CSSB 68(RES): "An Act relating to public notice for certain state actions and public hearings; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 68(RES) 01 "An Act relating to public notice for certain state actions and public hearings; and 02 providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 38.05.073(c) is amended to read: 05 (c) If the commissioner identifies land for recreational facilities development 06 leasing under (a) of this section, at least 30 days before the commissioner decides to 07 solicit proposals from potential lessees, the commissioner shall provide public notice 08 of the location and the specific type of recreational facilities development being 09 considered and request comments. The notice shall be provided to (1) a municipality if 10 the land is entirely or partially within the boundaries of the municipality; (2) a regional 11 corporation organized under 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. (Alaska Native Claims Settlement 12 Act) if the boundaries of the corporation established by 43 U.S.C. 1606(a) encompass 13 part or all of the land and the land encompassed by the corporation's boundaries is 14 entirely or partially outside the municipality; (3) a village corporation organized under
01 43 U.S.C. 1601 if all or part of the land is within 40 miles of the village for which the 02 corporation was established and the land is located entirely or partially outside a 03 municipality; (4) other persons affected by the specific recreational facility 04 development; and (5) persons who have specifically requested to be notified. Public 05 notice identifying the location and the specific type of recreational facilities 06 development under consideration must also be published on the Alaska Online 07 Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the 08 commissioner, notice may also be published [AT LEAST TWICE] in a newspaper 09 of general circulation in the state and in a local newspaper in general circulation in the 10 region where the land is located. The comments received under this subsection 11 become part of the public record for the consideration of the commissioner. 12 * Sec. 2. AS 38.05.073(e) is amended to read: 13 (e) After preparing a request for proposals under (d) of this section, the 14 commissioner may issue the request to solicit proposals from persons who are 15 interested in leasing the land for recreational facilities development. The request for 16 proposals must be published on the Alaska Online Public Notice System 17 (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the commissioner, notice 18 may also be published [ADVERTISED AT LEAST THREE TIMES] in a newspaper 19 of general circulation in the state and in a local newspaper in general circulation in the 20 region where the land is located. The proposals submitted to the commissioner must 21 include the specific facts on which the potential lessee bases its ability to develop the 22 land, including its ability to comply with the items identified in (d)(1) - (4) of this 23 section. 24 * Sec. 3. AS 38.05.205(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) Prior discovery, location, and recording shall initiate prior rights to mineral 26 deposits subject to AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275 in or on state land, other than submerged 27 land, which is open to mining leasing. Locations shall be made and certificates of 28 location recorded in accordance with AS 38.05.195. If the located land is available 29 only for leasing, the director shall publish notice of the recording of the location and 30 notice that a mineral lease will be issued on the Alaska Online Public Notice 31 System (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the director, the
01 director may also publish these notices in a paper of general circulation in the area 02 of the location [, NOTICE OF THE RECORDING OF THE LOCATION AND 03 NOTICE THAT A MINERAL LEASE WILL BE ISSUED]. The notice may be 04 combined with notices of locations either in the same general area or statewide. Unless 05 a conflicting location exists, not [NO] later than two weeks after publication of the 06 notice, an application form for a mining lease shall be mailed to the locator by the 07 director. A lease application shall be filed with the director by the locator within 90 08 days after receipt of the form. If the located land is not available for leasing, notice 09 shall be given the locator by the director and the locator's prior rights shall terminate. 10 A mining lessee has the exclusive rights of possession and extraction of all minerals 11 subject to AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275 lying within the boundaries of the lease or 12 location. Mining leases may be issued for one location or for a group of contiguous 13 locations held in common. Minerals may not be mined and marketed or used until a 14 lease is issued, except for limited amounts necessary for sampling or testing. 15 * Sec. 4. AS 38.05.945(b) is amended to read: 16 (b) When notice is required to be given under this section, 17 (1) the notice must contain sufficient information in commonly 18 understood terms to inform the public of the nature of the action and the opportunity 19 of the public to comment on it; 20 (2) if the notice is of a preliminary written finding described in 21 (a)(3)(A) of this section, the department shall give notice at the beginning of the public 22 comment period for the preliminary written finding, notifying the public of the right to 23 submit comments; the department shall give notice by [(A)] posting the notice on the 24 Alaska Online Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least 30 consecutive days; 25 the department may also give notice by one or more of the following methods: 26 (A) [(B) PUBLICATION OF A NOTICE IN DISPLAY 27 ADVERTISING FORM DESCRIBING THE PROPOSED ACTION AND 28 REFERENCING THE ONLINE NOTICE REQUIRED IN (A) OF THIS 29 PARAGRAPH IN NEWSPAPERS OF STATEWIDE CIRCULATION AND 30 IN NEWSPAPERS OF GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE VICINITY OF 31 THE PROPOSED ACTION, IF AVAILABLE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK
