00                            SENATE BILL NO. 232                                                                         
01 "An Act relating to personal use collection of certain fossils."                                                        
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1. AS 41.35.080 is amended to read:                                                                      
04 Sec. 41.35.080. Research permits [PERMITS]. The commissioner may issue                                              
05 a research permit for the investigation, excavation, gathering, or removal from the                                 
06 natural state, of any historic, prehistoric, or archeological resources of the state. A                                 
07 research permit may be issued only to persons or organizations qualified to make the                                
08 investigations, excavations, gatherings, or removals and only if the results of these                                   
09 authorized activities will be made available to the general public through institutions                                 
10 and museums interested in disseminating knowledge on the subjects involved. If the                                      
11 historic, prehistoric, or archeological resource involved is one which is, or is located                                
12 on a site which is, sacred, holy, or of religious significance to a cultural group, the                                 
13 consent of that cultural group must be obtained before a research permit may be                                     
14       issued under this section.                                                                                        
15    * Sec. 2. AS 41.35 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                     

01 Sec. 41.35.085. Personal use collection. (a) A person may collect certain                                             
02 fossils for personal use on state land that is managed by the department other than a                                   
03 state park or a state game refuge. Personal use collection is limited to a daily total of                               
04 25 pounds of certain fossils, 50 pounds of aggregate material that may contain certain                                  
05 fossils, or one invertebrate fossil greater than 50 pounds. Personal use collection may                                 
06 not be used for research purposes or for the collection of fossils that will be made                                    
07 available to the general public through an institution or museum. Certain fossils                                       
08       collected for personal use may not be sold or used for commercial purposes.                                       
09 (b)  A person engaging in personal use collection is responsible for ensuring                                           
10 personal use collection occurs in an open area and that the certain fossils collected                                   
11       meet the criteria for personal use collection under (a) of this section.                                          
12 (c)  When collecting fossils under this section, the person may use only hand                                           
13 tools that are not electric or battery-powered and shall cause only minimal surface                                     
14       disturbance.                                                                                                      
15    * Sec. 3. AS 41.35.200(a) is amended to read:                                                                      
16 (a)  Except as provided in AS 41.35.085, a [A] person may not appropriate,                                          
17 excavate, remove, injure, or destroy, without a permit from the commissioner, any                                       
18       historic, prehistoric, or archeological resources of the state.                                                   
19    * Sec. 4. AS 41.35.230(2) is amended to read:                                                                      
20 (2)  "historic, prehistoric, and archeological resources" includes                                                      
21 deposits, structures, ruins, sites, buildings, graves, artifacts, fossils, fossilized tracks                        
22 or fossilized burrows, or other objects of antiquity which provide information                                      
23 pertaining to the historical or prehistorical culture of people in the state as well as to                              
24       the natural history of the state.                                                                                 
25    * Sec. 5. AS 41.35.230 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:                                               
26 (3)  "certain fossils" means plant fossils, invertebrate animal fossils, or                                             
27       fossilized tracks from or fossilized burrows made by an invertebrate animal.