SB 168: "An Act relating to a tuition voucher system for education, and to a land endowment for public education."
00SENATE BILL NO. 168 01 "An Act relating to a tuition voucher system for education, and to a land 02 endowment for public education." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 05 Chapter 31. Tuition Vouchers. 06 Sec. 14.31.010. Department to administer vouchers. The department shall 07 administer a tuition voucher system under the provisions of this chapter. 08 Sec. 14.31.020. Tuition vouchers. (a) The parent or guardian of a child 09 receiving a comparable education as specified under AS 14.30.010(b)(1) may apply for 10 a tuition voucher from the department. 11 (b) A tuition voucher may be redeemed through the department for the actual 12 cost to the parent or guardian of the child's tuition for the school year or the per 13 student amount represented by the child in that school district under AS 14.17, 14 whichever is less. To redeem a tuition voucher, the parent shall establish to the
01 satisfaction of the department the actual cost of the child's tuition for the school year 02 and that the child is receiving a comparable education under AS 14.30.010(b)(1). 03 (c) The department may adopt regulations to administer the tuition voucher 04 system under this section. 05 Sec. 14.31.030. Appropriations for tuition vouchers. The legislature may 06 make appropriations to the department for the tuition voucher system. If the 07 appropriation for the tuition voucher system is insufficient in a given fiscal year, the 08 department shall distribute the available funds on a pro rata basis. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 37.14 is amended by adding new sections to read: 10 Article 7. Education Fund. 11 Sec. 37.14.600. Education fund established. (a) Under art. IX, sec. 18, 12 Constitution of the State of Alaska, the education fund is established as a separate fund 13 of the state. 14 (b) The principal of the fund consists of 15 (1) legislative appropriations to the fund; and 16 (2) gifts, bequests, and contributions of cash or other assets from a 17 person. 18 (c) The net income of the fund shall be determined by the commissioner of 19 revenue in accordance with investment accounting principles and in a manner that 20 preserves the distinction between principal and income. 21 Sec. 37.14.610. Powers and duties of the commissioner of revenue. The 22 commissioner of revenue is the treasurer of the fund and has the power and duty to 23 (1) act as official custodian of the cash and investments belonging to 24 the fund by securing adequate and safe custodial facilities; 25 (2) receive all items of cash and investments belonging to the fund; 26 (3) collect the principal and income from investments owned or 27 acquired by the fund and deposit the amounts in separate principal and income 28 accounts for the fund; 29 (4) invest and reinvest the assets of the fund as provided in this section 30 and as provided for the investment of funds under AS 37.14.170; 31 (5) exercise the powers of an owner with respect to the assets of the
01 fund; 02 (6) maintain accounting records of the fund in accordance with 03 investment accounting principles and with distinction between the principal and income 04 accounts of the fund; 05 (7) engage an independent firm of certified public accountants to 06 annually audit the financial condition of the fund's investments and investment 07 transactions; 08 (8) enter into and enforce contracts or agreements considered necessary 09 for the investment purposes of the fund; 10 (9) report to the board the condition and investment performance of the 11 fund; 12 (10) do all acts, whether or not expressly authorized, that the 13 commissioner of revenue considers necessary or proper in administering the assets of 14 the fund. 15 Sec. 37.14.620. Administration of the fund; fund board established. (a) 16 The fund shall be administered by the Education Fund Board. 17 (b) The Education Fund Board is established in the Department of Education. 18 The board is composed of 19 (1) the governor or a designee of the governor; 20 (2) the commissioner of natural resources or the commissioner's 21 designee; 22 (3) the commissioner of education or the commissioner's designee; and 23 (4) four public members appointed by the governor; in appointing the 24 public members, the governor shall give a preference to persons who have experience 25 and expertise in 26 (A) education; or 27 (B) private sector resource development. 28 Sec. 37.14.630. Powers and duties of the board. When acting as 29 administrator of the fund, the board shall 30 (1) hold regular and special meetings it considers necessary; the board 31 may hold meetings by teleconference;
