00SENATE BILL NO. 191                                                                                                     
01 "An Act relating to the exchange of state tide and submerged land to protect                                            
02 municipal watersheds and provide for airports and marine transportation facilities;                                     
03 and providing for an effective date."                                                                                   
04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
05    * Section 1.  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.  The legislature finds that                                                      
06   (1)  protecting municipal watersheds and providing land for airports and marine                                       
07 transportation facilities needed in municipalities are critical to the state's economy and the                          
08 well-being of its citizens;                                                                                             
09   (2)  land needed for these essential municipal purposes may be in private                                             
10 ownership, and public acquisition of that land by eminent domain or purchase may not be                                 
11 feasible or may be contrary to the public policy of encouraging private land ownership in the                           
12 state;                                                                                                                  
13   (3)  because eminent domain proceedings are often costly and prolonged and                                            
14 may materially delay essential public projects, the consensual acquisition of private land                              

01 through the exchange of state land is the preferred alternative for meeting these municipal                             
02 needs;                                                                                                                  
03   (4)  state tide and submerged land is owned in trust for certain purposes,                                            
04 including the promotion of maritime commerce and navigation;                                                            
05   (5)  if state tide and submerged land is conveyed to private landowners for                                           
06 maritime commerce or navigation purposes, private use of that land would be subject to                                  
07 extensive, already existing state and federal regulatory programs designed to protect the public                        
08 interest in that land and the waters that it borders or underlies; and                                                  
09   (6)  it is in the best interest of the state to exchange suitable tide or submerged                                   
10 land for the land needed to protect a municipal watershed or to provide for an airport or                               
11 marine transportation facility needed by a municipality when the                                                        
12   (A)  land is privately owned;                                                                                        
13   (B)  private owner has the interest and capability to use state tide or                                              
14 submerged land to enhance maritime commerce or navigation; and                                                          
15   (C)  use of the tide or submerged land will not unreasonably impair                                                  
16 other uses of the land that are protected under the public trust doctrine.                                              
17    * Sec. 2.  AS 38.50 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                      
18  Sec. 38.50.045.  Exchanges of tide or submerged land.  (a)  The director, on                                          
19 the director's initiative or at the request of a municipality or state agency and with the                              
20 concurrence of the commissioner, shall exchange state tide or submerged land for                                        
21 privately owned land if                                                                                                 
22   (1)  the governing body of a municipality determines that the privately                                              
23 owned land is needed to protect the watershed of the municipality or for construction                                   
24 or expansion of an airport or marine transportation facility necessary to transport                                     
25 goods, services, or passengers to or from the municipality;                                                             
26   (2)  the private owner agrees to the exchange and the private owner                                                  
27 proposes to use the exchanged tide or submerged land in a manner that will promote                                      
28 maritime commerce or navigation, which includes the use of the land for docks,                                          
29 wharfs, resource transfer facilities, or other improvements to transport goods, services,                               
30 or passengers to and from vessels, barges, rafts, or other means of water transport, and                                
31 for the propagation of aquatic resources;                                                                               

01   (3)  the tide or submerged land to be exchanged is not                                                               
02   (A)  classified under AS 38.05.300 for uses that preclude the                                                       
03 private owner's proposed use of the tide or submerged land; or                                                          
04   (B)  within the boundaries of a state park established under                                                        
05 AS 41.21 or a refuge, sanctuary, state range area, or critical habitat area                                             
06 designated under AS 16.20.                                                                                              
07  (b)  AS 38.50.020 applies to an exchange under this section.  The municipality                                        
08 or a state agency that requests an exchange may submit to the director an appraisal,                                    
09 conducted by a real estate appraiser certified under AS 08.87.110(a), of some or all of                                 
10 the land to be exchanged.  Except for land included in an appraisal submitted under                                     
11 this subsection, the director shall have the state and private land to be exchanged                                     
12 appraised within 90 days after the commissioner concurs in the exchange.  The                                           
13 municipality or state agency that requests an exchange shall pay for the appraisal.  If                                 
14 an exchange is initiated by the director, the municipality that benefits from the                                       
15 exchange as determined by its governing body under (a)(1) of this section shall pay                                     
16 for the appraisal.                                                                                                      
17  (c)  An exchange under this section is not subject to AS 38.50.100.  The                                              
18 exchange is subject to AS 38.05.127 only to the extent that the provision of public                                     
19 access is reasonably compatible with public safety and with the use that the private                                    
20 owner proposes under (a)(2) of this section to make of the tide or submerged land.                                      
21    * Sec. 3.  This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).