Tex. Codes » Transportation Code · TITLE 6. ROADWAYS · SUBTITLE A. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION · CHAPTER 203. MODERNIZATION OF STATE HIGHWAYS; CONTROLLED ACCESS HIGHWAYS
Texas Codes

Tex. Transp. Code § 203.051 (2026)

Acquisition Of Property Authorized

✓ current as of May 2026
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Sec. 203.051. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY AUTHORIZED. (a) The commission may acquire by purchase, on terms and conditions the commission considers proper or by the exercise of eminent domain, in the name of the state:

(1) an interest in real property;

(2) any property rights, including:

(A) a right of ingress or egress; and

(B) a reservation right in real property that restricts or prohibits for not more than seven years the:

(i) addition of a new improvement on the real property;

(ii) addition to or modification of an existing improvement on the real property; or

(iii) subdivision of the real property; and

(3) timber, earth, stone, gravel, or other material.

(b) Chapter 21, Property Code, applies to an acquisition by eminent domain.

(c) The department may condemn the fee or a lesser interest in the property.

(d) The department shall, in a statement or petition in condemnation, exclude from the interest to be condemned all the oil, gas, and sulphur that can be removed from beneath the real property. This exclusion shall be made without providing the owner of the oil, gas, or sulphur any right of ingress or egress to or from the surface of the land to explore, develop, drill, or mine the real property.

(e) Subsection (a) does not authorize the commission to condemn property that is used and dedicated for cemetery purposes under Subtitle C, Title 8, Health and Safety Code.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2002–2026 · leading case: State v. Bristol Hotel Asset Co., 65 S.W.3d 638 (Tex. 2002).
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State v. Bristol Hotel Asset Co., 65 S.W.3d 638 (Tex. 2002). · cites it 2× “065; Tex. Transp. Code § 203.051. In Texas, the State's filing a condemnation petition begins the legal proceedings by which the State acquires private property for public use.”
In Re State, 325 S.W.3d 848 (Tex. App. 2010). “” Because the Commission “governs” the Department, Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 201.201 (West 1999), it is similarly empowered to engage in eminent domain in “the name of the [Sjtate” and on “behalf of the [S]tate,” Tex.”
SignAd, Ltd. v. Texas Dep't of Transp. (Tex. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “27 Tex. Transp. Code § 203.051 .............”
State v. Hidalgo Cnty. Irrigation Dist. No. 16 (Tex. App. 2019). “065; TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 203.051. Section 21.”
The State of Texas & Kyle Madsen in His Off. Capacity as Dir. of Right of Way v. Jrj Pusok Holdings, LLC (Tex. 2026). “” See TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 203.051(a)(1) (emphasis added).”
in Re the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2010). “201 (West 1999), it is similarly empowered to engage in eminent domain in “the name of the [S]tate” and on “behalf of the [S]tate,” Tex. Transp. Code Ann. §§ 203.051 (West 1999), 224.”
in Re the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2010). “” Because the Commission “governs” the Department, Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 201.201 (West 1999), it is similarly empowered to engage in eminent domain in “the name of the [S]tate” and on “behalf of the [S]tate,” Tex.”
— Tex. Transp. Code § 203.051(a)(1) — 1 case
The State of Texas & Kyle Madsen in His Off. Capacity as Dir. of Right of Way v. Jrj Pusok Holdings, LLC (Tex. 2026). “” See TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 203.051(a)(1) (emphasis added).”
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