Legislature(2021 - 2022)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/28/2022 01:30 PM Senate TRANSPORTATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB231 | |
| SB166 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 231 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 166 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 231-AK RAILROAD CORP; EXEC BUDGET ACT
1:52:10 PM
CHAIR MYERS announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 231
"An Act providing that the Alaska Railroad Corporation is
subject to the Executive Budget Act; providing that expenditures
of the Alaska Railroad Corporation are subject to appropriation;
and providing for an effective date."
1:52:18 PM
CHAIR MYERS opened public testimony on SB 231.
1:52:41 PM
JACK BROWN, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, spoke in
support of SB 231. He read a hypothetical letter he had written
to illustrate the ongoing dispute and litigation between the
Alaska Railroad and South Anchorage homesteaders in the Flying
Crown subdivision along an airstrip in South Anchorage, which
read:
[Original punctuation provided.]
I'm a South Anchorage homeowner and I've been fighting
the Alaska RR for 9 years now. Their long running lack
of budgetary and policy oversight has led directly to
the gutting of the value of my home. No Alaskan or
American should ever have to go through what I and
many others have gone through. Hopefully my testimony
here today will be helpful so that others can better
understand what's driving this issue and help affect
meaningful change.
I've written a hypothetical letter from our Alaska
Federal District Judge Kindred, who recently rewrote
140+ years of ROW law against Alaskans, and in the
process ma a complete mockery of our constitution and
settled law. The letter is written to Homesteader Mr
Sperstad of who I'm a successor, and all of the WW 1 &
2 Veterans and Miners who came to Homestead and settle
in Alaska.
Dear Mr. Sperstad.
Congratulations on the April 17th, 1950, signing of
your new Federal Homestead Patent. The US thanks you
for the hardships you're willing to endure in this
challenging environment and your adventurous spirit to
help settle the last frontier. It's people like you
who will set the stage for prosperity in this great
land for generations to come.
As you're well aware sir, the Alaska RR transits and
completely divides your new Homestead, and the
following simple language is found within your patent:
xcepting and reserving, however, to the US a right
of way for the construction of railroads, Telegraph,
and Telephone lines in accordance with the Act of
March 12th, 1914."
This simple language would seem to state the obvious:
the US has awarded you supreme title to land and
divested itself of all right, title, and interest in
the property with the new Federal Homestead land
patent conveyed to you. However, just like a road or a
canal, the US must reserve the right to continue to
safely operate the train through your Homestead and
requires a right of way to do so. Unfortunately, it's
not so simple.
I am writing to you today to ensure that you
understand clearly that, despite what may seem obvious
in the patent language, the actual far-reaching
implications to you, your heirs, and your successors
of having the Alaska Railroad as your neighbor are not
addressed within the patent language and are quite
extensive. Let me explain. I've defined for the US
that the actual intent of this sentence is to give the
US the fee equivalent authority to fence you out and
otherwise permanently deny you any access whatsoever
across the ROW for the purposes of improving your
private Homestead property. If you have the financial
means, present and future access "may" be negotiated
at the sole discretion of the RR and it's US owned
commercial real estate division via annual lease fees
and payments calculated by the square foot at current
market rates. You should further be warned that these
rising market rates could increase rapidly and prove
cost prohibitive to you and your heirs and successors
either now or in the future.
1:56:22 PM
Additionally, any agreed upon leased or other access
to your Homestead can be rescinded at any time for any
reason whatsoever by the US now or in the future with
30 days' notice if you're unable to pay escalating
access and other ROW use fees.
To further clarify: in your area the US only requires
roughly half of the ROW acreage through your Homestead
to safely operate the train or build a future 2nd
track. The remaining portion of your fee simple ROW
property has been designated for non-railroad
residential and commercial real estate revenue
generating operations executed at the sole discretion
of the US. I realize that this may be a shock and
confusing to you and other Homesteaders but I assure
you this is the correct interpretation of the law.
1:57:16 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE joined the meeting.
MR. BROWN continued to read his written testimony.
[Original punctuation provided.]
Even though congress put an end to land grant
railroads in America in 1875 to avoid this exact issue
for settlers like you, the land grant railroad for all
practical purposes continues alive and well through
your Homestead and throughout the Alaska rail belt.
Although technically the US recognizes you as the
servient owner in fee of the 200' ROW land and the
dirt under the tracks, you have no legal right of
access or control over any of these ROW lands,
including those large portions of the ROW acreage
completely unneeded for the current or future safe
operation of the train.
Again sir, it's our privilege to welcome and
congratulate you on your new Alaskan Federal Homestead
Land Patent. We apologize if denying you access across
the Homestead we've just conveyed to you causes you
any financial or other hardship. We do note, however,
that you do indeed have access to some of your
Homestead without having to trespass on private RR
land. You're quite fortunate in this regard as many
Homesteaders are discovering that they have no lawful
access to any buildable Homestead acreage due to the
ROW location. They simply have no choice other than to
try and pay whatever the RR demands or give up on
their dreams of Homesteading in Alaska. So again, I
must warn you that because the US has held back a 200-
foot swath of private property within your Homestead,
it's critical that you plan your future time and
investments into your property very carefully. Just
because there aren't fences in place today doesn't
mean you won't be denied access or have to pay to
avoid fences in the future or be fenced out entirely
if you can't afford it or refuse to pay. There is no
"permanent" access across the ROW in your Homestead.