01 (2) have the care, control, and management of land selected by and 02 conveyed to the fund by the commissioner of natural resources under AS 37.14.650; 03 (3) keep audio tape recordings of each meeting of the board to be made 04 available on request; and 05 (4) submit to the governor and make available to the legislature by 06 February 1 each year a report describing 07 (A) expenditures made during the preceding fiscal year from the 08 fund that are derived from sales, leases, exchanges, or transfers of the land of 09 the fund or of interests in land of the fund that were selected by and conveyed 10 to the fund under AS 37.14.650; and 11 (B) the annual level of contributions to, income of, and 12 expenses of the fund. 13 Sec. 37.14.640. Uses of fund principal and net income. (a) The principal 14 of the fund shall be retained perpetually in the fund for investment as specified in 15 AS 37.14.610. 16 (b) The net income of the fund may be annually appropriated by the legislature 17 for the support of public and private elementary and secondary education and for 18 support of the University of Alaska. 19 Sec. 37.14.650. Fund land from Statehood Act land selection conveyances. 20 (a) The board may select and is entitled to receive the conveyance of 5,000,000 acres 21 of land conveyed to the state under Sec. 6(b) of the Alaska Statehood Act (P.L. 85- 22 508, 72 Stat. 339). The board shall annually submit a list of selections to the commissioner 23 of natural resources. If there is disagreement between the board and the commissioner of 24 natural resources about the land selected, the disagreement must be submitted to the governor, 25 who shall make the final decision. The board and the governor shall annually and jointly 26 submit to the legislature, within 30 days of the beginning of a regular legislative session, a 27 list of the selections of land proposed to be conveyed to the fund under this section. Each list 28 must contain not more than 25 percent of the total acres of land to which the fund is entitled 29 after subtracting previous conveyances under this section, but not less than 25,000 acres or 30 the remaining entitlement under this section, whichever is less. The legislature may by law 31 approve or disapprove the list of selections submitted to it. A list of selections submitted shall
01 be considered approved for conveyance to the fund if the legislature does not disapprove the 02 list during the legislative session during which the list was submitted. If the amount of land 03 to be conveyed exceeds the balance due the fund under this section, the fund shall set out the 04 land to be conveyed in priority order. Land may not be selected if, on the date of its selection 05 by the board, it 06 (1) has been reserved by law from the public domain; 07 (2) is land 08 (A) included in a five-year proposed oil and gas leasing 09 program under AS 38.05.180(b); or 10 (B) leased under, or for which a lease application is pending 11 under, AS 38.05.180(d) or 38.05.150; 12 (3) is subject to 13 (A) an oil, gas, or coal lease, or coal prospecting permit; 14 (B) a mining claim, offshore prospecting permit, a prospecting 15 site, an upland mining lease, or a mining leasehold location; 16 (4) is necessary to carry out the purpose of an interagency land 17 management agreement; or 18 (5) is subject to conveyance under a land exchange or land settlement 19 agreement. 20 (b) Notwithstanding AS 38.05.125(a), the transfer of ownership and 21 management of land from the Department of Natural Resources to the fund under this 22 section includes the interest of the state in 23 (1) the coal, ores, minerals, fissionable materials, geothermal resources, 24 and fossils that may be in or on the land; and 25 (2) the oil and gas that may be in or on the land, but only as to land 26 that is selected by the board under this section on and after the date that is the fifth 27 anniversary of the effective date of this section. 28 (c) When the board selects the land to which it is entitled under this section, 29 selections must be made in parcels of 640 acres or larger unless the selection is an 30 isolated tract or the commissioner of natural resources finds it is in the best interest 31 of the state to convey less. When the fund becomes entitled to land under this section,
