HB 327: "An Act relating to the sale of state land to certain persons eligible to receive a permanent fund dividend; and relating to the duties of the Department of Revenue."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 327 01 "An Act relating to the sale of state land to certain persons eligible to receive a 02 permanent fund dividend; and relating to the duties of the Department of Revenue." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 38.04.020(e) is amended to read: 05 (e) The commissioner shall annually submit to the governor an appropriation 06 request for funding estimated to be necessary for the next two years to allow 07 (1) survey and disposal of land proposed to be made available for 08 homestead staking, with the general location of the land; 09 (2) survey and disposal of land to be offered as agricultural, 10 commercial, industrial, or other uses under AS 38.05.055, [OR] 38.05.057, or 11 38.05.062 with the general location of the land; 12 (3) the survey and disposal of land proposed to be offered as 13 subdivisions, with the general location of the land; 14 (4) preliminary feasibility studies, engineering design work, right-of-
01 way acquisition, and construction of access roads and capital improvements required 02 by municipal subdivision ordinance or regulation of the platting authority; 03 (5) identification of land that will be proposed for disposal under this 04 subsection in future fiscal years. 05 * Sec. 2. AS 38.04.020(i) is amended to read: 06 (i) Nothing in this section prevents the disposal of other land by the 07 commissioner in accordance with AS 38.05.055, 38.05.057, 38.05.062, 38.05.070, the 08 issuance of remote recreational cabin site leases or sales under AS 38.05.600, 09 AS 38.08, AS 38.09, or other law. 10 * Sec. 3. AS 38.04.045(b) is amended to read: 11 (b) Before the issuance of a long-term lease under AS 38.05.070 or of a patent 12 for state land, an official cadastral survey shall be accomplished, unless a comparable, 13 approved survey exists that has been conducted by the federal Bureau of Land 14 Management. Before land may be offered under AS 38.08 or AS 38.09, or before land 15 may be offered under AS 38.05.055, [OR] 38.05.057, or 38.05.062, except land that is 16 classified for agricultural uses, an official rectangular survey grid shall be established. 17 The rectangular survey section corner positions shall be monumented and shown on a 18 cadastral survey plat approved by the state. For those areas where the state may wish 19 to convey surface estate outside of an official rectangular survey grid, the 20 commissioner may waive monumentation of individual section corner positions and 21 substitute an official control survey with control points being monumented and shown 22 on control survey plats approved by the state. The commissioner may not issue more 23 than one conveyance for each section within a township outside of an official 24 rectangular survey grid. Land to be conveyed may not be located more than two miles 25 from an official survey control monument except that the commissioner may waive 26 this requirement on a determination that a single purpose use does not justify the 27 requirement if the existing status of the land is known with reasonable certainty. The 28 lots and tracts in state subdivisions shall be monumented and the cadastral survey and 29 plats for the subdivision shall be approved by the state. Where land is located within a 30 municipality with planning, platting, and zoning powers, plats for state subdivisions 31 shall comply with local ordinances and regulations in the same manner and to the
01 same extent as plats for subdivisions by other landowners. State subdivisions shall be 02 filed and recorded in the district recorder's office. The requirements of this section do 03 not apply to land made available for material sales, for short-term leases, for parcels 04 adjoining a surveyed right-of-way, or for land that has been open to random staking 05 under the homestead program in the past; however, for short-term leases, the lessee 06 shall comply with local subdivision ordinances unless waived by the municipality 07 under procedures specified by ordinance. In this subsection, "a single purpose use" 08 includes a communication site, an aid to navigation, and a park site. 09 * Sec. 4. AS 38.05.035(d) is amended to read: 10 (d) Except as provided by AS 38.05.062(c), a [A] parcel of land described in 11 (b)(7) of this section must be sold at its fair market value as determined by the director 12 on the basis of an appraisal completed as provided in AS 38.05.840. Nothing in this 13 subsection prevents the sale of land under AS 38.05.055, [OR] 38.05.057, or 14 38.05.062 to a person not qualifying as an adjoining landowner if the adjoining 15 landowner declines to purchase the land. 16 * Sec. 5. AS 38.