(a) In this section:
(1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the General Land Office.
(2) "Public retail customer" means a retail customer that is an agency of this state, a state institution of higher education, a public school district, a political subdivision of this state, a military installation of the United States, or a United States Department of Veterans Affairs facility.
(b) The commissioner, acting on behalf of the state, may sell or otherwise convey natural gas generated from royalties taken in kind as provided by Sections 52.133(f), 53.026, and 53.077, Natural Resources Code, directly to a public retail customer.
(c) To ensure that the state receives the maximum benefit from the sale of natural gas generated from royalties taken in kind, the commissioner shall use all feasible means to sell that natural gas first to public retail customers that are military installations of the United States, agencies of this state, institutions of higher education, or public school districts. The remainder of the natural gas, if any, may be sold to public retail customers that are political subdivisions of this state or to a United States Department of Veterans Affairs facility.