CSHB 116(RES): "An Act relating to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation, to the agricultural revolving loan fund, to the disposal of interests in state agricultural or grazing land; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 116(RES) 01 "An Act relating to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation, to the 02 agricultural revolving loan fund, to the disposal of interests in state agricultural 03 or grazing land; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 03 is amended by adding new sections to read: 06 Chapter 09. Board of Agriculture and Conservation. 07 Sec. 03.09.010. Board of Agriculture and Conservation established. (a) 08 There is established in the department the Board of Agriculture and Conservation. The 09 board consists of the commissioner and seven members appointed by the governor. 10 Appointed members shall have the following qualifications: 11 (1) one member shall have general business or financial experience; 12 (2) one member shall be a member of a statewide agriculture promotion 13 organization; 14 (3) one member shall be a member of a soil and water conservation
01 district established under AS 41.10.130(a) who is also engaged in commercial 02 production agriculture; 03 (4) four members shall be engaged in commercial production 04 agriculture, each shall represent a different agriculture enterprise from the others, such 05 as livestock production, dairy, vegetable production, grain production, horticultural 06 production, and greenhouse and hydroponic production. 07 (b) Appointed members of the board serve staggered three-year terms and until 08 a successor is appointed. Appointed members may be removed from office by the 09 governor only for cause. If a vacancy occurs, the governor shall immediately appoint 10 a member for the unexpired portion of the term. 11 (c) Appointed members of the board receive no compensation, but are entitled 12 to per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions under 13 AS 39.20.180. 14 (d) While serving on the board and for one year after leaving that office, a 15 board member or an immediate family member of the board member, may not obtain 16 a lease, permit, or loan under AS 03.10 or under AS 38.05. Notwithstanding 17 AS 39.52.150(a), a person may be appointed to the board even though, at the time of 18 appointment, that person, or an immediate family member, has a lease, permit, or loan 19 under AS 03.10 or AS 38.05. However, that person may not participate in any action 20 by the board that directly affects that lease, permit, or loan. If a person with a lease, 21 permit, or loan under AS 03.10 or AS 38.05 is appointed to the board, failure by that 22 person to abide by all the terms and conditions of the lease, permit, or loan constitutes 23 cause for removal under (b) of this section. 24 Sec. 03.09.020. Officers and employees. (a) The Board of Agriculture and 25 Conservation shall elect a member to serve as chair and a member to serve as vice- 26 chair for one-year terms. A member may be reelected to serve additional terms as chair or 27 vice-chair. 28 (b) The board may appoint a director, who may employ staff and who is 29 responsible for the daily operations of the agricultural revolving loan fund 30 (AS 03.10.040). The director is in the exempt service under AS 39.25.110. 31 Sec. 03.09.030. Quorum. Five members of the Board of Agriculture and
01 Conservation constitute a quorum for the transaction of business or the exercise of a 02 power or function at a meeting of the board. 03 Sec. 03.09.040. Regulations. (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation 04 may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to carry out its 05 duties. 06 (b) The board may, by regulation, classify loan and marketing information and 07 make some classes of loan or marketing information confidential. 08 Sec. 03.09.050. Agricultural land. The Board of Agriculture and 09 Conservation may recommend to the commissioner that land in the land disposal bank 10 established under AS 38.04.020 be classified as suitable for agriculture. The board 11 may identify state land for agricultural disposal and request the commissioner to 12 provide for the survey and disposal of the land. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 03.10.020(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010) 15 [DEPARTMENT] may 16 (1) make a loan to 17 (A) an individual resident farmer, homesteader, or a partnership 18 or corporation composed of farmers and homesteaders for 19 (i) clearing land for agricultural purposes; 20 (ii) development of farms; 21 (iii) storage and processing of farm produce; or 22 (iv) the purchase of livestock or machinery; 23 (B) an individual state resident, or a partnership or corporation 24 for 25 (i) storage and processing plants for agricultural 26 products; 27 (ii) the commercial production or processing of 28 horticultural products in the state; 29 (iii) the commercial production or processing of animal 30 feed in the state; or 31 (iv) the raising or care of animals in the state for the
