It is the declared policy of the state:
(1) to protect the property rights of those who sell interests in land to the state by fairly compensating the sellers;
(2) to protect that coastal wetland which is most essential to the public interest by acquiring fee and lesser interests in the coastal wetland and managing it in a manner that will preserve and protect the productivity and integrity of the land as coastal wetland; and
(3) to assure that the state does not expend funds to acquire any coastal wetland to which it already holds a valid title at the time of the expenditure.
Official text of the Texas Natural Resources Code as published by the Texas Legislative Council.