AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas lawmakers plan to tackle key property rights issues related to beaches and pipelines.
The House Land and Resource Management Committee will hear testimony Monday on changes brought by recent court decisions. The Texas Supreme Court diminished the public claims to beaches guaranteed under the Open Beaches Act.
Property owners fought to hold on to their beach front property after storms eroded the beach and won their case. The Legislature will now have to reconsider the state's ownership of beaches.
Lawmakers also want experts to explain recent decisions regarding how pipeline companies use eminent domain laws to take property.
Rural landowners are upset about the power of pipeline companies to force them to sell property. They want lawmakers to change the eminent domain laws when they meet again next year.
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