawfully qualified to acquire them, may contest the entry, and if successful may acquire title to the lands covered in the manner following:
(1) He shall file a written notice of contest in the state land office describing the entry by number, date, and the name of the enterers and the land by section, township and range, or other proper description, and setting forth the facts constituting the alleged invalidity of said entry.
(2) The notice shall be supported by the affidavit of the contestant and two witnesses.
(3) On filing the notice with the Register of the State Land Office on the payment of two dollars and fifty cents for each entry so contested to cover the cost thereof, except that of the services of notices of contest as hereafter provided.
(4) The Register shall issue his notices to the enterer, and shall deliver them to the contestant or his attorney of record.
(5) The notice shall substantially state the facts, the ground of contest, and that on a day to be therein fixed, the parties will be heard in person or by counsel, with such proof as either may adduce, under the principles and rules of evidence applicable and now in force in like contests in the land offices of the United States.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:462. Hearing by register

RS 41:462 - Hearing by register
On the day fixed for the trial of the contest and in as expeditious a manner as may be consistent with justice the register shall hear the evidence and the arguments, and shall decide the entries, valid or invalid, and shall affirm or cancel them accordingly. The decision shall be final so far as the executive department is concerned, unless an appeal is taken under existing laws. If the entry is invalid and is cancelled, the register shall notify the parties to the contest, or their attorneys.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:463. Contestant's rights where entries are declared invalid

RS 41:463 - Contestant's rights where entries are declared invalid
For a period of sixty days after an entry has been declared invalid and cancelled, the contestant shall have the sole right, exclusive of all other persons, to enter any or all of the lands under any of the laws then in force, in accordance with all the limitations, conditions and requirements of the laws as to quantity, price or acts of settlement and cultivation; provided that none of the provisions of this Part shall apply to any land for which the state has issued or may at the time of filing contest have issued a patent. The practice, forms and modes of proceeding under this Part shall conform so far as consistent herewith, and so far as locally applicable to the established practice, forms and modes of proceeding in like cases now in force in the General Land Office of the United States.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:464. Contestant's rights to lands not then subject to entry

RS 41:464 - Contestant's rights to lands not then subject to entry
If, upon the termination in favor of any contestant of a contest brought under this Part, the land or any part thereof involved therein is not then lawfully subject to entry by the contestants, they shall in like manner have the exclusive right to require title thereto, as heretofore provided, within six months after the land becomes liable to legal disposition, of which fact the said register shall notify him or his attorney of record by mail or otherwise.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:501. Persons entitled to make entry; quantity of land

RS 41:501 - Persons entitled to make entry; quantity of land
A. Every person who is the head of a family, or has reached the age of twenty-one years and is a citizen of this state may enter one quarter section or a less quantity of the unappropriated public lands of the state, to be located in a body in conformity with the legal subdivisions of the public lands; provided that no lands shall be subject to homestead entry or purchase that is more valuable for gas, oil or minerals.
B. Any person owning and residing on lands may enter, under the provisions of this Part, other lands lying contiguous to his land which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate, one hundred and sixty acres.
C. No person who is the owner of more than one hundred and sixty acres of land in any state or territory shall acquire any rights under this Part.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:502. Affidavit

RS 41:502 - Affidavit
A. Any person applying to enter land under the provisions of this Part shall first make and subscribe an affidavit:
(1) That he is the head of a family or has reached the age of twenty-one years and is a citizen of this state;
(2) That the application is made honestly and in good faith for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation and to obtain a home for himself and not for speculation;
(3) That the application is made for his own use and benefit and not directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person, corporation or syndicate, to give them the benefit of the land or any part thereof or the timber thereon.
B. Upon filing the affidavit with the Register of the State Land Office and the payment of ten dollars the applicant may enter the amount of land specified, and the register shall issue to the person his receipt therefor, which receipt shall be dated and numbered and shall describe the land so entered.
Amended by Acts 1960, No. 50, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:503. Sale or incumbrance prior to issuance of patent

