00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 148(TRA) 01 "An Act relating to legislative approval of certain acts of the Alaska Railroad 02 Corporation; taxation of certain property of the Alaska Railroad Corporation; 03 members of the board and chief executive officer of the Alaska Railroad 04 Corporation; meetings of the board of directors of the Alaska Railroad 05 Corporation; and providing for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. PURPOSE. This Act provides that 08 (1) the Alaska Railroad Corporation shall obtain approval of the legislature 09 before 10 (A) incurring debt, except in certain circumstances, in excess of 11 $10,000,000 in a year or in excess of a total of $50,000,000; or 12 (B) obtaining an equity position in certain nontransportation activities; 13 (2) the real property of the Alaska Railroad Corporation that is leased to an 14 agency or a person for fair value is subject to real property taxes imposed by municipalities; 01 the real property of the corporation that is subject to municipal property taxes is excepted from 02 the exemption from taxation granted to property of the state by art. IX, sec. 4, Constitution 03 of the State of Alaska; 04 (3) members of the board of directors and chief executive officer of the Alaska 05 Railroad Corporation are subject to AS 39.50 (Conflict of Interest); 06 (4) the chair or vice-chair of the board of directors may not serve as chief 07 executive officer of the Alaska Railroad Corporation; 08 (5) the board of directors of the Alaska Railroad Corporation shall provide for 09 meetings of the board by teleconference during legislative sessions. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 29.45.030(a) is amended to read: 11 (a) The following property is exempt from general taxation: 12 (1) municipal property, including property held by a public corporation 13 of a municipality, or state property, except that 14 (A) a private leasehold, contract, or other interest in the 15 property is taxable to the extent of the interest; 16 (B) notwithstanding any other provision of law, property 17 acquired by an agency, corporation, or other entity of the state through 18 foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure and retained as an investment of a 19 state entity is taxable; this subparagraph does not apply to federal land granted 20 to the University of Alaska under AS 14.40.380 or 14.40.390, or to other land 21 granted to the university by the state to replace land that had been granted 22 under AS 14.40.380 or 14.40.390; 23 (C) an ownership interest of a municipality in real property 24 located outside the municipality acquired after December 31, 1990, is taxable 25 by another municipality; however, a borough may not tax an interest in real 26 property located in the borough and owned by a city in that borough; 27 (D) the real property of the Alaska Railroad Corporation 28 that is leased for fair value to a municipal, state, or federal agency or a 29 person is taxable; 30 (2) household furniture and personal effects of members of a 31 household; 01 (3) property used exclusively for nonprofit religious, charitable, 02 cemetery, hospital, or educational purposes; 03 (4) property of a nonbusiness organization composed entirely of persons 04 with 90 days or more of active service in the armed forces of the United States whose 05 conditions of service and separation were other than dishonorable, or the property of 06 an auxiliary of that organization; 07 (5) money on deposit; 08 (6) the real property of certain residents of the state to the extent and 09 subject to the conditions provided in (e) of this section; 10 (7) real property or an interest in real property that is exempt from 11 taxation under 43 U.S.C. 1620(d), as amended; 12 (8) property of a political subdivision, agency, corporation, or other 13 entity of the United States to the extent required by federal law; except that a private 14 leasehold, contract, or other interest in the property is taxable to the extent of that 15 interest; 16 (9) natural resources in place including coal, ore bodies, mineral 17 deposits, and other proven and unproven deposits of valuable materials laid down by 18 natural processes, unharvested aquatic plants and animals, and timber. 