H.F. 2531 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 331.310 Mineral rights. 1 1. For purposes of this section: 2 a. “Interest in minerals” means an interest in real estate 3 that grants ownership of one or more minerals underlying 4 the real estate to a person other than the person who owns 5 the surface rights in and to the real estate. “Interest in 6 minerals” does not include an active lease in real estate that 7 allows the tenant to remove minerals from the real estate. 8 b. “Minerals” means coal, naturally occurring gases, oil, 9 or other gaseous, liquid, or solid hydrocarbons; oil shale; 10 gemstones; metals; fissionable or nonfissionable ore; and steam 11 or other geothermal resources. 12 2. A county shall divest itself of any interest in minerals 13 owned or controlled by the county and shall convey such 14 interest in minerals to the surface owner of the land to which 15 the interest in minerals pertains except where the county is 16 the fee simple surface owner of the land. A conveyance under 17 this section shall be made without consideration and shall be 18 without cost to the surface owner of the land. 19 3. A county shall complete all conveyances required under 20 this section no later than five years after the effective date 21 of this Act. Conveyances pursuant to section 458A.20 shall 22 be completed within one hundred fifty days of service of the 23 required notice. Any interest in minerals acquired by the 24 county after the effective date of this Act shall be conveyed 25 as required under this section within ninety days. 26 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 364.26 Mineral rights. 27 1. For purposes of this section: 28 a. “Interest in minerals” means an interest in real estate 29 that grants ownership of one or more minerals underlying 30 the real estate to a person other than the person who owns 31 the surface rights in and to the real estate. “Interest in 32 minerals” does not include an active lease in real estate that 33 allows the tenant to remove minerals from the real estate. 34 b. “Minerals” means coal, naturally occurring gases, oil, 35 -1- LSB 5820HV (2) 91 ms/js 1/ 7

H.F. 2531 or other gaseous, liquid, or solid hydrocarbons; oil shale; 1 gemstones; metals; fissionable or nonfissionable ore; and steam 2 or other geothermal resources. 3 2. A city shall divest itself of any interest in minerals 4 owned or controlled by the city and shall convey such interest 5 in minerals to the surface owner of the land to which the 6 interest in minerals pertains except where the city is the 7 surface owner of the land. A conveyance under this section 8 shall be made without consideration and shall be without cost 9 to the surface owner of the land. 10 3. A city shall complete all conveyances required under this 11 section no later than five years after the effective date of 12 this Act. Any interest in minerals acquired by the city after 13 the effective date of this Act shall be conveyed as required 14 under this section within ninety days. 15 Sec. 3. Section 446.7, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 16 following new subsection: 17 NEW SUBSECTION . 3. The county shall not offer for sale 18 mineral rights or an interest in minerals, as defined in 19 section 331.310. If the taxes on any mineral rights or 20 interests not owned by the owner of the land are delinquent, 21 the county shall proceed in accordance with section 458A.20. 22 Sec. 4. Section 458A.20, Code 2026, is amended to read as 23 follows: 24 458A.20 Tax sale —— redemption by owner. 25 1. When If the taxes on any mineral rights or interests 26 not owned by the owner of the land are sold at tax sale, and 27 when delinquent, the county treasurer shall send a statement 28 of delinquent taxes and a notice that the mineral rights or 29 interests will be conveyed to the owner of the land unless the 30 owner of those mineral rights or interests does not redeem 31 under the provisions of chapter 447 pays the total amount 32 of the delinquent taxes, interest, and costs to the county 33 treasurer within ninety days after the tax sale, the owner of 34 the land shall thereafter have the same right of redemption 35 -2- LSB 5820HV (2) 91 ms/js 2/ 7

