NOTICE REQS. FOR STATE ACTIONS

HB0179a -1- HB 179
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-GH1506\A

HOUSE BILL NO. 179

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY THE HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR

Introduced: 4/9/25
Referred: State Affairs, Resources

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to notice requirements for certain state actions." 1
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 2
* Section 1. AS 38.05.073(c) is amended to read: 3
(c) If the commissioner identifies land for recreational facil ities development 4
leasing under (a) of this secti on, at least 30 days before the commissioner decides to 5
solicit proposals from potential lessees, the commissioner shal l provide public notice 6
of the location and the specific type of recreational facilitie s development being 7
considered and request comments. The notice shall be provided to (1) a municipality if 8
the land is entirely or partially within the boundaries of the municipality; (2) a regional 9
corporation organized under 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. (Alaska Nati ve Claims Settlement 10
Act) if the boundaries of the corporation established by 43 U.S .C. 1606(a) encompass 11
part or all of the land and the land encompassed by the corpora tion's boundaries is 12
entirely or partially outside the municipality; (3) a village c orporation organized under 13
43 U.S.C. 1607 [43 U.S.C. 1601] if all or part of the land is within 40 miles of the 14
village for which the corporation was established and the land is located entirely or 15
34-GH1506\A
HB 179 -2- HB0179a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

partially outside a municipality; (4) other persons affected by the specific recreational 1
facility development; and (5) persons who have specifically req uested to be notified. 2
Public notice identifying the location and the specific type of recreational facilities 3
development under consid eration must also be posted on the Alaska Online Public 4
Notice System (AS 44.62.175). When a ppropriate in the judgment of the 5
commissioner, notice may also be published [AT LEAST TWICE] in a newspaper of 6
general circulation in the state and in a local newspaper in ge neral circulation in the 7
region where the land is located. The comments received under t his subsection 8
become part of the public record for the consideration of the commissioner. 9
* Sec. 2. AS 38.05.073(e) is amended to read: 10
(e) After preparing a request f or proposals under (d) of this section, the 11
commissioner may issue the request to solicit proposals from pe rsons who are 12
interested in leasing the land for recreational facilities deve lopment. The request for 13
proposals must be posted on the Alaska Online Public Notice System 14
(AS 44.62.175). When approp riate in the judgment of the commiss ioner, notice 15
may also be published [ADVERTISED AT LEAST THREE TIMES] in a newspaper 16
of general circulation in the state and in a local newspaper in general circulation in the 17
region where the land is located. The proposals submitted to th e commissioner must 18
include the specific facts on which the potential lessee bases its ability to develop the 19
land, including its ability to comp ly with the items identified in (d)(1) - (4) of this 20
section. 21
* Sec. 3. AS 38.05.205(a) is amended to read: 22
(a) Prior discovery, location, and recording shall initiate prior rights to mineral 23
deposits subject to AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275 in or on state lan d, other than submerged 24
land, which is open to mining l easing. Locations shall be made and certificates of 25
location recorded in accordance with AS 38.05.195. If the locat ed land is available 26
only for leasing, the director shall post notice of the recording of the location and 27
notice that a mineral lease will be issued on the Alaska Online Public Notice 28
System (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the director, the 29
director may also publish the notice [PUBLISH] in a paper of general circulation in 30
t h e a r e a o f t h e l o c a t i o n [ , N O T I C E O F T H E R E C O R D I N G O F T H E L O C ATION 31
34-GH1506\A
HB0179a -3- HB 179
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

