CSHB 498(RES): "An Act requiring the sale or trade of state land."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 498(RES) 01 "An Act requiring the sale or trade of state land." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 04 to read: 05 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that 06 (1) as a general policy, the state benefits from the private ownership and 07 development of property; 08 (2) less than one percent of land in the state is privately owned, and less than 09 ten percent is owned by Alaska Native Corporations; 10 (3) with changing populations and economics, it is sometimes in the best 11 interest of the state to acquire private lands for specific public benefits; and 12 (4) conflicting state interests can be resolved by requiring that equal and 13 comparable lands be sold or traded into private ownership every time private lands are 14 acquired by the state through purchase or eminent domain. 15 * Sec. 2. AS 38.05.050 is amended to by adding new subsections to read:
01 (b) Except as provided in (c) and (d) of this section, the commissioner shall 02 sell for private use an amount of settlement or agricultural land equal to or greater than 03 the total acreage acquired by the state from private landowners through purchase or 04 eminent domain. The settlement or agricultural land sold shall be reasonably 05 proximate in location to the land acquired, shall be of equal or greater value, and shall 06 demonstrate similar economic development potential. If sufficient settlement or 07 agricultural land reasonably proximate in location to the land acquired by the state is 08 not available, the commissioner shall review other proximate state land to determine if 09 that land may be reclassified as settlement or agricultural land, except that land 10 classified by the commissioner as public recreation, heritage, transportation, water 11 resources, or wildlife habitat, may not be reclassified under this subsection. If, after 12 reviewing proximate state land for reclassification, the commissioner finds that there 13 is no proximate settlement or agricultural land available, the requirement to sell 14 settlement or agricultural land under this subsection to offset an acquisition of private 15 land does not apply to that acquisition. The sale of settlement or agricultural land 16 under this subsection shall be close in time to the acquisition by the state from a 17 private landowner, but is not required to be simultaneous. If a single parcel is not 18 available, multiple parcels of land may be combined to meet the requirements of this 19 subsection. 20 (c) The commissioner may trade settlement or agricultural land with the owner 21 of the land the state is acquiring to satisfy the sale requirements of (b) of this section. 22 Land traded by the state under this subsection is not subject to the proximity, value, or 23 acreage requirements of (b) of this section and does not need to demonstrate economic 24 development potential that is similar to the potential of the private land acquired. 25 (d) The provisions of (b) of this section do not apply to land acquired by the 26 state solely for a roadway, right-of-way, or easement. 27 (e) In this section, "settlement land" means 28 (1) upland that is, by reason of its physical qualities and location, 29 suitable for year-round or seasonal residential or private recreational use or for 30 commercial or industrial development; 31 (2) tideland, submerged land, or shoreland that is suitable for float
01 homes; or 02 (3) land that is immediately adjacent to upland with existing or 03 proposed settlement and that will be managed to support the existing or proposed 04 upland settlement uses. 05 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 APPLICABILITY. AS 38.05.050(b), added by sec. 2 of this Act, applies to acreage 08 acquired by the state from private landowners by purchase or eminent domain on or after the 09 effective date of this Act.