SB 140: "An Act relating to the powers and duties of the Department of Natural Resources and to the Alaska coastal management program."
00SENATE BILL NO. 140 01 "An Act relating to the powers and duties of the Department of Natural 02 Resources and to the Alaska coastal management program." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 39.50.200(b)(38) is amended to read: 05 (38) Alaska Coastal Policy Council members and their alternates 06 (AS 44.37.060) [(AS 44.19.155)]; 07 * Sec. 2. AS 41.21.492(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) Nothing in AS 41.21.491 - 41.21.495 affects the responsibilities of 09 (1) the Department of Fish and Game, the Board of Fisheries, or the 10 Board of Game under AS 16 and AS 41.99.010; 11 (2) the Department of Environmental Conservation under AS 46.03; or 12 (3) state agencies and municipalities under AS 44.37.080(2) 13 [AS 44.19.145(a)(11)] and AS 46.40.100. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 41.21.504(b) is amended to read:
01 (b) Nothing in AS 41.21.500 - 41.21.514 affects the applicability of 02 (1) AS 41.99.010 and AS 16 regarding the responsibilities of the 03 Department of Fish and Game or the Board of Fisheries or the Board of Game; 04 (2) AS 46.03 regarding the responsibilities of the Department of 05 Environmental Conservation; or 06 (3) AS 44.37.080(2) [AS 44.19.145(a)(11)] and AS 46.40.100 regarding 07 the responsibilities of state agencies and municipalities. 08 * Sec. 4. AS 41.23.420(d) is amended to read: 09 (d) The provisions of AS 41.23.400 - 41.23.510 do not affect the authority of 10 (1) the Department of Fish and Game, the Board of Fisheries, the 11 Board of Game, or the Department of Commerce and Economic Development under 12 AS 08.54, AS 16, or AS 41.99.010; 13 (2) the Department of Environmental Conservation under AS 46.03; or 14 (3) state agencies and municipalities under AS 44.37.080(2) 15 [AS 44.19.145(a)(11)] and AS 46.40.100. 16 * Sec. 5. AS 44.37 is amended by adding new sections to read: 17 Sec. 44.37.060. Alaska Coastal Policy Council. (a) There is created in the 18 Department of Natural Resources the Alaska Coastal Policy Council. The council 19 consists of the following: 20 (1) nine public members appointed by the governor from a list 21 composed of at least three names from each region nominated by the municipalities 22 of each region; the nominees shall be the mayor or member of the assembly or council 23 of a municipality; one public member shall be appointed from each of the following 24 general regions: 25 (A) northwest Alaska, including, generally, the area of the North 26 Slope Borough and the Northwest Arctic Borough; 27 (B) Bering Strait, including, generally, the area of the Bering 28 Strait regional educational attendance area; 29 (C) southwest Alaska, including, generally, the area within the 30 Lower Yukon, Lower Kuskokwim, and Southwest regional educational 31 attendance areas and the Bristol Bay and Lake and Peninsula Boroughs;
01 (D) Kodiak-Aleutians, including the area of the Kodiak Island 02 and Aleutians East Boroughs and the Aleutian, Adak, and Pribilof regional 03 educational attendance areas; 04 (E) Upper Cook Inlet, including the Municipality of Anchorage 05 and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; 06 (F) Lower Cook Inlet, including, generally, the area within the 07 Kenai Peninsula Borough; 08 (G) Prince William Sound, including, generally, the area east 09 of the Kenai Peninsula Borough to 141 West longitude; 10 (H) northern Southeast Alaska, including the area southeast of 11 141 West longitude and north of 57 North latitude, including the entirety of the 12 City and Borough of Sitka; and 13 (I) southern Southeast Alaska, including that portion of 14 southeastern Alaska not contained within the area described in (H) of this 15 paragraph; 16 (2) each of the following: 17 (A) the director of the office of management and budget; 18 (B) the commissioner of commerce and economic development; 19 (C) the commissioner of community and regional affairs; 20 (D) the commissioner of environmental conservation; 21 (E) the commissioner of fish and game; 22 (F) the commissioner of natural resources; and 23 (G) the commissioner of transportation and public facilities. 24 (b) Each public member appointed by the governor under (a)(1) of this section 25 serves a term of two years and until a successor is appointed and qualified. A public 26 member may be reappointed. 27 (c) The council shall designate co-chairs, one of whom shall be selected from 28 among the public members appointed under (a)(1) of this section and one of whom 29 shall be selected from among the members designated in (a)(2) of this section. 30 (d) Each member of the council shall select one person to serve as a 31 permanent alternate at meetings of the council. If a member of the council is unable
