HB 116: "An Act relating to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation, to the agricultural revolving loan fund, to the disposal of state agricultural land, and to the Alaska Natural Resource Conservation and Development Board; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 116 01 "An Act relating to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation, to the 02 agricultural revolving loan fund, to the disposal of state agricultural land, and to 03 the Alaska Natural Resource Conservation and Development Board; and providing 04 for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 03 is amended by adding new sections to read: 07 Chapter 09. Board of Agriculture and Conservation. 08 Sec. 03.09.010. Board of Agriculture and Conservation established. (a) 09 There is established in the department the Board of Agriculture and Conservation. The 10 board consists of seven members appointed by the governor. Members shall have the 11 following qualifications: 12 (1) one member shall have general business or financial experience; 13 (2) one member shall be a member of a statewide agriculture promotion 14 organization;
01 (3) one member shall be a member of a statewide agriculture 02 conservation organization; 03 (4) four members shall be engaged in commercial production 04 agriculture, each shall represent a different agriculture enterprise from the others, such 05 as livestock production, dairy, meat processing, vegetable production, grain production, 06 horticultural production, and greenhouse and hydroponic production. 07 (b) Members of the board serve staggered three-year terms and until a 08 successor is appointed. Members may be removed from office by the governor only 09 for cause. If a vacancy occurs, the governor shall immediately appoint a member for 10 the unexpired portion of the term. 11 (c) Members of the board receive $100 compensation for each day spent on 12 official business of the board and are entitled to per diem and travel expenses 13 authorized for boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180. 14 Sec. 03.09.020. Officers and employees. (a) The Board of Agriculture and 15 Conservation shall elect a member to serve as chair and a member to serve as vice- 16 chair for one-year terms. A member may be reelected to serve additional terms as chair or 17 vice-chair. 18 (b) The board may appoint a director, who may employ staff and who is 19 responsible for the daily operations of the agricultural revolving loan fund 20 (AS 03.10.040). The director and staff are in the exempt service under AS 39.25.110. 21 Sec. 03.09.030. Meetings. (a) A majority of the members of the Board of 22 Agriculture and Conservation constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business or 23 the exercise of a power or function at a meeting of the board. 24 (b) The board may adopt procedures for the conduct of meetings. The board 25 shall keep minutes of each meeting and send a copy of the minutes to the 26 commissioner and to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee. 27 Sec. 03.09.040. Regulations. The Board of Agriculture and Conservation may 28 adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to carry out its 29 duties. 30 Sec. 03.09.050. Agricultural land. (a) The Board of Agriculture and 31 Conservation may recommend to the commissioner that land in the land disposal bank
01 established under AS 38.04.020 be classified as suitable for agriculture. The board 02 may identify land for agricultural disposal and request the commissioner to provide for 03 the survey and disposal of the land or of agricultural rights in the land. 04 (b) Land designated for disposal for agricultural uses shall be disposed of by 05 the board in accordance with the requirements of AS 38.05.055 - 38.05.065, except 06 that the board shall carry out the duties of the commissioner and of the director of the 07 division of lands of the department under those sections to the extent those duties 08 apply to agricultural land. Proceeds from the disposals of agricultural land shall be 09 separately accounted for and may be appropriated to the agricultural revolving loan 10 fund (AS 03.10.040). 11 * Sec. 2. AS 03.10.020(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010) 13 [DEPARTMENT] may 14 (1) make a loan to 15 (A) an individual resident farmer, homesteader, or a partnership 16 or corporation composed of farmers and homesteaders for 17 (i) clearing land for agricultural purposes; 18 (ii) development of farms; 19 (iii) storage and processing of farm produce; or 20 (iv) the purchase of livestock or machinery; 21 (B) an individual state resident, or a partnership or corporation 22 for 23 (i) storage and processing plants for agricultural 24 products; 25 (ii) the commercial production or processing of 26 horticultural products in the state; 27 (iii) the commercial production or processing of animal 28 feed in the state; or 29 (iv) the raising or care of animals in the state for the 30 purpose of marketing their fur; 31 (2) designate agents and delegate its powers to them as necessary;
