Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
03/12/2025 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB109 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 109 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 93 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 109-STATE LAND FOR RECREATIONAL CABIN SITES
2:30:13 PM
CO-CHAIR BURKE announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 109, "An Act relating to the lease and sale of
state land for recreational cabin sites; and providing for an
effective date."
2:30:52 PM
JOHN BOYLE, Commissioner, Department of Natural Resources (DNR),
on behalf of the House Rules Standing Committee, sponsor by
request of the governor, introduced HB 109. He spoke about the
governor's reasoning and support for the bill. He explained
that the governor wanted to make the Alaska dream more available
to residents. He gave examples of how HB 109 stimulates
economic growth. The bill would create more outdoor recreation,
economic opportunity, stewardship, and would provide more
opportunities to live, work, and own state land.
2:34:04 PM
CHRISTY COLLES, Director, Division of Mining, Land and Water,
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), on behalf of the House
Rules Standing Committee, sponsor by request of the governor,
presented a PowerPoint, titled "House Bill 109: State Land for
Recreational Cabin Sites." She showed slide 2, titled "HB 109:
Purpose," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Article VIII, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution:
It is the policy of the State to encourage the
settlement of its land and the development of its
resources by making them available for maximum use
consistent with the public interest.
The bill will provide opportunities for Alaskans to
utilize state land and will increase the amount of
Alaska land owned by individuals.
The bill aligns with the Governor's priority to put
Alaska land into Alaskan hands.
2:34:43 PM
MS. COLLES explained that expanding private land ownership would
fuel economic growth, strengthen property rights, and foster
responsible land stewardship. She pointed out that when
individuals own land, they are more likely to invest in
improvements, which drives demand for housing, infrastructure,
and local businesses. This stimulates job growth, increases
property values, and broadens the tax base which results in
long-term economic prosperity. Private ownership enables
diverse and efficient development, enabling communities to grow
organically while ensuring local decision-making. She explained
that selling state land is not new to DNR and that they have
facilitated competitive and non-competitive land sales to
individuals, industry, and municipalities. This legislation
helps reach the goal of putting more land in the hands of
Alaskans, creating a stronger, more self-sufficient Alaska.
2:36:11 PM
MS. COLLES moved to slide 3, titled "State Land," and explained
that it illustrated land ownership across Alaska. The state
owns 100 million acres of upland, with approximately 5 million
acres from the federal government slated for Alaska ownership.
2:36:29 PM
MS. COLLES showed slide 4, titled "Available Land." She pointed
out that some state land has previously been withdrawn from the
general public by the legislature to create parks and game
refuges. She drew the attention of committee members to the
vacant, unappropriated land designated on the map, referred to
as VU lands.
2:37:18 PM
MS. COLLES moved to slide 5, titled "Current Land Sale
Programs," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]
• Subdivision Sales
• Create subdivision through platting
• Complete survey and appraisal
• Provide auction for purchase
• Remote Recreational Staking Program
• Identifies and develops staking area
• Offers land and holds drawing to stake
• Applicant staking, leasing, and purchase
She explained that the focus of the subdivision sales has been
individuals who want to be on the road system and described the
bidding process. The remote recreational staking program would
appeal to people who choose to be off the road system and are
willing to stake their own boundaries. She presented slide 6,
titled "Examples of Staking Areas," which showed photos of four
staking areas as follows:
Mankomen Lake: 8,030 Acres, 25 Staking Authorizations
Mount Ryan II: 35, 700 Acres, 30 Staking
Authorizations
East Fork Pass: 16, 350 Acres, 60 Staking
Authorization
Snake Lake: 25, 395 Acres, 50 Staking Authorizations
She described the history of the staking program which began in
2001 and has sold over 10 thousand acres.
2:39:19 PM
MS. COLLES moved to slide 7, titled "HB 109: Process," which
showed the new procedure for land distribution created by the
bill. This would include a nomination process by which an
individual could nominate an area of up to 10 acres, excluding
certain types of mineral or oil and gas lands. She described
the steps an individual would take and an approximate timeline.
She reiterated the goal of creating private ownership of remote
cabin sites.