01 the commissioner of natural resources shall convey a document of interim conveyance 02 under (j) of this section or a patent to land. 03 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for land selected under (a) of 04 this section but not yet patented to the fund or for which a document of interim 05 conveyance has not been issued to the fund under this section, 06 (1) the commissioner of natural resources is authorized to enter into 07 contracts and grant leases, licenses, prospecting sites, claims, permits, rights-of-way, 08 or easements and any interim conveyance or patent shall be subject to the contract, 09 lease, license, prospecting site, claim, permit, right-of-way, or easement, except that 10 the authority granted the commissioner by this subsection 11 (A) is the authority that the commissioner otherwise would have 12 had under existing laws and regulations had the land not been selected by the 13 fund; and 14 (B) may be exercised only if the fund has concurred before the 15 action is taken by the commissioner; 16 (2) income from and management of the land is subject to 17 AS 37.14.680. 18 (e) Unless the governor provides otherwise under (a) of this section, the 19 governor may not include on a list of selections of land submitted to the legislature a 20 land selection made by the fund under this section if the commissioner of natural 21 resources determines that the proposed selection 22 (1) includes land for which, at the time of its selection under this 23 section, 24 (A) a municipality has made a selection under AS 29.65 unless 25 the land selection is, at a later date, rejected by the commissioner of natural 26 resources or relinquished by the municipality; or 27 (B) the commissioner reasonably believes the land may be 28 selected by a municipality under AS 29.65, but the commissioner may not 29 withhold under this subparagraph the conveyance of title to land selected by the 30 fund longer than three years after the date of the municipality's incorporation; 31 or
01 (2) includes land that, at the time of its selection under this section, 02 (A) is subject to an oil and gas exploration license; or 03 (B) the commissioner reasonably believes will be made part of 04 an oil and gas exploration license issued under AS 38.05.131 - 38.05.134; the 05 commissioner may not refuse to convey title to land to the fund under this 06 subparagraph for more than three years after its first selection by the fund. 07 (f) When land is conveyed to the fund under this section, the fund takes the 08 land subject to any possessory interest held by another person on the effective date of 09 the conveyance. 10 (g) In conveying land to the fund under this section, the commissioner of 11 natural resources shall give public notice that substantially complies with notice 12 requirements under AS 38.05.945(b) and (c) and provide for access under 13 AS 38.05.127, but other provisions of AS 38.04 and AS 38.05 do not apply. 14 (h) Land transferred or conveyed to the fund under this section 15 (1) is subject to 16 (A) Sec. 6(i) of the Alaska Statehood Act (P.L. 85-508, 72 Stat. 17 339); 18 (B) art. IX of the state constitution; 19 (C) AS 19.10.010; 20 (D) the payment requirements to the Alaska permanent fund 21 under AS 37.13.010(a) and (b); and 22 (E) the rights of the state under former 43 U.S.C. 932 (sec. 8, 23 Act of July 26, 1866, 14 Stat. 253); 24 (2) excludes any interest transferred to the state by quitclaim deed dated 25 June 30, 1959, under authority of the Alaska Omnibus Act, P.L. 86-70, 73 Stat. 141; 26 (3) based on a land selection filed by the fund on or after the effective 27 date of this section and until the day before the day that is the fifth anniversary of the 28 effective date of this section, is subject to reservation by the Department of Natural 29 Resources in perpetuity of all oil and gas that may be in or on the land, together with 30 the right to explore the land for oil and gas and to remove from the land all oil and 31 gas located in and on it.