RS 41:503 - Sale or incumbrance prior to issuance of patent
No person entering land under the provisions of this Part may sell, alienate or encumber the lands so entered prior to issuance of patent therefor except for school, church or cemetery purposes, or for right of way for railroads, telephone or telegraph lines, public roads, oil or gas pipe lines, or canals, ditches or conduits for irrigation or drainage through the lands.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:504. Conditions for issuance of patent

RS 41:504 - Conditions for issuance of patent
No patent shall issue for any lands entered under the provisions of this Part until after the expiration of five years from the date of the entry. The person making the entry or in case of his death his heirs or devisees shall be entitled to a patent for the land so entered if, at the expiration of the five year period or at a time within two years thereafter he proves by his affidavit and the affidavits of two credible witnesses, taken separately, that he has resided upon and cultivated the land for the term of five years immediately succeeding the date of entry, that no part of the land has been alienated or encumbered, except as provided in R.S. 41:503 and that he has paid to the register of the state land office a fee of five dollars. In case of the death of a homesteader it shall not be necessary for his widow or heirs to prove actual residence upon the land after the date of death, but she shall show continuous cultivation and improvements for the full period of five years from date of entry. Provided that any entry made prior to 1888 and the land described therein has been assessed upon the tax rolls and the taxes thereon paid for a period of more than fifty years subsequent to the date of entry, shall be prima facie evidence that all the conditions and provisions of the law have been complied with and a patent shall issue covering the entry upon the payment of the fee herein provided.
Amended by Acts 1950, No. 428, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:505. Final proof

RS 41:505 - Final proof
A. Any person desiring to submit final proof under the provisions of R.S. 41:504 shall first file a written notice of his intention to make such proof with the Register of the State Land Office. The notice shall contain the date and number of the register's receipt, a description of the land and the names and postoffice addresses of four neighbors, two of whom must appear as witnesses, to make the proof.
B. The register shall then cause to be published for a period of thirty days in a newspaper to be by him designated as the paper published nearest to the land, a notice containing the date and number of the receipt, description of the land, names and addresses of the witnesses, the time and place and the name and official designation of the officer before whom proof is to be made.
C. The proof of publication shall be the affidavit of the publisher or foreman of the newspaper with a printed copy of the notice attached.
D. The applicant shall deposit with the register a fee of ten dollars to cover the cost of publication, or a receipt from the publisher that the fee has been paid to him in advance.
Amended by Acts 1960, No. 50, §2.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:506. Fees for oaths, affidavits and proofs

RS 41:506 - Fees for oaths, affidavits and proofs
All oaths, affidavits or proofs required under this Part shall be made before the Register of the State Land Office or before any officer of the parish in which the land is situated who is authorized to administer oaths and who uses a seal. Officers, other than the register, may charge a fee of two dollars for preparing and attesting applications and affidavits for any entry under this Part and a fee of four dollars for preparing final proofs and attesting them.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:509. Reversion to state; preference rights of person filing charges

RS 41:509 - Reversion to state; preference rights of person filing charges
If, at any time after filing of the affidavit required by R.S. 41:502, and before the issuance of patent therefor, it is proved to the satisfaction of the Register of the State Land Office, after due notice to the homesteader or his legal representatives, that the homesteader failed to establish residence on the land so entered for six months after entry, or has changed his residence therefrom for a period of six months at any time after filing his affidavit and before the expiration of the period of five years residence required by this Part, or that he swore falsely to any material fact in his affidavit or final proof, then, the land shall revert to the state. All appeals from the decisions of the register in such cases shall lie to the district court of the parish in which the lands are situated and shall be tried de novo. The person filing charges against an entryman under this Section, and prosecuting the case to a successful conclusion shall have a preference right of sixty days from final judgment in which to file his application for the land.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:510. Homestead by discharged veterans; deduction of service time

RS 41:510 - Homestead by discharged veterans; deduction of service time
Any honorably discharged veteran of World War II may homestead land under the provisions of R.S. 41:501 through 509, and the time served in the armed service of the United States in time of war shall be deducted from the time required to perfect title; provided that no patent shall issue until the entryman has resided upon, improved and cultivated his homestead for a period of at least one year, and provided further that any such patent when issued shall expressly reserve all of the mineral rights in the lands so patented to the state of Louisiana, in pursuance of Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution.*
Acts 1958, No. 444, §1.
*Reference is to 1921 Constitution; see, now, Const. Art. 9, §4.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:511. Death of homesteader while in service

