HB 3-STATE LAND SALE; PFD VOUCHER AND ASSIGN.    3:05:59 PM CO-CHAIR TARR announced that the final order of business would be SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 3, "An Act relating to the purchase and sale of state land; relating to discounts for veterans on state land purchases; and relating to the assignment of permanent fund dividends to purchase state land." {Before the committee was the sponsor substitute for HB 3, introduced and referred to the House Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs, committee of first referral, on 3/13/19.] 3:06:16 PM REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER stated that Alaska has an abundance of three things land, permanent fund dividends (PFDs), and veterans and that HB 3 would bring these three together. The bill would encourage the sale of state lands, he said, thus creating growth and allowing the use of the individual's PFD to purchase land. It would encourage veterans to use the statutory discount in combination with their PFD assignment to purchase land, he explained. Alaskans who have resided in the state for at least one year immediately prior to the opening of the land disposal and those who are 18 years of age could participate. He noted the state regularly offers surplus lands for sale, either by auctions or over-the-counter sales. The bill would make these land sales more accessible to Alaskans by allowing individuals to assign their PFD to pay for their purchases of [state] land. 3:07:48 PM DARRELL BREESE, Staff, Representative George Rauscher, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Rauscher, sponsor, presented a sectional analysis of HB 3. He explained Section 1 would make conforming changes to existing statute "to include the changes that are made in this bill by removing reference to a specific section to include the whole chapter, which will include the changes that are added in the second part of the bill." MR. BREESE said Section 2 would make conforming change to drafting style to work around changing "U.S Armed Forces" to "United States armed forces" and would provide a definition of the veterans who would be eligible for the discounts that are offered in Sections 4 and 5. MR. BREESE stated Section 3 would establish that the veterans are entitled to a discount in subsection (a), which is a 25 percent discount that already exists in statute for veterans' land purchases and to a new 33 percent discount if the veteran assigns his/her PFD to purchase the land. MR. BREESE explained that [Subsection (f)] of Section 4 is the introduction and first major change in the statute - it would offer a one-third discount to veterans who assign their PFD to pay for the purchase of the land. Subsection (g) of Section 4 would provide that veterans could not combine multiple discounts, he noted. This means veterans could not take the 25 percent discount and the 33 percent discount at the same time and it also means that three veterans could not get together to get the land for free by each applying the 33 percent discount. MR. BREESE said Section 5 would allow both veterans and non- veterans to assign their PFDs to help pay for the purchase of land. It would require the Department of Revenue (DOR) to include on the electronic PFD application a means for the applicant to direct that all or part of his/her PFD for that year be used to pay the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the land that has been purchased or will be purchased. MR. BREESE noted that Section 6 would allow the Department of Revenue to collect an administration fee for the processing of these PFD dedications to purchase land. [HB 3 was held over.]