01 purpose of marketing their fur; 02 (2) designate agents and delegate its powers to them as necessary; 03 (3) adopt regulations necessary to carry out its functions, including 04 regulations to establish reasonable fees for services provided and charges for collecting 05 the fees; 06 (4) establish amortization plans for repayment of loans, which may 07 include delayed payments of principal and interest for not to exceed five years; 08 (5) enter into agreements with private lending institutions, other state 09 agencies or agencies of the federal government, to carry out the purposes of this 10 chapter; 11 (6) collect the fees and collection charges established under this 12 subsection. 13 * Sec. 3. AS 03.10.030(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) The farm development, chattel, or irrigation loan made under this chapter 15 (1) may not exceed a term of 30 years, except that a chattel loan may 16 not exceed a term of seven years; 17 (2) may not, when added to the outstanding balance of other loans 18 made under this chapter, exceed a total outstanding balance of $1,000,000; 19 (3) shall be secured by a real estate or chattel mortgage of any priority, 20 except that the portion of a loan that exceeds $500,000, when added to prior 21 indebtedness that is secured by the same property, must be secured by a first mortgage; 22 (4) shall bear interest at a rate comparable to that charged by other 23 agricultural [THAT MAY NOT BE LESS THAN EIGHT PERCENT OR MORE 24 THAN THE COMMERCIAL RATE, UNLESS THE COMMERCIAL RATE IS 25 EIGHT PERCENT OR LESS; IN THIS PARAGRAPH, "COMMERCIAL RATE" 26 MEANS THE PREVAILING RATE OF INTEREST AT PRIVATE] lending 27 institutions in the state for loans similar to those referred to in this subsection. 28 * Sec. 4. AS 03.10.030(c) is amended to read: 29 (c) A short-term [SHORT TERM] loan, to be amortized within one year, not 30 to exceed $350,000 to any one borrower may be made for operating purposes, except 31 that a loan made under this subsection may not exceed $200,000 unless the loan is
01 made to a borrower in a farm disaster area declared under AS 03.10.058. An applicant 02 for a short-term [SHORT TERM] loan may be required to purchase insurance through 03 the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 - 1520) as a condition of the loan. 04 The term of a loan made under this subsection may be extended for up to three years 05 by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING 06 LOAN FUND BOARD], in the discretion of the board, upon application by the 07 borrower. 08 * Sec. 5. AS 03.10.030(e) is amended to read: 09 (e) An installment payment is delinquent unless it is mailed by the borrower 10 on or before the 30th day after the date specified for payment in the loan agreement 11 or unless it is received by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 12 [DEPARTMENT] on or before the 30th day after the date specified for payment in the 13 loan agreement. If an installment payment is delinquent, the director of the board 14 [DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT] may assess a delinquency 15 penalty. The delinquency penalty shall be an amount equal to seven percent of the 16 delinquent payment, but the combined delinquency penalty and loan interest may not 17 exceed 15 percent. 18 * Sec. 6. AS 03.10.030(f) is amended to read: 19 (f) A farm product processing loan may not exceed $250,000. A mortgage 20 that secures a farm product processing loan may be of any priority if the total 21 indebtedness on the real estate, including the secured farm product processing loan, 22 does not exceed $250,000. A farm product processing loan that, if made, would raise 23 the existing indebtedness on the real estate securing the loan above $250,000, or a 24 farm product processing loan on real estate that has a prior indebtedness of $250,000 25 or more, may be made only if all prior mortgagees agree to subordinate their 26 mortgages to that of the state for the amount of the farm product processing loan that 27 exceeds the $250,000 indebtedness limit on the real estate. A farm product processing 28 loan may not exceed a term of 30 years or bear interest at a rate that is less than a 29 rate comparable to that charged by other agricultural lending institutions in the 30 state for similar loans, [EIGHT PERCENT A YEAR] and shall be secured by a real 31 estate or chattel mortgage or both.