H.F. 2531 as the owner of the mineral rights or interests has, and 1 redemption by the notice is served. The county treasurer shall 2 serve the notice by sending it by regular first class mail 3 to the person’s last known address and to the address of the 4 person’s registered agent listed with the secretary of state, 5 if applicable. 6 2. When the owner of those mineral rights or interests does 7 not pay the total amount due by the deadline, the county shall 8 convey the mineral rights or interests pursuant to section 9 331.310 to the owner of the land . Such conveyance shall 10 terminate any right of redemption of the owner of the mineral 11 rights or interests. 12 3. a. The county may collect the total amount due by 13 converting the amount due to a personal judgment pursuant to 14 sections 445.3 and 446.20, notwithstanding the absence of a tax 15 sale or tax sale certificate. 16 b. If the treasurer determines that it is impractical to 17 pursue collection of the total amount due through the tax sale 18 and the personal judgment remedies, the treasurer shall make 19 a written recommendation to the board of supervisors to abate 20 the amount due. The board of supervisors shall abate, by 21 resolution, the amount due and direct the treasurer to strike 22 the amount due from the county system. 23 Sec. 5. Section 557C.1, Code 2026, is amended to read as 24 follows: 25 557C.1 Lapse of mineral interests in coal —— prevention. 26 A mineral interest in coal shall be extinguished is 27 abandoned if it has not been active in accordance with section 28 557C.3 for a period of twenty years after its creation, 29 transfer, or preservation, unless a statement of claim is 30 filed in accordance with section 557C.3, and the ownership 31 shall revert to the person who was then the owner of the 32 interest from which the mineral interest in coal was created, 33 transferred, or preserved 557C.4 . Title to an abandoned 34 mineral interest vests in the owner of the surface estate in 35 -3- LSB 5820HV (2) 91 ms/js 3/ 7

H.F. 2531 the land in, or under which the mineral interest is located on 1 the date of abandonment. Upon the filing of a statement of 2 claim within the specified period, the mineral interest shall 3 be deemed to have been preserved for an additional period of 4 twenty years, or a shorter period as may be specified in the 5 instrument creating the interest. 6 Sec. 6. Section 557C.2, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended 7 to read as follows: 8 2. “Mineral interest in coal ” means an interest created by 9 an instrument which that creates or transfers , either by grant, 10 assignment, reservation, or otherwise, an interest of any kind 11 in coal, as described in chapter 207 oil and gas, naturally 12 occurring gases including but not limited to geologic hydrogen, 13 hydrocarbons, metals, or other minerals , without limitation on 14 the manner of extraction or mining the coal . 15 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 557C.2A Active mineral interests. 16 A mineral interest is active when any one of the following 17 conditions exists: 18 1. Minerals are produced or explored by or with the express 19 permission of the record owner of the mineral interest. 20 2. Operations are conducted for extraction, withdrawal, 21 injection, storage, or disposal of water, gas, or other fluid 22 substances to produce or enhance the production of minerals 23 by or with the express permission of the record holder of the 24 mineral interest. 25 3. For sold minerals, there is a production from a well or 26 a common vein or seam with the express permission of the record 27 owner of the mineral interest. 28 4. Any valid conveyance, lease, mortgage, assignment, 29 private distribution, termination of joint tenancy interest 30 affidavit, termination of life estate affidavit, or any 31 judgment or decree that makes specific references to the record 32 owner’s mineral interest is recorded within the last twenty 33 years in the recorder’s office for the county in which the 34 mineral interest is located. 35 -4- LSB 5820HV (2) 91 ms/js 4/ 7

