00 SENATE BILL NO. 166 01 "An Act relating to notice requirements for certain state actions." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03  * Section 1. AS 38.05.073(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) If the commissioner identifies land for recreational facilities development 05 leasing under (a) of this section, at least 30 days before the commissioner decides to 06 solicit proposals from potential lessees, the commissioner shall provide public notice 07 of the location and the specific type of recreational facilities development being 08 considered and request comments. The notice shall be provided to (1) a municipality if 09 the land is entirely or partially within the boundaries of the municipality; (2) a regional 10 corporation organized under 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. (Alaska Native Claims Settlement 11 Act) if the boundaries of the corporation established by 43 U.S.C. 1606(a) encompass 12 part or all of the land and the land encompassed by the corporation's boundaries is 13 entirely or partially outside the municipality; (3) a village corporation organized under 14 43 U.S.C. 1607 [43 U.S.C. 1601] if all or part of the land is within 40 miles of the 15 village for which the corporation was established and the land is located entirely or 01 partially outside a municipality; (4) other persons affected by the specific recreational 02 facility development; and (5) persons who have specifically requested to be notified. 03 Public notice identifying the location and the specific type of recreational facilities 04 development under consideration must also be posted on the Alaska Online Public  05 Notice System (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the  06 commissioner, notice may also be published [AT LEAST TWICE] in a newspaper of 07 general circulation in the state and in a local newspaper in general circulation in the 08 region where the land is located. The comments received under this subsection 09 become part of the public record for the consideration of the commissioner. 10  * Sec. 2. AS 38.05.073(e) is amended to read: 11 (e) After preparing a request for proposals under (d) of this section, the 12 commissioner may issue the request to solicit proposals from persons who are 13 interested in leasing the land for recreational facilities development. The request for 14 proposals must be posted on the Alaska Online Public Notice System  15 (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the commissioner, notice  16 may also be published [ADVERTISED AT LEAST THREE TIMES] in a newspaper 17 of general circulation in the state and in a local newspaper in general circulation in the 18 region where the land is located. The proposals submitted to the commissioner must 19 include the specific facts on which the potential lessee bases its ability to develop the 20 land, including its ability to comply with the items identified in (d)(1) - (4) of this 21 section. 22  * Sec. 3. AS 38.05.205(a) is amended to read: 23 (a) Prior discovery, location, and recording shall initiate prior rights to mineral 24 deposits subject to AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275 in or on state land, other than submerged 25 land, which is open to mining leasing. Locations shall be made and certificates of 26 location recorded in accordance with AS 38.05.195. If the located land is available 27 only for leasing, the director shall post notice of the recording of the location and  28 notice that a mineral lease will be issued on the Alaska Online Public Notice  29 System (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the director, the  30 director may also publish the notice [PUBLISH] in a paper of general circulation in 31 the area of the location [, NOTICE OF THE RECORDING OF THE LOCATION 01 AND NOTICE THAT A MINERAL LEASE WILL BE ISSUED]. The notice may be 02 combined with notices of locations either in the same general area or statewide. Unless 03 a conflicting location exists, not [NO] later than two weeks after publication of the 04 notice, an application form for a mining lease shall be mailed to the locator by the 05 director. A lease application shall be filed with the director by the locator within 90 06 days after receipt of the form. If the located land is not available for leasing, notice 07 shall be given the locator by the director and the locator's prior rights shall terminate. 08 A mining lessee has the exclusive rights of possession and extraction of all minerals 09 subject to AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275 lying within the boundaries of the lease or 10 location. Mining leases may be issued for one location or for a group of contiguous 11 locations held in common. Minerals may not be mined and marketed or used until a 12 lease is issued, except for limited amounts necessary for sampling or testing. 13  * Sec. 4. AS 38.05.945(b) is amended to read: 14 (b) When notice is required to be given under this section, 15 (1) the notice must contain sufficient information in commonly 16 understood terms to inform the public of the nature of the action and the opportunity 17 of the public to comment on it; 18 (2) if the notice is of a preliminary written finding described in 19 (a)(3)(A) of this section, the department shall give notice at the beginning of the public 20 comment period for the preliminary written finding, notifying the public of the right to 21 submit comments; the department shall give notice by [(A)] posting the notice on the 22 Alaska Online Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least 30 consecutive days; 23 the department may also give notice by one or more of the following methods:  24 (A) [(B) PUBLICATION OF A NOTICE IN DISPLAY 25 ADVERTISING FORM DESCRIBING THE PROPOSED ACTION AND 26 REFERENCING THE ONLINE NOTICE REQUIRED IN (A) OF THIS 27 PARAGRAPH IN NEWSPAPERS OF STATEWIDE CIRCULATION AND 28 IN NEWSPAPERS