01 (3) adopt regulations necessary to carry out its functions, including 02 regulations to establish reasonable fees for services provided and charges for collecting 03 the fees; 04 (4) establish amortization plans for repayment of loans, which may 05 include delayed payments of principal and interest for not to exceed five years; 06 (5) enter into agreements with private lending institutions, other state 07 agencies or agencies of the federal government, to carry out the purposes of this 08 chapter; 09 (6) collect the fees and collection charges established under this 10 subsection. 11 * Sec. 3. AS 03.10.030(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) The farm development, chattel, or irrigation loan made under this chapter 13 (1) may not exceed a term of 30 years, except that a chattel loan may 14 not exceed a term of seven years; 15 (2) may not, when added to the outstanding balance of other loans 16 made under this chapter, exceed a total outstanding balance of $1,000,000; 17 (3) shall be secured by a real estate or chattel mortgage of any priority, 18 except that the portion of a loan that exceeds $500,000, when added to prior 19 indebtedness that is secured by the same property, must be secured by a first mortgage; 20 (4) shall bear interest at a rate that may not be less than five [EIGHT] 21 percent or more than the commercial rate, unless the commercial rate is five [EIGHT] 22 percent or less; in this paragraph , "commercial rate" means the prevailing rate of 23 interest at private lending institutions in the state for loans similar to those referred to 24 in this subsection. 25 * Sec. 4. AS 03.10.030(c) is amended to read: 26 (c) A short-term [SHORT TERM] loan, to be amortized within one year, not 27 to exceed $350,000 to any one borrower may be made for operating purposes, except 28 that a loan made under this subsection may not exceed $200,000 unless the loan is 29 made to a borrower in a farm disaster area declared under AS 03.10.058. An applicant 30 for a short-term [SHORT TERM] loan may be required to purchase insurance through 31 the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 - 1520) as a condition of the loan.
01 The term of a loan made under this subsection may be extended for up to three years 02 by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING 03 LOAN FUND BOARD], in the discretion of the board, upon application by the 04 borrower. 05 * Sec. 5. AS 03.10.030(e) is amended to read: 06 (e) An installment payment is delinquent unless it is mailed by the borrower 07 on or before the 30th day after the date specified for payment in the loan agreement 08 or unless it is received by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 09 [DEPARTMENT] on or before the 30th day after the date specified for payment in the 10 loan agreement. If an installment payment is delinquent, the director of the board 11 [DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT] may assess a delinquency 12 penalty. The delinquency penalty shall be an amount equal to seven percent of the 13 delinquent payment, but the combined delinquency penalty and loan interest may not 14 exceed 15 percent. 15 * Sec. 6. AS 03.10.030(f) is amended to read: 16 (f) A farm product processing loan may not exceed $250,000. A mortgage 17 that secures a farm product processing loan may be of any priority if the total 18 indebtedness on the real estate, including the secured farm product processing loan, 19 does not exceed $250,000. A farm product processing loan that, if made, would raise 20 the existing indebtedness on the real estate securing the loan above $250,000, or a 21 farm product processing loan on real estate that has a prior indebtedness of $250,000 22 or more, may be made only if all prior mortgagees agree to subordinate their 23 mortgages to that of the state for the amount of the farm product processing loan that 24 exceeds the $250,000 indebtedness limit on the real estate. A farm product processing 25 loan may not exceed a term of 30 years or bear interest that is less than five [EIGHT] 26 percent a year and shall be secured by a real estate or chattel mortgage or both. 27 * Sec. 7. AS 03.10.030(g) is amended to read: 28 (g) A loan for clearing land may not 29 (1) exceed $250,000; 30 (2) bear interest that is less than five [EIGHT] percent; 31 (3) have a term in excess of 20 years; or
01 (4) be made for clearing land other than land that has been classified 02 by the United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service , under the 03 Land Capability Classification System as having agricultural potential for the 04 production of annual crops or [,] hay, or for pasture. 05 * Sec. 8. AS 03.10.030(h) is amended to read: 06 (h) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation [COMMISSIONER] shall 07 adopt regulations to establish other terms for loans made under this chapter, consistent 08 with the provisions of this section, and may establish interest rates for loans under 09 (a)(4) of this section that 10 (1) encourage agricultural development; 11 (2) do not subsidize nonviable agricultural enterprises; and 12 (3) do not discriminate against viable existing agricultural enterprises. 