01/29/2026 01:00 PM House TRANSPORTATION

          HB 216-TRANSFER OF RAILROAD LAND TO WHITTIER                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:37:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  EISCHEID announced  that  the final  order of  business                                                               
would be  HOUSE BILL NO. 216,  "An Act approving the  transfer of                                                               
land  owned by  the Alaska  Railroad Corporation  to the  City of                                                               
Whittier; and providing for an effective date."                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:38:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KY HOLLAND,  Alaska State  Legislature, as  prime                                                               
sponsor, presented HB  216.  He began by  introducing himself and                                                               
the  geographic  features  of   his  district,  emphasizing  that                                                               
Whittier will become an essential  part of the state's ability to                                                               
move  freight.   He  stated  that he  has  attended city  council                                                               
meetings every month  for the last year and a  half and described                                                               
their  efforts  working  with  the  Alaska  Railroad  Corporation                                                               
(ARRC).  He  explained that by moving land into  ownership of the                                                               
city, HB  216 would help  Whittier continue to grow  its economy.                                                               
He explained  that the legislature  must approve the  transfer of                                                               
land from ARRC to a city  and the transfer is not completed until                                                               
both entities agree on the transfer cost.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:42:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
AYDEN  NICHOL, Staff,  Representative  Ky Holland,  on behalf  of                                                               
Representative  Holland, prime  sponsor, presented  a PowerPoint,                                                               
titled  "HB 216  Whittier-Alaska  Railroad  Land Transfer"  [hard                                                               
copy  included in  the committee  file].   He began  on slide  2,                                                               
titled "History: Whittier and the Alaska Railroad", which read                                                                  
as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
   • Whittier (pop. 272) connects Anchorage with Prince                                                                         
       William Sound shipping and ferry routes, and is a                                                                        
     popular cruise destination                                                                                                 
   • For most of its history, the Alaska Railroad was the                                                                       
      only land route connecting Whittier with the rest of                                                                      
     the state, via the the Anton Anderson Tunnel                                                                               
   • The Alaska Railroad has long benefitted from its                                                                           
       significant land holdings within the city limits,                                                                        
     which constitute 85% of Whittier's developable land                                                                        
   • In 1998, the Railroad agreed to lease 250 acres to the                                                                     
     City for development                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. NICHOL moved to slide 3, titled "From a lease to City                                                                       
Ownership," which read as follows [original punctuation                                                                         
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
        • The status of the land under the City's lease                                                                         
          discourages investment and  prevents the City from                                                                    
          bringing in  tax revenue from  businesses situated                                                                    
          on the property.                                                                                                      
        • Early in 2024, negotiations began for the                                                                             
          transfer  of ownership  of  five  parcels of  land                                                                    
          from the Railroad to the City.                                                                                        
        • In December of 2025, the City Council authorized                                                                      
          the City  Manager to  negotiate a  final agreement                                                                    
          for three  parcels, and  the Railroad  submitted a                                                                    
          conditional letter  of intent to proceed  with the                                                                    
          sale.                                                                                                                 
        • Legislative approval is a critical element                                                                            
          required to  allow this deal to  proceed: under AS                                                                    
          42.40.285,   the  Railroad   is  prohibited   from                                                                    
          relinquishing  land without  the authorization  of                                                                    
          the legislature.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. NICHOLS moved to slide 4, which showed a map of AARC the                                                                    
area of interest.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. NICHOLS gave the sectional analysis [hard copy included in                                                                  
committee file], which read as follows [original punctuation                                                                    
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
      Section 1: Authorizes  the Alaska Railroad Corporation                                                                  
     to convey five parcels of  land to the City of Whittier                                                                    
     for fair market value.                                                                                                     
          (a)  Authorizes  the  transfer and  describes  the                                                                    
     five  parcels  authorized   for  sale,  including:  the                                                                    
     property where  the Sportsman's Lounge  currently sits,                                                                    