OF GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE VICINITY OF 29 THE PROPOSED ACTION, IF AVAILABLE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK 30 FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS; 31 (C)] public service announcements on the electronic media 01 serving the area to be affected by the proposed action; 02 (B) [AND (D) ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING 03 METHODS: 04 (i)] publication of a [LEGAL] notice in display  05 advertising form in newspapers of statewide circulation or in 06 newspapers of general circulation in the vicinity of the proposed action; 07 (C) [, IF AVAILABLE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR 08 TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS; 09 (ii)] posting in a conspicuous location in the vicinity of 10 the action; 11 (D) [(iii)] notification of parties known or likely to be affected 12 by the action; or 13 (E) [(iv)] another method calculated to reach affected parties; 14 (3) if the notice is of an action described in (a) of this section, other 15 than notice of an action under (a)(3)(A) of this section, the department shall give 16 notice at least 30 days before the action by posting the notice on the Alaska Online 17 Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least 30 consecutive days and by one or 18 more of the following methods: 19 (A) publication of a notice in display advertising form 20 describing the proposed action and referencing the online notice required in 21 this paragraph in newspapers of statewide circulation and in newspapers of 22 general circulation in the vicinity of the proposed action, if available [, AT 23 LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS]; 24 (B) publication through public service announcements on the 25 electronic media serving the area affected by the action; 26 (C) posting in a conspicuous location in the vicinity of the 27 action; 28 (D) notification of parties known or likely to be affected by the 29 action; or 30 (E) another method calculated to reach affected persons. 31  * Sec. 5. AS 44.62.175(a) is amended to read: 01 (a) The lieutenant governor shall develop and supervise the Alaska Online 02 Public Notice System, to be maintained on the state's site on the Internet. The 03 lieutenant governor shall prescribe the form of notices posted on the system by state 04 agencies. The Alaska Online Public Notice System must include 05 (1) notices of proposed actions given under AS 44.62.190(a); 06 (2) notices of state agency meetings required under AS 44.62.310(e), 07 even if the meeting has been held; 08 (3) notices of solicitations to bid issued under AS 36.30.130; 09 (4) notices of state agency requests for proposals issued under 10 AS 18.55.255, 18.55.320; AS 36.30.210; AS 37.05.316; AS 38.05.120; and 11 AS 43.40.010; 12 (5) executive orders and administrative orders issued by the governor; 13 (6) written delegations of authority made by the governor or the head 14 of a principal department under AS 44.17.010; 15 (7) the text or a summary of the text of a regulation or order of repeal 16 of a regulation for which notice is given under AS 11.71.125 or AS 44.62.190(a), 17 including an emergency regulation or repeal regardless of whether it has taken effect; 18 (8) notices required by AS 44.62.245(b) regarding an amended version 19 of a document or other material incorporated by reference in a regulation; 20 (9) a summary of the text of recently issued published opinions of the 21 attorney general; 22 (10) a list of vacancies on boards, commissions, and other bodies 23 whose members are appointed by the governor; 24 (11) in accordance with AS 39.52.240(h), advisory opinions of the 25 attorney general; 26 (12) notices required by AS 26.30.010(d) and (e) regarding 27 applications for military facility zones; [AND] 28 (13) notices of substances scheduled by an emergency regulation under 29 AS 11.71.125; and  30 (14) notices required to be posted on the system under AS 38 and  31 AS 46. 01  * Sec. 6. AS 44.62.190(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) At least 30 days before the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, 03 notice of the proposed action shall be 04 (1) posted on the Alaska Online Public Notice System  05 (AS 44.62.175) and, at the discretion of the state agency giving the notice, 06 published in a [THE] newspaper of general circulation or trade or industry publication 07 that the state agency prescribes [AND POSTED ON THE ALASKA ONLINE 08 PUBLIC NOTICE SYSTEM; IN THE DISCRETION OF THE STATE AGENCY 09 GIVING THE NOTICE, THE REQUIREMENT OF PUBLICATION IN A 10 NEWSPAPER OR TRADE OR INDUSTRY PUBLICATION MAY BE SATISFIED 11 BY USING A COMBINATION OF PUBLICATION AND BROADCASTING; 12 WHEN BROADCASTING THE NOTICE, AN AGENCY MAY USE AN 13 ABBREVIATED FORM OF THE NOTICE IF THE BROADCAST PROVIDES THE 14 NAME AND DATE OF THE NEWSPAPER OR TRADE OR INDUSTRY 15 JOURNAL AND THE INTERNET ADDRESS OF THE ALASKA ONLINE 16 PUBLIC NOTICE SYSTEM WHERE THE FULL TEXT OF THE NOTICE CAN BE 17 FOUND]; 18 (2) furnished to every person who has filed a request for notice of 19 proposed action with the state agency; 20 (3) if the agency is within a department, furnished to the commissioner 21 of the department; 22 (4) when appropriate in the judgment of the agency, 23 (A) furnished to a person or group of persons whom the agency 24 believes is interested in the proposed action; and 25 (B) published or broadcast in the additional form and manner 26 the state agency prescribes; 27 (5) furnished to the Department of Law together with a copy of the 28 proposed regulation, amendment, or order of repeal for the department's use in 29 preparing the opinion required after adoption and before filing by AS 44.62.060; 30 (6) furnished by electronic format to all incumbent State of Alaska 31 legislators. 