CSSB 217(HES): "An Act relating to the University of Alaska and university land, authorizing the University of Alaska to select additional state public domain land, and defining net income from the University of Alaska's endowment trust fund as `university receipts' subject to prior legislative appropriation; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 217(HES) 01 "An Act relating to the University of Alaska and university land, authorizing the 02 University of Alaska to select additional state public domain land, and defining 03 net income from the University of Alaska's endowment trust fund as `university 04 receipts' subject to prior legislative appropriation; and providing for an effective 05 date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. The legislature finds that 08 (1) as the beneficiary under the provisions of the Acts of August 30, 1890, and 09 March 4, 1907, designating the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines as 10 beneficiary, and of March 4, 1915, 38 Stat. 1214, transferring certain land for its location and 11 support, the University of Alaska is a land grant university; 12 (2) under the Acts of March 4, 1915, 38 Stat. 1214, and January 21, 1929, 45 13 Stat. 1091, the Congress of the United States granted to the Territory of Alaska certain federal 14 land to be held in trust for the benefit of the predecessor of the University of Alaska;
01 (3) the Territory was unable to receive most of the land conveyed by the Act 02 of March 4, 1915, before repeal of that Act by sec. 6(k) of the Alaska Statehood Act (P.L. 85-508, 72 Stat. 339); 03 (4) the Congress of the United States granted the State of Alaska the right to 04 select 102,500,000 acres of federal land under sec. 6(b) of the Alaska Statehood Act; 05 (5) the land selection rights embodied in the Alaska Statehood Act reflect in 06 part congressional recognition that the state would need the land to support its government and 07 programs, and the Congress assumed that the State of Alaska would in turn devote some of 08 the land or the income from it for the use and benefit of the University of Alaska; 09 (6) most land grant colleges in the western United States have obtained a larger 10 land grant from the federal government than the University of Alaska has received; 11 (7) an academically strong and financially secure state university system is a 12 cornerstone to the long-term development of a stable population and to a healthy, diverse 13 economy in the state; and 14 (8) it is in the best interests of the state and the University of Alaska that the 15 university take ownership of a significant and substantial portfolio of income producing land 16 in order to provide income for the support of public higher education in the state. 17 * Sec. 2. AS 14.40.170(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) The Board of Regents shall 19 (1) appoint the president of the university by a majority vote of the 20 whole board, and the president may attend meetings of the board; 21 (2) fix the compensation of the president of the university, all heads of 22 departments, professors, teachers, instructors, and other officers; 23 (3) confer such appropriate degrees as it may determine and prescribe; 24 (4) have the care, control, and management of 25 (A) all the real and personal property of the university; and 26 (B) land 27 (i) conveyed to the Board of Regents by the 28 commissioner of natural resources in the settlement of the claim of the 29 University of Alaska to land granted to the state in accordance with the 30 Act of March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 1214), as amended, and in accordance 31 with the Act of January 21, 1929 (45 Stat. 1091), as amended; and
01 (ii) selected by the university and conveyed to it by 02 the commissioner of natural resources under AS 14.40.365; 03 (5) keep a correct and easily understood record of the minutes of every 04 meeting and all acts done by it in pursuance of its duties; 05 (6) under procedures to be established by the commissioner of 06 administration, and in accordance with existing procedures for other state agencies, 07 have the care, control, and management of all money of the university and keep a 08 complete record of all money received and disbursed; 09 (7) adopt reasonable rules for the prudent trust management and the 10 long-term financial benefit to the university of the land of the university; 11 (8) provide public notice of sales, leases, exchanges, and transfers of 12 the land of the university or of interests in land of the university; 13 (9) report each year within the first 10 days of the convening of a 14 regular session of the legislature on the expenditures made during the preceding fiscal 15 year from the funds of the University of Alaska that are derived from sales, leases, 16 exchanges, or transfers of the land of the university or of interests in land of the 17 university 18 (A) that were conveyed to the University of Alaska in 19 settlement of the claim of the University of Alaska to land granted to the state 20 in accordance with the Act of March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 1214), as amended, and 21 in accordance with the Act of January 21, 1929 (45 Stat. 1091), as amended; 22 and 23 (B) that were selected by and conveyed to the university 24 under AS 14.40.365. 