PROPERTY: Provides relative to an exchange of property in Tensas Parish

Education Land

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Francis C. Thompson
Last action: 2026-05-29
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 439
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Property Exchange for Tensas Parish

This act allows the Tensas Parish School Board to sell or exchange certain school lands, provided they get an appraisal and reserve mineral rights.

What This Bill Does

Allows the Tensas Parish School Board to sell or exchange land that is no longer needed for schools.
Requires the School Board to get a professional appraisal of the land before selling or exchanging it.
Ensures that any exchanged property must be worth at least as much as what is given up.
Requires the School Board to keep all mineral rights when exchanging lands.

Who It Names or Affects

The Tensas Parish School Board
People who own or want to buy land in Tensas Parish

Terms To Know

Appraisal: An official estimate of the value of something, like a piece of land.
Mineral rights: The right to use and profit from minerals found under a piece of land.

Limits and Unknowns

This act only applies to specific lands in Tensas Parish.
It does not specify what happens if the School Board cannot find an equal or better exchange for the land.

Bill History

2026-05-29 H
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
2026-05-29 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 439.
2026-05-21 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-20 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-20 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-20 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-19 S
Read by title, passed by a vote of 33 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-19 S
Rules suspended. Called from the Calendar.
2026-04-22 S
Read by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.
2026-04-14 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-04-13 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-04-08 S
Reported favorably.
2026-03-30 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.
2026-03-25 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-03-25 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 101, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-03-23 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 03/25/2026.
2026-03-23 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-03-18 H
Reported favorably (11-0).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment.
2026-02-27 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
2026-02-27 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment.
2026-02-27 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

PROPERTY: Provides relative to an exchange of property in Tensas Parish

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 4392026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 677
BY REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 41:909, relative to the disposition of school lands; to provide for the sale or
3 exchange of certain state property in Tensas Parish; to provide for the authority of
4 the Tensas Parish School Board; to require appraisal; to provide for the reservation
5 of mineral rights; and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 41:909 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
8 §909. Tensas Parish School Board; sale or exchange of school lands
9 A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if the Tensas
10 Parish School Board, on behalf of the state of Louisiana, determines that any school
11 land, including but not limited to sixteenth section lands, school indemnity lands, or
12 other immovable property located in Tensas Parish and as more specifically
13 described in any agreements entered into and documents executed by the Tensas
14 Parish School Board, is no longer needed for school purposes and that the best
15 interest of the Tensas Parish school system would be served by the sale or exchange
16 of such land, the school board may sell such lands or exchange it for other lands in
17 Tensas Parish in accordance with this Section.
18 B. The Tensas Parish School Board shall obtain an appraisal of the land to
19 be sold or exchanged from a certified, licensed appraiser and such appraisal shall be
20 available for public inspection.
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 677 ENROLLED
1 C. If land is exchanged, the total consideration received by the Tensas Parish
2 School Board, including the value of land received, shall be of equal or greater value
3 than the land that the Tensas Parish School Board is to relinquish or exchange.
4 D. The Tensas Parish School Board shall reserve to the state all mineral
5 rights and interests as required by law.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 2 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.