(a) If the General Land Office receives from a landowner an offer to buy the state's interest in the mineral estate in real property to which the landowner holds title, the General Land Office may sell to the landowner, for fair market value, any fractional mineral interest held by the state that:
(1) is a fractional mineral interest of 1/32 or less; and
(2) is severed from a parcel of land that:
(A) is 80 acres or less; and
(B) is located in a county with a population of less than 11,000.
(b) This section does not apply to land under the management and control of the board of regents of a public or private institution of higher education.