25 * Sec. 3. AS 14.40.291 is amended to read: 26 Sec. 14.40.291. LAND OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA NOT PUBLIC 27 DOMAIN LAND. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, university-grant land, 28 state replacement land that becomes university-grant land on conveyance to the 29 university, land selected by and conveyed to the university under AS 14.40.365, and 30 any other land owned by the University of Alaska is not and may not be treated as 31 state public domain land. Title to or interest in [TO] land described in this section
01 may not be acquired by adverse possession, prescription, or in any other manner except 02 by conveyance from the university. The land is subject to condemnation for public 03 purpose in accordance with law. 04 * Sec. 4. AS 14.40 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Sec. 14.40.365. UNIVERSITY LAND FROM STATEHOOD ACT LAND 06 SELECTION CONVEYANCES. (a) The University of Alaska may select and is 07 entitled to receive the conveyance of 1,000,000 acres of land conveyed to the state 08 under sec. 6(b) of the Alaska Statehood Act (P.L. 85-508, 72 Stat. 339) that, on the 09 date of its selection by the university, 10 (1) has not been conveyed or encumbered by the state; 11 (2) has not been reserved by law from the public domain; 12 (3) is not subject to a possessory interest or encumbrance other than 13 (A) a lease that is not an oil or gas lease; 14 (B) a timber contract; 15 (C) a mining claim; 16 (D) a sale of materials under AS 38.05.110 - 38.05.120; 17 (E) a land use permit or right-of-way issued by the Department 18 of Natural Resources under AS 38.05; 19 (4) is not necessary to carry out the purpose of an interagency land 20 management agreement; or 21 (5) is not subject to conveyance under a land exchange or land 22 settlement agreement. 23 (b) Notwithstanding AS 38.05.125(a), the transfer of ownership and 24 management of land from the Department of Natural Resources to the Board of 25 Regents of the University of Alaska under this section includes the interest of the state 26 in the oil, gas, coal, ores, minerals, fissionable materials, geothermal resources, and 27 fossils which may be in or on the land. 28 (c) When the University of Alaska selects the land to which it is entitled under 29 this section, unless the commissioner of natural resources determines under (d) of this 30 section that title to the land should not be conveyed, the commissioner of natural 31 resources shall convey title to the land selected.
01 (d) The commissioner of natural resources may not convey title to any land 02 selection made by the university under this section if the commissioner determines that 03 the proposed selection 04 (1) includes land for which, at the time of its selection under this 05 section, 06 (A) a municipality has made a selection under AS 29.65, unless 07 the land selection is, at a later date, rejected by the commissioner of natural 08 resources or relinquished by the municipality; or 09 (B) the commissioner reasonably believes may be selected by 10 a municipality under AS 29.65.030, but the commissioner may not withhold 11 under this subparagraph the conveyance of title to land selected by the 12 university for more than three years after the date of the municipality's 13 incorporation; 14 (2) is not in the best interests of the state; in making a determination 15 under this paragraph as to whether a selection by the university is in the best interests 16 of the state, the commissioner shall consider 17 (A) the interest of the general public in retention of the land in 18 state ownership; 19 (B) ensuring an appropriate diversity in the character of land 20 owned by the state and by the university; 21 (C) the public benefits achieved by conveyance of the land to 22 the university; 23 (D) the probable potential for the development of the land and 24 its resources and the probable income to the university from the conveyance of 25 the land; 26 (E) benefits to the university from the conveyance of the land 27 to it; and 28 (F) the efficiency of the management of the land resulting from 29 the conveyance of the land. 30 (e) The Board of Regents may appeal to the superior court a decision of the 31 commissioner of natural resources not to convey to the university land selected by it