H.F. 2531 5. The mineral interest is subject to an agreement or order 1 to pool or unitize. 2 6. A statement of claim is filed in accordance with section 3 557C.4. 4 Sec. 8. Section 557C.3, Code 2026, is amended to read as 5 follows: 6 557C.3 Statement of claim —— filing requirement. 7 The statement of claim provided in section 557C.1 shall be 8 filed by the owner of the mineral interest in coal prior to the 9 end of the twenty-year period set forth in section 557C.1 or 10 by July 1, 1994, whichever is later. The statement of claim 11 shall contain the name and address of the owner of the mineral 12 interest in coal , and a description of the real estate on, or 13 under, which the mineral interest in coal is located. The 14 statement of claim shall be filed in the office of the recorder 15 in the county in which the real estate is located. 16 Sec. 9. Section 557C.4, Code 2026, is amended to read as 17 follows: 18 557C.4 Statement of claim —— recorder’s duty. 19 Upon the filing of the statement of claim provided for in 20 section 557C.3 in the recorder’s office for the county where 21 the real estate on, or under, which the mineral interest 22 in coal exists , is located, the recorder shall record the 23 statement of claim and index the entries required to be made 24 pursuant to section 557C.3 and any applicable entries specified 25 in sections 558.49 and 558.52 . 26 Sec. 10. Section 557C.5, Code 2026, is amended to read as 27 follows: 28 557C.5 Reservation in other conveyance. 29 A reservation of a mineral interest in coal or an exception 30 of a mineral interest in coal , contained in a conveyance of 31 the interest out of which it is carved, by a nonowner of the 32 mineral interest in coal shall not be deemed to satisfy the 33 requirements of this chapter or as a revival of a mineral 34 interest in coal otherwise extinguished under this chapter . 35 -5- LSB 5820HV (2) 91 ms/js 5/ 7

H.F. 2531 Sec. 11. Section 557C.6, Code 2026, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 557C.6 Exemption. 3 The filing of the statement of claim required under section 4 557C.3 to preserve the mineral interest in coal shall not be 5 required of an owner if the mineral interest was separately 6 taxed for real estate tax purposes at any time after July 1, 7 1971 , the tax was paid, the mineral interest has not been 8 subject to a tax sale, and the mineral interest has not been 9 conveyed to the owner of the surface estate pursuant to section 10 331.310 or 458A.20 . 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill requires a county or city to divest any interest 15 in minerals that the county or city owns or controls. The 16 county or city shall convey any interest in minerals it owns or 17 controls to the surface owner of the land to which the interest 18 in minerals pertains. 19 Counties and cities shall complete all conveyances required 20 under the bill no later than five years after the effective 21 date of the bill. Any interest in minerals acquired by a 22 county or city after the effective date of the bill shall be 23 conveyed within 90 days. 24 The bill provides that if taxes on any mineral rights or 25 interests not owned by the owner of the land are delinquent, 26 then the county shall send a statement of the delinquent taxes 27 along with a notice that the mineral rights or interests will 28 be conveyed to the owner of the land unless the owner of those 29 mineral rights or interests pays the total amount due within 30 90 days after the notice is served. The notice shall be served 31 through first class mail. If the owner of the mineral rights 32 and interests does not pay the total amount due, the county 33 shall convey the mineral rights and interests to the owner of 34 the land, terminating any right of redemption of the owner of 35 -6- LSB 5820HV (2) 91 ms/js 6/ 7

H.F. 2531 the mineral rights or interests. 1 The bill authorizes the county to collect the total amount 2 due by converting the amount to a personal judgment. If the 3 treasurer finds that it is impractical to collect the amount 4 due through tax sale and personal judgment, the treasurer shall 5 make a written recommendation to the board of supervisors to 6 abate the total amount due. The board of supervisors shall 7 abate, by resolution, the amount due and direct the treasurer 8 to strike the amount due from the county system. 9 Under current law, a mineral interest in coal is 10 automatically extinguished 20 years after its creation, 11 transfer, or preservation and the ownership is reverted back 12 to the owner of the land, unless a statement of claim is filed. 13 The bill provides that any mineral interest is abandoned if 14 it has not been active for a period of 20 years after its 15 creation, transfer, or preservation, unless a statement of 16 claim is filed. The bill specifies that a mineral interest is 17 active when one of several certain conditions exist. Title 18 to the abandoned mineral interest vests in the owner of the 19 surface estate in the land in, or under, which the mineral 20 interest is located on the date of abandonment. 21 The bill provides that the statement of claim shall not be 22 required of an owner if the mineral interest was separately 23 taxed for real estate tax purposes, the tax was paid, the 24 mineral interest has not been subject to a tax sale, and the 25 mineral interest has not been conveyed to the owner of the 26 surface estate. 27 -7- LSB 5820HV (2) 91 ms/js 7/ 7