13 * Sec. 9. AS 03.10.033(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) To increase the return to the state, the Board of Agriculture and 15 Conservation [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND BOARD] may 16 restructure loans (1) in existence on January 1, 1987, made by the former 17 Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund Board [BOARD] or by the former Alaska 18 Agricultural Action Council based upon guidelines approved by the Board of 19 Agriculture and Conservation; or (2) of a borrower who has experienced three 20 years of agricultural disaster during the last five years as defined by regulations 21 adopted by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation [BOARD]. The 22 restructuring may only include reduction of interest [TO RATES BELOW THOSE 23 SPECIFIED BY AS 03.10.030], an extension of the term of the loan, and an 24 improvement to the security interest of the state. It may not reduce the amount of 25 principal and interest owed before the loan is restructured. 26 * Sec. 10. AS 03.10.033(c) is amended to read: 27 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Board of 28 Agriculture and Conservation [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND 29 BOARD] may approve an application for restructuring under this section only upon 30 (1) the applicant's written release of the state, including [THE 31 ALASKA AGRICULTURE ACTION COUNCIL, THE AGRICULTURAL
01 REVOLVING LOAN FUND, AND] the University of Alaska, from all potential 02 liability for actions and omissions occurring before the date of restructuring that relate 03 in any way to a state farm project, land sale, land sale relinquishment, farm loan, or 04 loan application or loan modification application, whether granted or denied by the 05 state; and 06 (2) assignment by the applicant to the board of the proceeds from the 07 federal government under 7 U.S.C. 1442 (Conservation Reserve Program) and P.L. 88- 08 26 (Feed Grain Act of 1963), as amended. 09 * Sec. 11. AS 03.10.035(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) A borrower may not use farm land for a nonfarm [NON-FARM] use or 11 sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of farm land if that land is encumbered by a mortgage 12 given to secure the payment of a farm development, chattel, or irrigation system loan 13 under this chapter unless the borrower either 14 (1) pays the outstanding balance of the loan in a lump sum or under 15 other terms agreed to by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 16 [COMMISSIONER] that accelerate payment of the loan; or 17 (2) pays the outstanding principal balance for the remaining term of the 18 loan at the prevailing rate of interest that is charged by commercial banks in the state 19 during the calendar quarter in which the board [DEPARTMENT] receives notice of 20 the change of use, sale, lease, or other disposal of the farm land. 21 * Sec. 12. AS 03.10.040(b) is amended to read: 22 (b) Money in the fund may be used by the legislature to make appropriations 23 for costs of administering this chapter and for operations of the Board of 24 Agriculture and Conservation . 25 * Sec. 13. AS 03.10.050(a) is amended to read: 26 (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation [COMMISSIONER] shall 27 administer the agricultural revolving loan fund [IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 28 AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND BOARD]. A [NO] loan [IN EXCESS 29 OF $25,000] may not be made [BY THE COMMISSIONER] without the approval of 30 a majority of the board , except that emergency loans not to exceed $50,000 may be 31 made upon the approval, by majority vote, of a committee composed of a chair
01 of the board, the director of the division of agriculture, and an employee of the 02 board who is a loan officer selected by the board to serve on the committee . 03 * Sec. 14. AS 03.10.050(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) A meeting of the [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND] board 05 to act on applications for loans is exempt from the public meeting requirements of 06 AS 44.62.310. 07 * Sec. 15. AS 03.10.050(e) is amended to read: 08 (e) To encourage the prompt payment of loans, the board [DEPARTMENT] 09 may establish a program of credits for persons who have a loan from the agricultural 10 revolving loan fund and maintain good financial standing. The credits may be applied 11 against no more than two percentage points a year of the interest due on agricultural 12 revolving loan fund loans. 13 * Sec. 16. AS 03.10.050(g) is amended to read: 14 (g) The board [DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE] may dispose of property 15 it acquires [ACQUIRED BY THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND 16 BOARD OR BY THE COMMISSIONER] through foreclosure, default, or other action 17 arising out of agricultural loans or the sale of agricultural land. Disposals shall be 18 conducted under regulations approved by the commissioner. The regulations must 19 ensure that the property is disposed of so as to maximize the return to the state and 20 must require that the parcels of land that are composed primarily of cropland soils be 21 restricted to agricultural uses and disposed of only to persons who are residents of the 22 state. Money from property disposed of under this subsection shall be separately 23 accounted for and may be appropriated to the agricultural revolving loan fund. 24 * Sec. 17. AS 38.04.020(g) is amended to read: 25 (g) After July 1 of each year, the commissioner shall direct the expenditure of 26 money appropriated for the disposal of land in response to requests made under (e) and 27 (f) of this section for the following: 28 (1) land [LAND] designated as suitable for homestead disposal shall 29 be classified and surveyed under this chapter and AS 38.05 and made available for 30 staking and lease under AS 38.09 ; [.] 31 (2) land [LAND] designated as suitable for subdivision and homesite