RS 41:511 - Death of homesteader while in service
In every case in which a homesteader under R.S. 41:501 through 509 was inducted into the armed services after his entry was allowed and died in service, his widow, if unmarried, or in case of her death or marriage, then his minor orphan children or his or their legal representatives, may proceed forthwith to make final proof upon the land so held by the deceased soldier and settler, and the death of such soldier while engaged in the service of the United States shall, in the administration of the homestead law, be construed to be equivalent to a performance of all requirements as to residence and cultivation for the full period of five years; and upon proof produced to the register of the land office by the widow, if unmarried, or in case of her death or marriage, then his minor orphan children or his or their legal representatives, that the applicant for patent is the widow, if unmarried, or in case of her death or marriage, his orphan children or his or their legal representatives, and that such soldier died while in the service of the United States as hereinbefore described, the patent for such land shall issue; provided that in such patent all mineral rights in the lands so patented shall be expressly reserved to the state of Louisiana, in pursuance of Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution.*
Acts 1958, No. 444, §2.
*Reference is to 1921 Constitution; see, now, Const. Art. 9, §4.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:512. Scope and application of provisions

RS 41:512 - Scope and application of provisions
The provisions of R.S. 41:510 through 511 shall apply to any homestead entries made by honorably discharged veterans of the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean Conflict, pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 41:501 through 509 made after the date of the discharge of such veterans and which may now be pending in the office of the register of state lands of the state of Louisiana; provided that all patents issued under the homestead entries aforesaid expressly reserve all mineral rights in the lands so patented to the state of Louisiana, in pursuance of Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution.*
The terms of R.S. 41:510 through 511 shall be subject to the provisions of R.S. 41:98 and to the executive order issued by the governor under date of March 20, 1917, pursuant to Act 258 of 1912 and Act 38 of 1914.
Acts 1958, No. 444, §§3, 4.
*Reference is to 1921 Constitution; see, now, Const. Art. 9, §4.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:541. Homestead entry on tax adjudicated land

RS 41:541 - Homestead entry on tax adjudicated land
At any time after the lapse of three years from the adjudication of any land to the state for any unpaid taxes due thereon for any year subsequent to January 1st, 1880, where the land has not been redeemed from the tax adjudication and the state has not previously sold the land or contracted with reference thereto, every person who is the head of a family or has reached the age of twenty-one years and is a citizen of this state, may, under the provisions of this Subpart, make homestead entry of one-quarter section or less quantity of tax adjudicated land of the state, to be located in a body in conformity with the legal subdivisions of the public lands; provided that any patent which may be issued hereunder shall reserve to the state, in perpetuity, all of the oil, gas and other minerals in, on and under the lands so patented. No person who is the owner of as much as one hundred sixty acres of land in any state or territory, shall acquire any rights under this Subpart; provided that every person owning and residing on lands may enter, under the provisions hereof, such tax adjudicated lands lying contiguous to his lands which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied by him, exceed in the aggregate one hundred sixty acres.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:543. Sale or incumbrance prior to issuance of patent

RS 41:543 - Sale or incumbrance prior to issuance of patent
No person entering land under the provisions of this Subpart may sell, alienate or encumber the lands so entered prior to issuance of patent therefor, except for school, church, or cemetery purposes, or for right of way for railroads, telephone or telegraph lines, public roads, oil or gas pipe lines, or canals, ditches or conduits for irrigation or drainage through the lands.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:544. Conditions for issuance of patent