AND NOTICE THAT A MINERAL LEASE WILL BE ISSUED]. The notice may be 1
combined with notices of locations either in the same general area or statewide. Unless 2
a conflicting location exists, not [NO] later than two weeks after publication of the 3
notice, an application form for a mining lease shall be mailed to the locator by the 4
director. A lease application shall be filed with the director by the locator within 90 5
days after receipt of the form. If the located land is not avai lable for leasing, notice 6
shall be given the locator by the director and the locator's pr ior rights shall terminate. 7
A mining lessee has the exclusive rights of possession and extr action of all minerals 8
subject to AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275 lying within the boundaries of the lease or 9
location. Mining leases may be issued for one location or for a group of contiguous 10
locations held in common. Minerals may not be mined and markete d or used until a 11
lease is issued, except for limited amounts necessary for sampling or testing. 12
* Sec. 4. AS 38.05.945(b) is amended to read: 13
(b) When notice is required to be given under this section, 14
(1) the notice must contain sufficient information in commonly 15
understood terms to inform the public of the nature of the acti on and the opportunity 16
of the public to comment on it; 17
(2) if the notice is of a preliminary written finding describe d in 18
(a)(3)(A) of this section, the department shall give notice at the beginning of the public 19
comment period for the preliminary written finding, notifying the public of the right to 20
submit comments; the department shall give notice by [(A)] post ing the notice on the 21
Alaska Online Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least 30 consecutive days; 22
the department may also give notice by one or more of the following methods: 23
(A) [ ( B ) P U B L I C A T I O N O F A N O T I C E I N D I S P L A Y 24
ADVERTISING FORM DESCRIBING THE PROPOSED ACTION AND 25
REFERENCING THE ONLINE NOTICE REQUIRED IN (A) OF THIS 26
PARAGRAPH IN NEWSPAPERS OF STATEWIDE CIRCULATION AND 27
IN NEWSPAPERS OF GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE VICINITY OF 28
THE PROPOSED ACTION, IF AVAILABLE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK 29
FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS; 30
(C)] public service announcemen ts on the electronic media 31
34-GH1506\A
HB 179 -4- HB0179a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

serving the area to be affected by the proposed action; 1
(B) [AND (D) ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING 2
METHODS: 3
(i)] publication of a [LEGAL] notice in display 4
advertising form in newspapers of statewide circulation or in 5
newspapers of general circulation in the vicinity of the proposed action; 6
(C) [, IF AVAILABLE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR 7
TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS; 8
(ii)] posting in a conspicuous l ocation in the vicinity of 9
the action; 10
(D) [(iii)] notification of parties known or likely to be affected 11
by the action; or 12
(E) [(iv)] another method calculated to reach affected parties; 13
(3) if the notice is of an action described in (a) of this sec tion, other 14
than notice of an action under (a)(3)(A) of this section, the d epartment shall give 15
notice at least 30 days before the action by posting the notice on the Alaska Online 16
Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least 30 consecutive days and by one or 17
more of the following methods: 18
(A) publication of a notice in display advertising form 19
describing the proposed action and referencing the online notic e required in 20
this paragraph in newspapers of statewide circulation and in ne wspapers of 21
general circulation in the vicin ity of the proposed action, if available [, AT 22
LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS]; 23
(B) publication through public service announcements on the 24
electronic media serving the area affected by the action; 25
(C) posting in a conspicuous lo cation in the vicinity of the 26
action; 27
(D) notification of parties know n or likely to be affected by the 28
action; or 29
(E) another method calculated to reach affected persons. 30
* Sec. 5. AS 44.62.175(a) is amended to read: 31
34-GH1506\A
HB0179a -5- HB 179
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

(a) The lieutenant governor sha ll develop and supervise the Al aska Online 1
Public Notice System, to be maintained on the state's site on t he Internet. The 2
lieutenant governor shall prescribe the form of notices posted on the system by state 3
agencies. The Alaska Online Public Notice System must include 4
(1) notices of proposed actions given under AS 44.62.190(a); 5
(2) notices of state agency meetings required under AS 44.62.3 10(e), 6
even if the meeting has been held; 7
(3) notices of solicitations to bid issued under AS 36.30.130; 8
(4) notices of state agency re quests for proposals issued unde r 9
AS 18.55.255, 18.55.320; AS 36.30.210; AS 37.05.316; AS 38.05.1 20; and 10
AS 43.40.010; 11
(5) executive orders and administrative orders issued by the governor; 12
(6) written delegations of authority made by the governor or t he head 13
of a principal department under AS 44.17.010; 14
(7) the text or a summary of the text of a regulation or order of repeal 15
of a regulation for which notice is given under AS 11.71.125 or AS 44.62.190(a), 16
including an emergency regulation or repeal regardless of whether it has taken effect; 17
(8) notices required by AS 44.62.245(b) regarding an amended v ersion 18
of a document or other material incorporated by reference in a regulation; 19
(9) a summary of the text of recently issued published opinion s of the 20
attorney general; 21
(10) a list of vacancies on boards, commissions, and other bod ies 22
whose members are appointed by the governor; 23
(11) in accordance with AS 39.52.240(h), advisory opinions of the 24
attorney general; 25
(12) notices required by AS 26.30.010(d) and (e) regarding 26
applications for military facility zones; [AND] 27
(13) notices of substances scheduled by an emergency regulation under 28
AS 11.71.125; and 29
(14) notices required to be pos ted on the system under AS 38 a nd 30
AS 46. 31
34-GH1506\A
HB 179 -6- HB0179a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

