Effective May 24, 2025, the Texas Legislature and Governor Greg Abbott enacted SB 1172 into law. This legislation exempts landmen and others working in the renewable energy sector from real estate licensing requirements in Texas, reversing a 2024 opinion by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that had unexpectedly subjected wind energy negotiations to regulation by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). The opinion also risked extending those licensing requirements to other areas of renewable energy.
Why SB 1172 Was Necessary
In Tex. Att’y Gen. Op. No. KP-0467 (2024), the Attorney General interpreted existing law to mean that negotiating wind energy leases required a TREC license. This interpretation caused legal uncertainty and operational disruption for land professionals working in renewables.
In response, the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), in partnership with Rep. Drew Darby, sponsored SB 1172 to reaffirm the exemption for energy-related landwork from TREC regulation, an exemption long applied to oil and gas transactions.
The bill passed overwhelmingly: 138–0 in the Texas House and 30–0 in the Senate.
Key Provisions of SB 1172
Drafted by Texas Senator Charles Perry, the bill amends § 1101.002 of the Texas Occupations Code, adding in definitions for “mineral” and “other energy source.” Within the amended language, “other energy source” is defined broadly to include “any natural resource . . . that is necessary to produce energy, including geothermal, hydroelectric, nuclear, solar, and wind energy.”
Amending § 1101.005 of the Texas Occupations Code, SB 1172 expressly exempts any transactions involving the sale, lease, or transfer of real property interests in minerals, water, timber, and other energy sources from TREC licensing. This revision broadens and reinforces the exemption, making clear that it applies not only to mineral interests but to all forms of energy-related landwork.
The amended section also clarifies that general partners, managers, members, and employees of limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability companies (LLCs) may conduct these transactions on behalf of their entities without a real estate license. In doing so, the bill ensures that the exemption extends beyond individual landmen to include those working through business entities that may be interested in such real property within the renewable energy sector.
Importantly, the bill was made effective immediately upon the Governor’s signature on May 24, 2025, avoiding any delay in restoring legal certainty.
Impact of SB 1172
SB 1172 restores clarity to the law surrounding energy-related transactions, countering Attorney General Paxton’s 2024 opinion, and it reinstates the long-standing exemption for land professionals in non-mineral products.
The bill affirms that landwork in solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, and future energy sources may proceed without additional regulatory burdens. The amended law further supports renewables because it removes regulatory barriers for LPs and LLCs, lowering transaction costs and administrative burdens on those entities.
The AAPL has praised SB 1172, emphasizing the importance of its provisions in protecting members and preserving Texas’s longstanding landwork tradition in the energy sector.
Kuiper Law Firm, PLLC specializes in oil and gas issues; if you have any questions about the information in this article, or how it applies to you and your operations, do not hesitate to contact us.