01 (i) The fund shall bear all costs of selection, platting, surveying, and, except 02 as provided in (k) of this section, conveyance of the land that it selects under this 03 section and, subject to appropriation, shall reimburse the Department of Natural 04 Resources for the reasonable costs incurred by that department relating to that 05 selection, platting, surveying, and conveyance. As to land due the fund under (c) of 06 this section, 07 (1) if the land has been surveyed, the boundaries of the land conveyed 08 must conform to the public land subdivisions established by the approved survey; 09 (2) if the land is unsurveyed, the commissioner shall survey the exterior 10 boundaries of the land to be conveyed without interior subdivision and shall issue 11 patent in terms of the exterior boundary survey within one year of the later of the 12 effective date of the approval by the legislature of the list containing the land or the 13 adjournment of the legislative session during which the list containing the land was not 14 disapproved by the legislature. 15 (j) For land due the fund under (c) of this section that is unsurveyed, pending 16 the survey of exterior boundaries and issuance of patent, the commissioner of natural 17 resources shall, within one year of the later of the effective date of the approval by the 18 legislature of the list containing the land or the adjournment of the legislative session 19 during which the list containing the land was not disapproved by the legislature, 20 prepare and provide to the fund a document of interim conveyance for the land to be 21 conveyed. 22 (k) Except as provided in AS 37.14.680(2), management of land conveyed to 23 the fund by patent or by a document of interim conveyance vests with the fund from 24 the date of recording of the patent or document of interim conveyance. The 25 Department of Natural Resources shall pay the cost of recording all patents and 26 documents of interim conveyance. 27 (l) The board may not make a land selection under this section after 28 December 31, 2010. 29 Sec. 37.14.660. Management and disposition of land. (a) The board shall, 30 by policy, establish procedures for mineral entry or location and mineral leasing on 31 land selections made under AS 37.14.650 that are substantially similar to mineral
01 entry, location, and leasing procedures for state land under AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275. 02 (b) Notwithstanding other provisions of law, the board shall seek public 03 comment on proposals for development, exchange, or sale of land selections made 04 under AS 37.14.650. The board shall adopt policies that provide that the fund shall 05 prepare an annual plan for management and disposition of fund land under this section 06 and shall, not less than 60 days before scheduled approval by the board of the plan, 07 (1) make copies of the plan available at all legislative information 08 offices and at other locations as the board may designate; 09 (2) publish a notice in newspapers of general circulation in the state 10 that provides the public with information on the locations where the plan is available 11 for public inspection; 12 (3) give notice to all legislators and to local governments with 13 jurisdiction over the land affected by the proposal; and 14 (4) seek public comment on the annual plan before action by the board 15 approving the plan. 16 Sec. 37.14.670. Confidential records. Notwithstanding AS 09.25.100 - 17 09.25.220, on a determination that it is in the best interest of the fund or on the request 18 of the person who has provided the information, the board may keep the following 19 confidential: 20 (1) the name of a person applying for the sale, lease, or other disposal 21 of land or an interest in land conveyed to the fund under AS 37.14.650; 22 (2) before the announced time of opening of an offer to purchase, lease, 23 or obtain a disposal of land conveyed to the fund under AS 37.14.650, the names of 24 the participants and the terms of their offers; 25 (3) all geological, geophysical, engineering, architectural, sales, 26 appraisal, gross receipts, net receipts, or other financial information relating to land or 27 an interest in land conveyed to the fund under AS 37.14.650 and considered for or 28 offered for disposal or currently subject to a contract; 29 (4) cost data and financial information submitted by an applicant in 30 support of applications for bonds, leases, or other information in offerings and ongoing 31 operations relating to management of land conveyed to the fund under AS 37.14.650;