01 to attend, the member shall advise the alternate, who may attend and act in the place 02 of the member. The alternate for a public member appointed under (a)(1) of this 03 section shall, at the time of the alternate's designation and throughout the period of 04 service as a permanent alternate, be the mayor or member of the assembly or council 05 of a municipality within the region from which the permanent member is appointed. 06 The alternate for the director of the office of management and budget, serving under 07 (a)(2)(A) of this section, shall be the director's designee within that office. The 08 alternate for a designated member serving under (a)(2)(B) - (G) of this section shall 09 be a deputy commissioner of the department or the director of a division in the 10 department. The names of alternates shall be filed with the council. 11 (e) Four public members and three designated members of the council 12 constitute a quorum, but one or more of the members designated by the council may 13 hold hearings. All decisions of the council shall be by a majority vote of the members 14 present and voting. 15 (f) Members of the council or their alternates are entitled to per diem and 16 travel expenses authorized by law for members of boards and commissions. 17 (g) If an incumbent public member ceases to meet the qualifications prescribed 18 in (a)(1) of this section for nomination to the council or if a vacancy exists among the 19 public members for any other reason except for a vacancy due to the expiration of the 20 term of a public member, the governor shall, within 30 days of the establishment of 21 the vacancy by lack of qualification or other reason, make an appointment, to be 22 immediately effective, for the unexpired portion of the term. An appointment by the 23 governor made under this subsection to fill an unexpired term of a public member shall 24 comply with the requirements of (a)(1) of this section; however, the governor may 25 appoint from qualified persons without soliciting from municipalities nominations of 26 persons to fill the unexpired portion of the term. 27 Sec. 44.37.065. Powers of the council. The council may 28 (1) apply for and accept grants, contributions, and appropriations, 29 including application for and acceptance of federal funds that may become available 30 for coastal planning and management; 31 (2) contract for necessary services;
01 (3) consult and cooperate with 02 (A) persons, organizations, and groups, public or private, 03 interested in, affected by, or concerned with coastal area planning and 04 management; 05 (B) agents and officials of the coastal resource districts of the 06 state, and federal and state agencies concerned with or having jurisdiction over 07 coastal planning and management; 08 (4) take any reasonable action necessary to carry out the provisions of 09 AS 44.37.060 - 44.37.080. 10 Sec. 44.37.070. Duties of the council. In conformity with 16 U.S.C. 1451- 11 1464 (Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972), as amended, the council shall 12 (1) through the public hearing process and the recording of the minutes 13 of the hearings, develop guidelines and standards for the preparation of, and approve, 14 in accordance with AS 46.40, the Alaska coastal management program; 15 (2) establish continuing coordination among state agencies to facilitate 16 the development and implementation of the Alaska coastal management program; in 17 carrying out its duties under this paragraph, the council shall initiate an interagency 18 program of comprehensive coastal resource planning for each geographic region 19 described in AS 44.37.060(a)(1); 20 (3) assure continued provision of data and information to coastal 21 resource districts to carry out their planning and management functions under the 22 program. 23 Sec. 44.37.075. Council staff. The council shall use the staff of the office of 24 coastal management within the Department of Natural Resources in discharging its 25 powers and duties. The coordinator of the office of coastal management, under the 26 direction of the council co-chair who is selected from among the members designated 27 in AS 44.37.060(a)(2), may contract with or employ personnel or consultants the 28 coordinator considers necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the council. 29 Sec. 44.37.080. Comprehensive plan and consistency determinations. The 30 Department of Natural Resources shall 31 (1) prepare and maintain a state comprehensive development plan; and