The ROW across your land for all practical purposes is
fee simple land grant RR land in everything but name.
Thank You,
Judge Kindred of the Alaska Federal district court,
2022.
1:59:48 PM
ROBERT GASTROCK, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, related
that he had an ongoing dispute with the Alaska Railroad
regarding the right-of-way (ROW) for over 11 years, mirroring
Mr. Brown's dispute. He purchased his home when the federal
government owned and operated the railroad but sold it last
year.
MR. GASTROCK related that he provided written testimony to the
committee. He offered his belief that SB 231 would provide
executive and legislative oversight of the Alaska Railroad,
which has been lacking since the Alaska Railroad Corporation was
formed in the 1980s. He offered his view that many of ARRC's
policies were ill-conceived and detrimental to public access and
private property rights.
2:01:37 PM
MR. GASTROCK offered his view that ARRC acts with impunity. He
said ARRC considers itself a state agency when seeking state or
federal funding, but it uses its corporate status to avoid
disclosing financial information to the public. He provided two
examples when ARRC had ignored statutory requirements. He said
that the patents received and accepted by ARRC in 2006 were done
without legislative approval as required by statutes. He said
that the patents had clouded the title of property owners,
including himself and Mr. Brown. He explained that the patent
was superimposed on the patent granted to Mr. Sperstad.
2:03:44 PM
MR. GASTROCK stated that the legislature amended AS 42.42.350
and AS 42.42.410 to say that the railroad could not claim
exclusive use in any area where the railroad could not
demonstrate that the federal government had such rights to
transfer to the state. He stated that members might be aware
that ARRC filed a lawsuit against Flying Crown Airpark. The
property association had asked ARRC to honor the statute and
provide proof that the federal government owned fee title to the
land or something other than a surface easement. Flying Crown
provided a complete chain of title reports showing that there
was no mention of any interest by the federal government
regarding land ownership of any portion of the right-of-way that
runs through Tom Sperstad's homestead. Instead of acknowledging
the facts, ARRC filed a lawsuit in federal court against Flying
Crown, which is still under litigation.
2:05:06 PM
MR. GASTROCK asked members to support SB 231.
2:05:30 PM
SARA TAYLOR, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that
the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) claims to own 12,000
acres of land along a 500-mile railway corridor, including
submerged land. She expressed concern that the legislature does
not have oversight over ARRC. She referred to a US Supreme Court
case [Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois 146 U.S. 387 (1892]
regarding Illinois Central Railroad ownership of 1,000 acres of
submerged lands. The court reaffirmed that each state, in its
sovereign capacity, holds permanent title to all submerged lands
within its borders and holds these lands in public trust.
MS. TAYLOR stated that Alaskans have a constitutional right to
free access to use navigable waterways. She offered her view
that state officials cannot disregard the public trust doctrine
protections when the state received title to submerged lands
along the Alaska Railroad. She said AS 38.05.126 is not
ambiguous. She asked members to consider the substantial merits
of SB 231.
2:09:38 PM
BONNIE WOLDSTAD, representing self, North Pole, Alaska, spoke in
support of SB 231, noting it was a step in the right direction.
She expressed concern that the state does not have sufficient
oversight over ARRC. She stated that in 2003, the Alaska
Railroad worked to repeal 45 U.S.C. Sections 1208 and 1209 of
the federal act. She summarized that the adjacent property was
to revert to the adjacent property owners, but by repealing this
law, the Alaska Railroad no longer needed to comply with those
provisions. She referred to the Anchorage lawsuit. She noted
that then-Representative Tammy Wilson introduced a bill related
to railroad rights-of-way [HB 93]. She expressed an interest in
having the railroad accountable to the people. She was unsure
whether the remedy was to expand ARRC's board members to include
property owners, but she viewed SB 231 as a step in the right
direction because it would provide accountability. The US
patents that were issued before statehood do not offer exclusive
easements. She characterized the railroad's exclusive easements
as an inverse take.
2:13:24 PM
CHAIR MYERS closed public testimony on SB 231.
CHAIR MYERS held SB 231 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB166 version B draft.pdf |
STRA 4/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 166 |
| 32-GS2543B Legal Memo.pdf |
STRA 4/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 166 |
| Port of Alaska Source of Funds Proposed SB166 GO Bond Grants.pdf |
STRA 4/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 166 |
| northern_intertie_and_dock_electrification_april_2020.pdf |
STRA 4/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 166 |
| University - FY23 GO Bond Projects Packet.pdf |
STRA 4/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 166 |
| Mat-Su FY 23 GO Bond Information Packet.pdf |
STRA 4/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 166 |
| DEED FY23MaintenanceFinalList.pdf |
STRA 4/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 166 |