Opinion No. (1996)

Dear Secretary Johnson

¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Opinion asking, in effect, the following question:

When the Commissioners of the Land Office sell land out of the School Land Trust, and a current surface lessee of that land, with a preference right to purchase, is still occupying the land under a lease, may the Commissioners use an auction procedure under which once an initial high bid among those competing with the preference right lessee is reached, bidding continues between the preference right lessee and the highest competitor, until either the lessee chooses…