01 (5) applications for rights-of-way or easements across land conveyed 02 to the fund under AS 37.14.650; and 03 (6) requests for information about or applications by public agencies 04 for land conveyed to the fund under AS 37.14.650 that is being considered for use for 05 a public purpose. 06 Sec. 37.14.680. Land subject to encumbrances and trespasses. Except as 07 provided in AS 37.14.650(b), for the land selected by the board under AS 37.14.650 08 that is subject to a lease, license, contract, prospecting site, claim, sale, permit, right- 09 of-way, or easement, or to trespass, 10 (1) if the lease, license, contract, prospecting site, claim, sale, permit, 11 right-of-way, easement, or trespass 12 (A) existed before the selection of the land by the board, the 13 general fund or permanent fund, as appropriate, the state is entitled to receive 14 the income obtained from the lease, license, contract, prospecting site, claim, 15 sale, permit, right-of-way, easement, or trespass for the duration of the term of 16 the lease, license, contract, prospecting site, claim, sale, permit, right-of-way, 17 or easement, or of the trespass, and during any renewal of it that is authorized 18 by the lease, license, contract, prospecting site, claim, sale permit, right-of-way, 19 or easement, or by law; 20 (B) did not exist before the selection of the land by the board, 21 (i) the general fund or permanent fund, as appropriate, 22 is entitled to receive the income obtained from the lease, license, 23 contract, prospecting site, claim, sale, permit, right-of-way, or easement, 24 or from trespass before the recording of the conveyance to the fund by 25 the issuance of a document of interim conveyance or a patent; 26 (ii) the fund is entitled to receive the income obtained 27 from the lease, license, contract, prospecting site, claim, sale, permit, 28 right-of-way, or easement, or from trespass on the date of and after the 29 recording of the conveyance to the fund by the issuance of a document 30 of interim conveyance or a patent; 31 (2) the responsibility for the management of the land vests with the
01 fund only upon conclusion of the term of the lease, license, contract, prospecting site, 02 claim, sale, permit, right-of-way, or easement, and any renewal authorized by the lease, 03 license, contract, prospecting site, claim, sale, permit, right-of-way, or easement, or by 04 law, if the lease, license, contract, prospecting site, claim, sale, permit, right-of-way, 05 or easement existed before the land's being selected by the board; if the lease, license, 06 contract, prospecting site, claim, sale, permit, right-of-way, or easement was entered 07 into after selection, then the responsibility for management vests with the fund on the 08 date of recording of the conveyance of the land to the fund by a document of interim 09 conveyance or patent. 10 Sec. 37.14.690. Customary and traditional uses to be continued. When land 11 selected by the fund under AS 37.14.650 has been conveyed to it, before conveying 12 or disposing of an interest in land to a third party, the fund shall manage the land in 13 a manner that permits customary and traditional uses of the resources of that land to 14 the maximum extent practicable. 15 Sec. 37.14.699. Definitions. In AS 37.14.600 - 37.14.699, 16 (1) "board" means the Education Fund Board; 17 (2) "fund" means the education fund established in art. IX, sec. 18, 18 Constitution of the State of Alaska. 19 * Sec. 3. AS 29.45.030(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) The following property is exempt from general taxation: 21 (1) municipal property, including property held by a public corporation 22 of a municipality, [OR] state property, property of the education fund, or land that 23 is in the trust established by the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act of 1956, P.L. 84- 24 830, 70 Stat. 709, except that 25 (A) a private leasehold, contract, or other interest in the 26 property is taxable to the extent of the interest; 27 (B) notwithstanding any other provision of law, property 28 acquired by an agency, corporation, or other entity of the state through 29 foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure and retained as an investment of a 30 state entity is taxable; this subparagraph does not apply to federal land granted 31 to the University of Alaska under AS 14.40.380 or 14.40.390, [OR] to other
01 land granted to the university by the state to replace land that had been granted 02 under AS 14.40.380 or 14.40.390 , or to land conveyed by the state to the 03 education fund under AS 37.14.650 ; 04 (C) an ownership interest of a municipality in real property 05 located outside the municipality acquired after December 31, 1990, is taxable 06 by another municipality; however, a borough may not tax an interest in real 07 property located in the borough and owned by a city in that borough; 08 (2) household furniture and personal effects of members of a 09 household; 10 (3) property used exclusively for nonprofit religious, charitable, 11 cemetery, hospital, or educational purposes; 12 (4) property of a nonbusiness organization composed entirely of persons 13 with 90 days or more of active service in the armed forces of the United States whose 14 conditions of service and separation were other than dishonorable, or the property of 15 an auxiliary of that organization; 16 (5) money on deposit; 17 (6) the real property of certain residents of the state to the extent and 18 subject to the conditions provided in (e) of this section; 19 (7) real property or an interest in real property that is exempt from 20 taxation under 43 U.S.C. 1620(d), as amended; 21 (8) property of a political subdivision, agency, corporation, or other 22 entity of the United States to the extent required by federal law; except that a private 23 leasehold, contract, or other interest in the property is taxable to the extent of that 24 interest; 25 (9) natural resources in place including coal, ore bodies, mineral 26 deposits, and other proven and unproven deposits of valuable materials laid down by 27 natural processes, unharvested aquatic plants and animals, and timber.