(1) The board of governors of the Colorado state university system is a body corporate, capable in law of suing and being sued; of taking, holding, acquiring, exchanging, selling, and determining the uses of personal property and real estate, or any interest therein, the ownership of which is vested in the board of governors of the Colorado state university system or the entities governed by it; of contracting and being contracted with; of having and using a corporate seal; having duties and powers to control, manage, and direct the fiscal and all other affairs of the Colorado state university system and the entities it governs; and of causing to be done all things necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.
(1.5) The board of governors of the Colorado state university system shall report all sales, leases, or exchanges of real property to the Colorado commission on higher education.
(2) The board of governors of the Colorado state university system has the power to lease personal property, the ownership of which is vested in the Colorado state university system, or on behalf of any entity governed by it, for a term not to exceed eighty years to state or federal governmental agencies and to persons or corporations, public or private.
(2.5) Subject to such reviews and approvals of state agencies as are required by law, the board of governors of the Colorado state university system has the power to sell, lease, or exchange real property, or any interest therein, including any mineral rights, the ownership of which is vested in the board of governors of the Colorado state university system or on behalf of any entity governed by it. All moneys which arise from the sale, lease, or exchange of said real property, or any interest therein, and all funds transferred pursuant to this subsection (2.5), together with any interest arising from the investment of said moneys and funds, shall be under the exclusive control of the board of governors of the Colorado state university system. The state treasurer is instructed to turn over to the board of governors of the Colorado state university system all the moneys, warrants, bonds, and other securities of any nature, and any interest earned thereon, that have come from the sale, lease, or exchange of said real property, or any interest therein, including any mineral rights.
The board of governors of the Colorado state university system has the power tolease any real property or any interest therein owned by it on behalf of any entity governed by it for mineral exploration, development, and production purposes, upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and contracted by the board in the exercise of its best judgment as being in the best interests of said entity. Any lease of mineral rights shall be for a term not to exceed ten years and so long thereafter as minerals are produced and shall provide for a royalty of not less than the royalty for current commercial agreements which are generally accepted as fair royalty returns, which royalty may be reduced proportionately under an appropriate provision in the lease if the interest in said board is less than a full interest in the land or mineral rights in the land described in the lease. All royalties received under lease agreements made pursuant to the authority of this section shall be remitted by the board of governors of the Colorado state university system to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund. Whenever, in the opinion of the board and because of the size, shape, or current use of any tract of land owned by said board on behalf of any entity governed by it, any lease of such tract provides that no mineral development or production be conducted on the land covered thereby, such lease shall be for a term not to exceed ten years and so long thereafter as the board may share in royalties payable on account of the production of minerals from lands adjacent to such tract so leased.
Whenever deemed by the board of governors of the Colorado state university systemto be in the best interests of any entity governed by it, the board may enter into a unit agreement on behalf of the entity, which unit agreement may provide for the pooling, unitization, or consolidation of acreage covered by any oil and gas lease executed by the board with other acreage for oil and gas exploration, development, and production purposes and also provide for the apportionment or allocation of royalties among the separate tracts of land included in the unit or pooling agreement on an acreage or other equitable basis, and the board may change, by such agreement and with the consent of the lessee under the lease, any or all of the provisions of any lease issued by it, including the term of years for which the lease was originally granted, in order
to conform the lease to the terms and provisions of the unit or pooling agreement and to facilitate the efficient and economic production of oil and gas from the lands subject to such agreement.
The leasing of real property or any interest therein held by the board of governors ofthe Colorado state university system under the provisions of this section shall not be deemed to be a sale of such property.
The board of governors of the Colorado state university system has the power toexchange real property or any interest therein owned by the board on behalf of any entity governed by it for lands or interests in lands which the board, in the exercise of its best judgment, believes to be in the best interests of said entity in the furtherance of its programs.
The authority of the board of governors of the Colorado state university system toexecute oil and gas or other mineral leases of lands owned by the board prior to June 3, 1977, is hereby confirmed and acknowledged, and no such lease heretofore executed by the board shall be invalid for want of such authority.
Source: L. 2007: Entire article amended with relocations, p. 518, § 1, effective August 3. L. 2012: (1) amended, (HB 12-1220), ch. 100, p. 334, § 3, effective August 8.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 23-30-102 as it existed prior to 2007.