CSHB 116(FIN): "An Act relating to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation, to the director of agriculture, to the agricultural revolving loan fund and to loans from the fund, to the disposal of interests in state agricultural land; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 116(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation, to the director 02 of agriculture, to the agricultural revolving loan fund and to loans from the fund, 03 to the disposal of interests in state agricultural land; and providing for an 04 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 the commissioner and seven members appointed by the governor. 11 Appointed members shall have the 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 soil and water conservation 02 district established under AS 41.10.130(a) who is also engaged in commercial 03 production agriculture; 04 (4) four members shall be engaged in commercial production 05 agriculture, each shall represent a different agriculture enterprise from the others, such 06 as livestock production, dairy, vegetable production, grain production, horticultural 07 production, and greenhouse and hydroponic production. 08 (b) Appointed members of the board serve staggered three-year terms and until 09 a successor is appointed. An appointed member may be removed from office by the 10 governor if the governor first provides a written statement of the reasons for removal 11 to the member and makes the statement available to the public. If a vacancy occurs, 12 the governor shall immediately appoint a member for the unexpired portion of the 13 term. 14 (c) Appointed members of the board receive no compensation, but are entitled 15 to per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions under 16 AS 39.20.180. 17 (d) While serving on the board and for one year after leaving that office, a 18 board member, or an immediate family member of the board member, may not obtain 19 a lease, permit, installment contract, or loan or purchase land under AS 03.10 or under 20 AS 38.05, or have an existing lease, permit, installment contract, or loan under 21 AS 03.10 or under AS 38.05 modified or restructured. Notwithstanding 22 AS 39.52.150(a), a person may be appointed to the board even though, at the time of 23 appointment, that person, or an immediate family member, has a lease, permit, 24 installment contract, or loan under AS 03.10 or AS 38.05. However, that person may 25 not take or withhold any official action that affects the lease, permit, installment 26 contract, or loan. If a person with a lease, permit, installment contract, or loan under 27 AS 03.10 or AS 38.05 is appointed to the board, failure by that person to abide by all 28 the terms and conditions of the lease, permit, installment contract, or loan may be the 29 basis for removal under (b) of this section. For purposes of this subsection, 30 "immediate family member" and "official action" have the meanings given in 31 AS 39.52.960.
01 (e) The board shall elect a member to serve as chair and a member to serve 02 as vice-chair for one-year terms. A member may be reelected to serve additional terms 03 as chair or vice-chair. 04 Sec. 03.09.020. Director of agriculture and staff. (a) The director of the 05 division of agriculture of the department shall serve as the director of the Board of 06 Agriculture and Conservation. The director may employ staff and, as directed by the 07 board, is responsible for the daily operations of the agricultural revolving loan fund 08 (AS 03.10.040). 09 (b) The director of agriculture shall be appointed to the partially exempt 10 service by the commissioner from a list of two or more candidates submitted by the 11 board. The commissioner may reject all candidates, in which case the board shall 12 submit a new list. The director may be removed by the commissioner at any time, and 13 the office shall remain vacant until a new director is appointed under this subsection. 14 Sec. 03.09.030. Quorum. Five members of the Board of Agriculture and 15 Conservation constitute a quorum for the transaction of business or the exercise of a 16 power or function at a meeting of the board. 17 Sec. 03.09.040. Regulations. (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation 18 may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to carry out its 19 duties. 20 (b) The board may, by regulation, classify loan and marketing information and 21 make some classes of loan or marketing information confidential. 22 Sec. 03.09.050. Agricultural land. The Board of Agriculture and 23 Conservation may recommend to the commissioner that land in the land disposal bank 24 established under AS 38.04.020 be classified as suitable for agriculture. The board 25 may identify state land for agricultural disposal and request the commissioner to 26 provide for the survey and disposal of the land. 27 * Sec. 2. AS 03.10.020(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010) 29 [DEPARTMENT] may 30 (1) make a loan to 31 (A) an individual resident farmer, homesteader, or a partnership