01 disposal shall be surveyed, subdivided, classified, and disposed of under this chapter, 02 AS 38.05, and AS 38.08 ; [.] 03 (3) land [LAND] designated [AGRICULTURAL,] commercial, 04 industrial, or suitable for other disposal shall be sold under AS 38.05.055 or 38.05.057 ; 05 (4) land designated agricultural shall be disposed of by the Board 06 of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010) in accordance with AS 38.05.055 - 07 38.05.065, except the board shall carry out the duties of the commissioner or the 08 director under those sections . 09 * Sec. 18. AS 38.04.030 is amended to read: 10 Sec. 38.04.030. Land availability programs. Programs that may be used by 11 the director to make the state's land surface available for private use under 12 AS 38.04.020 - 38.04.055 include sale of whole or partial rights to the fee simple 13 estate, including conveyance of agricultural use rights by the Board of Agriculture 14 and Conservation ; leasing; open-to-entry; homesiting; homesteading; permitting for 15 construction and occupation of cabins in isolated locations on land retained in state 16 ownership; and other methods as provided by law. 17 * Sec. 19. AS 38.05.020(b)(7) is amended to read: 18 (7) permit the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 19 (AS 03.09.010) to waive, postpone, or otherwise modify the development requirements 20 of a contract for the sale of agricultural land if 21 (A) the land is inaccessible by road; or 22 (B) transportation, marketing, and development costs render the 23 required development uneconomic; 24 * Sec. 20. AS 38.05.035(a)(7) is amended to read: 25 (7) have jurisdiction over state land, except that land acquired by the 26 Alaska World War II Veterans Board and the Agricultural Loan Board or the 27 departments or agencies succeeding to their respective functions through foreclosure 28 or default; to this end the director possesses the powers and, with the approval of the 29 commissioner and, with respect to agricultural land, the Board of Agriculture and 30 Conservation , shall perform the duties necessary to protect the state's rights and 31 interest in state land, including the taking of all necessary action to protect and enforce
01 the state's contractual or other property rights; 02 * Sec. 21. AS 38.05.057(c) is amended to read: 03 (c) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010) 04 [COMMISSIONER] may adopt regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act 05 (AS 44.62) that [WHICH] specify qualifications for lottery participants different from 06 those specified in (b) of this section if 07 (1) an interest in land limited to agricultural purposes is to be sold 08 under (a) of this section; 09 (2) the sale is a part of a program to develop agricultural land as a 10 renewable resource of the state; and 11 (3) the regulations include residency, skill, experience, and financial 12 requirements necessary to qualify persons who are competent and financially able to 13 develop the land as a successful agricultural enterprise. 14 * Sec. 22. AS 38.05.059 is amended to read: 15 Sec. 38.05.059. Sale of agricultural land. The Board of Agriculture and 16 Conservation (AS 03.09.010) [COMMISSIONER] may provide for the sale of land 17 classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural uses in parcels or tracts described 18 by aliquot parts. The parcels or tracts are subject to state subdivision requirements and 19 municipal ordinances. 20 * Sec. 23. AS 38.05.065(h) is amended to read: 21 (h) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010) 22 [COMMISSIONER] 23 (1) shall provide that, notwithstanding (a) and (b) of this section, in a 24 contract for the sale of land classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural uses, 25 the interest rate to be charged on installment payments may not exceed 9.5 percent; 26 and 27 (2) may declare a moratorium of up to five years on payments on land 28 sold under this section for land classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural 29 uses if 30 (A) the board [COMMISSIONER] determines that the 31 moratorium is in the best interest of the state;