RS 41:544 - Conditions for issuance of patent
No patent shall issue for any lands entered under the provisions of this Subpart until after the expiration of five years from the date of the entry. The person making the entry, or in case of his death, his heirs or devisees shall be entitled to a patent for the land so entered if, at the expiration of the five year period or at any time within two years thereafter he proves by his own affidavit and the affidavits of two credible witnesses, taken separately, that he has resided upon and cultivated the land for the term of five years immediately succeeding the date of entry, that no part of the land has been alienated or encumbered except as provided in R.S. 41:543, and he has paid to the register of the state land office a fee of five dollars. In case of the death of a homesteader, it shall not be necessary for his widow or heirs to prove actual residence upon the land after the date of death, but she shall show continuous cultivation and improvement for the full period of five years from the date of the entry.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:545. Final proof

RS 41:545 - Final proof
Any person desiring to submit final proof under the provisions of R.S. 41:544 shall first file with the Register of the State Land Office a written notice of his intention to make proof, which notice shall contain the date and number of the register's receipt, a description of the land and the names and post office addresses of four neighbors, two of whom must appear as witnesses. The register shall then cause to be published for thirty days in a newspaper by him designated as the paper published nearest to the land, a notice containing the date and number of the receipt, description of the land, names and addresses of the witnesses and the time and place and name and official designation of the officers before whom proof is to be made. The proof of the publication shall be the affidavit of the publisher or foreman of the newspaper with a printed copy of the notice attached. The applicant shall deposit with the Register of the State Land Office a fee of ten dollars to cover costs of the publication, or a receipt from the publisher that the fee has been paid to him in advance.
Amended by Acts 1960, No. 49, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:546. Fees for oaths, affidavits and proofs

RS 41:546 - Fees for oaths, affidavits and proofs
All oaths, affidavits or proofs required under this Subpart shall be made before the Register of the State Land Office, or before any official of the parish in which the land is situated who is authorized to administer oaths and to use a seal. Officers other than the register may charge a fee of two dollars for preparing and attesting applications and affidavits for any entry under this Subpart, and a fee of four dollars for preparing final proof and attesting them.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:549. Reversion to state preference rights of person filing charges

RS 41:549 - Reversion to state preference rights of person filing charges
If, at any time after filing of the affidavit required by R.S. 41:542, and before the issuance of patent therefor, it is proved after due notice to the homesteader or his legal representative, to the satisfaction of the Register of the State Land Office, that the homesteader failed to establish a residence on the land so entered for six months after entry, or changed his residence therefrom for a period of six months at any time after filing his affidavit and before the expiration of the period of five years' residence required by this Subpart, or swore falsely to any material fact in his affidavit or final proof, then the land shall revert to the state, and be held by it subject to redemption or homestead, as provided by this Subpart. All appeals from the decisions of the register in such cases shall lie to the district court of the parish in which the lands are situated and shall be tried de novo. The person filing charges against an entryman under this Section, and prosecuting them to a successful conclusion, shall have a preference right of sixty days from final judgment in which to file his application for the land.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:550. Register to hear proof

RS 41:550 - Register to hear proof
The Register of the State Land Office shall receive and pass upon the proof of residence and cultivation as provided in this Subpart and the decision of the Register of the State Land Office as to whether the proof shows full compliance with the requirements hereof, shall be final subject to the right of the entryman, or in case of his death, of his legal representatives, to appeal from the decisions of the register to the district court of the parish in which the lands are situated where the case shall be tried de novo.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:551. Final certificate and patent

RS 41:551 - Final certificate and patent
Upon a full and complete compliance with all of the requirements of this Subpart by the homesteader, or his legal representatives, the Register of the State Land Office shall issue a final certificate, certifying that the homesteader, or his legal representatives, are entitled to a patent for the land so entered, and a patent therefor shall be accordingly issued and signed by the governor and the register.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:552. Actions to set aside or annul homestead entry, prescription

RS 41:552 - Actions to set aside or annul homestead entry, prescription
Any action brought by the State of Louisiana, private corporations, partnerships or persons, to set aside or annul a homestead entry of previously adjudicated lands or patent issued thereon under the provisions of Act 235 of 1938, now incorporated in Title 41, Sections 541 to 551, both inclusive, of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, where the sole reason for the attack upon such entry or upon such patent is that the land covered by the entry is not susceptible of serious and substantial cultivation, and where such entry was allowed or such patent issued prior to the passage of this Section, shall be prescribed by the lapse of six months from and after July 26, 1950.
Acts 1950, No. 354, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:591. Rights of veterans of World War II and of the Korean conflict