01 or corporation composed of farmers and homesteaders for 02 (i) clearing land for agricultural purposes; 03 (ii) development of farms; 04 (iii) storage and processing of farm produce; or 05 (iv) the purchase of livestock or machinery; 06 (B) an individual state resident, or a partnership or corporation 07 for 08 (i) storage and processing plants for agricultural 09 products; 10 (ii) the commercial production or processing of 11 horticultural products in the state; 12 (iii) the commercial production or processing of animal 13 feed in the state; or 14 (iv) the raising or care of animals in the state for the 15 purpose of marketing their fur; 16 (2) designate agents and delegate its powers to them as necessary; 17 (3) adopt regulations necessary to carry out its functions, including 18 regulations to establish reasonable fees for services provided and charges for collecting 19 the fees; 20 (4) establish amortization plans for repayment of loans, which may 21 include delayed payments of principal and interest for not to exceed five years; 22 (5) enter into agreements with private lending institutions, other state 23 agencies or agencies of the federal government, to carry out the purposes of this 24 chapter; 25 (6) collect the fees and collection charges established under this 26 subsection. 27 * Sec. 3. AS 03.10.030(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) The farm development, chattel, or irrigation loan made under this chapter 29 (1) may not exceed a term of 30 years, except that a chattel loan may 30 not exceed a term of seven years; 31 (2) may not, when added to the outstanding balance of other loans
01 made under this chapter, exceed a total outstanding balance of $1,000,000; 02 (3) shall be secured by a real estate or chattel mortgage of any priority, 03 except that the portion of a loan that exceeds $500,000, when added to prior 04 indebtedness that is secured by the same property, must be secured by a first mortgage; 05 (4) shall bear interest at a fixed rate comparable to that charged by 06 other agricultural [THAT MAY NOT BE LESS THAN EIGHT PERCENT OR 07 MORE THAN THE COMMERCIAL RATE, UNLESS THE COMMERCIAL RATE 08 IS EIGHT PERCENT OR LESS; IN THIS PARAGRAPH, "COMMERCIAL RATE" 09 MEANS THE PREVAILING RATE OF INTEREST AT PRIVATE] lending 10 institutions in the state for loans similar to those referred to in this subsection. 11 * Sec. 4. AS 03.10.030(c) is amended to read: 12 (c) A short-term [SHORT TERM] loan, to be amortized within one year, not 13 to exceed $350,000 to any one borrower may be made for operating purposes, except 14 that a loan made under this subsection may not exceed $200,000 unless the loan is 15 made to a borrower in a farm disaster area declared under AS 03.10.058. The loan 16 shall bear interest at a fixed rate comparable to that charged by other 17 agricultural lending institutions in the state for loans similar to those referred to 18 in this subsection. An applicant for a short-term [SHORT TERM] loan may be 19 required to purchase insurance through the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 20 - 1520) as a condition of the loan. The term of a loan made under this subsection may 21 be extended for up to three years by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 22 [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND BOARD], in the discretion of the 23 board, upon application by the borrower. 24 * Sec. 5. AS 03.10.030(e) is amended to read: 25 (e) An installment payment is delinquent unless it is [MAILED BY THE 26 BORROWER ON OR BEFORE THE 30TH DAY AFTER THE DATE SPECIFIED 27 FOR PAYMENT IN THE LOAN AGREEMENT OR UNLESS IT IS] received by the 28 Board of Agriculture and Conservation or the director of the board 29 [DEPARTMENT] on or before the 30th day after the date specified for payment in the 30 loan agreement. If an installment payment is delinquent, the director of the board 31 [DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT] may assess a delinquency
01 penalty. [THE DELINQUENCY PENALTY SHALL BE AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO 02 SEVEN PERCENT OF THE DELINQUENT PAYMENT, BUT THE COMBINED 03 DELINQUENCY PENALTY AND LOAN INTEREST MAY NOT EXCEED 15 04 PERCENT.] 05 * Sec. 6. AS 03.10.030(f) is amended to read: 06 (f) A farm product processing loan may not exceed $250,000. A mortgage 07 that secures a farm product processing loan may be of any priority if the total 08 indebtedness on the real estate, including the secured farm product processing loan, 09 does not exceed $250,000. A farm product processing loan that, if made, would raise 10 the existing indebtedness on the real estate securing the loan above $250,000, or a 11 farm product processing loan on real estate that has a prior indebtedness of $250,000 12 or more, may be made only if all prior mortgagees agree to subordinate their 13 mortgages to that of the state for the amount of the farm product processing loan that 14 exceeds the $250,000 indebtedness