01 (B) the board [COMMISSIONER] certifies and the contract 02 purchaser agrees to perform farm development, crop production, and harvesting, 03 not including land clearing or related activity, requiring the expenditure of 04 amounts equivalent to the payments that would otherwise be made during the 05 moratorium; 06 (C) the sale of the agricultural land takes place after July 1, 07 1979; and 08 (D) the contract purchaser is in compliance with the 09 development plan specified in the purchase contract at the time the purchaser 10 applies for a moratorium under this subsection and remains in compliance with 11 the development plan during the moratorium; for the payments subject to the 12 moratorium declared under this paragraph, interest payments are subject to the 13 moratorium but interest continues to accrue during the moratorium. 14 * Sec. 24. AS 38.05.069(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) On a determination by the commissioner that the highest and best use of 16 unoccupied land is for agricultural purposes and that it is in the best interests of the 17 state to sell or lease the land, the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 18 (AS 03.09.010) [COMMISSIONER] shall grant to an Alaska [ALASKAN] resident 19 owning and using or leasing and using land for agricultural purposes a first option at 20 the auction to purchase or lease the unoccupied land situated adjacent to land presently 21 held by the Alaska [ALASKAN] resident for the amount of the high bid received at 22 public auction. If more than one Alaska [ALASKAN] resident qualifies for a first 23 option under this section, eligibility for the first option shall be determined by lot and 24 the option must be exercised on the conclusion of the public auction. A parcel of 25 agricultural land sold under this section may not be less than 20 acres , and a parcel of 26 agricultural land that is acquired by exercise of the option granted in this subsection 27 may not exceed 320 acres. Agricultural land that is acquired under this section must 28 be used for agricultural purposes as required by law. 29 * Sec. 25. AS 38.05.069(c) is amended to read: 30 (c) Under this section , 31 (1) the Board of Agriculture and Conservation [DIRECTOR] may
01 transfer state land classified for agriculture only for agricultural purposes; 02 (2) the sale or lease shall be at public auction. 03 * Sec. 26. AS 38.05.321(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010) 05 [DEPARTMENT] shall include in a document that conveys state land classified as 06 agricultural land 07 (1) a perpetual covenant for the benefit of all Alaska residents and 08 running with the land that restricts or limits the use of the land for agricultural 09 purposes; and 10 (2) one of the following, as appropriate: 11 (A) a perpetual covenant for the benefit of all Alaska residents 12 and running with the land permitting the owner of land that had been obtained 13 under homestead entry to subdivide and convey the land in parcels of not less 14 than 40 acres each; or 15 (B) a perpetual covenant for the benefit of all Alaska residents 16 and running with the land permitting the owner of land that had been obtained 17 by purchase to subdivide and convey not more than four parcels of the land of 18 not less than 40 acres each, subject to the restriction that a subdivided parcel 19 may not be further subdivided. 20 * Sec. 27. AS 38.05.321(d) is amended to read: 21 (d) For state land classified as agricultural land that is conveyed under (a) of 22 this section, 23 (1) the Board of Agriculture and Conservation [COMMISSIONER] 24 may require the landowner to cooperate with the appropriate soil and water 25 conservation district under AS 41.10 in the development and implementation of soil 26 conservation plans as authorized by AS 41.10.110(6); 27 (2) as a condition of the conveyance, the board [COMMISSIONER] 28 may not require preparation and implementation of a schedule of planned agricultural 29 development or a farm development plan specified in a land purchase contract unless 30 the board [COMMISSIONER] permits modification of a plan in cases of economic 31 hardship or other extenuating circumstances;
01 (3) the board [COMMISSIONER] may not 02 (A) limit the right of the landowner to use the land and 03 improvements for purposes that are incidental to and not inconsistent with the 04 primary use of the land for agricultural purposes; 05 (B) except as provided by (i) of this section, limit the right of 06 a landowner to construct housing for the landowner and farm laborers, to 07 construct improvements for animals, or to construct improvements that are 08 reasonably required for or related to agricultural use on the original parcel and 09 on additional subdivided parcels, not to exceed the limits and restrictions set 10 by (a)(2) of this section; and 11 (C) limit the right of the landowner to subdivide and convey the 12 land if the resulting parcels are not in violation of the limits and restrictions set 13 out in (a)(2) of this section. 14 * Sec. 28. AS 38.05.321(e) is amended to read: 15 (e) A landowner may subdivide land classified for agricultural use and for 16 which the landowner obtained a patent under a homestead entry permit issued under 17 AS 38.09 so long as the resulting parcels are not in violation of the minimum parcel 18 size set out in (a) of this section. A landowner may subdivide other land classified for 19 agricultural use as authorized under (d)(3)(C) of this section. If the subdivision 20 involves land classified for agricultural use and for which the landowner obtained a 21 patent under a homestead entry permit issued under AS 38.09, or if the subdivision of 22 land authorized under (d)(3)(C) of this section results only in parcels of 640 acres or 23 more, the landowner may subdivide without payment as required by this subsection. 