* Sec. 6. AS 44.62.190(a) is amended to read: 1
(a) At least 30 days before the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, 2
notice of the proposed action shall be 3
(1) posted on the Alaska Online Public Notice System 4
(AS 44.62.175) and, at the discretion of the state agency giving the notice, 5
published in a [THE] newspaper of general circulation or trade or industry pu blication 6
that the state agency prescribes [AND POSTED ON THE ALASKA ONLI NE 7
PUBLIC NOTICE SYSTEM; IN THE DISCRETION OF THE STATE AGENCY 8
GIVING THE NOTICE, THE REQUIREMENT OF PUBLICATION IN A 9
NEWSPAPER OR TRADE OR INDUSTRY PUBLICATION MAY BE SATISFIED 10
BY USING A COMBINATION OF PUBLICATION AND BROADCASTING; 11
WHEN BROADCASTING THE NOTICE, AN AGENCY MAY USE AN 12
ABBREVIATED FORM OF THE NOTICE IF THE BROADCAST PROVIDES THE 13
NAME AND DATE OF THE NEWSPAPER OR TRADE OR INDUSTRY 14
JOURNAL AND THE INTERNET ADDRESS OF THE ALASKA ONLINE 15
PUBLIC NOTICE SYSTEM WHERE THE FULL TEXT OF THE NOTICE CAN BE 16
FOUND]; 17
(2) furnished to every person w ho has filed a request for noti ce of 18
proposed action with the state agency; 19
(3) if the agency is within a department, furnished to the com missioner 20
of the department; 21
(4) when appropriate in the judgment of the agency, 22
(A) furnished to a person or group of persons whom the agency 23
believes is interested in the proposed action; and 24
(B) published or broadcast in the additional form and manner 25
the state agency prescribes; 26
(5) furnished to the Department o f L a w t o g e t h e r w i t h a c o p y o f the 27
proposed regulation, amendment, or order of repeal for the depa r t m e n t ' s u s e i n 28
preparing the opinion required after adoption and before filing by AS 44.62.060; 29
(6) furnished by electronic format to all incumbent State of A laska 30
legislators. 31
34-GH1506\A
HB0179a -7- HB 179
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

* Sec. 7. AS 44.62.190(f) is amended to read: 1
(f) To the extent feasible, the subject line of electronic mai l and the title of a 2
[WRITTEN] publication providing the information required by (d) of this section must 3
give the reader a fair idea of the substance of the proposed ne w regulation, the 4
proposed amended regulation, or the regulation proposed for repeal. 5
* Sec. 8. AS 44.62.245(b) is amended to read: 6
(b) When the amended version of a document or other material i ncorporated 7
by reference in a regulation as described in (a) of this sectio n becomes available, the 8
state agency shall 9
(1) make the amended version of the document or other material 10
available to the public for review; and 11
(2) post on the Alaska Online Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) 12
and, at the discretion of the agency, publish in a newspaper of general circulation , 13
[OR] trade or industry publication, or [IN A] regularly published agency newsletter or 14
similar printed publication, not l ater than 15 days after the a mended version of the 15
document or other material becomes available, a notice that des cribes the affected 16
regulation, the effective date of the amended version of the do cument or other 17
material, and how a copy of the amended version may be obtained or reviewed. 18
* Sec. 9. AS 44.62.300(b) is amended to read: 19
(b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a person may not brin g an action in 20
court to challenge the adoption, repeal, or amendment of a regulation by a state agency 21
for 22
(1) insufficiency or inaccuracy of the information provided un der 23
AS 44.62.190(d) or (g); 24
(2) failure of the subject line of electronic mail or the titl e of a 25
[WRITTEN] publication to meet the requirements of AS 44.62.190(f); 26
(3) failure of the brief description required by AS 44.62.200( d) to 27
comply with the requirements of AS 44.62.200(d) relating to 28
(A) the clarity and readability of the brief description; or 29
(B) the description of the c hanges made by the proposed 30
adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation; or 31
34-GH1506\A
HB 179 -8- HB0179a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