limit on the real estate. A farm product processing 15 loan may not exceed a term of 30 years or bear interest at a rate that is less than a 16 fixed rate comparable to that charged by other agricultural lending institutions 17 in the state for similar loans, [EIGHT PERCENT A YEAR] and shall be secured by 18 a real estate or chattel mortgage or both. 19 * Sec. 7. AS 03.10.030(g) is amended to read: 20 (g) A loan for clearing land may not 21 (1) exceed $250,000; 22 (2) bear interest at a rate that is less than a fixed rate comparable to 23 that charged by other agricultural lending institutions in the state for similar 24 loans [EIGHT PERCENT]; 25 (3) have a term in excess of 20 years; or 26 (4) be made for clearing land other than land that has been classified 27 by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource [SOIL] 28 Conservation Service , under the Land Capability Classification System as having 29 agricultural potential for the production of annual crops or [,] hay, or for pasture. 30 * Sec. 8. AS 03.10.030(h) is amended to read: 31 (h) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation [COMMISSIONER] shall
01 adopt regulations to establish other terms for loans made under this chapter, consistent 02 with the provisions of this section, and may establish interest rates for loans under 03 (a)(4) of this section that 04 (1) encourage agricultural development; 05 (2) do not subsidize nonviable agricultural enterprises; and 06 (3) do not discriminate against viable existing agricultural enterprises. 07 * Sec. 9. AS 03.10.033(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) To increase the return to the state, the Board of Agriculture and 09 Conservation [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND BOARD] may 10 restructure loans (1) in existence on January 1, 1987, made by the former 11 Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund Board [BOARD] or by the former Alaska 12 Agricultural Action Council based upon guidelines approved by the Board of 13 Agriculture and Conservation; (2) of a borrower in an area that has been 14 declared a farm disaster area under AS 03.10.058; or (3) of a borrower who has 15 experienced an agricultural disaster based upon regulations adopted by the 16 Board of Agriculture and Conservation. Notwithstanding any other provision of 17 law that relates to loan terms, the [BOARD. THE] restructuring may only include 18 reduction of interest to a fixed rate not less than five percent a year [TO RATES 19 BELOW THOSE SPECIFIED BY AS 03.10.030], an extension of the term of the loan, 20 and an improvement to the security interest of the state. It may not reduce the amount 21 of principal and interest owed before the loan is restructured. 22 * Sec. 10. AS 03.10.033(c) is amended to read: 23 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Board of 24 Agriculture and Conservation [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND 25 BOARD] may approve an application for restructuring under this section only upon 26 (1) the applicant's written release of the state, including [THE 27 ALASKA AGRICULTURE ACTION COUNCIL, THE AGRICULTURAL 28 REVOLVING LOAN FUND, AND] the University of Alaska, from all potential 29 liability for actions and omissions occurring before the date of restructuring that relate 30 in any way to a state farm project, land sale, land sale relinquishment, farm loan, or 31 loan application or loan modification application, whether granted or denied by the
01 state; and 02 (2) assignment by the applicant to the board of the proceeds from the 03 federal government under 7 U.S.C. 1442 (Conservation Reserve Program) and P.L. 88- 04 26 (Feed Grain Act of 1963), as amended. 05 * Sec. 11. AS 03.10.035(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) A borrower may not use farm land for a nonfarm [NON-FARM] use or 07 sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of farm land if that land is encumbered by a mortgage 08 given to secure the payment of a [FARM DEVELOPMENT, CHATTEL, OR 09 IRRIGATION SYSTEM] loan under this chapter unless the borrower either 10 (1) pays the outstanding balance of the loan in a lump sum or under 11 other terms agreed to by the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 12 [COMMISSIONER] that accelerate payment of the loan; or 13 (2) pays the outstanding principal balance for the remaining term of the 14 loan at the prevailing rate of interest that is charged by commercial banks in the state 15 during the calendar quarter in which the board [DEPARTMENT] receives notice of 16 the change of use, sale, lease, or other disposal of the farm land. 17 * Sec. 12. AS 03.10.040(b) is amended to read: 18 (b) Money in the fund may be used by the legislature to make appropriations 19 for costs of administering this chapter and for operations of the Board of 20 Agriculture and Conservation . 21 * Sec. 13. AS 03.10.050(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) The Board of Agriculture and Conservation [COMMISSIONER] shall 23 administer the agricultural revolving loan fund [IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 24 AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND BOARD]. A [NO] loan [IN EXCESS 25 OF $25,000] may not be made [BY THE COMMISSIONER] without the approval of 26 a majority of the board , except that emergency loans based upon regulations 27 adopted by the board and not to exceed $50,000 may be made upon the approval, 28 by majority vote, of a committee composed of the chair of the board, another 29 board member, and the director of the board . 30 * Sec. 14. AS 03.10.050(c) is amended to read: 31 (c) A meeting of the [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING LOAN FUND] board