19 * Sec. 3. AS 29.45.295 is amended to read: 20 Sec. 29.45.295. COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT TAXES ON CERTAIN 21 GOVERNMENTAL PROPERTY. AS 29.45.300 - 29.45.490 do not apply to property 22 taxable under AS 29.45.030(a)(1)(B) - (D) [AS 29.45.030(a)(1)(B) OR (C)] or to 23 federal property not exempted under AS 29.45.030(a)(8). A municipality may bring 24 an action in the superior court to compel payment of property taxes due from the state, 25 municipal, or federal entity if the entity does not pay the amount due within six 26 months after the date that the taxes are due. In this section, "state entity" includes 27 the Alaska Railroad Corporation. 28 * Sec. 4. AS 39.50.200(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 29 (55) the board of directors and the chief executive officer of the Alaska 30 Railroad Corporation (AS 42.40.010). 31 * Sec. 5. AS 42.40.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 01 (c) Members of the board are subject to AS 39.50. 02 * Sec. 6. AS 42.40.060(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) The board shall elect from its membership a chair [CHAIRMAN] and 04 vice-chair [VICE-CHAIRMAN] and prescribe their duties by rule. The chair or vice-chair of the board may 05 not serve as the chief executive officer of the corporation. 06 * Sec. 7. AS 42.40.110(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) The board shall appoint the chief executive officer of the corporation who 08 serves at the pleasure of the board. The board shall fix compensation for the chief 09 executive officer. The chief executive officer of the corporation may not serve as 10 chair or vice-chair of the board. The chief executive officer of the corporation is 11 subject to AS 39.50. 12 * Sec. 8. AS 42.40.150 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (d) The board shall provide for attendance and participation at meetings by 14 members of the board by teleconference during legislative sessions. Materials that are 15 to be considered at a meeting must be available at teleconference locations. The vote 16 at a meeting held by teleconference shall be taken by roll call. 17 * Sec. 9. AS 42.40.285 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 42.40.285. LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL REQUIRED. Unless the 19 legislature approves the action by law, the corporation may not 20 (1) exchange, donate, sell, or otherwise convey its entire interest in 21 land; 22 (2) issue bonds; 23 (3) incur debt in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 in any fiscal 24 year or have at any time an outstanding aggregated debt exceeding $50,000,000; 25 this paragraph does not apply to debt incurred for the acquisition and 26 maintenance of railroad rolling stock, locomotives, construction and maintenance 27 equipment, track structure, and other railroad related physical plant; 28 (4) extend railroad lines; this paragraph does not apply to a spur, 29 industrial, team, switching, or side track; 30 (5) [(4)] lease land for a period in excess of 35 years unless the 31 corporation reserves the right to terminate the lease if the land is needed for railroad 01 purposes; 02 (6) use assets of the corporation to obtain an equity position in a 03 nontransportation activity; this paragraph 04 (A) does not apply to 05 (i) the purchase of stocks or other forms of equity 06 participation by the pension funds of the corporation; or 07 (ii) specific activities in which the corporation is 08 engaged on the effective date of this section of this Act, or to 09 routine maintenance and upkeep for those activities or to routine 10 appreciation in value of those existing activities; 11 (B) applies to increases in the corporation's respective share 12 of equity in a specific activity in which the corporation is engaged on the 13 effective date of this section of this Act and to substantial physical 14 expansions of that activity. 15 * Sec. 10. AS 42.40.910(a) is amended to read: 16 (a) The exercise of the powers granted by this chapter shall be in all respects 17 for the benefit of the people of the state, for their well-being and prosperity, and for 18 the improvement of their social and economic conditions. Except as provided in 19 AS 29.45.030(a)(1) and in [SUBJECT TO] (b) of this section, the real and personal 20 property of the corporation and its assets, income, and receipts are exempt from all 21 taxes and special assessments of the state or a political subdivision of the state. 22 * Sec. 11. AS 42.40.980 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 23 (11) "nontransportation activity" means 24 (A) a hotel or other lodging facilities; or 25 (B) an activity not 26 (i) related to the movement, handling, or distribution of 27 people or personal property; or 28 (ii) conducted by the railroad on the date of transfer to 29 the state. 30 * Sec. 12. Sections 2, 3, and 10 of this Act take effect January 1, 1994.