01 * Sec. 7. AS 03.10.030(g) is amended to read: 02 (g) A loan for clearing land may not 03 (1) exceed $250,000; 04 (2) bear interest at a rate that is less than a rate comparable to that 05 charged by other agricultural lending institutions in the state for similar loans 06 [EIGHT PERCENT]; 07 (3) have a term in excess of 20 years; or 08 (4) be made for clearing land other than land that has been classified 09 by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource [SOIL] 10 Conservation Service , under the Land Capability Classification System as having 11 agricultural potential for the production of annual crops or [,] hay, or for pasture. 12 * Sec. 8. AS 03.10.030(h) is amended to read: 13 (h) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation [COMMISSIONER] shall 14 adopt regulations to establish other terms for loans made under this chapter, consistent 15 with the provisions of this section, and may establish interest rates for loans under 16 (a)(4) of this section that 17 (1) encourage agricultural development; 18 (2) do not subsidize nonviable agricultural enterprises; and 19 (3) do not discriminate against viable existing agricultural enterprises. 20 * Sec. 9. AS 03.10.033(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) To increase the return to the state, the Board of Agriculture and 22 Conservation [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND BOARD] may 23 restructure loans (1) in existence on January 1, 1987, made by the former 24 Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund Board [BOARD] or by the former Alaska 25 Agricultural Action Council based upon guidelines approved by the Board of 26 Agriculture and Conservation; or (2) of a borrower who has experienced an 27 agricultural disaster as defined by regulations adopted by the Board of 28 Agriculture and Conservation [BOARD]. The restructuring may only include 29 reduction of interest [TO RATES BELOW THOSE SPECIFIED BY AS 03.10.030], 30 an extension of the term of the loan, and an improvement to the security interest of the 31 state. It may not reduce the amount of principal and interest owed before the loan is
01 restructured. AS 03.10.030(a)(1) does not apply to a loan that is restructured 02 under this section. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 03.10.033(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Board of 05 Agriculture and Conservation [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND 06 BOARD] may approve an application for restructuring under this section only upon 07 (1) the applicant's written release of the state, including [THE 08 ALASKA AGRICULTURE ACTION COUNCIL, THE AGRICULTURAL 09 REVOLVING LOAN FUND, AND] the University of Alaska, from all potential 10 liability for actions and omissions occurring before the date of restructuring that relate 11 in any way to a state farm project, land sale, land sale relinquishment, farm loan, or 12 loan application or loan modification application, whether granted or denied by the 13 state; and 14 (2) assignment by the applicant to the board of the proceeds from the 15 federal government under 7 U.S.C. 1442 (Conservation Reserve Program) and P.L. 88- 16 26 (Feed Grain Act of 1963), as amended. 17 * Sec. 11. AS 03.10.035(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) A borrower may not use farm land for a nonfarm [NON-FARM] use or 19 sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of farm land if that land is encumbered by a mortgage 20 given to secure the payment of a farm development, chattel, or irrigation system loan 21 under this chapter unless the borrower either 22 (1) pays the outstanding balance of the loan in a lump sum or under 23 other terms agreed to by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 24 [COMMISSIONER] that accelerate payment of the loan; or 25 (2) pays the outstanding principal balance for the remaining term of the 26 loan at the prevailing rate of interest that is charged by commercial banks in the state 27 during the calendar quarter in which the board [DEPARTMENT] receives notice of 28 the change of use, sale, lease, or other disposal of the farm land. 29 * Sec. 12. AS 03.10.040(b) is amended to read: 30 (b) Money in the fund may be used by the legislature to make appropriations 31 for costs of administering this chapter and for operations of the Board of
01 Agriculture and Conservation . 02 * Sec. 13. AS 03.10.050(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation [COMMISSIONER] shall 04 administer the agricultural revolving loan fund [IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 05 AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND BOARD]. A [NO] loan [IN EXCESS 06 OF $25,000] may not be made [BY THE COMMISSIONER] without the approval of 07 a majority of the board , except that emergency loans not to exceed $50,000 may be 08 made upon the approval, by majority vote, of a committee composed of the chair 09 of the board, another board member, and the director of the board . 10 * Sec. 14. AS 03.10.050(c) is amended to read: 11 (c) A meeting of the [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND] board 12 to act on applications for loans is exempt from the public meeting requirements of 13 AS 44.62.310. 