The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a
state agency
A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government
The machinery of government (sometimes abbreviated as MoG) is the interconnected structures and proc ...
of the
U.S. state of
Texas, responsible for managing lands and
mineral rights properties that are owned by the state. The GLO also manages and contributes to the state's
Permanent School Fund. The agency is headquartered in the Stephen F. Austin State Office Building in
Downtown Austin.
Role and remit
The General Land Office's main role is to manage Texas's
publicly owned lands, by negotiating and enforcing leases for the use of the land, and sometimes by making sales of public lands. Royalties and proceeds from land sales are added to the state's
Permanent School Fund, which helps to fund
public education
State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
within the state.
The agency is also responsible for keeping records of
land grants and
titles
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
and for issuing maps and
surveys of public lands.
The agency also manages federal disaster recovery grant funding.
Since 2011 the GLO has managed
The Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...
in
San Antonio. The management of the Alamo was transferred to the General Land Office after allegations of mismanagement were directed at the prior manager, the
Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
History
The Congress of the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...
established the General Land Office on 22 December 1836 (making the GLO the oldest existing Texas public agency). The agency's constitutional purpose was to "superintend, execute, and perform all acts touching or respecting the public lands of Texas."
Since its establishment the agency has been located in
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, although a relocation to
Houston was briefly attempted during the
Texas Archive War. One former home of the GLO, the
Old Land Office Building, is a
registered historic place and now serves as the
Texas State Capitol Visitor's Center.
When Texas was
annexed into the United States in 1845, it kept control of all of its public lands from its time as a sovereign state. As a result, Texas is the only US state to control all of its own public lands;
all federal lands in Texas were acquired by purchase (e.g.
military bases) or donation (e.g.
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s).
Texas's public lands were significantly enlarged by the US
Submerged Lands Act of 1953 and the resolution of the ensuing
Tidelands Controversy. Because Texas's historical territorial waters originated with the Republic, the
US Supreme Court ruled in 1960 that Texas was in the unique position of owning territory out to three leagues (10.35 miles) from its coastline (significantly more than the three miles controlled by other coastal states). All of these lands (and the oil and gas deposits beneath them) are managed by the General Land Office.
Texas Land Commissioner
The head of the General Land Office is the Texas Land Commissioner, a statewide public official elected every four years. The current land commissioner is
George P. Bush, who was elected on 4 November 2014. On June 19, 2017, Bush announced he would be running for re-election to the Texas Land Commissioner position, focusing on veteran issues, protection for the Gulf Coast from future disasters, continue to renovate the Alamo, and financing Texas children's education. Bush was reelected in 2018.
On June 2, 2021, Bush announced that he would run against scandal-plagued fellow Republican
Ken Paxton, who is expected to seek re-election as Texan Attorney General, in the Republican primary. Bush told reporters after his announcement that he had asked Trump for his endorsement. Two days later, Republican state Senator
Dawn Buckingham announced that she would seek her party's nomination to replace Bush as Land Commissioner.
See also
*
Permanent School Fund
References
External links
*
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State agencies of Texas
Government agencies established in 1836
Land management in the United States
1836 establishments in the Republic of Texas