SB 98 CONVEY LAND TO MUNICIPALITIES/BOROUGHS  CHAIRMAN MACKIE brought SB 98 back before the committee. He said Senator Leman's staff worked on a proposed committee substitute which was before the committee for its consideration. SENATOR PHILLIPS moved the adoption of CSSB 98(CRA), version "B." Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. Number 065 ANNETTE KREITZER , staff to Senator Leman, explained that at the previous hearing on the legislation there was concern with giving the director additional authority so throughout the committee substitute the designation has been changed from the director to the commissioner of natural resources. At the request of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the term "vacant, unappropriated, unreserved land" has been replaced with the term "state land." The change was requested because the borough was interested in land that doesn't meet the definition of "vacant, unappropriated, unreserved land." Also added was a definition of "isolated land tracts" to help define the request. The words "boroughs and unified" have been deleted throughout the bill because the intent is for the bill to apply to municipalities. Ms. Kreitzer, speaking to the definition of "isolated land tracts," said the tracts must now be not in a statutorily designated area, and they are not to be selected in fulfillment of the general grant land entitlement under Title 29. They have to be 640 acres or smaller, and not contiguous to other state land, or they have to be larger than 640 acres and be contiguous to municipal land. Requirements have been added in the committee substitute that the tracts be conveyed only to a municipality where the general grant land entitlement has bee fulfilled. Under this program, municipalities may only receive up to 15 percent more than their general grant land entitlement. Number 119 CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked if the concern raised by the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities relating to airport rights-of- way, as well as a concern by committee members relating to "fair market value" have been addressed in the committee substitute. MS. KREITZER replied that it was requested that if DOT has specific concerns that they be conveyed to the sponsor in writing and explain specifically where the legislation hinders their ability to manage their land, but this has not been received yet. Relating to the market value question, she said they have not been able to come up with language to address that concern. Number 195 GARY GUSTAFSON , Director, Heritage Land Bank, Municipality of Anchorage, testifying from Anchorage, said he has reviewed the committee substitute and believes it is a good attempt to capture concerns that were voiced at the previous hearing on the bill. CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked Mr. Gustafson for his comments on the fair market value concerns brought up by the committee. MR. GUSTAFSON replied that the municipality would be responsive to specific language on fair market value, but he pointed out the bill does include a requirement for a best interest finding, and he suggested that if the Department of Natural Resources decided that there needed to be payment or other kind of evaluation associated with these land transfers, they could make that a condition of the title transfer. Number 230 JANE ANGVIK , Director, Division of Lands, Department of Natural Resources, testifying from Anchorage, directed attention to page 1, line 6, and said replacing "unified municipalities and boroughs" with "municipalities" would, from a work standpoint, increase the number of municipalities that are eligible from 16 to 44, and there is some concern that this could add to an already significant backlog with municipal entitlement requests from municipalities that have yet to fulfill their entitlements. Ms. Angvik also noted the committee substitute deletes the phrase "vacant, unappropriated, unreserved state land" was deleted, and the concern was that those are the only kinds of land that are currently available for municipal organizations to select from. Ms. Angvik, addressing the requirement that municipalities may only receive up to 15 percent more than their general grant land entitlement, said the division's concern is that this requirement would set up an expectation on the part of the municipalities that they would be able to automatically get an extra 15 percent over their existing entitlements. The division would prefer to define the term "isolated land tract" in such a manner that would specifically describe what it is and delete the reference to the 15 percent over selection. She suggested that the definition for an "isolated land tract" should be "a parcel of vacant, unappropriated, unreserved state land that is 40 acres or smaller." Number 265 STEVE CYPRA , representing the Matanuska-Susitna Planning Department and testifying from the Mat-Su LIO, voiced their support for SB 98 because they believe it will contribute to more efficient land management practices on both the local and state levels. It is a logical approach to land ownership patterns and an equitable way to solve some persistent problems that their local government has experienced for many years. Number 300 SAM KITO , Legislative Liaison/Special Assistant, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, stated the department supports the concerns outlined by Ms. Angvik of the Department of Natural Resources. He suggested there are mechanisms in place by which land can be transferred to these municipalities should they desire it. Number 306 CHAIRMAN MACKIE suggested that Mr. Kito and Ms. Angvik submit their concerns to the sponsor of the legislation and work with his office to see if they can be resolved, and if there was no objection from the committee, moving the bill on to the Resources Committee. He further suggested to Ms. Kreitzer that the sponsor may want to consider as an option legislation that is just specific to the needs of the Municipality of Anchorage. SENATOR WILKEN moved CSSB 98(CRA) be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Number 320 SENATOR HOFFMAN suggested that the work on the legislation should be done in the Community & Regional Affairs Committee because the Resources Committee has a considerable backlog so the bill would have less chance of passage this session. After further discussion on the motion to move the bill out of committee and concerns raised by the departments and committee members, SENATOR WILKEN withdrew his motion. CHAIRMAN MACKIE stated the bill would back before the committee at its next meeting.