(4) inaccuracy or insufficiency of the answer to a question pr ovided by 1
the state agency under AS 44.62.213. 2
* Sec. 10. AS 46.03.110(b) is amended to read: 3
(b) After receipt of a proper application for an individual or general permit or 4
a determination by the departme nt that a general permit should be proposed, the 5
department shall post [PUBLISH] notice of the application or proposal, or of the 6
availability of a draft permit for comment, as applicable, on the Alaska Online Public 7
Notice System (AS 44.62.175). At the discretion of the department, the notice may 8
also be published i n [ A T L E A S T T W O P U B L I C A T I O N S O F ] a n e w s p a p e r o f 9
general circulation within the general area in which the dispos al of waste material is 10
proposed to be made or [. THE NOTICE SHALL ALSO BE POSTED ON THE 11
ALASKA ONLINE PUBLIC NOTICE SYSTEM MAINTAINED UNDER 12
AS 44.62.175 AND MAY ALSO BE PUBLISHED] in other [APPROPRIATE] 13
information media the department deems appropriate . The notice must include a 14
statement that a person who want s to present views to the depar tment with regard to 15
the application or proposal may do so in writing to the department within 30 days after 16
the first publication of the no tice. The written response entit les the writer to a copy of 17
the application or draft permit, and, in the case of an applica tion or proposal to issue a 18
general permit, the application or proposal shall also be poste d by the department on 19
the Internet at the same time that notice is published under this subsection. 20
* Sec. 11. AS 46.15.065(b) is amended to read: 21
(b) The commissioner shall, as soon as practicable, determine the rights of 22
persons owning existing appropriations. To accomplish this, the commissioner shall 23
(1) by order set a definite period for filing a declaration of 24
appropriation within a specified area or from a specified source; 25
(2) post [PUBLISH] notice of the order on the Alaska Online Public 26
Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least three consecutive wee ks before the 27
beginning of the period; when appropriate in the judgment of th e commissioner, 28
the commissioner may also publish the notice [ONCE A WEEK FOR THREE 29
WEEKS] before the beginning of the period in a newspaper of gen eral circulation in 30
the affected area; and 31
34-GH1506\A
HB0179a -9- HB 179
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

(3) give notice of the order by certified mail to any appropri ator within 1
the specified area or from the specified source who has request ed mailed notice or of 2
whom the commissioner can readily obtain knowledge , including each owner of a 3
recorded mining claim. 4
* Sec. 12. AS 46.15.133(b) is amended to read: 5
(b) The commissioner shall post [PUBLISH] the notice on the Alaska Online 6
Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) a nd, when appropriate in th e judgment of 7
the commissioner, in [ONE ISSUE OF] a newspaper of general distribution in the 8
area of the state in which the water is to be appropriated, rem oved, or sold. The 9
commissioner shall also have notice served personally or by cer tified mail on [UPON] 10
an appropriator of water or applicant for or holder of a permit who, according to the 11
records of the division of lands, may be affected by the propos ed sale, appropriation, 12
or removal and may serve notice on [UPON] any governmental agency, political 13
subdivision, or person; notice shall also be served on [UPON] the Department of Fish 14
and Game and the Department of Environmental Conservation. An a pplicant for an 15
appropriation or remova l shall pay the commissioner's costs in providing publication 16
and notice under this subsection. The commissioner may require as a condition of a 17
sale of water under AS 46.15.037 [,] that a purchaser of water reimburse the 18
department for the costs associated with providing notice of the proposed sale. 19