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 17 Sec. 38.05.062. Permanent fund dividend sale land. (a) Upon a written 18 finding that the interests of the state will be best served, the commissioner shall select 19 at least 400,000 acres of land from the land disposal bank established under 20 AS 38.04.020 for sale under this section. Land selected for sale under this section must 21 be categorized under AS 38.04.065(c)(1) and classified under AS 38.05.300 as 22 appropriate for year-round settlement near areas where public services already exist or 23 can be extended with reasonable economy, or where development of a viable 24 economic base is probable. 25 (b) The land the commissioner selects for sale under (a) of this section shall be 26 divided by the director into surveyed parcels not exceeding 20 acres in reasonably 27 compact form, with boundaries conforming as nearly as practicable to natural geologic 28 and topographic features. However, a parcel may exceed 20 acres if the director 29 determines that the larger parcel is necessary to 30 (1) comply with local zoning ordinances; or 31 (2) permit the design of a subdivision because of topographical
01 features, soil conditions, on-site sewage disposal requirements, or water drainage or 02 supply considerations unique to the subdivision. 03 (c) A parcel of land described in (b) of this section shall be sold at its fair 04 market value as determined by the director based on an appraisal completed as 05 provided in AS 38.05.840, except the director shall provide a 50 percent discount on 06 the fair market value of a parcel to a veteran. In this subsection, "veteran" has the 07 meaning given in AS 38.05.067(e). 08 (d) The director shall accept lottery applications to purchase particular parcels 09 under the following procedures and conditions: 10 (1) the application period must be at least 45 days; 11 (2) an application must be received at least 15 days before each lottery; 12 (3) notice of the application period and the date of the lottery must 13 comply with AS 38.05.945; and 14 (4) the applicant shall apply on a form provided by the department. 15 (e) If only one application for a parcel is received, the commissioner shall 16 offer the parcel to the applicant who applied for the parcel if the applicant is a 17 qualified buyer under (f) of this section. If more than one application is received for a 18 parcel, the commissioner shall select a qualified buyer by lottery. If the commissioner 19 does not receive an application for a parcel of state land or if a buyer fails to sign a 20 contract of sale, the parcel shall be reoffered and sold to the first qualified buyer to 21 apply for the parcel. 22 (f) To qualify as a buyer under this section, an applicant shall be 18 years of 23 age or older and be eligible for a permanent fund dividend under AS 43.23.005. In this 24 subsection, an applicant is eligible for a permanent fund dividend if the applicant 25 (1) received a permanent fund dividend for that year; 26 (2) applied for a permanent fund dividend for that year, and the 27 Department of Revenue has determined that the individual is eligible to receive a 28 permanent fund dividend for that year; or 29 (3) has a pending application for a permanent fund dividend for that 30 year and received a permanent fund dividend for the immediately preceding year. 31 (g) The commission shall confirm with the Department of Revenue an
01 individual's 02 (1) receipt of a permanent fund dividend; or 03 (2) eligibility to receive a permanent fund dividend. 04 (h) The director shall conduct sales under this section. At the time of sale, a 05 successful bidder or offeror shall deposit $1,000 with the department or, under 06 AS 43.23.069(b), assign to the department at least $1,000 from the permanent fund 07 dividend for the current year. If the amount of the permanent fund dividend under 08 AS 43.23.025 is less than $1,000 for the current year, the department shall accept the 09 full assignment of that dividend, less the administrative fee assessed under 10 AS 43.23.071, as a deposit. The director shall immediately issue a contract of sale 11 describing the land purchased, the price, the amount deposited, and any balance due to 12 the state. The department may use the contracting procedures authorized under 13 AS 38.05.065(c) - (g) for a contract under this section. The buyer shall acknowledge 14 receipt of the contract of sale in writing. The department shall accept assignment of a 15 buyer's future permanent fund dividends to satisfy any balance due to the state. If a 16 buyer who has a balance due to the state becomes ineligible for a permanent fund 17 dividend, or if there are claims or assignments on the buyer's dividend under 18 AS 43.23.065 - 43.23.068, 43.23.072, or 43.23.085, the buyer shall pay the remainder 19 of the purchase price in installments over a period of not more than 20 years. Nothing 20 in this subsection prohibits a buyer from paying the unpaid portion of the purchase 21 price at any time after the sale. The department may not charge a buyer interest on the 22 balance due to the state on a parcel under this subsection. 