01 (2) render, on behalf of the state, all federal consistency determinations 02 and certifications authorized by 16 U.S.C. 1456 (sec. 307, Coastal Zone Management 03 Act of 1972), and each conclusive state consistency determination when a project 04 requires a permit, lease, or authorization from two or more state resource agencies. 05 Sec. 44.37.085. Planning assistance for development and maintenance of 06 district coastal management programs. The Department of Natural Resources shall 07 conduct a program of research, training, and technical assistance to coastal resource 08 districts necessary for the development and implementation of district coastal 09 management programs under AS 46.40. The technical assistance must include the 10 direct granting to the coastal resource districts of a portion of any funds received by 11 the state from the federal coastal zone management program, in amounts to be 12 individually determined for each coastal resource district by the commissioner of 13 natural resources. State agencies shall assist the department in carrying out the 14 purposes of this section. 15 * Sec. 6. AS 44.62.800(1) is amended to read: 16 (1) "agency" means a department, an institution, or a division or other 17 administrative unit of the executive branch of state government authorized or required 18 by law to make regulations, except that "agency" does not include 19 (A) a board; a commission; a council, except the Alaska Coastal 20 Policy Council established in AS 44.37.060 [AS 44.19.155]; an authority; or 21 a public corporation of the executive branch of state government authorized or 22 required by law to make regulations; or 23 (B) the Department of Corrections; 24 * Sec. 7. AS 44.62.800(2) is amended to read: 25 (2) "agency head" means 26 (A) the commissioner or other head of an agency who has the 27 authority to adopt regulations for the agency; or 28 (B) for the Alaska Coastal Policy Council established in 29 AS 44.37.060 [AS 44.19.155], the co-chair of the council designated under 30 AS 44.37.060(a) [AS 44.19.155(c)] from the members listed in 31 AS 44.37.060(a)(2) [AS 44.19.155(a)(2)];
01 * Sec. 8. AS 46.40.010(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) The Alaska Coastal Policy Council established in AS 44.37.060 03 [AS 44.19.155] shall approve, in accordance with this chapter, the Alaska coastal 04 management program. 05 * Sec. 9. AS 46.40.094(c)(1) is amended to read: 06 (1) "agency responsible for the consistency determination" means 07 (A) the Department of Natural Resources [OFFICE OF 08 MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET], for a consistency determination required 09 to be made under AS 44.37.080(2) [AS 44.19.145(a)(11)]; and 10 (B) the commissioner of the resource agency that coordinates 11 a consistency review for a proposed use or activity, or for a proposed phase of 12 a use or activity, when required by this chapter for which a permit, lease, or 13 authorization is required to be approved or issued only by that resource agency; 14 * Sec. 10. AS 46.40.096(b) is amended to read: 15 (b) If a consistency review is not subject to AS 44.37.080(2) 16 [AS 44.19.145(a)(11)] because the project for which a consistency review is made 17 requires a permit, lease, or authorization from only one state agency, that state agency 18 shall coordinate the consistency review of the project. The state agency shall 19 coordinate the consistency review according to the requirements of the regulations 20 adopted by the council under this section. 21 * Sec. 11. AS 46.40.096(f) is amended to read: 22 (f) For a consistency review subject to AS 44.37.080(2) [AS 44.19.145(a)(11)], 23 the council may, by regulation, limit consideration of a petition under (e) of this 24 section seeking review of a proposed consistency determination to the extent necessary 25 to meet the deadlines set by federal law for timely submission of a federal consistency 26 determination as allowed by 16 U.S.C. 1456. 27 * Sec. 12. AS 46.40.096(g)(2) is amended to read: 28 (2) "reviewing entity" means the 29 (A) Department of Natural Resources [OFFICE], for a 30 consistency review subject to AS 44.37.080(2) [AS 44.19.145(a)(11)]; 31 (B) state agency identified in (b) of this section, for a
