| 1 | 1 | | By: Uresti S.C.R. No. 30 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Nevarez) |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The State of Texas, on behalf of the permanent |
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| 7 | 7 | | school fund, acting by and through Jerry E. Patterson, commissioner |
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| 8 | 8 | | of the General Land Office and chairman of the School Land Board, |
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| 9 | 9 | | alleges that: |
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| 10 | 10 | | (1) the permanent school fund owns approximately 157 |
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| 11 | 11 | | acres of mineral classified lands, identified as Survey 5 1/2 ("the |
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| 12 | 12 | | permanent school fund property") located in Pecos County, Texas, |
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| 13 | 13 | | and exercises sole and exclusive management and control of the |
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| 14 | 14 | | lands set aside and appropriated to or acquired by the permanent |
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| 15 | 15 | | school fund, which was created and is governed by Sections 2, 4, and |
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| 16 | 16 | | 5, Article VII, Texas Constitution; |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) the State of Texas, through the board of regents of |
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| 18 | 18 | | The University of Texas System ("the board"), owns university |
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| 19 | 19 | | blocks 23, 24, and 26 ("university lands") located in Pecos County, |
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| 20 | 20 | | Texas, and exercises sole and exclusive management and control of |
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| 21 | 21 | | the lands set aside and appropriated to or acquired by the permanent |
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| 22 | 22 | | university fund, which was created and is governed by Sections 10, |
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| 23 | 23 | | 11, 15, and 18, Article VII, Texas Constitution; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (3) during the year 2008, the board began removing a |
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| 25 | 25 | | fence located on or about the true boundary of the university lands |
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| 26 | 26 | | and began constructing a new fence west of the true boundary of the |
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| 27 | 27 | | university lands, staked a new fence line west of the true boundary |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the university lands, and stated that the location of the new |
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| 29 | 29 | | fence was based on a survey performed by Frank F. Friend, the field |
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| 30 | 30 | | notes of which were filed in the General Land Office in 1939; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (4) the university lands were originally surveyed in |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1879 by R. M. Thomson, and Friend later resurveyed the university |
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| 33 | 33 | | lands in 1936, purportedly under the authority of Section 66.41, |
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| 34 | 34 | | Education Code, which called for lands to be resurveyed when it was |
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| 35 | 35 | | impracticable to establish lines and corners as originally |
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| 36 | 36 | | surveyed; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (5) the Friend survey placed the western boundary of |
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| 38 | 38 | | the university lands west of the original R. M. Thomson line, |
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| 39 | 39 | | established in 1879; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (6) the university lands in conflict are subject to |
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| 41 | 41 | | lease for oil and gas exploration, and any attempt by the board to |
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| 42 | 42 | | lease the tracts as described in the Friend resurvey could |
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| 43 | 43 | | wrongfully include 157 acres of permanent school fund minerals, |
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| 44 | 44 | | creating problems for the permanent school fund and any potential |
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| 45 | 45 | | lessees; now, therefore, be it |
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| 46 | 46 | | RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Texas, which |
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| 47 | 47 | | takes no position on this issue, That the State of Texas, on behalf |
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| 48 | 48 | | of the permanent school fund, acting by and through Jerry E. |
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| 49 | 49 | | Patterson, commissioner of the General Land Office and chairman of |
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| 50 | 50 | | the School Land Board, is granted permission to sue the State of |
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| 51 | 51 | | Texas and the board of regents of The University of Texas System |
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| 52 | 52 | | subject to Chapter 107, Civil Practices and Remedies Code; and, be |
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| 53 | 53 | | it further |
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| 54 | 54 | | RESOLVED, That the permanent school fund may not seek |
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| 55 | 55 | | recovery of monetary damages from the state, but may only seek a |
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| 56 | 56 | | determination of the boundary of the permanent school fund property |
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| 57 | 57 | | and a determination of the permanent school fund's rights through a |
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| 58 | 58 | | court order that fixes and determines the true boundary between the |
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| 59 | 59 | | university lands and the permanent school fund property; and, be it |
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| 60 | 60 | | further |
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| 61 | 61 | | RESOLVED, That the suit authorized by this resolution may be |
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| 62 | 62 | | brought in Travis County; and, be it further |
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| 63 | 63 | | RESOLVED, That the relief awarded in the suit authorized by |
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| 64 | 64 | | this resolution is limited to the relief authorized under Chapter |
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| 65 | 65 | | 37, Civil Practice and Remedies Code; and, be it further |
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| 66 | 66 | | RESOLVED, That the secretary of the board of regents of The |
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| 67 | 67 | | University of Texas System be served process as provided by |
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| 68 | 68 | | Subdivision (3), Subsection (a), Section 107.002, Civil Practice |
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| 69 | 69 | | and Remedies Code. |
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