01 to act on applications for loans is exempt from the public meeting requirements of 02 AS 44.62.310. 03 * Sec. 15. AS 03.10.050(e) is amended to read: 04 (e) To encourage the prompt payment of loans, the board [DEPARTMENT] 05 may establish a program of credits for persons who have a loan from the agricultural 06 revolving loan fund and maintain good financial standing. The credits may be applied 07 against no more than two percentage points a year of the interest due on agricultural 08 revolving loan fund loans. 09 * Sec. 16. AS 03.10.050(g) is amended to read: 10 (g) The board [DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE] may dispose of property 11 acquired by the agricultural revolving loan fund [AGRICULTURAL REVOLVING 12 LOAN FUND BOARD OR BY THE COMMISSIONER] through foreclosure, default, 13 or other action arising out of agricultural loans or the sale of agricultural land. 14 Disposals shall be conducted under regulations approved by the commissioner. The 15 regulations must ensure that the property is disposed of so as to maximize the return 16 to the state and must require that the parcels of land that are composed primarily of 17 cropland soils be restricted to agricultural uses and disposed of only to persons who 18 are residents of the state. 19 * Sec. 17. AS 38.04.020(g) is amended to read: 20 (g) After July 1 of each year, the commissioner shall direct the expenditure of 21 money appropriated for the disposal of land in response to requests made under (e) and 22 (f) of this section for the following: 23 (1) land [LAND] designated as suitable for homestead disposal shall 24 be classified and surveyed under this chapter and AS 38.05 and made available for 25 staking and lease under AS 38.09 ; [.] 26 (2) land [LAND] designated as suitable for subdivision and homesite 27 disposal shall be surveyed, subdivided, classified, and disposed of under this chapter, 28 AS 38.05, and AS 38.08 ; [.] 29 (3) land [LAND] designated [AGRICULTURAL,] commercial, 30 industrial, or suitable for other disposal shall be sold under AS 38.05.055 or 38.05.057 ; 31 (4) land designated agricultural shall be disposed of under
01 AS 38.05.055 - 38.05.065, except the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 02 (AS 03.09.010) shall receive notice of each proposed disposal and be given an 03 opportunity to comment before the final disposal decision is made . 04 * Sec. 18. AS 38.04.030 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 38.04.030. Land availability programs. Programs that may be used by 06 the director to make the state's land surface available for private use under 07 AS 38.04.020 - 38.04.055 include sale of whole or partial rights to the fee simple 08 estate, including conveyance of agricultural use rights; leasing; open-to-entry; 09 homesiting; homesteading; permitting for construction and occupation of cabins in 10 isolated locations on land retained in state ownership; and other methods as provided 11 by law. However, agricultural use rights may be conveyed only after consulting 12 with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation. 13 * Sec. 19. AS 38.05.020(b)(7) is amended to read: 14 (7) after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 15 (AS 03.09.010), waive, postpone, or otherwise modify the development requirements 16 of a contract for the sale of agricultural land if 17 (A) the land is inaccessible by road; or 18 (B) transportation, marketing, and development costs render the 19 required development uneconomic; 20 * Sec. 20. AS 38.05.057(c) is amended to read: 21 (c) The commissioner , after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and 22 Conservation (AS 03.09.010), may adopt regulations under the Administrative 23 Procedure Act (AS 44.62) that [WHICH] specify qualifications for lottery participants 24 different from those specified in (b) of this section if 25 (1) an interest in land limited to agricultural purposes is to be sold 26 under (a) of this section; 27 (2) the sale is a part of a program to develop agricultural land as a 28 renewable resource of the state; and 29 (3) the regulations include residency, skill, experience, and financial 30 requirements necessary to qualify persons who are competent and financially able to 31 develop the land as a successful agricultural enterprise.