01 consistency review not subject to AS 44.37.080(2) [AS 44.19.145(a)(11)]. 02 * Sec. 13. AS 46.40.100(b) is amended to read: 03 (b) A party that is authorized under AS 46.40.096(e)(1) or (g) of this section 04 may file a petition showing that a district coastal management program is not being 05 implemented, enforced, or complied with. On receipt of a petition, the council, after 06 giving public notice in the manner required by (f) of this section, shall convene a 07 hearing to consider the matter. A hearing called under this subsection shall be held 08 in accordance with regulations adopted by the council. After hearing, 09 (1) if the petition was filed under AS 46.40.096(e) and the council finds 10 that 11 (A) the Department of Natural Resources [OFFICE] or the 12 state agency responsible for coordinating the consistency review has not fairly 13 considered the petitioner's comments in the development of a proposed 14 consistency determination, the council shall remand the proposed consistency 15 determination to the Department of Natural Resources [OFFICE], or to the 16 state agency responsible for coordinating the consistency review, for 17 preparation of a revised proposed consistency determination that gives fair 18 consideration to the petitioner's comments; 19 (B) a remand of the consistency determination is not required 20 under (A) of this paragraph, the council shall dismiss the petition; 21 (2) if the petition was not filed under AS 46.40.096(e), the council may 22 order that the coastal resource district or a state agency take any action the council 23 considers necessary to implement, enforce, or comply with the district coastal 24 management program. 25 * Sec. 14. AS 46.40.120(b) is amended to read: 26 (b) The commissioner of natural resources [COMMUNITY AND 27 REGIONAL AFFAIRS] may, after public hearings held in the area affected, 28 consolidate two or more regional educational attendance areas as a single coastal 29 resource service area 30 (1) if a substantial portion of the coastal area contains land and water 31 area owned by the federal government over which it exercises exclusive jurisdiction
01 or land held in trust by the federal government for Alaska Natives over which the state 02 would not exercise control as to use; or 03 (2) if, after giving due consideration to the standards applicable to 04 incorporation of borough governments and the likelihood that a borough will be 05 incorporated within the area, the commissioner determines that the functions to be 06 performed under this chapter could be undertaken more efficiently through the 07 combination of two or more regional educational attendance areas as a single coastal 08 resource service area. 09 * Sec. 15. AS 46.40.120(d) is amended to read: 10 (d) For purposes of coastal zone management only, the commissioner of 11 natural resources [COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS] may, after public 12 hearings held in the regional educational attendance area affected, divide an existing 13 regional educational attendance area into no more than three coastal resource service 14 areas according to geographic, cultural, economic, environmental, or other features 15 relevant to coastal management planning. However , 16 (1) each coastal resource service area formed by dividing an existing 17 regional educational attendance area must contain at least one first class city or home 18 rule city; 19 (2) a city within a coastal resource service area formed by dividing an 20 existing regional educational attendance area may not elect to exclude itself from the 21 coastal resource service area; and 22 (3) a coastal resource service area formed before June 1, 1980, may not 23 be divided for coastal management planning purposes. 24 * Sec. 16. AS 46.40.140(c) is amended to read: 25 (c) The commissioner of natural resources [COMMUNITY AND 26 REGIONAL AFFAIRS], after consultation with residents of a coastal resource service 27 area, may divide a service area into sections only for the purpose of nominating and 28 electing board members. Division of a service area into sections for the purpose of 29 nomination and election shall be in accordance with the provisions of AS 14.08.051(a). 30 Division may be proposed in the petition submitted under AS 46.40.130(a)(1), in the 31 resolution submitted under AS 46.40.130(a)(2), at the direction of the council under