24 If subdivision of land authorized by (d)(3)(C) of this section would result in one or 25 more parcels of less than 640 acres, the landowner may subdivide only if the 26 landowner first tenders payment to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 27 [DEPARTMENT] for the right to construct housing in each subdivided parcel of less 28 than 640 acres. Payments collected under this subsection shall be separately 29 accounted for and may be appropriated to the agricultural revolving loan fund 30 (AS 03.10.040). For purposes of this subsection, the value of the right to construct 31 housing in a subdivided parcel
01 (1) is $4,000 for the parcel, subject to adjustment under (h) of this 02 section; or 03 (2) shall be determined by an appraisal made by an appraiser under 04 contract to the landowner owning the parcel, and the appraisal must include the value, 05 determined as of the date of subdivision, of the right to construct housing by the 06 landowner under (d)(3) of this section. 07 * Sec. 29. AS 38.05.321(f) is amended to read: 08 (f) Notwithstanding (e) of this section, the landowner is not required to pay 09 an amount due under (e) of this section until the subdivided parcel is conveyed by the 10 owner to a person not a member of the person's immediate family. The board 11 [DEPARTMENT] has a lien on the parcel as security for payment of the amount due. 12 For purposes of this subsection, "immediate family" means 13 (1) the spouse of the person; or 14 (2) a parent, child, including a stepchild and an adoptive child, or 15 sibling of the person if the parent, child, or sibling resides with the person, is 16 financially dependent on the person, or shares a substantial financial interest with the 17 person. 18 * Sec. 30. AS 38.07.010(b) is amended to read: 19 (b) The land that is [THUS] cleared or drained under (a) of this section shall 20 be put up for competitive lease by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 21 (AS 03.09.010) in lots of not less than 320 acres each. Lease payments shall be 22 separately accounted for and may be appropriated to the agricultural revolving 23 loan fund (AS 03.10.040). 24 * Sec. 31. AS 38.09.010(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) The commissioner shall designate and make available for homestead entry 26 state land, including land classified for agricultural use that may be disposed of by 27 the Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010) . State land made 28 available for homestead entry under this chapter shall be distributed throughout the 29 state. 30 * Sec. 32. AS 38.09.010(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) The commissioner shall complete a rectangular survey grid of homestead
01 entry state land under AS 38.04.045 before disposing of state land for homestead entry 02 or authorizing the Board of Agriculture and Conservation to dispose of it . A 03 homestead entry parcel shall be established in aliquot parts of a surveyed section or 04 as lots or tracts that are fractions of aliquot parts of a surveyed section. The 05 commissioner shall ensure practical access to each homestead entry parcel but the 06 commissioner may waive the rectangular survey grid if no more than one conveyance 07 is made for each section within a township. 08 * Sec. 33. AS 38.09.010(c) is amended to read: 09 (c) Notice of the designation and offering of land for homestead entry shall be 10 given by the commissioner under AS 38.05.945 or by the Board of Agriculture and 11 Conservation in a manner that complies with AS 38.05.945 . 12 * Sec. 34. AS 39.25.110 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 13 (34) the director and staff of the Board of Agriculture and 14 Conservation. 15 * Sec. 35. AS 39.50.200(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 16 (56) Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010). 17 * Sec. 36. AS 41.10.140(1) is amended to read: 18 (1) "board" means the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 19 (AS 03.09.010) [ALASKA NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND 20 DEVELOPMENT BOARD]; 21 * Sec. 37. AS 03.10.050(b), 03.10.050(d), 03.10.052; AS 38.05.035(b)(6); 22 AS 39.50.200(b)(1); AS 41.10.040, 41.10.045, 41.10.050, 41.10.060, 41.10.070, 41.10.080, 23 41.10.090, and 41.10.100(b)(4) are repealed. 24 * Sec. 38. TRANSITION. Notwithstanding AS 03.09.010(b), enacted in sec. 1 of this Act, 25 two initial members of the Board of Agriculture and Conservation shall be appointed to one- 26 year terms and two initial members of the board shall be appointed to two-year terms. 27 Notwithstanding AS 03.09.040, enacted in sec. 1 of this Act, AS 03.10.020(a), as amended 28 in sec. 2 of this Act, AS 03.10.030(h), as amended in sec. 8 of this Act, and AS 03.10.033(a), 29 as amended in sec. 9 of this Act, regulations that apply to the agricultural revolving loan fund 30 and to loans from the fund remain in effect until amended or repealed by the Board of 31 Agriculture and Conservation.