2:40:42 PM
MS. COLLES moved to the next three slides. Slide 8 described
the process for purchasing land which had been leased; slide 9
described how cabin permit holders could nominate cabin sites;
and slide 10 showed a map of personal use cabins. Ms. Colles
turned to slide 8, titled "HB 109: Lease to Purchase," which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Lease
- 10-year leasing period
- Allows for the assignment of a lease
- Fees for leases shall ensure a fair return to the
state
- May purchase the site at any time during the term of
the lease
- Termination of lease for non-compliance
• Purchase
- Purchase price set at fair market value, set at the
time of entry
- Lease fees will be applied to the purchase price
- Applicant must pay for appraisal, survey, and
platting
- Contract term up to 30 years
MS COLLES continued to slide 9, titled "Personal Use Cabin
Program," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• HB 109 would allow previous and current Personal Use
Cabin Program permit holders to nominate their cabin
sites
• In 1984, the Legislature established the Personal
Use Cabin Program
• 421 applications were received and permits were
issued
• In 1997, the Personal Use Cabin Program was repealed
• Status of permits today across the State:
• 119 permits are issued and active
• 140 permits are closed
• 162 cabins exist but the permit is not active
or is under appeal
2:44:07 PM
MS. COLLES moved to slide 10, titled "HB 109: Sectional
Analysis," which provided a summary of the sectional analysis.
She presented the full sectional analysis which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Sectional Analysis
House Bill 109 State Land for Recreational Cabin
Sites (34-GH1026\A)
Section 1 Amends AS 38.04.020(i) to remove the word
"remote."
Section 2 Amends 38.05.035(e)(6) to add a new
paragraph (I) to exclude a recreational cabin site
lease or sale from written finding requirements.
Section 3 Amends AS 38.05.045 to include repealed
and re-enacted AS 38.05.600 in list of statutes under
which land may be disposed.
Section 4 Amends AS 38.05.065(b) to include the
repealed and re-enacted AS 38.05.600 in the
requirements for land sale contract payments.
Section 5 Amends AS 38.05.125(a) to include the
repealed and re-enacted AS 38.05.600(a) in existing
statute providing reservations that must be included
in the sale, lease, or grant of state land, and in
each deed to state land, properties, or interest in
state land.
Section 6 Amends AS 38.05.600 by repealing the
existing remote recreational site statute and re-
enacting it as follows:
(a) Provides and intent statement for this
section of statute that draws from the Constitution of
the State of Alaska and the Alaska Land Act.
(b) Directs the Commissioner of DNR to administer
a program to lease and sell state lands for
recreational cabin sites and to make sites available
through both a scheduled offering program and a
nomination process.
(c) Modifies existing staking program to allow
eligible applicants to apply for the lease or sale of
land from the schedule of land offerings published
annually by the department.
(d) Allows an eligible applicant to nominate and
apply for the lease and sale of up to 10 acres of
general domain state lands not included in the
schedule of land offerings and requires that all
nominated lands have legal access, including access
provided through generally allowed uses. The applicant
has the burden on demonstrating that nominated land is
eligible for lease and sale.
(e) Prohibits the commissioner from approving the
sale or lease of land under this program that is
classified as mineral or oil and gas land unless the
applicant has held a valid mining claim located on the
parcel or contiguous to the parcel for the preceding
five years. Allows an applicant holding a valid mining
claim to nominate land that is within one-quarter mile
of another recreational cabin site.
(f) Requires the department to provide public
notice of the intent to lease or sell land if the
commissioner approves the application.
(g) Authorizes the commissioner to issue a lease
for up to 10 years to an eligible applicant. Limits
use of leased land to recreational purposes only
during the term of the lease, unless the applicant
also have a valid mining claim on the land. Requires
leased land to be surveyed at the cost of the lessee
no later than five years after commencement of the
lease. Allows the commissioner to terminate a lease if
the lessee fails to comply with lease terms. Allows
the lessee to purchase the land at any time during the
term of the lease.
(h) Requires the commissioner to set lease fees
to ensure a fair return to the state based on the use
granted. Directs the department to manage improvements
or remaining personal property consistent with
existing statutes at AS 38.05.090 regarding removal or
reversion of improvement when a lease is terminated on
state land. Allows assignment of a lease.
(i) Provides discretionary authority to sell
lands to an eligible applicant and requires the sale
be at fair market value. Requires the sale price to a
lessee to be determined as of the time of entry and
allows lease payments to be credited toward the
purchase price. Requires the purchaser to pay for
appraisal, survey, and platting fees.