01  * Sec. 7. AS 44.62.190(f) is amended to read: 02 (f) To the extent feasible, the subject line of electronic mail and the title of a 03 [WRITTEN] publication providing the information required by (d) of this section must 04 give the reader a fair idea of the substance of the proposed new regulation, the 05 proposed amended regulation, or the regulation proposed for repeal. 06  * Sec. 8. AS 44.62.245(b) is amended to read: 07 (b) When the amended version of a document or other material incorporated 08 by reference in a regulation as described in (a) of this section becomes available, the 09 state agency shall 10 (1) make the amended version of the document or other material 11 available to the public for review; and 12 (2) post on the Alaska Online Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) 13 and, at the discretion of the agency, publish in a newspaper of general circulation, 14 [OR] trade or industry publication, or [IN A] regularly published agency newsletter or 15 similar printed publication, not later than 15 days after the amended version of the 16 document or other material becomes available, a notice that describes the affected 17 regulation, the effective date of the amended version of the document or other 18 material, and how a copy of the amended version may be obtained or reviewed. 19  * Sec. 9. AS 44.62.300(b) is amended to read: 20 (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a person may not bring an action in 21 court to challenge the adoption, repeal, or amendment of a regulation by a state agency 22 for 23 (1) insufficiency or inaccuracy of the information provided under 24 AS 44.62.190(d) or (g); 25 (2) failure of the subject line of electronic mail or the title of a 26 [WRITTEN] publication to meet the requirements of AS 44.62.190(f); 27 (3) failure of the brief description required by AS 44.62.200(d) to 28 comply with the requirements of AS 44.62.200(d) relating to 29 (A) the clarity and readability of the brief description; or 30 (B) the description of the changes made by the proposed 31 adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation; or 01 (4) inaccuracy or insufficiency of the answer to a question provided by 02 the state agency under AS 44.62.213. 03  * Sec. 10. AS 46.03.110(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) After receipt of a proper application for an individual or general permit or 05 a determination by the department that a general permit should be proposed, the 06 department shall post [PUBLISH] notice of the application or proposal, or of the 07 availability of a draft permit for comment, as applicable, on the Alaska Online Public  08 Notice System (AS 44.62.175). At the discretion of the department, the notice may  09 also be published in [AT LEAST TWO PUBLICATIONS OF] a newspaper of 10 general circulation within the general area in which the disposal of waste material is 11 proposed to be made or [. THE NOTICE SHALL ALSO BE POSTED ON THE 12 ALASKA ONLINE PUBLIC NOTICE SYSTEM MAINTAINED UNDER 13 AS 44.62.175 AND MAY ALSO BE PUBLISHED] in other [APPROPRIATE] 14 information media the department deems appropriate. The notice must include a 15 statement that a person who wants to present views to the department with regard to 16 the application or proposal may do so in writing to the department within 30 days after 17 the first publication of the notice. The written response entitles the writer to a copy of 18 the application or draft permit, and, in the case of an application or proposal to issue a 19 general permit, the application or proposal shall also be posted by the department on 20 the Internet at the same time that notice is published under this subsection. 21  * Sec. 11. AS 46.15.065(b) is amended to read: 22 (b) The commissioner shall, as soon as practicable, determine the rights of 23 persons owning existing appropriations. To accomplish this, the commissioner shall 24 (1) by order set a definite period for filing a declaration of 25 appropriation within a specified area or from a specified source; 26 (2) post [PUBLISH] notice of the order on the Alaska Online Public  27 Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least three consecutive weeks before the  28 beginning of the period; when appropriate in the judgment of the commissioner,  29 the commissioner may also publish the notice [ONCE A WEEK FOR THREE 30 WEEKS] before the beginning of the period in a newspaper of general circulation in 31 the affected area; and  01 (3) give notice of the order by certified mail to any appropriator within 02 the specified area or from the specified source who has requested mailed notice or of 03 whom the commissioner can readily obtain knowledge, including each owner of a 04 recorded mining claim. 05  * Sec. 12. AS 46.15.133(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) The commissioner shall post [PUBLISH] the notice on the Alaska Online  07 Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) and, when appropriate in the judgment of  08 the commissioner, in [ONE ISSUE OF] a newspaper of general distribution in the 09 area of the state in which the water is to be appropriated, removed, or sold. The 10 commissioner shall also have notice served personally or by certified mail on [UPON] 11 an appropriator of water or applicant for or holder of a permit who, according to the 12 records of the division of lands, may be affected by the proposed sale, appropriation, 13 or removal and may serve notice on [UPON] any governmental agency, political 14 subdivision, or person; notice shall also be served on [UPON] the Department of Fish 15 and Game and the Department of Environmental Conservation. An applicant for an 16 appropriation or removal shall pay the commissioner's costs in providing publication 17 and notice under this subsection. The commissioner may require as a condition of a 18 sale of water under AS 46.15.037 [,] that a purchaser of water reimburse the 19 department for the costs associated with providing notice of the proposed sale.