01 under this section. 02 (f) When land is conveyed to the university under this section, the university 03 takes the land subject to any possessory interest held by another person on the 04 effective date of the conveyance. Except as provided in AS 14.40.368, the university 05 is entitled to receive the consideration due under that interest for the duration of the 06 interest. 07 (g) In conveying land to the university under this section, the commissioner 08 of natural resources shall give public notice under AS 38.05.945(b) and (c) and provide 09 for access under AS 38.05.127, but other provisions of AS 38.04 and AS 38.05 do not 10 apply. 11 (h) Land transferred or conveyed to the university under this section 12 (1) is subject to 13 (A) section 6(i) of the Alaska Statehood Act (P.L. 85-508, 72 14 Stat. 339); 15 (B) art. IX of the state constitution; 16 (C) AS 19.10.010; and 17 (D) the rights of the state under former 43 U.S.C. 932 (sec. 8, 18 Act of July 26, 1866, 14 Stat. 253); 19 (2) excludes any interest transferred to the state by quit claim deed 20 dated June 30, 1959, under authority of the Alaska Omnibus Act, P.L. 86-70, 73 Stat. 21 141. 22 (i) The university shall bear all costs of selection and survey of the land that 23 it selects for conveyance under this section and, subject to approval by law, shall 24 reimburse the Department of Natural Resources for the reasonable costs of expenses 25 incurred by that department relating to selection of land and its conveyances, not to 26 exceed $1,000,000. 27 * Sec. 5. AS 14.40.365(d) is repealed and reenacted to read: 28 (d) The commissioner of natural resources may not convey title to any land 29 selection made by the university under this section if the commissioner determines that 30 the proposed selection 31 (1) includes land for which, at the time of its selection under this
01 section, 02 (A) a municipality has made a selection under AS 29.65, unless 03 the land selection is, at a later date, rejected by the commissioner of natural 04 resources or relinquished by the municipality; or 05 (B) the commissioner reasonably believes the land may be 06 selected by a municipality under AS 29.65.030, but the commissioner may not 07 withhold under this subparagraph the conveyance of title to land selected by the 08 university longer than three years after the date of the municipality's 09 incorporation; 10 (2) includes land that, at the time of its selection under this section, is 11 subject to an oil and gas exploration license, or that the commissioner reasonably 12 believes will be made part of, an oil and gas exploration license issued under 13 AS 38.05.131 - 38.05.134; 14 (3) is not in the best interests of the state; in making a determination 15 under this paragraph as to whether a selection by the university is in the best interests 16 of the state, the commissioner shall consider 17 (A) the interest of the general public in retention of the land in 18 state ownership; 19 (B) ensuring an appropriate diversity in the character of land 20 owned by the state and by the university; 21 (C) the public benefits achieved by conveyance of the land to 22 the university; 23 (D) the probable potential for the development of the land and 24 its resources and the probable income to the university from the conveyance of 25 the land; 26 (E) benefits to the university from the conveyance of the land 27 to it; and 28 (F) the efficiency of the management of the land resulting from 29 the conveyance of the land. 30 * Sec. 6. AS 14.40 is amended by adding a new section to read: 31 Sec. 14.40.368. DISPOSITION OF INCOME FROM EXISTING
01 ENCUMBRANCES. The state is entitled to receive the income from land selected by 02 and conveyed to the University of Alaska under AS 14.40.365 that is subject to a 03 lease, contract, claim, sale, permit, or right-of-way identified in AS 14.40.365(a)(3) for 04 the duration of the term of the lease, contract, claim, sale, permit, or right-of-way, and 05 during any renewal of it that is authorized by the lease, contract, claim, sale, permit, 06 or right-of-way, or by law. The equitable title to the land selected vests with the 07 University of Alaska only upon conclusion of the term of the lease, contract, claim, 08 sale, permit, or right-of-way, and any renewal authorized by law. 09 * Sec. 7. AS 14.40.400(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) The Department of Revenue shall establish a separate endowment trust 11 fund in which all net income derived from the sale or lease of the land granted under 12 the Act of Congress approved January 21, 1929, and the land selected by and 13 conveyed to the university under AS 14.40.365, and in which all monetary gifts, 14 bequests, or endowments made to the University of Alaska for the purpose of the fund, 15 shall be held in trust. 16 * Sec. 8. AS 14.40.400(e) is amended to read: 17 (e) Subject to legislative appropriation, the [THE] Department of 18 Administration shall disburse the net income from the trust fund upon vouchers 19 approved by the president and treasurer of the University of Alaska specifying the 20 purpose for which the money is to be used and showing it is to be used in conformity 21 with this section. 22 * Sec. 9. AS 14.40.491 is amended to read: 23 Sec. 14.40.491. DEFINITION OF UNIVERSITY RECEIPTS. In AS 14.40.120 24 - 14.40.491, "university receipts" includes 25 (1) student fees, including tuition; 26 (2) receipts from university auxiliary services; 27 (3) recovery of indirect costs of university activities; 28 (4) the net income of the trust fund established in AS 14.40.400 and 29 receipts from sales and rentals of university property; 30 (5) federal receipts; 31 (6) gifts, grants, and contracts; and