14 * Sec. 15. AS 03.10.050(e) is amended to read: 15 (e) To encourage the prompt payment of loans, the board [DEPARTMENT] 16 may establish a program of credits for persons who have a loan from the agricultural 17 revolving loan fund and maintain good financial standing. The credits may be applied 18 against no more than two percentage points a year of the interest due on agricultural 19 revolving loan fund loans. 20 * Sec. 16. AS 03.10.050(g) is amended to read: 21 (g) The board [DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE] may dispose of property 22 acquired by the agricultural revolving loan fund [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING 23 LOAN FUND BOARD OR BY THE COMMISSIONER] through foreclosure, default, 24 or other action arising out of agricultural loans or the sale of agricultural land. 25 Disposals shall be conducted under regulations approved by the commissioner. The 26 regulations must ensure that the property is disposed of so as to maximize the return 27 to the state and must require that the parcels of land that are composed primarily of 28 cropland soils be restricted to agricultural uses and disposed of only to persons who 29 are residents of the state. 30 * Sec. 17. AS 38.04.020(g) is amended to read: 31 (g) After July 1 of each year, the commissioner shall direct the expenditure of
01 money appropriated for the disposal of land in response to requests made under (e) and 02 (f) of this section for the following: 03 (1) land [LAND] designated as suitable for homestead disposal shall 04 be classified and surveyed under this chapter and AS 38.05 and made available for 05 staking and lease under AS 38.09 ; [.] 06 (2) land [LAND] designated as suitable for subdivision and homesite 07 disposal shall be surveyed, subdivided, classified, and disposed of under this chapter, 08 AS 38.05, and AS 38.08 ; [.] 09 (3) land [LAND] designated [AGRICULTURAL,] commercial, 10 industrial, or suitable for other disposal shall be sold under AS 38.05.055 or 38.05.057 ; 11 (4) land designated agricultural shall be disposed of under 12 AS 38.05.055 - 38.05.065, except the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 13 (AS 03.09.010) shall receive notice of each proposed disposal and be given an 14 opportunity to comment before the final disposal decision is made . 15 * Sec. 18. AS 38.04.030 is amended to read: 16 Sec. 38.04.030. Land availability programs. Programs that may be used by 17 the director to make the state's land surface available for private use under 18 AS 38.04.020 - 38.04.055 include sale of whole or partial rights to the fee simple 19 estate, including conveyance of agricultural use rights; leasing; open-to-entry; 20 homesiting; homesteading; permitting for construction and occupation of cabins in 21 isolated locations on land retained in state ownership; and other methods as provided 22 by law. However, agricultural use rights may be conveyed only after consulting 23 with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation. 24 * Sec. 19. AS 38.05.020(b)(7) is amended to read: 25 (7) after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 26 (AS 03.09.010), to waive, postpone, or otherwise modify the development requirements 27 of a contract for the sale of agricultural land if 28 (A) the land is inaccessible by road; or 29 (B) transportation, marketing, and development costs render the 30 required development uneconomic; 31 * Sec. 20. AS 38.05.057(c) is amended to read:
01 (c) The commissioner , after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and 02 Conservation (AS 03.09.010), may adopt regulations under the Administrative 03 Procedure Act (AS 44.62) that [WHICH] specify qualifications for lottery participants 04 different from those specified in (b) of this section if 05 (1) an interest in land limited to agricultural purposes is to be sold 06 under (a) of this section; 07 (2) the sale is a part of a program to develop agricultural land as a 08 renewable resource of the state; and 09 (3) the regulations include residency, skill, experience, and financial 10 requirements necessary to qualify persons who are competent and financially able to 11 develop the land as a successful agricultural enterprise. 12 * Sec. 21. AS 38.05.059 is amended to read: 13 Sec. 38.05.059. Sale of agricultural land. The commissioner , after 14 consulting with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010), may 15 provide for the sale of land classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural uses 16 in parcels or tracts described by aliquot parts. The parcels or tracts are subject to state 17 subdivision requirements and municipal ordinances. 18 * Sec. 22. AS 38.05.065(h) is amended to read: 19 (h) The commissioner , after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and 20 Conservation (AS 03.09.010), 21 (1) shall provide that, notwithstanding (a) and (b) of this section, in a 22 contract for the sale of land classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural uses, 23 the interest rate to be charged on installment payments may not exceed 9.5 percent; 24 and 25 (2) may declare a moratorium of up to five years on payments on land 26 sold under this section for land classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural 27 uses if 28 (A) the commissioner determines that the moratorium is in the 29 best interest of the state; 30 (B) the commissioner certifies and the contract purchaser agrees 31 to perform farm development, crop production, and harvesting, not including
