1996-10-16                     Senate Journal                      Page 4383
SB 250                                                                       
Message of June 6 was received, stating:                                       
                                                                               
Dear President Pearce:                                                         
                                                                               
Under the authority of art. II, sec. 15 of the Alaska Constitution, I          
have vetoed the following bill:                                                
                                                                               
HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO.                                           
250(FIN) am H                                                                  
An Act relating to the University of Alaska and to                            
assets of the University of Alaska; authorizing the                            
University of Alaska to select additional state public                         
domain land, designating that land as `university                              
trust land,' and describing the principles applicable                          
to the land's management and the development of                                
its resources; and defining the net income from the                            
University of Alaska's endowment trust fund as                                 
`university receipts' subject to prior legislative                             
appropriation.                                                                 
                                                                               
The bill provides for the selection and transfer of 350,000 acres of           
state land to the University of Alaska.  Since Statehood, the                  
University has sought to obtain more land to raise revenue to support          
the University system.  During Governor Egans administration a                 
similar bill was passed by the legislature and subsequently vetoed by          
Governor Egan.  He believed that the act would substantially                   
complicate management of state lands and would be both inefficient             
and confusing to the public.  In 1994 the legislature again passed a           
bill, SB 16, that was similar in nature to the bill Governor Egan              
vetoed.  I vetoed Senate Bill 16 and am vetoing SB 250 for many                
of the same reasons that prompted Governor Egan early in statehood.            
                                                                               
Although the legislature attempted during the 1996 legislative session         
to address the problems my administration identified regarding SB
,  there remain several technical and philosophical concerns                
which have led me to veto this most recent land transfer bill.  The            
most compelling of those concerns are:                                         
                                                                               
                                                                               

1996-10-16                     Senate Journal                      Page 4384
SB 250                                                                       
the bill fails to prohibit the conveyance of oil and gas lands                
to the University.  It would be imprudent to transfer those                    
lands that contribute to the well-being of all Alaskans to a                   
discrete entity thereby reducing the general funds available                   
to support basic state services;                                               
                                                                               
the bill would constrain future municipalities in their land                  
selections;                                                                    
                                                                               
the land base of Alaska will be further segmented by                          
splitting management with another public entity causing                        
conflicts between land owners and users;                                       
                                                                               
the uncertainty of the process for evaluating future                          
development proposals under this legislation has led several                   
groups including mining interests, Native organizations, local                 
governments and sport fishing and environmental groups to                      
have serious concerns with this bill;                                          
                                                                               
the public process regarding land use and resolution of land                  
disputes is uncertain; and,                                                    
                                                                               
the University would not be subject to the states area-wide                   
plans and land classifications in its use of lands, nor would                  
it be subject to local land-use plans such as district coastal                 
management plans in the use and disposal of lands.  These                      
plans were developed based on extensive resource analysis                      
and public input and they ensure that state lands will be                      
managed in the public interest.                                                
                                                                               
These are among the many concerns that have compelled me to veto               
this legislation.  I do not believe state land transfers to the                
University is in the best interest of the citizens of the State of             
Alaska.                                                                        
                                                                               
						Sincerely,                                                               
						/s/                                                                      
						Tony Knowles                                                             
						Governor