SB 227-STATE OWNERSHIP OF SUBMERGED LAND  4:15:21 PM CHAIR REVAK reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 227 "An Act relating to state ownership of submerged land within and adjacent to federal areas; and providing for an effective date." [SB 227 was previously heard on 4/8/2022.] CHAIR REVAK solicited a motion to adopt the committee substitute. 4:15:43 PM SENATOR MICCICHE moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS) for SB 227, work order 32-GS2561\B, as the working document. 4:15:56 PM CHAIR REVAK objected for discussion purposes. 4:16:20 PM BEN MULLIGAN, Deputy Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Juneau, Alaska, stated that the department spoke to Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) experts who suggested several changes. He referred to subsection (j) on page 4, line 9 of Version B, which read: (j) For purposes of (b) and (c) of this section, the commissioner shall make a determination of navigability based on evidence consistent with the meaning given to "navigable water" in (g) of this section, and after considering factors that include 4:17:08 PM MR. MULLIGAN pointed out that the ANILCA experts interpreted the language in Version A as too constraining and that the department could only consider what was listed below for criteria to determine navigability. He said the department suggested adding the language "that include" to provide flexibility in future situations when determining navigability. Still, if it did not meet the criteria listed, the navigable water could be brought forward and not constrain the department. 4:17:52 PM MR. MULLIGAN referred to page 4, line 12 to the second change, which read: (1) a showing that a river is boatable at any time during the open-water season .... MR. MULLIGAN stated that the original version of SB 227, Version A, read: (1) a showing that a river is boatable at least one- third of the open water season ... MR. MULLIGAN explained that this change was made to avoid restricting the department when determining navigable waters and asserting the state's rights on navigability. 4:18:41 PM SENATOR KAWASAKI referred to the definition of navigability. He asked if boatable was a term of art. He further asked if there was a stronger definition of navigability in current statute or used by federal agencies. 4:19:10 PM MR. MULLIGAN deferred to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 4:19:44 PM JIM WALKER, Public Access Assertion and Defense Section Chief, Division of Mining, Land and Water, Department of Natural Resources, Anchorage, Alaska, explained that the definition of navigability is largely found within case law for determining what it means for a particular river to be deemed navigable for title or ownership purposes. As discussed in the previous hearing, navigability can mean different things depending on the context. He indicated that the term "boatability" refers to the ability to boat with the requisite criteria on a particular waterway for the period of the open water season. He stated that boatability is a useful term for better understanding the legal definition of navigability. 4:21:25 PM CHAIR REVAK withdrew his objection; he heard no further objection, and Version B was adopted as the working document. 4:21:44 PM At ease 4:24:28 PM CHAIR REVAK reconvened the meeting. He explained that the committee would like to further review some of the legal issues on this bill. 4:24:48 PM CHAIR REVAK held SB 227 in committee.