01 AS 46.40.130(a)(3), or may be proposed at any time by the members of the coastal 02 resource service area board. If proposed by the board, the division of the service area 03 into sections is subject to approval of a majority of the qualified voters voting on the 04 question in the coastal resource service area at the next regular election or at a special 05 election called for that purpose and, if approved, takes effect at the next regular 06 election of members of the coastal resource service area board. 07 * Sec. 17. AS 46.40.170(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) If residents of a coastal resource service area reject organization of the 09 service area at an election called for the purpose and the council finds, after public 10 hearing, that major economic development activity has occurred or will occur within 11 the service area, the council may direct the department [DEPARTMENT OF 12 COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS] to prepare and recommend for 13 consideration by the council and for submission to the legislature a district coastal 14 management program for the service area. 15 * Sec. 18. AS 46.40.170(b) is amended to read: 16 (b) At the request of the council, the department [DEPARTMENT OF 17 COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS] shall complete the district coastal 18 management program in accordance with this chapter and the guidelines and standards 19 adopted by the council for a coastal resource service area that [WHICH] has been 20 organized but [WHICH] has failed to make substantial progress in the preparation of 21 an approvable district coastal management program within 18 months of certification 22 of the results of an organization election or [WHICH] has not submitted for approval 23 to the council a program within 30 months of certification of the results of its 24 organization election. Preparation of the program shall be conducted in consultation 25 with the coastal resource service area and shall, to the maximum extent consistent with 26 this chapter, reflect the expressed concerns of the residents of the service area. 27 * Sec. 19. AS 46.40.180(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) Before adoption by a coastal resource service area board, or by the 29 department [DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS] under 30 AS 46.40.170, a district coastal management program shall be submitted for review to 31 each city or village within the coastal resource service area. The council of a city or
01 traditional village council shall consider the program submitted for review. Within 60 02 days of submission, the council of a city or traditional village council shall either 03 approve the program or enter objections to all or any portion of the program. 04 * Sec. 20. AS 46.40.180(d) is amended to read: 05 (d) For purposes of this section, "village" means an unincorporated community 06 where at least 25 persons reside as a social unit [AS DETERMINED BY THE 07 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS]. 08 * Sec. 21. AS 46.40.190(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) A city within the coastal area that [WHICH] is not part of a coastal 10 resource service area shall be included for purposes of this chapter within an adjacent 11 coastal resource service area unless its governing body, by resolution adopted by a 12 majority of its membership, chooses to exclude the city from an adjacent coastal 13 resource service area and a copy of the resolution is filed with the commissioner of 14 natural resources [COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS]. 15 * Sec. 22. AS 46.40.210(5) is amended to read: 16 (5) "department" means the Department of Natural Resources 17 [COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS]; 18 * Sec. 23. AS 44.19.145(a)(2), 44.19.145(a)(11), 44.19.155, 44.19.160, 44.19.161, 19 44.19.162; AS 44.47.095; and AS 46.40.210(6) are repealed. 20 * Sec. 24. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS. (a) This Act does not terminate the existing 21 Alaska Coastal Policy Council or affect the terms of its current members; this Act moves the 22 existing Alaska Coastal Policy Council from the Office of the Governor to the Department of 23 Natural Resources. 24 (b) Litigation, hearings, investigations, and other proceedings pending under a law 25 amended or repealed by this Act, or in connection with functions transferred by this Act, 26 continue in effect and may be continued and completed notwithstanding a transfer or 27 amendment or repeal provided for in this Act. Certificates, orders, guidelines, approvals, and 28 regulations issued or adopted under authority of a law amended or repealed by this Act remain 29 in effect for the term issued, or until revoked, vacated, or otherwise modified under the 30 provisions of this Act. Contracts, rights, liabilities, and obligations created by or under a law 31 amended or repealed by this Act, and in effect on the effective date of this Act, remain in
01 effect notwithstanding this Act's taking effect. Records, equipment, appropriations, and other 02 property of agencies of the state whose functions are transferred under this Act shall be 03 transferred to implement the provisions of this Act.