CHAPTER 5. Reservation of Minerals [6401. - 6407.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 5.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6401. Section 6401.

(a) All oil, gas, oil shale, coal, phosphate, sodium, gold, silver, and all other mineral deposits in public lands belonging to the state, or which may become the property of the state, are reserved to the state. Such deposits are reserved from sale except upon a rental and royalty basis and except as otherwise provided by law. A purchaser of any public lands belonging to the state, or which may become property of the state, shall acquire no right, title, or interest in or to such deposits. The right of such purchaser shall be subject to the reservation of all oil, gas, oil shale, coal, phosphate, sodium, gold, silver, and all other mineral deposits, and to the conditions and limitations prescribed by law providing for the state and persons authorized by it to prospect for, mine, and remove such deposits, and to occupy and use so much of the surface of the land as may be required for all purposes reasonably extending to the mining and removal of such deposits therefrom; provided, that when any person, authorized by the state to prospect for said reserved deposits to the extent provided for in this division, enters upon such land, such person so entering shall be liable to and shall compensate such purchaser of land for all damage and injury to the permanent improvements and the crops on such lands by reason of such prospecting; provided, further, that persons who have acquired the right to mine and remove such deposits may reenter, occupy and use so much of the surface of the land as may be required for all purposes reasonably extending to the mining and removal of such deposits therefrom; first, upon securing the written consent or waiver of the purchaser of such public land; second, upon payment of the damages to crops or other tangible improvements to the owner thereof, where agreement may be had as to the amount thereof; or third, in lieu of either of the foregoing provisions, upon the execution of a good and sufficient bond or undertaking to the State of California for the use and benefit of the purchaser of such land, to secure the payment of such damages to the crops or tangible improvements of the purchaser of said land as may be determined and fixed in an action brought upon the bond or undertaking in a court of competent jurisdiction against the principal and sureties thereon, such bond or undertaking to be in the form and in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the commission; and provided, further, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any compromise agreement entered into under this division, nor to any exchange of real property where the state receives the mineral rights in the parcel or parcels being acquired by the state. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), upon a finding by the commission that there are no known deposits of commercially valuable minerals in and above a plane located 500 feet below the surface of any lands sold or exchanged or to be sold or exchanged by the state to another, including land sold pursuant to Section 6404, and wherein any or all of the mineral deposits have been or are required by law to be reserved to the state, the commission may by quitclaim, patent, agreement, or other appropriate instrument, modify the accompanying rights of the state to the use of the surface of such lands, including any right to enter such lands to a depth of 500 feet below the surface of such lands, as will permit the orderly use and developmenmt of all such sold or exchanged lands. Any such finding by the commission and any such modification of accompanying rights of the state as provided in this subdivision shall be conclusive in favor of any purchaser or encumbrancer of such sold or exchanged lands acting in good faith and for value. Any modification authorized by this subdivision which affects school land Sections 16 and 36 granted to the state by and upon the terms and conditions set forth in Section 870 of Title 43 of the United States Code, shall not be made in a manner inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth in such federal law so long as such terms and conditions are effective. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize the relinquishment of any mineral rights in such lands owned or reserved to the state.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6401.5. Section 6401.5.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 6401, the commission may sell to a surface property owner, for not less than fair market value, the state’s reserved mineral interest in a parcel of land comprised of 466.66 acres, described in Section 36, T 3 S, R 14 E, SBB&M, consisting of lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11, N 1/2 of NW 1/4, and W 1/2 of NE 1/4, located in Riverside County, upon those terms and conditions, and subject to any reservations and exceptions as the commission determines are in the best interests of the state. Proceeds from the sale shall be deposited in accordance with the requirements of Section 6217.7. (b) For purposes of this section “surface property owner” means a person who is the owner of a parcel of real property, but who does not have the right to prospect for, mine, or remove mineral deposits from that property.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6402. Section 6402.

