Sec. 2166.503.  ACQUISITION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL, PALEONTOLOGICAL, AND HISTORIC SITES.  (a)  The commission may acquire by gift, devise, purchase, or exercise of its general power of eminent domain land in this state on which is located:
(1)  a building, site, or landmark of statewide historical significance associated with historic events or personalities;
(2)  a prehistoric ruin;
(3)  a burial ground;
(4)  an archaeological site;
(5)  a vertebrate paleontological site;  or
(6)  a site containing fossilized footprints, an inscription made by human agency, or another archaeological, paleontological, or historic feature.
(b)  For a historic site, building, or structure, the commission may exercise the power of eminent domain under Subsection (a) only on a proper showing that the exercise is necessary to prevent destruction or deterioration of the historic site, building, or structure.
(c)  The commission may request from the Texas Historical Commission a certification or authentication of the worthiness of preservation of a feature listed in Subsection (a).
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.