23 * Sec. 6. AS 38.05.067(d) is amended to read: 24 (d) This section does not apply to the sale of state land under AS 38.05.057, 25 38.05.062, AS 38.08, or AS 38.09. 26 * Sec. 7. AS 38.05.840(a) is amended to read: 27 (a) Land may not be sold or leased, or a renewal lease issued, except in the 28 case of an oil or gas or mineral lease, unless it has been appraised within two years 29 before the date fixed for the sale or lease. When land is offered at public sale but is not 30 sold and is available at private sale, a reappraisal is not required unless the director 31 considers that a change in value of the land may have occurred. A grazing lease may
01 be granted to a lessee of federal grazing land without prior appraisal if the federal 02 lease was cancelled to allow the state to select the land under lease. Land may not be 03 sold or leased for less than the approved, appraised market value, except as provided 04 in AS 38.05.055, 38.05.057, 38.05.062, 38.05.075 - 38.05.085, 38.05.097, 38.05.810, 05 and 38.05.820. 06 * Sec. 8. AS 43.23.055 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 43.23.055. Duties of the department. The department shall 08 (1) annually pay permanent fund dividends from the dividend fund; 09 (2) subject to AS 43.23.011 and paragraph (8) of this section, adopt 10 regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) that establish procedures 11 and time limits for claiming a permanent fund dividend; the department shall 12 determine the number of eligible applicants by October 1 of the year for which the 13 dividend is declared and pay the dividends by December 31 of that year; 14 (3) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) 15 that establish procedures and time limits for an individual upon emancipation or upon 16 reaching majority to apply for permanent fund dividends not received during minority 17 because the parent, guardian, or other authorized representative did not apply on 18 behalf of the individual; 19 (4) assist residents of the state, particularly in rural areas, who because 20 of language, disability, or inaccessibility to public transportation need assistance to 21 establish eligibility and to apply for permanent fund dividends; 22 (5) use a list of individuals ineligible for a dividend under 23 AS 43.23.005(d) provided annually by the Department of Corrections and the 24 Department of Public Safety to determine the number and identity of those 25 individuals; 26 (6) adopt regulations that are necessary to implement AS 43.23.005(d); 27 (7) adopt regulations that establish procedures for the parent, guardian, 28 or other authorized representative of a disabled individual to apply for prior year 29 permanent fund dividends not received by the disabled individual because no 30 application was submitted on behalf of the individual; 31 (8) adopt regulations that establish procedures for an individual to
01 apply to have a dividend disbursement under AS 37.25.050(a)(2) reissued if it is not 02 collected within two years after the date of its issuance; however, the department may 03 not establish a time limit within which an application to have a disbursement reissued 04 must be filed; 05 (9) provide any information, upon request, contained in permanent 06 fund dividend records to the child support services agency created in AS 25.27.010, or 07 the child support enforcement agency of another state, for child support purposes 08 authorized under law; if the information is contained in an electronic data base, the 09 department shall provide the requesting agency with either 10 (A) access to the data base; or 11 (B) a copy of the information in the data base and a statement 12 certifying its contents; 13 (10) establish a fraud investigation unit for the purpose of assisting the 14 (A) Department of Law in the prosecution of individuals who 15 apply for or obtain a permanent fund dividend in violation of a provision in 16 AS 11, by detecting and investigating those crimes; and 17 (B) commissioner to detect and investigate the claiming or 18 paying of permanent fund dividends that should not have been claimed by or 19 paid to an individual and to impose the penalties and enforcement provisions 20 under AS 43.23.035; 21 (11) confirm for the Department of Natural Resources under 22 AS 38.05.062(g) that an individual has received, or is eligible to receive, a 23 permanent fund dividend.