01 * Sec. 21. AS 38.05.059 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 38.05.059. Sale of agricultural land. The commissioner , after 03 consulting with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010), may 04 provide for the sale of land classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural uses 05 in parcels or tracts described by aliquot parts. The parcels or tracts are subject to state 06 subdivision requirements and municipal ordinances. 07 * Sec. 22. AS 38.05.065(h) is amended to read: 08 (h) The commissioner , after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and 09 Conservation (AS 03.09.010), 10 (1) shall provide that, notwithstanding (a) and (b) of this section, in a 11 contract for the sale of land classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural uses, 12 the interest rate to be charged on installment payments may not exceed 9.5 percent; 13 and 14 (2) may declare a moratorium of up to five years on payments on land 15 sold under this section for land classified under AS 38.05.020(b)(6) for agricultural 16 uses if 17 (A) the commissioner determines that the moratorium is in the 18 best interest of the state; 19 (B) the commissioner certifies and the contract purchaser agrees 20 to perform farm development, crop production, and harvesting, not including 21 land clearing or related activity, requiring the expenditure of amounts 22 equivalent to the payments that would otherwise be made during the 23 moratorium; 24 (C) the sale of the agricultural land takes place after July 1, 25 1979; and 26 (D) the contract purchaser is in compliance with the 27 development plan specified in the purchase contract at the time the purchaser 28 applies for a moratorium under this subsection and remains in compliance with 29 the development plan during the moratorium; for the payments subject to the 30 moratorium declared under this paragraph, interest payments are subject to the 31 moratorium but interest continues to accrue during the moratorium.
01 * Sec. 23. AS 38.05.069(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) After consulting with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 03 (AS 03.09.010), on [ON] a determination that the highest and best use of unoccupied 04 land is for agricultural purposes and that it is in the best interests of the state to sell 05 or lease the land, the commissioner shall grant to an Alaska [ALASKAN] resident 06 owning and using or leasing and using land for agricultural purposes a first option at 07 the auction to purchase or lease the unoccupied land situated adjacent to land presently 08 held by the Alaska [ALASKAN] resident for the amount of the high bid received at 09 public auction. If more than one Alaska [ALASKAN] resident qualifies for a first 10 option under this section, eligibility for the first option shall be determined by lot and 11 the option must be exercised on the conclusion of the public auction. A parcel of 12 agricultural land sold under this section may not be less than 20 acres , and a parcel of 13 agricultural land that is acquired by exercise of the option granted in this subsection 14 may not exceed 320 acres. Agricultural land that is acquired under this section must 15 be used for agricultural purposes as required by law. 16 * Sec. 24. AS 38.05.321(e) is amended to read: 17 (e) A landowner may subdivide land classified for agricultural use and for 18 which the landowner obtained a patent under a homestead entry permit issued under 19 AS 38.09 so long as the resulting parcels are not in violation of the minimum parcel 20 size set out in (a) of this section. A landowner may subdivide other land classified for 21 agricultural use as authorized under (d)(3)(C) of this section. If the subdivision 22 involves land classified for agricultural use and for which the landowner obtained a 23 patent under a homestead entry permit issued under AS 38.09, or if the subdivision of 24 land authorized under (d)(3)(C) of this section results only in parcels of 640 acres or 25 more, the landowner may subdivide without payment as required by this subsection. 26 If subdivision of land authorized by (d)(3)(C) of this section would result in one or 27 more parcels of less than 640 acres, the landowner may subdivide only if the 28 landowner first tenders payment to the department for the right to construct housing 29 in each subdivided parcel of less than 640 acres. Payments collected under this 30 subsection shall be separately accounted for and may be appropriated to the 31 agricultural revolving loan fund (AS 03.10.040). For purposes of this subsection,
01 the value of the right to construct housing in a subdivided parcel 02 (1) is $4,000 for the parcel, subject to adjustment under (h) of this 03 section; or 04 (2) shall be determined by an appraisal made by an appraiser under 05 contract to the landowner owning the parcel, and the appraisal must include the value, 06 determined as of the date of subdivision, of the right to construct housing by the 07 landowner under (d)(3) of this section. 