All applications to purchase state public lands and all sales pursuant thereto shall be subject to and contain a reservation to the State of all oil, gas, oil shale, coal, phosphate, sodium, gold, silver, and all other mineral deposits in all lands so acquired, and shall also contain a reservation to the State, and persons authorized by it, of the right to prospect for, mine, and remove such deposits and to occupy and use so much of the surface as may be required therefor, and all certificates of purchase and patents issued therefor shall contain such reservations. Whenever authorized by law to make grants of land to the United States of America, or to an officer, department, or agency thereof, either in exchange for other lands or otherwise, the commission may make such grants with or without the reservation of deposits of oil and gas and other minerals required by this chapter.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6403. Section 6403.

This chapter shall not be construed as applicable to the sale or exchange by the state of the following lands: (a) Lands acquired by the state on sale thereof for delinquent taxes, other than lands the deed for which is required to be filed with the Department of Finance or the commission. (b) Lands acquired by the state by foreclosure of any lien for taxes due the state, or for penalties or interest thereon, or by execution of any judgment for money due the state, or lands which are seized by the state and sold pursuant to Section 7891 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (c) Lands acquired by the state under the provisions of the Streets and Highways Code and sold or exchanged pursuant to the provisions of Section 104.5 thereof. (d) Lands which have escheated to the state or which have been distributed to the state by court decree in estates of deceased persons. (e) Lands which have escheated to the state under the provisions of Proposition 1 of the General Election of 1920, page 1 xxxiii, as amended. (f) Land acquired by the state for public use.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6404. Section 6404.

Any state agency that sells any of the lands listed in Section 6403, other than tax-deeded lands, may, with the approval of the commission, dispose of oil and gas, other gases, including, but not limited to, nonhydrocarbon and geothermal gases, oil shale, coal, phosphate, alumina, silica, fossils of all geological ages, sodium, gold, silver, or other mineral deposits, metals and their compounds, alkali, alkali earth, sand, clay, gravel, salts and mineral waters, uranium, trona, and geothermal resources, together with the right to prospect for, mine and remove such deposits or resources, and to occupy and use so much of the surface of the land as may be necessary therefor.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6405. Section 6405.

The commission shall have the sole responsibility for and jurisdiction over the administration, management and disposal of all mineral reservations heretofore and hereafter made under the provisions of Section 6404, and is hereby authorized to rent or lease all or part of the property represented by such mineral reservations in the manner and under the conditions now or hereafter prescribed by law with respect to the rent or lease of school lands belonging to the State.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6406. Section 6406.

The commission is hereby authorized to sell, exchange, rent, lease, or otherwise manage the property represented by all mineral reservations to the State made prior to the effective date of Section 6403 of this code, as added by Chapter 227 of the Statutes of 1947, with respect to any lands of the classes specifically exempt from this chapter under the provisions of that section, other than lands acquired by the State under the provisions of the Streets and Highways Code, in such manner and upon such conditions as commissions may determine; provided, that any proceeds from the rent, lease, or other management of mineral reservations to the State made in connection with property which has been distributed or escheated to the State in connection with unclaimed estates of deceased persons shall be disposed of as provided by law with respect to other property in unclaimed estates of deceased persons. The commission shall furnish the Controller the name of the estate in connection with any money collected by the commission and transmitted by it to the State Treasury in connection with mineral reservations relating to unclaimed estates of deceased persons. The commission, through its executive officer, shall have the power to sign, on behalf of the State and the commission, all deeds, leases, agreements or other documents required in connection with the exercise by the commission of the powers vested in it by this section.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6407. Section 6407.

This section is enacted for the purpose of declaring the scope and extent of the powers, duties, purposes, responsibilities and jurisdiction of the commission and the legislative intent with respect to reservation of mineral deposits reserved to the state pursuant to Section 6401; but nothing herein shall be construed as limiting any power, duty, purpose, responsibility, or jurisdiction heretofore, or by this code, vested in or conferred upon the commission. Mineral deposits reserved to the state shall include all mineral deposits in lands belonging to, or which may become, the property of the state, including but not limited to, oil and gas, other gases including, but not limited to, nonhydrocarbon and geothermal gases, oil shale, coal, phosphate, alumina, silica, fossils of all geological ages, sodium, gold, silver, metals and their compounds, alkali, alkali earth, sand, clay, gravel, salts and mineral waters, uranium, trona, and geothermal resources.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026