1. (a) Nomination. Any group or individual, public or private, and public agencies may submit a property in public ownership to the committee for official designation. The nomination must be submitted to the committee on an approved form, available from the Texas Historical Commission, P.O. Box 12276, Capitol Station, Austin, Texas 78711-2276, at least 30 days in advance of the scheduled committee meeting date.

   1. (1) Any third-party private individual or a private group that desires to nominate a building or site owned by a political subdivision as a State Archeological Landmark must complete and return to the committee an Application for Nomination Form, and must give notice of the nomination at the individual's or group's own expense, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city, town, or county in which the building or site is located. If no newspaper of general circulation is published in the city, town, or county, the notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in an adjoining or neighboring county that is circulated in the county of the applicant's residence. The notice must:

      1. (A) be printed in 12-point boldface type;
      2. (B) include the exact location of the building or site; and
      3. (C) include the name of the group or individual nominating the building or site.
      4. (D) An original copy of the notice and an affidavit of publication signed by the newspaper's publisher must be submitted to the committee with a Application for Nomination Form. The committee will not consider a site owned by a political subdivision for designation as a State Archeological Landmark unless the notice and affidavit required by this section are attached to an Application for Nomination Form. This notification must be received by both the committee and the public agency a minimum of 30 day prior to a regularly scheduled public meeting of the committee at which the nomination is scheduled to be presented.
   2. (2) If the committee's staff wishes to nominate a historic building, or site for State Archeological Landmark designation, they must give the public agency that owns the property a written notification that a nomination will be presented to the committee. This notification must be received by the public agency a minimum of 15 days prior to the regularly scheduled public meeting of the committee at which the nomination is scheduled to be presented. The committee's staff must also send the public agency complete site information on the proposed nomination.
2. (b) Evaluation. The committee's staff will review the property and determine if it is eligible according to the criteria for evaluation specified in §§26.7-26.11 of this title (relating to Specific Criteria for Evaluating Historic Structures; Specific Criteria for Evaluating Archeological Sites; Guidelines for Recognizing Archeological Sites; Specific Criteria for Evaluating Caches and Collections; and Specific Criteria for Evaluating Shipwrecks as State Archeological Landmarks).
3. (c) Presentation. Following staff evaluation and recommendation, the nomination will be presented to the Antiquities Advisory Board at its next available meeting. Written notice of the presentation will be sent to the owner. The Antiquities Advisory Board will review each nomination, the staff recommendations related to each nomination, and any testimony given by the owner of the property, and the public at large. The Antiquities Advisory Board will then pass on their recommendations regarding each nomination to the full board of the committee. The committee's staff and the Chair of the Antiquities Advisory Board will present the nomination and recommendations to the committee at its meeting.
4. (d) Comment period. No vote on final designation may be taken by the committee for a minimum period of 30 days, during which time all concerned parties may present evidence in support of or against designation of the property. Comments should address the property's merits in light of the criteria specified in §§26.7-26.11 of this title (relating to Specific Criteria for Evaluating Historic Structures; Specific Criteria for Evaluating Archeological Sites; Guidelines for Recognizing Archeological Sites; Specific Criteria for Evaluating Caches and Collections; and Specific Criteria for Evaluating Shipwrecks as State Archeological Landmarks).
5. (e) Designation. After the minimum comment period of 30 days has elapsed, the committee may consider the property for designation at its next available meeting. Concerned parties will be informed of the agenda by written notice at least 15 calendar days in advance of the meeting date. Anyone may present evidence or testify at the meeting when the final decision is to be made. Prior to a hearing on the proposed designation by the committee, the Antiquities Advisory Board will hear and review the proposed designation, staff recommendations, and any testimony by the owner of the property and the public at large related to each proposed designation. The Antiquities Advisory Board will then pass on their recommendations regarding each proposed designation to the full board of the committee. The committee's staff and the Chair of the Antiquities Advisory Board will present the proposed designation and recommendations to the committee at its meeting. The committee may then vote to designate, to deny designation, to request further information, or to make any other appropriate decision.
6. (f) Additional evidence. If designation of a property is denied, interested parties may present additional evidence at any time for the committee's reconsideration. The evidence will be considered by the committee at its next available meeting date.
7. (g) Additional hearings. Any owner of a property designated as a state archeological landmark who is aggrieved by the designation procedure as applied to his or her property will receive a full evidentiary hearing upon request, or the formal designation can be removed by action of the committee.
8. (h) Notification of designation. Written notification of the committee's decision on designation of a property as a state archeological landmark will be forwarded to the owner and, in the case of private ownership, to the deeds clerk of the county in which the property is located.
9. (i) Listing of state archeological landmarks. If a property is officially designated as a state archeological landmark, the property will be listed in the committee's inventory and may be marked with the standard state archeological landmark marker, if deemed advisable. A current list of all historic structures, sites, and objects so designated will be maintained in the office of the Texas Antiquities Committee, P.O. Box 12276, Capitol Station, Austin, Texas 78711-2276.
10. (j) Privileged information. The location of designated sites is not public information. However, inquiries as to the status of specific sites may be disclosed to qualified professionals.

Source Note:The provisions of this §26.12 adopted to be effective June 24, 1988, 13 TexReg 2913; transferred effective August 30, 1995, as published in the Texas Register October 17, 1995, 20 TexReg 8442; amended to be effective December 5, 1995, 20 TexReg 9687; amended to be effective April 22, 1997, 22 TexReg 3577.