01 FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS; 02 (C)] public service announcements on the electronic media 03 serving the area to be affected by the proposed action; 04 (B) [AND (D) ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING 05 METHODS: 06 (i)] publication of a [LEGAL] notice in display 07 advertising form in newspapers of statewide circulation or in 08 newspapers of general circulation in the vicinity of the proposed action; 09 (C) [, IF AVAILABLE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR 10 TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS; 11 (ii)] posting in a conspicuous location in the vicinity of 12 the action; 13 (D) [(iii)] notification of parties known or likely to be affected 14 by the action; or 15 (E) [(iv)] another method calculated to reach affected parties; 16 (3) if the notice is of an action described in (a) of this section, other 17 than notice of an action under (a)(3)(A) of this section, the department shall give 18 notice at least 30 days before the action by posting the notice on the Alaska Online 19 Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least 30 consecutive days and by one or 20 more of the following methods: 21 (A) publication of a notice in display advertising form 22 describing the proposed action and referencing the online notice required in 23 this paragraph in newspapers of statewide circulation and in newspapers of 24 general circulation in the vicinity of the proposed action, if available [, AT 25 LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS]; 26 (B) publication through public service announcements on the 27 electronic media serving the area affected by the action; 28 (C) posting in a conspicuous location in the vicinity of the 29 action; 30 (D) notification of parties known or likely to be affected by the 31 action; or
01 (E) another method calculated to reach affected persons. 02 * Sec. 5. AS 44.62.190(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) At least 30 days before the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, 04 notice of the proposed action shall be 05 (1) published, at the discretion of the state agency giving the notice, 06 in the newspaper of general circulation or trade or industry publication that the state 07 agency prescribes or [AND POSTED] on the Alaska Online Public Notice System 08 (AS 44.62.175); [IN THE DISCRETION OF THE STATE AGENCY GIVING THE 09 NOTICE, THE REQUIREMENT OF PUBLICATION IN A NEWSPAPER OR 10 TRADE OR INDUSTRY PUBLICATION MAY BE SATISFIED BY USING A 11 COMBINATION OF PUBLICATION AND BROADCASTING; WHEN 12 BROADCASTING THE NOTICE, AN AGENCY MAY USE AN ABBREVIATED 13 FORM OF THE NOTICE IF THE BROADCAST PROVIDES THE NAME AND 14 DATE OF THE NEWSPAPER OR TRADE OR INDUSTRY JOURNAL AND THE 15 INTERNET ADDRESS OF THE ALASKA ONLINE PUBLIC NOTICE SYSTEM 16 WHERE THE FULL TEXT OF THE NOTICE CAN BE FOUND;] 17 (2) furnished to every person who has filed a request for notice of 18 proposed action with the state agency; 19 (3) if the agency is within a department, furnished to the commissioner 20 of the department; 21 (4) when appropriate in the judgment of the agency, 22 (A) furnished to a person or group of persons whom the agency 23 believes is interested in the proposed action; and 24 (B) published or broadcast in the additional form and manner 25 the state agency prescribes; 26 (5) furnished to the Department of Law together with a copy of the 27 proposed regulation, amendment, or order of repeal for the department's use in 28 preparing the opinion required after adoption and before filing by AS 44.62.060; 29 (6) furnished by electronic format to all incumbent State of Alaska 30 legislators. 31 * Sec. 6. AS 44.62.190(f) is amended to read:
01 (f) To the extent feasible, the subject line of electronic mail and the title of a 02 [WRITTEN] publication providing the information required by (d) of this section must 03 give the reader a fair idea of the substance of the proposed new regulation, the 04 proposed amended regulation, or the regulation proposed for repeal. 05 * Sec. 7. AS 44.62.200(d) is amended to read: 06 (d) When a state agency, other than the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, the 07 Board of Fisheries, or the Board of Game, posts, furnishes, or otherwise provides a 08 notice of the proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation under 09 AS 44.62.190, a brief description of the changes made by the proposed adoption, 10 amendment, or repeal must accompany the notice. However, if, under 11 AS 44.62.190(a), the notice is published [IN A NEWSPAPER OR TRADE OR 12 INDUSTRY PUBLICATION] or [IS] broadcast, this subsection does not require that 13 the brief description otherwise required by this subsection accompany the notice 14 [PUBLICATION OR THE BROADCAST]. To the extent practicable, the brief 15 description shall be written in clear, easily readable language that a person without a 16 legal background is able to understand. 