Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

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 persiltoould
9 t&s Mate authorizlne theisto eon-
roadway 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 3cqeiembar67, we enalosed copier of our
aorrsapondenaawith sinalair in aoumotion with
thin 3Jiatter.3sversl of our mineral laws oppsar
to et least lmpl that every aeslntanoeposslbla
shell be renderei the owmma at Ststa leases fn
developing tho ppopert Bawwar, this 18 tha
first instanob or whiatof sm edvSaed where 8ha
State hma been aalled an tbogfaat suoh parzait0s
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 substitutethis
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 olroumstanoesrelated 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 DommlsslonerOS the General Land
Orfloe, but presorlbesno spaoliio duties of suoh otilaer
other than that he shall perform “Etaohduties 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 Commissionershall superintend,eon-
trol and dfr8ot the official oonduot of all sub-
ordlnata ofl’laeraof the General Land Offloe, and
execute and perfo~rmall eots and things touching
or respaotlne the publla land of this State or
ri@ts of individualsIn relation thereto, as may
be required by law, and make and enforoe suitable
rul,esoonslstent therewith. He shall plve lnfor-
mation 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 submerfiedtraot 683 in
Nueoee Bay did not speolfloallyempower 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
aesaaril lmplled from the powers 80 conferred. They
d ei3allYperform acts not authorizedby exlatlng
laws. See 34 Tex. Jur., See. 67, 440; Galleghan v.
MoCowan, 90 S. Vi.319 (Clv. App. Writ of Error Ref.);
liarlingenIndependentSohool 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, in-
lets, marshes and reera owned by the State
within tide water limits, and that portion of'
the Gulf of Mexico within the jurladlotlonof
Texas, and all unsold publio free aahool land,
both surveyed end 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
aaoordanoewith the provlalone or thla Act and
aubdlvlalon2, Chapter 4, Title 86, Eevlsed
Statutes of 1925, relating to leasing public
areas, Insofar as same la not in oonfliat here-
with."
Subdivision2 of Chapter 4, Title 86, R. C. s.
1925,:.(Artlolea5353-5366, Inolualve,R. C. S. 1925), to-
gether with Chapter 271, Acta 1931, whloh aonfer upon the
Lend Oommlaalonerpr?YJerand authorityto 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 stat-
lng that, in our opinion, under the hots Submitted In
our letter and the file aocompanyingthe asme, the
E ornmlaslonerof 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 SinolafrPrairie 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 authorizedto Issue a permit of the
kind requested.
Yours very truly
ATTORHEY
Cl!NEHALOF TEXAS
, -.
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