(j) Provides discretionary authority to the
commissioner to adopt regulations necessary to
implement these statutes.
(k) Defines the terms "eligible applicant" and
"resident" as they apply to this section of statute.
Provides that an eligible applicant must be at least
18 years of age and has not leased or purchased a
recreational cabin site in the previous 10-year
period.
Section 7 Exempts reclassification of land under AS
38.05.600 from notice requirements under AS 38.05.945.
Section 8 Amends the uncodified law of the State of
Alaska to add a new section that addresses the
transition of personal use cabins permitted under a
previous program into the new recreational cabin sites
program established in Sec.6:
(a) Allows limited exemption from provisions in
existing statutes (AS 16.20 or AS 41.21) and
regulations adopted by DNR under specific statutes (AS
38.04.035, AS 38.05.020, AS 41.21.020, and AS
44.37.011) that state a personal use cabin permit does
not convey any interest in state land or grant any
preference right, and provides discretionary authority
for the commissioner to:
(1) Approve a nomination to purchase or
lease land as a recreational cabin site by a current
valid permit holder of a cabin site and surrounding
land.
(2) Approve a nomination to lease or
purchase land as a recreational cabin site by a former
permit holder, or an immediate family member of a
former permit holder, whose permit for a cabin site
and surrounding land expired, if the personal use
cabin was maintained.
(b) Allows the department to authorize
recreational cabin sites from prior permits under this
section less than one-quarter mile from another
recreational cabin site.
(c) States that the eligible lands in regard
to this section are those sites listed in the 2025
Personal Use Cabin Permit Master List located in the
office of the director of the division of lands.
(d) For personal use cabins previously
permitted on land set aside as special purpose sites,
provides that the land can be leased or sold
regardless of its classification and directs the
commissioner to consider whether the disposal is
consistent with the use of the land, including the
preservation of public access.
Section 9 Amends the uncodified law of the State of
Alaska to add a new section relating to transition as
follows:
(a) Provides that existing leases under AS
38.05.600 before the effective date of this act are
not subject to AS 38.05.600 as repealed and reenacted
and will continue pursuant to the lease terms.
(b) Provides that land leased or sold before the
effective date of this act will be considered a
recreational cabin site for the purpose of
establishing future program eligibility.
Section 10 Repeals section 9 on June 30, 2030.
Section 11 Provides for an immediate effective date
under AS 01.10.070(c)
2:45:45 PM
MS. COLLES stated that DNR anticipated that there would be high
interest in the program and presented slide 12, titled "HB 109:
Fiscal Note," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
• One Land Surveyor position ($148.3) survey remote
cabin sites, survey instructions, and plat reviews
• Two Natural Resource Specialist 3 positions ($124.7
each) adjudicating nomination requests and
identifying lands available through the annual
offering; completing title work and issuing patents
$ in thousands
2:47:54 PM
CO-CHAIR BURKE opened public testimony on HB 109.
2:48:00 PM
ROD ARNO, Public Policy Director, Alaska Outdoor Council, spoke
in opposition to HB 109. He explained that the Alaska Outdoor
Council was supportive of the personal use cabin program until
it was repealed. The council had been supportive of the remote
cabin site program on the books. However, they were not
supportive of HB 109 because DNR had provided plenty of
opportunity for people to get recreational cabins. He
emphasized the importance of retaining public lands for the use
of more people and that public land should not be fragmented.
2:50:24 PM
STEPHENS HARPER, representing self, spoke in opposition to HB
109. He explained that residents of McCarthy relied on the
state lands for firewood and wildlife harvest, and that cabin
sites would decrease the ability of residents to provide for
themselves while increasing wildfire threat as well as placing
additional pressure on emergency services. McCarthy was not
incorporated, so it lacked a tax base and would not have the
ability to increase services. The DNR Copper River Basin area
planning process would be the best way to address the
appropriateness of selling public land to private recreation
cabin sites in the McCarthy area. The bill would circumvent the
appropriate public process of the Copper River Basin area plan.
2:52:26 PM
CO-CHAIR BURKE closed public testimony on HB 109.
[HB 109 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 93 supporting docs H RES 3.12.25.pdf |
HRES 3/12/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 93 |
| HB 109 supporting documents 3.12.25.pdf |
HRES 3/12/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 109 |
| HB109 DNR Recreational Cabins presentation 03-12-25.pdf |
HRES 3/12/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 109 |