17 * Sec. 8. AS 44.62.245(b) is amended to read: 18 (b) When the amended version of a document or other material incorporated 19 by reference in a regulation as described in (a) of this section becomes available, the 20 state agency shall 21 (1) make the amended version of the document or other material 22 available to the public for review; and 23 (2) post, at the discretion of the agency, on the Alaska Online Public 24 Notice System (AS 44.62.175) or [AND PUBLISH] in a newspaper of general 25 circulation, [OR] trade or industry publication, or [IN A] regularly published agency 26 newsletter or similar printed publication, not later than 15 days after the amended 27 version of the document or other material becomes available, a notice that describes 28 the affected regulation, the effective date of the amended version of the document or 29 other material, and how a copy of the amended version may be obtained or reviewed. 30 * Sec. 9. AS 44.62.300(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a person may not bring an action in
01 court to challenge the adoption, repeal, or amendment of a regulation by a state agency 02 for 03 (1) insufficiency or inaccuracy of the information provided under 04 AS 44.62.190(d) or (g); 05 (2) failure of the subject line of electronic mail or the title of a 06 [WRITTEN] publication to meet the requirements of AS 44.62.190(f); 07 (3) failure of the brief description required by AS 44.62.200(d) to 08 comply with the requirements of AS 44.62.200(d) relating to 09 (A) the clarity and readability of the brief description; or 10 (B) the description of the changes made by the proposed 11 adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation; or 12 (4) inaccuracy or insufficiency of the answer to a question provided by 13 the state agency under AS 44.62.213. 14 * Sec. 10. AS 46.03.110(b) is amended to read: 15 (b) After receipt of a proper application for an individual or general permit or 16 a determination by the department that a general permit should be proposed, the 17 department shall publish notice of the application or proposal, or of the availability of 18 a draft permit for comment, as applicable. At the discretion of the department, the 19 notice may be published [,] in at least two publications of a newspaper of general 20 circulation within the general area in which the disposal of waste material is proposed 21 to be made, or [. THE NOTICE SHALL ALSO BE POSTED] on the Alaska Online 22 Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175). The department [MAINTAINED UNDER 23 AS 44.62.175 AND] may also publish the notice [BE PUBLISHED] in other 24 appropriate information media. The notice must include a statement that a person who 25 wants to present views to the department with regard to the application or proposal 26 may do so in writing to the department within 30 days after the first publication of the 27 notice. The written response entitles the writer to a copy of the application or draft 28 permit, and, in the case of an application or proposal to issue a general permit, the 29 application or proposal shall also be posted by the department on the Internet at the 30 same time that notice is published under this subsection. 31 * Sec. 11. AS 46.15.065(b) is amended to read:
01 (b) The commissioner shall, as soon as practicable, determine the rights of 02 persons owning existing appropriations. To accomplish this, the commissioner shall 03 (1) by order set a definite period for filing a declaration of 04 appropriation within a specified area or from a specified source; 05 (2) publish notice of the order on the Alaska Online Public Notice 06 System (AS 44.62.175) for at least three consecutive weeks; when appropriate in 07 the judgment of the commissioner, the commissioner may also publish notice 08 under this paragraph [ONCE A WEEK FOR THREE WEEKS] before the 09 beginning of the period in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected area; 10 (3) give notice of the order by certified mail to any appropriator within 11 the specified area or from the specified source who has requested mailed notice or of 12 whom the commissioner can readily obtain knowledge, including each owner of a 13 recorded mining claim. 14 * Sec. 12. AS 46.15.133(b) is amended to read: 15 (b) The commissioner shall publish the notice on the Alaska Online Public 16 Notice System (AS 44.62.175) and, when appropriate in the judgment of the 17 commissioner, in one issue of a newspaper of general distribution in the area of the 18 state in which the water is to be appropriated, removed, or sold. The commissioner 19 shall also have notice served personally or by certified mail on [UPON] an 20 appropriator of water or applicant for or holder of a permit who, according to the 21 records of the division of lands, may be affected by the proposed sale, appropriation, 22 or removal and may serve notice on [UPON] any governmental agency, political 23 subdivision, or person; notice shall also be served on [UPON] the Department of Fish 24 and Game and the Department of Environmental Conservation. An applicant for an 25 appropriation or removal shall pay the commissioner's costs in providing publication 26 and notice under this subsection. The commissioner may require as a condition of a 27 sale of water under AS 46.15.037 [,] that a purchaser of water reimburse the 28 department for the costs associated with providing notice of the proposed sale. 29 * Sec. 13. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).