01/25/1999 03:10 PM Senate RES

                 SB 6 - DISPOSALS OF STATE LAND                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN HALFORD called the Senate Resources Committee meeting to                                                               
order at 3:10 p.m. and announced SB 6 to be up for consideration.                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEL KROGSENG, Staff to Senator Taylor, sponsor, said SB 6 is a                                                              
housekeeping measure that was recommended by the DNR last year.  It                                                             
will provide the tools necessary for the Department to offer 50,000                                                             
acres of land that was previously offered and not sold or has come                                                              
back to the State for various reasons.  It has a zero fiscal note.                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LINCOLN explained that rural and bush Alaska has a hard                                                                 
time getting notification of the land disposals.  She asked the                                                                 
sponsor to make sure the notification would truly be statewide.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS. KROGSENG responded that she would talk to the Department                                                                    
specifically on this issue.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. DICK MYLIUS, Department of Natural Resources, supported SB 6                                                                
because it would allow them to get parcels for sale that have been                                                              
returned to them.  In response to Senator Lincoln' concern, he said                                                             
he would try to get notification into newspapers several weeks in                                                               
advance of the offering.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LINCOLN commented that smaller communities don't                                                                        
necessarily get the newspapers or they get them way late and asked                                                              
if they could use other means of communication that the smaller                                                                 
communities already utilize, like internet.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR TAYLOR moved to pass SB 6 out of committee with individual                                                              
recommendations.  There were no objections and it was so ordered.