RS 41:591 - Rights of veterans of World War II and of the Korean conflict
Any honorably discharged veteran of World War II or of the Korean conflict may homestead land under the provisions under Subpart A of this Part, and the time served in the armed service of the United States in time of war or conflict shall be deducted from the time required to perfect title; provided, that no patent shall issue until the entryman has resided upon, improved and cultivated his homestead for a period of at least one year. The period of time of the Korean conflict shall be that period from June 27, 1950 to July 26, 1953, inclusive, for the purposes of this Subpart.
Amended by Acts 1954, No. 10, §§1, 2.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:592. Widow and children of homesteader who dies in service

RS 41:592 - Widow and children of homesteader who dies in service
Where a homesteader under the provisions of Subpart A of this Part was inducted into the armed services after his entry was allowed and died in service, his widow, if unmarried, or in case of her death or marriage, then his minor orphan children or his or their legal representatives, may proceed forthwith to make final proof upon the land so held by the deceased soldier and settler, and the death of the soldier while engaged in the service of the United States shall, in the administration of the homestead law, be equivalent to a performance of all requirements as to residence and cultivation for the full period of five years.
The patent shall issue upon proof produced to the Register of the State Land Office by the widow, if unmarried, or in case of her death or marriage, his minor orphan children or his or their legal representatives, that the applicant for patent is the soldier's widow, his orphan children or his or their legal representatives, and that the soldier died while in the service of the United States.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:593. Residence required of homesteader in armed forces

RS 41:593 - Residence required of homesteader in armed forces
Induction into the military or naval services of the United States within six months after entry shall be considered as a compliance with the provisions of Subpart A of this Part in regard to the establishment of residence on lands entered under the provisions of that Subpart.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:594. Term of service as equivalent to residence

RS 41:594 - Term of service as equivalent to residence
The term of service of any homesteader in the military or naval services of the United States shall be considered, as equivalent to and having the legal effect of residence on the property so entered during the entire term of his service, provided, however, that the homesteader shall within ninety days after his final discharge establish his actual residence on the property so homesteaded.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:632. Boundaries of land sold

RS 41:632 - Boundaries of land sold
Any land sold under R.S. 41:631 shall commence in the corner of a legal division or subdivision of sections and shall be parceled out as follows:
(1) If in a right angle it shall be run at an equal distance on two sides, bounded by the lines of the division to form a square including the number of acres sold.
(2) If in an acute angle, it shall be bounded by the division lines to such distance, and by lines in such other directions as the register may deem most equitable between the land sold and that retained.
The patents for land so sold shall set forth the number and of what parish and shall issue to the school board and its successors, for the use of their district schools.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:633. Reservation of school lands in townships without school sections

RS 41:633 - Reservation of school lands in townships without school sections
The Register of the State Land Office shall ascertain in what townships in this state there are no reservations of school sections or where the reservation is less than contemplated by law by reason of conflicting claims or from any other cause. In such cases, he shall under the superintendence of the governor apply for and as soon as possible obtain a location of any land or part of land in lieu thereof.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:634. Issuance of scrip in certain cases

RS 41:634 - Issuance of scrip in certain cases
When the locations can not be made, if deemed more advantageous to the state, the register, with the assent of the federal government, may issue scrip for the lands, which scrip shall not be sold for a less amount than one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 41 - Public Lands › §41:635. Cancellation of school land warrants and refund of money when land unavailable

RS 41:635 - Cancellation of school land warrants and refund of money when land unavailable
Whenever, the register finds that because of the donation by congress of all the overflowed and swamp lands to the state there are no public lands in the Southeastern Land District of this state on which may be located the school land warrants sold for the benefit of certain townships in the district, he shall receive and cancel all such warrants as may be presented for that purpose and pay to the legal possessors thereof or to their orders the full amount received by the state on account of the warrants. The money shall be taken from that fund in the treasury which was credited by the sale of the warrants.