08 * Sec. 25. AS 38.05.035(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) The director may 10 (1) delegate the administrative duties, functions or powers imposed 11 upon the director to a responsible employee in the division; 12 (2) grant preference rights for the lease or purchase of state land 13 without competitive bid in order to correct errors or omissions of a state or federal 14 administrative agency when inequitable detriment would otherwise result to a diligent 15 claimant or applicant due to situations over which the claimant or applicant had no 16 control; the exercise of this discretionary power operates only to divest the state of its 17 title to or interests in land and may be exercised only 18 (A) with the express approval of the commissioner; and 19 (B) if the application for the preference right is filed with the 20 director within three years from 21 (i) the occurrence of the error or omission; 22 (ii) the date of acquisition by the state of the land; or 23 (iii) the date of a court decision or settlement nullifying 24 a disposal of state land; 25 (3) grant a preference right to a claimant who shows bona fide 26 improvement of state land or of federal land subsequently acquired by the state and 27 who has in good faith sought to obtain title to the land but who, through error or 28 omission of others occurring within the three years before (A) the application for the 29 preference right, (B) the date of acquisition by the state of the land, or (C) the date of 30 a court decision or settlement nullifying a disposal of state land, has been denied title 31 to it; upon a showing satisfactory to the commissioner, the claimant may lease or
01 purchase the land at the price set on the date of original entry on the land or, if a price 02 was not set at that time at a price determined by the director to fairly represent the 03 value of unimproved land at the time the claim was established, but in no event less 04 than the cost of administration including survey; the error or omission of a predecessor 05 in interest or an agent, administrator, or executor which has clearly prejudiced the 06 claimant may be the basis for granting a preference right; 07 (4) sell land by lottery for less than the appraised value when, in the 08 judgment of the director, past scarcity of land suitable for private ownership in any 09 particular area has resulted in unrealistic land values; 10 (5) when the director determines it is in the best interest of the state 11 and will avoid injustice to a person or the heirs or devisees of a person, dispose of 12 land, by direct negotiation to that person who presently uses and who used and made 13 improvements to that land before January 3, 1959, or to the heirs or devisees of the 14 person; the amount paid for the land shall be its fair market value on the date that the 15 person first entered the land, as determined by the director; a parcel of land disposed 16 of under this paragraph shall be of a size consistent with the person's prior use, but 17 may not exceed five acres; 18 (6) after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and Conservation 19 (AS 03.09.010), dispose of an interest in land limited to use for agricultural purposes 20 by lottery; 21 (7) convey to an adjoining landowner for its fair market value a 22 remnant of land that the director considers unmanageable or a parcel of land created 23 by a highway right-of-way alignment or realignment, or a parcel created by the 24 vacation of a state-owned right-of-way if 25 (A) the director determines that it is in the best interests of the 26 state; 27 (B) the parcel does not exceed the minimum lot size under an 28 applicable zoning code; and 29 (C) the director and the platting authority having land use 30 planning jurisdiction agree that conveyance of the parcel to the adjoining 31 landowner will result in boundaries that are convenient for the use of the land
01 by the landowner and compatible with municipal land use plans; 02 (8) for good cause extend for up to 90 days the time for rental or 03 installment payments by a lessee or purchaser of state land under this chapter if 04 reasonable penalties and interest set by the director are paid; 05 (9) quitclaim land or an interest in land to the federal government on 06 a determination that the land or the interest in land was wrongfully or erroneously 07 conveyed by the federal government to the state; 08 (10) negotiate the sale or lease of state land at fair market value to a 09 person who acquired by contract, purchase, or lease rights to improvements on the land 10 from another state agency or who leased the land from another state agency [; 11 (11) REPEALED]. 12 * Sec. 26. AS 38.07.010(b) is amended to read: 13 (b) The land that is [THUS] cleared or drained under (a) of this section shall 14 be put up for competitive lease in lots of not less than 320 acres each. Lease 15 payments shall be separately accounted for and may be appropriated to the 16 agricultural revolving loan fund (AS 03.10.040). 17 * Sec. 27. AS 38.09.010(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) The commissioner shall designate and make available for homestead entry 19 state land, including , after consulting with the Board of Agriculture and 20 Conservation (AS 03.09.010), land classified for agricultural use. State land made 21 available for homestead entry under this chapter shall be distributed throughout the 22 state. 23 * Sec. 28. AS 39.50.200(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 24 (56) Board of Agriculture and Conservation (AS 03.09.010). 25 * Sec. 29. AS 03.10.050(b), 03.10.050(d), 03.10.052; and AS 39.50.200(b)(1) are repealed. 26 * Sec. 30. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 27 to read: 28 TRANSITION. (a) Notwithstanding AS 03.09.010(b), enacted in sec. 1 of this Act, 29 two initial appointed members of the Board of Agriculture and Conservation shall be 30 appointed to one-year terms and two initial appointed members of the board shall be appointed 31 to two-year terms.
01 (b) Notwithstanding AS 03.09.040, enacted in sec. 1 of this Act, AS 03.10.020(a), as 02 amended in sec. 2 of this Act, AS 03.10.030(h), as amended in sec. 8 of this Act, and 03 AS 03.10.033(a), as amended in sec. 9 of this Act, regulations that apply to the agricultural 04 revolving loan fund and to loans from the fund remain in effect until amended or repealed by 05 the Board of Agriculture and Conservation. 06 * Sec. 31. This Act takes effect July 1, 2000.