| Agency Name: | Texas General Land Office |
| Seal: | Texas General Land Office seal.png |
| Jurisdiction: | Texas public lands |
| Headquarters: | Stephen F. Austin State Office Building 1700 N. Congress Ave Austin, Texas 78701 |
| Coordinates: | 30.2794°N -97.7394°W |
| Chief1 Name: | Dawn Buckingham |
| Chief1 Position: | Land Commissioner |
The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a state agency 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.[1]
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 within the state.[2] The agency is also responsible for keeping records of land grants and titles and for issuing maps and surveys of public lands.[3] The agency also manages federal disaster recovery grant funding.[4]
Since 2011 the GLO has managed The Alamo 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.[5]
The Congress of the Republic of Texas established the General Land Office on 22 December 1836 (making the GLO the oldest existing Texas public agency).[6] The agency's constitutional purpose was to "superintend, execute, and perform all acts touching or respecting the public lands of Texas."[7] Since its establishment the agency has been located in Austin, 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 the State of 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.[8] As a result, Texas is the only public land state in the US to control all of its own public lands;[7] all federal lands in Texas were acquired by purchase (e.g. military bases), donation (e.g. national parks) or eminent domain.
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 the 1960 case United States v. Louisiana that Texas was in the unique position of owning territory out to three leagues (9 geographical miles which is nearly exactly 9 nautical miles, 10.35 statute miles, 16.66 km) from its coastline (significantly more than the three geographical 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.
| Post: | Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office |
| Incumbent: | Dawn Buckingham |
| Incumbentsince: | January 10, 2023 |
| Style: | The Honorable |
| Termlength: | Four years, no term limits |
| Formation: | Texas Constitution |
The head of the General Land Office is the Texas Land Commissioner, a statewide public official. Since a 1972 constitutional amendment, Texas state-wide officers–including the Commissioner–have been elected every four years, prior to which they were elected every two years. The current land commissioner is Dawn Buckingham, who was elected on 8 November 2022.
| Land Commissioner | ||
| Democratic | 20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Republican | 6 |
| Image | Name | Term of service | Political party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John P. Borden | August 23, 1837 – December 12, 1840[9] | |||
| 2 (interim) | H. W. Raglin | December 12, 1840 – January 4, 1841 | |||
| 3 | Thomas W. Ward | January 4, 1841 – March 20, 1848[10] | |||
| The Republic of Texas is admitted into the United States as the State of Texas (December 29, 1845) | |||||
| 4 | George W. Smyth | March 20, 1848 – August 4, 1851 Defeated Ward in 1848 election | Democratic | ||
| 5 | Stephen Crosby | August 4, 1851 – March 1, 1858[11] | Democratic | ||
| 6 | Francis M. White | March 1, 1858 – March 1, 1862 | Democratic | ||
| 5 | Stephen Crosby | March 1, 1862 – September 1, 1865 | Democratic | ||
| 6 | Francis M. White | September 1, 1865 – August 7, 1866 | Democratic | ||
| 5 | Stephen Crosby | August 7, 1866 – August 27, 1867 Removed from office by Reconstruction military government | Democratic | ||
| 7 | Joseph Spence | August 27, 1867 – January 19, 1870 | Republican[12] | ||
| 8 | Jacob Kuechler | January 19, 1870 – January 20, 1874 | Republican | ||
| 9 | Johann J. Groos | January 20, 1874 – June 15, 1878 Died in office | Democratic | ||
| 10 | W. C. Walsh | June 15, 1878 – January 10, 1887 Appointed by Governor Richard B. Hubbard to remainder of Groos' term[13] | Democratic | ||
| 11 | Richard M. Hall | January 10, 1887 – January 16, 1891 | Democratic[14] | ||
| 12 | W. L. McGaughey | January 16, 1891 – January 16, 1895 | Democratic[15] | ||
| 13 | Andrew J. Baker | January 15, 1895 – January 16, 1899 | Democratic[16] | ||
| 14 | George W. Finger | January 16, 1899 – May 4, 1899 Died in office[17] | Democratic | ||
| 15 | Charles Rogan | May 15, 1899 – January 10, 1903 Appointed by Governor Joseph Sayers to replace Finger; subsequently elected[18] | Democratic | ||
| 16 | John J. Terrell | January 10, 1903 – January 11, 1909 | Democratic | ||
| 17 | James T. Robison | January 11, 1909 – September 8, 1929[19] Died in office | Democratic | ||
| 18 | J. H. Walker | September 12, 1929 – January 1, 1937 Appointed by Governor Dan Moody to replace Robison; elected in 1930; re-elected in 1932 and 1934; did not stand in 1936 | Democratic | ||
| 19 | William H. McDonald | January 1, 1937 – January 1, 1939 | Democratic | ||
| 20 | Bascom Giles | January 1, 1939 – January 5, 1955 Re-elected in 1954 but failed to take oath of office due to Veterans' Land Board scandal, for which he went on to serve 3 years in prison | Democratic | ||
| 21 | James Earl Rudder | January 5, 1955 – February 1, 1958 Appointed by Governor Alan Shivers to replace Giles; elected in 1956; resigned in 1958 | Democratic | ||
| 22 | Bill Allcorn | February 1, 1958 – January 1, 1961 Appointed by Governor Price Daniel to replace Rudder; elected in 1958 | Democratic | ||
| 23 | Jerry Sadler | January 1, 1961 – January 1, 1971 | Democratic | ||
| 24 | Bob Armstrong | January 12, 1971 – January 4, 1983 | Democratic | ||
| 25 | Garry Mauro | January 1, 1983 – January 5, 1999 | Democratic | ||
| 26 | David Dewhurst | January 19, 1999 – January 21, 2003 | Republican | ||
| 27 | Jerry E. Patterson | January 21, 2003 – January 2, 2015 | Republican | ||
| 28 | George P. Bush | January 2, 2015 – January 10, 2023 | Republican | ||
| 29 | Dawn Buckingham | January 10, 2023 – present | Republican | ||