01 (7) receipts from sales, rentals, and the provision of services of 02 educational activities. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 29.45.030(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) The following property is exempt from general taxation: 05 (1) municipal property, including property held by a public corporation 06 of a municipality, or state property, except that 07 (A) a private leasehold, contract, or other interest in the 08 property is taxable to the extent of the interest; 09 (B) notwithstanding any other provision of law, property 10 acquired by an agency, corporation, or other entity of the state through 11 foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure and retained as an investment of a 12 state entity is taxable; this subparagraph does not apply to federal land granted 13 to the University of Alaska under AS 14.40.380 or 14.40.390, or to other land 14 granted to the university by the state to replace land that had been granted 15 under AS 14.40.380 or 14.40.390, or to land conveyed by the state to the 16 university under AS 14.40.365; 17 (C) an ownership interest of a municipality in real property 18 located outside the municipality acquired after December 31, 1990, is taxable 19 by another municipality; however, a borough may not tax an interest in real 20 property located in the borough and owned by a city in that borough; 21 (2) household furniture and personal effects of members of a 22 household; 23 (3) property used exclusively for nonprofit religious, charitable, 24 cemetery, hospital, or educational purposes; 25 (4) property of a nonbusiness organization composed entirely of persons 26 with 90 days or more of active service in the armed forces of the United States whose 27 conditions of service and separation were other than dishonorable, or the property of 28 an auxiliary of that organization; 29 (5) money on deposit; 30 (6) the real property of certain residents of the state to the extent and 31 subject to the conditions provided in (e) of this section;
01 (7) real property or an interest in real property that is exempt from 02 taxation under 43 U.S.C. 1620(d), as amended; 03 (8) property of a political subdivision, agency, corporation, or other 04 entity of the United States to the extent required by federal law; except that a private 05 leasehold, contract, or other interest in the property is taxable to the extent of that 06 interest; 07 (9) natural resources in place including coal, ore bodies, mineral 08 deposits, and other proven and unproven deposits of valuable materials laid down by 09 natural processes, unharvested aquatic plants and animals, and timber. 10 * Sec. 11. APPLICABILITY OF UNIVERSITY SELECTION RIGHTS UNDER 11 AS 14.40.365 TO LAND. In addition to the land that, under AS 14.40.365(d), the 12 commissioner of natural resources may not convey to the University of Alaska, the 13 commissioner of natural resources may not convey land that, at the time of its selection by 14 the university, 15 (1) is subject to designation for conveyance or conveyance to the Alaska 16 Mental Health Trust Authority under sec. 54, ch. 66, SLA 1991; 17 (2) is land that the commissioner of natural resources reasonably believes 18 should be designated for conveyance or conveyed to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority 19 under sec. 55, ch. 66, SLA 1991, as compensation to that trust for original mental health trust 20 land not available for return to the corpus of the trust; or 21 (3) is land described in sec. 56, ch. 66, SLA 1991, as listed in "Lands 22 Hypothecated to the Mental Health Trust, May 1991" located in the office of the director of 23 the division of lands, Department of Natural Resources, in Anchorage, Alaska, that has been 24 hypothecated to secure reconstitution of the mental health trust; however, as the reconstitution 25 of the mental health trust is accomplished and the hypothecated land is released on a pro rata 26 basis, the University of Alaska may select the land and the commissioner may convey it. 27 * Sec. 12. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that, if sec. 11 of 28 this Act takes effect after the effective date of secs. 1 - 4 and 6 - 10 of this Act, the 29 commissioner of natural resources reject, as inconsistent with the best interests of the state, 30 selections of land by the University of Alaska under AS 14.40.365, added by sec. 4 of this 31 Act, of land described in sec. 11 of this Act.
01 * Sec. 13. Section 5 of this Act takes effect on the effective date of a version of House Bill 02 199 or Senate Bill 150 of the Eighteenth Alaska Legislature authorizing oil and gas 03 exploration licensing on state land. 04 * Sec. 14. Section 11 of this Act takes effect on the effective date of ch. 66, SLA 1991.