(a) The department may, in its sole discretion, award a lease by any method it determines to be in its best interest.
(b) Prior to the date of the lease award, notice of real property available for lease may be published on the TxDOT website. When a lease is awarded on a sealed bid basis, notice of the proposed lease will be advertised at least 20 days prior to the date of the bid opening. The notice will be published once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to bid opening in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the highway asset is located.
(c) The department will charge not less than fair market value for leases. However, if the commission finds it to be in the public interest, the commission may waive the fair market value requirement for a lease to a public utility provider or an institution of higher education as defined by Education Code, §61.003, or for social, environmental, or economic mitigation purposes.

Source Note: The provisions of this §21.603 adopted to be effective August 15, 2002, 27 TexReg 7177; amended to be effective February 18, 2015, 40 TexReg 721