01 land clearing or related activity, requiring the expenditure of amounts 02 equivalent to the payments that would otherwise be made during the 03 moratorium; 04 (C) the sale of the agricultural land takes place after July 1, 05 1979; and 06 (D) the contract purchaser is in compliance with the 07 development plan specified in the purchase contract at the time the purchaser 08 applies for a moratorium under this subsection and remains in compliance with 09 the development plan during the moratorium; for the payments subject to the 10 moratorium declared under this paragraph, interest payments are subject to the 11 moratorium but interest continues to accrue during the moratorium. 12 * Sec. 23. AS 38.05.069(a) is amended to read: 13 (a) After consulting with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 14 (AS 03.09.010), on [ON] a determination that the highest and best use of unoccupied 15 land is for agricultural purposes and that it is in the best interests of the state to sell 16 or lease the land, the commissioner shall grant to an Alaska [ALASKAN] resident 17 owning and using or leasing and using land for agricultural purposes a first option at 18 the auction to purchase or lease the unoccupied land situated adjacent to land presently 19 held by the Alaska [ALASKAN] resident for the amount of the high bid received at 20 public auction. If more than one Alaska [ALASKAN] resident qualifies for a first 21 option under this section, eligibility for the first option shall be determined by lot and 22 the option must be exercised on the conclusion of the public auction. A parcel of 23 agricultural land sold under this section may not be less than 20 acres , and a parcel of 24 agricultural land that is acquired by exercise of the option granted in this subsection 25 may not exceed 320 acres. Agricultural land that is acquired under this section must 26 be used for agricultural purposes as required by law. 27 * Sec. 24. AS 38.05.321(e) is amended to read: 28 (e) A landowner may subdivide land classified for agricultural use and for 29 which the landowner obtained a patent under a homestead entry permit issued under 30 AS 38.09 so long as the resulting parcels are not in violation of the minimum parcel 31 size set out in (a) of this section. A landowner may subdivide other land classified for
01 agricultural use as authorized under (d)(3)(C) of this section. If the subdivision 02 involves land classified for agricultural use and for which the landowner obtained a 03 patent under a homestead entry permit issued under AS 38.09, or if the subdivision of 04 land authorized under (d)(3)(C) of this section results only in parcels of 640 acres or 05 more, the landowner may subdivide without payment as required by this subsection. 06 If subdivision of land authorized by (d)(3)(C) of this section would result in one or 07 more parcels of less than 640 acres, the landowner may subdivide only if the 08 landowner first tenders payment to the department for the right to construct housing 09 in each subdivided parcel of less than 640 acres. Payments collected under this 10 subsection shall be separately accounted for and may be appropriated to the 11 agricultural revolving loan fund (AS 03.10.040). For purposes of this subsection, 12 the value of the right to construct housing in a subdivided parcel 13 (1) is $4,000 for the parcel, subject to adjustment under (h) of this 14 section; or 15 (2) shall be determined by an appraisal made by an appraiser under 16 contract to the landowner owning the parcel, and the appraisal must include the value, 17 determined as of the date of subdivision, of the right to construct housing by the 18 landowner under (d)(3) of this section. 19 * Sec. 25. AS 38.05.035(b) is amended to read: 20 (b) The director may 21 (1) delegate the administrative duties, functions or powers imposed 22 upon the director to a responsible employee in the division; 23 (2) grant preference rights for the lease or purchase of state land 24 without competitive bid in order to correct errors or omissions of a state or federal 25 administrative agency when inequitable detriment would otherwise result to a diligent 26 claimant or applicant due to situations over which the claimant or applicant had no 27 control; the exercise of this discretionary power operates only to divest the state of its 28 title to or interests in land and may be exercised only 29 (A) with the express approval of the commissioner; and 30 (B) if the application for the preference right is filed with the 31 director within three years from
