Sec. 51.246. ACQUISITION OF DEED OF ACQUITTANCE TO EXCESS ACREAGE. (a) If the area of a tract of land that is titled or patented exceeds the quantity provided in the title or patent and if under the existing law the title to all or a part of the tract may be affected by the existence of the excess acreage, the person who owns the survey or portion of the survey or has an interest in it may pay for the total excess acreage in the survey or the total excess in a given tract out of the patented or titled survey at the price fixed by the board.

(b) Any person who owns an interest in a titled or patented survey or any portion of a titled or patented survey in which excess acreage is located and who desires to pay for the excess acreage shall file with the commissioner a request for a determination of market value by an appraiser with corrected field notes in the form provided by law, together with a sworn statement of facts relating to his right to purchase and other evidence of his right to purchase which may be required by the commissioner. The corrected field notes shall describe the patented tract, and if purchasing excess in a portion of a tract, shall include a description of the portion in which the applicant is making application to purchase excess.

(c) If it appears that excess acreage actually exists and that the applicant is entitled to obtain it under the law, the commissioner shall execute a deed of acquittance covering the land in the name of the original patentee or his assignees with a mineral reservation or with no mineral reservation accordingly as may have been the case when the survey was titled or patented.

(d) The transfer shall inure distributively to the benefit of the lawful owners of the land in proportion to their holdings.

Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2436, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 280, Sec. 26, eff. June 18, 2003.