     the  harbor  parking  area below  Whittier  Creek,  the                                                                    
     Harbor  Uplands   area  abutting  the  bay,   the  area                                                                    
     surrounding   the  Whittier   Airport,  and   the  area                                                                    
     surrounding  the Whittier  Bay  Campground adjacent  to                                                                    
     the Glacier Creek Cruise Terminal.                                                                                         
          (b) Clarifies that  further platting and surveying                                                                    
     will be  necessary to  execute the  sale, and  that the                                                                    
     parcel boundaries  articulated in  this section  may be                                                                    
     reasonably modified  subject to  the agreement  of both                                                                    
     parties.                                                                                                                   
          (c)  Authorizes   the  Railroad  to   accept  cash                                                                    
     equivalent to the fair market value of the land.                                                                           
          (d)   Designates   this  section   as   sufficient                                                                    
     legislative approval for the  transfer of land under AS                                                                    
     42.40.285.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Section  2:  Establishes  that  the  Act  takes  effect                                                                  
     immediately.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:46:04 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  CARRICK noted  that  HB  216 would  transfer  a lot  of                                                               
acreage  in  Whittier.    She  asked to  hear  from  an  opposing                                                               
viewpoint of the land transfer, if available.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:49:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND,  in response to a  question from Co-Chair                                                               
Carrick,  stated that  due to  the nature  of the  land transfer,                                                               
both  entities wanted  the opportunity  to make  any last  minute                                                               
changes as needed and HB 216, as written, would allow for that.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:50:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   HOLLAND,  in   response  to   a  question   from                                                               
Representative  Mina,   explained  that   there  is   still  some                                                               
certainty regarding  the resolution of  the property at  the head                                                               
of the bay, while there  is full agreement regarding the property                                                               
value of the downtown parcel of  land.  He further explained that                                                               
the  intention  of  both  entities  involved is  to  come  to  an                                                               
agreement for  all five land  parcels, without needing  to return                                                               
to the legislature.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:52:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE  confirmed the  legislature's role  in this                                                               
land transfer.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:52:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  CARRICK  asked to  hear  from  Whittier's city  manager                                                               
regarding HB 216.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:53:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JACKIE WILDE,  City Manager, City  of Whittier, began  by stating                                                               
that over  90 percent of Whittier's  land is either owned  by the                                                               
state or  non-taxable.  She  explained how the  current structure                                                               
of the Whittier community came to  be.  She said that Whittier is                                                               
home  to  273  year-round  residents  but is  much  more  than  a                                                               
residential community.   Whittier is  at an intersection  of many                                                               
forms of transportation  from across the state,  which serve much                                                               
more than  Whittier.   She emphasized  that most  of the  land in                                                               
Whittier  is  non-taxable  but is  needed  to  support  municipal                                                               
services.  Over  the years, Whittier has paid over  40 percent of                                                               
its total  revenue to ARRC.   She stated  that HB 216  would help                                                               
establish a better  structure that reflects how land  is used and                                                               
responsibilities  are distributed  today.    She reaffirmed  that                                                               
legislative  authority is  required to  convey ownership  and she                                                               
asked for the committee's support of HB 216.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:01:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MEGHAN  CLEMENS,  External   Affairs  Director,  Alaska  Railroad                                                               
Corporation,  testified in  support  of  HB 216.    She began  by                                                               
stating that  selling land is  not something ARRC  takes lightly.                                                               
She highlighted that  over the last two years, ARRC  and the city                                                               
of Whittier  have engaged in  conversations regarding  a mutually                                                               
beneficial  land  sale.    She described  the  process  of  their                                                               
negotiations  regarding the  first three  land parcels  and noted                                                               
that parcels  4 and 5  would still  be available for  transfer in                                                               
the future.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:03:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CLEMENS,  in  response to  a  question  from  Representative                                                               
McCabe, compared this land transfer to the one Nenana.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:04:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took a brief at-ease at 3:04 p.m.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:04:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR EISCHEID set an amendment deadline for HB 216.                                                                         
[HB 216 was held over.]