01 (i) the occurrence of the error or omission; 02 (ii) the date of acquisition by the state of the land; or 03 (iii) the date of a court decision or settlement nullifying 04 a disposal of state land; 05 (3) grant a preference right to a claimant who shows bona fide 06 improvement of state land or of federal land subsequently acquired by the state and 07 who has in good faith sought to obtain title to the land but who, through error or 08 omission of others occurring within the three years before (A) the application for the 09 preference right, (B) the date of acquisition by the state of the land, or (C) the date of 10 a court decision or settlement nullifying a disposal of state land, has been denied title 11 to it; upon a showing satisfactory to the commissioner, the claimant may lease or 12 purchase the land at the price set on the date of original entry on the land or, if a price 13 was not set at that time at a price determined by the director to fairly represent the 14 value of unimproved land at the time the claim was established, but in no event less 15 than the cost of administration including survey; the error or omission of a predecessor 16 in interest or an agent, administrator, or executor which has clearly prejudiced the 17 claimant may be the basis for granting a preference right; 18 (4) sell land by lottery for less than the appraised value when, in the 19 judgment of the director, past scarcity of land suitable for private ownership in any 20 particular area has resulted in unrealistic land values; 21 (5) when the director determines it is in the best interest of the state 22 and will avoid injustice to a person or the heirs or devisees of a person, dispose of 23 land, by direct negotiation to that person who presently uses and who used and made 24 improvements to that land before January 3, 1959, or to the heirs or devisees of the 25 person; the amount paid for the land shall be its fair market value on the date that the 26 person first entered the land, as determined by the director; a parcel of land disposed 27 of under this paragraph shall be of a size consistent with the person's prior use, but 28 may not exceed five acres; 29 (6) after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 30 (AS 03.09.010), dispose of an interest in land limited to use for agricultural purposes 31 by lottery;
01 (7) convey to an adjoining landowner for its fair market value a 02 remnant of land that the director considers unmanageable or a parcel of land created 03 by a highway right-of-way alignment or realignment, or a parcel created by the 04 vacation of a state-owned right-of-way if 05 (A) the director determines that it is in the best interests of the 06 state; 07 (B) the parcel does not exceed the minimum lot size under an 08 applicable zoning code; and 09 (C) the director and the platting authority having land use 10 planning jurisdiction agree that conveyance of the parcel to the adjoining 11 landowner will result in boundaries that are convenient for the use of the land 12 by the landowner and compatible with municipal land use plans; 13 (8) for good cause extend for up to 90 days the time for rental or 14 installment payments by a lessee or purchaser of state land under this chapter if 15 reasonable penalties and interest set by the director are paid; 16 (9) quitclaim land or an interest in land to the federal government on 17 a determination that the land or the interest in land was wrongfully or erroneously 18 conveyed by the federal government to the state; 19 (10) negotiate the sale or lease of state land at fair market value to a 20 person who acquired by contract, purchase, or lease rights to improvements on the land 21 from another state agency or who leased the land from another state agency [; 22 (11) REPEALED]. 23 * Sec. 26. AS 38.07.010(b) is amended to read: 24 (b) The land that is [THUS] cleared or drained under (a) of this section shall 25 be put up for competitive lease in lots of not less than 320 acres each. Lease 26 payments shall be separately accounted for and may be appropriated to the 27 agricultural revolving loan fund (AS 03.10.040). 28 * Sec. 27. AS 38.09.010(a) is amended to read: 29 (a) The commissioner shall designate and make available for homestead entry 30 state land, including , after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and 31 Conservation (AS 03.09.010), land classified for agricultural use. State land made
01 available for homestead entry under this chapter shall be distributed throughout the 02 state. 03 * Sec. 28. AS 39.25.110 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 04 (34) the director of the Board of Agriculture and Conservation. 05 * Sec. 29. AS 39.50.200(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 06 (56) Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010). 07 * Sec. 30. AS 03.10.050(b), 03.10.050(d), 03.10.052; and AS 39.50.200(b)(1) are repealed. 08 * Sec. 31. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 09 to read: 10 TRANSITION. (a) Notwithstanding AS 03.09.010(b), enacted in sec. 1 of this Act, 11 two initial appointed members of the Board of Agriculture and Conservation shall be 12 appointed to one-year terms and two initial appointed members of the board shall be appointed 13 to two-year terms. 14 (b) Notwithstanding AS 03.09.040, enacted in sec. 1 of this Act, AS 03.10.020(a), as 15 amended in sec. 2 of this Act, AS 03.10.030(h), as amended in sec. 8 of this Act, and 16 AS 03.10.033(a), as amended in sec. 9 of this Act, regulations that apply to the agricultural 17 revolving loan fund and to loans from the fund remain in effect until amended or repealed by 18 the Board of Agriculture and Conservation. 19 * Sec. 32. This Act takes effect July 1, 2000.