§127. Opening bids; minimum royalties; terms of lease; deposit

A. Only those bidders who are registered prospective leaseholders with the office of mineral resources, or those who register within two business days after the lease sale at which the bid is opened and prior to the conditional issuance of the lease, shall be allowed to obtain a mineral lease from the state of Louisiana. Any bidder who is not properly registered with the office of mineral resources at the time bids are opened, but whose bid is otherwise acceptable, shall have until the end of the second business day following the date on which the bid was conditionally accepted by the State Mineral and Energy Board to become properly registered with the office of mineral resources. If said bidder remains unregistered by the close of business of the second business day following the day the mineral lease sale at which the bid was conditionally accepted, the conditionally accepted bid shall be deemed rejected. The provisions of this Subsection shall also apply in cases where there is no more than one bid made by unregistered prospective leaseholders. Bids may be for the whole or any particularly described portion of land advertised. At the time and place mentioned in the advertisement for the consideration of bids, they shall be publicly opened. Bids received by the mineral board shall be opened at any state-owned buildings situated in the city in which the capitol is located. The mineral board has authority to accept the bid most advantageous to the state and may lease upon whatever terms it considers proper. However, the minimum royalties to be stipulated in any lease, other than a lease executed by or on behalf of a school board, shall be:

(1) One-eighth of all oil and gas produced and saved.

(2) One-eighth of the value per long ton of sulphur produced and saved which shall yield not less than two dollars per long ton.

(3) One-eighth of the value per ton for all potash produced and saved, which shall yield not less than ten cents per ton.

(4) Five percent of all lignite produced and saved.

(5) Five percent of the value per ton on a dry salt basis for all salt produced and saved, which shall yield not less than ten cents per ton.

(6) One-eighth of all other minerals produced and saved.

B. The minimum royalties to be stipulated in any lease executed by or on behalf of any school board shall be:

(1) One-sixth of all oil and gas produced and saved.

(2) One-sixth of the value per long ton of sulphur produced and saved which shall yield not less than two dollars per long ton.

(3) One-sixth of the value per ton for all potash produced and saved, which shall yield not less than ten cents per ton.

(4) Five percent of all lignite produced and saved.

(5) Five percent of the value per ton on a dry salt basis for all salt produced and saved, which shall yield not less than ten cents per ton.

(6) One-sixth of all other minerals produced and saved.

C. Each lease where ascertainable shall clearly describe the land leased by section, township, and range, or where authorized by the office of mineral resources, by points along the lease boundary delineated by Lambert X,Y coordinates connected by lines having distances and bearing, or in any other manner authorized by the office of mineral resources, and shall contain a provision permitting the state, at its option, to take in kind the portion due it as royalty of any minerals produced and saved from the leased premises. The office of mineral resources may collect a fee of five dollars each to furnish a proof of lease.

D. The board may reject any and all bids, or may lease a lesser quantity of property than advertised and withdraw the rest.

E. If all written bids are rejected, the board may immediately offer for competitive bidding a lease upon all or any designated part of the land advertised, upon terms appearing most advantageous to the state. This offering shall be subject to the board's right to reject any and all bids. No lease shall be for more than five thousand acres. Where a lease provides for delay rental, the annual rental shall not be for less than one-half the cash bonus. All lands shall be accurately described in a lease.

F. Deposit that may be required to be submitted with each bid shall be in the form of certified check, cashier's check, bank money order, or electronic funds transfer.

G. Any contract entered into for the lease of state lands for any purpose shall require that access by the public to public waterways through the state lands covered by the lease shall be maintained and preserved for the public by the lessee. The provisions of this Section shall not prohibit the secretary of the agency having control over the property from restricting access to public waterways if he determines that a danger to the public welfare exists. The provisions of this Section shall not apply in cases involving title disputes.

Amended by Acts 1965, No. 44, §1; Acts 1970, No. 599, §1, Acts 1973, No. 123, §1; Acts 1975, No. 688, §1; Acts 1976, 2nd Ex.Sess. No. 6, §1, eff. Oct. 14, 1976; Acts 1979, No. 292, §1, eff. July 10, 1979; Acts 1980, No. 216, §1; Acts 1982, No. 289, §1; Acts 1984, No. 302, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1142, §1; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 106, §1, eff. April 18, 2002; Acts 2005, No. 449, §1, eff. July 11, 2005; Acts 2007, No. 451, §1; Acts 2009, No. 196, §2, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2014, No. 48, §1.