STATE LAND FOR RECREATIONAL CABIN SITES

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SENATE BILL NO. 105

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR

Introduced: 2/19/25
Referred: Resources, Finance

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to the lease and sale of state land for recrea tional cabin sites; and 1
providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 38.04.020(i) is amended to read: 4
(i) Nothing in this section prev ents the disposal of other lan d by the 5
commissioner in accordance with AS 38.05.055, 38.05.057, 38.05.070, the issuance of 6
[REMOTE] recreational cabin site leases or sales under AS 38.05 .600, AS 38.08, 7
AS 38.09, or other law. 8
* Sec. 2. AS 38.05.035(e) is amended to read: 9
(e) Upon a written finding that the interests of the state will be best served, the 10
director may, with the consent of the commissioner, approve con t r a c t s f o r t h e s a l e , 11
lease, or other dispos al of available land, resources, property , or interests in them. In 12
approving a contract under this subsection, the director need o nly prepare a single 13
written finding. In addition to the conditions and limitations imposed by law, the 14
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director may impose additional conditions or limitations in the contracts as the director 1
determines, with the consent of the commissioner, will best ser ve the interests of the 2
state. The preparation and issuance of the written finding by t he director are subject to 3
the following: 4
(1) with the consent of the commissioner and subject to the di rector's 5
discretion, for a specific proposed disposal of available land, resources, or property, or 6
of an interest in them, the director, in the written finding, 7
(A) shall establish the scope of the administrative review on 8
which the director's determination is based, and the scope of t he written 9
finding supporting that determination; the scope of the adminis trative review 10
and finding may address only reasonably foreseeable, significan t effects of the 11
uses proposed to be authorized by the disposal; 12
(B) may limit the scope of an administrative review and finding 13
for a proposed disposal to 14
(i) applicable statutes and regulations; 15
(ii) the facts pertaining to the land, resources, or 16
property, or interest in them, th at the director finds are mate rial to the 17
determination and that are known to the director or knowledge of which 18
is made available to the director during the administrative review; and 19
(iii) issues that, based on the statutes and regulations 20
referred to in (i) of this subparagraph, on the facts as described in (ii) of 21
this subparagraph, and on the nature of the uses sought to be authorized 22
by the disposal, the director finds are material to the determi nation of 23
whether the proposed disposal will best serve the interests of the state; 24
and 25
(C) may, if the project for which the proposed disposal is 26
sought is a multiphased development, limit the scope of an admi nistrative 27
review and finding for the propos ed disposal to the applicable statutes and 28
regulations, facts, and issues identified in (B)(i) - (iii) of this paragraph that 29
pertain solely to the disposal phase of the project when 30
(i) the only uses to be authorized by the proposed 31
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disposal are part of that phase; 1
(ii) the disposal is a disposal of oil and gas, or of gas 2
only, and, before the next phase of the project may proceed, pu blic 3
notice and the opportunity to comment are provided under regula tions 4
adopted by the department; 5
(iii) the department's approval is required before the 6
next phase of the project may proceed; and 7
(iv) the department describes its reasons for a decision 8
to phase; 9
(2) the director shall discuss in the written finding prepared and issued 10
under this subsection the reasons that each of the following wa s not material to the 11
director's determination that the interests of the state will be best served: 12
(A) facts pertaining to the land, resources, or property, or a n 13
interest in them other than those that the director finds material under (1)(B)(ii) 14
of this subsection; and 15
(B) issues based on the statutes and regulations referred to i n 16
(1)(B)(i) of this subsection and on the facts described in (1)( B)(ii) of this 17
subsection; 18
(3) a written finding for an oil and gas lease sale or gas onl y lease sale 19
under AS 38.05.180 is subject to (g) of this section; 20
(4) a contract for the sale, lease, or other disposal of avail able land or 21
an interest in land is not legally binding on the state until t he commissioner approves 22
the contract, but if the appraise d value is not greater than $5 0,000 in the case of the 23
sale of land or an interest i n land, or $5,000 in the case of t he annual rental of land or 24
interest in land, the director m ay execute the contract without the approval of the 25
commissioner; 26
(5) public notice requirements relating to the sale, lease, or o t h e r 27
disposal of available land or an interest in land for oil and g as, or for gas only, 28
proposed to be scheduled in the five-year oil and gas leasing p rogram under 29
AS 38.05.180(b), except for a sale under (6)(F) of this subsection, are as follows: 30
(A) before a public hearing, if held, or in any case not less than 31
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180 days before the sale, lease, or other disposal of available land or an interest 1
in land, the director shall make available to the public a prel iminary written 2
finding that states the scope o f the review established under ( 1)(A) of this 3
subsection and includes the applicable statutes and regulations , the material 4
facts and issues in accordance with (1)(B) of this subsection, and information 5
required by (g) of this section, upon which the determination t hat the sale, 6
lease, or other disposal will serve the best interests of the s tate will be based; 7
the director shall provide opport unity for public comment on th e preliminary 8
written finding for a period of not less than 60 days; 9
(B) after the public comment period for the preliminary writte n 10
finding and not less than 90 days before the sale, lease, or ot her disposal of 11
available land or an interest in land for oil and gas or for ga s only, the director 12
shall make available to the public a final written finding that states the scope of 13
the review established under (1)(A) of this subsection and incl udes the 14
applicable statutes and regulations, the material facts and iss ues in accordance 15
with (1) of this subsection, and information required by (g) of this section, 16
upon which the determination that the sale, lease, or other dis posal will serve 17
the best interests of the state is based; 18
(6) before a public hearing, if held, or in any case not less than 21 days 19
before the sale, lease, or othe r disposal of available land, pr operty, resources, or 20
interests in them other than a s ale, lease, or other disposal o f available land or an 21
interest in land for oil and gas or for gas only under (5) of t his subsection, the director 22
shall make available to the public a written finding that, in a ccordance with (1) of this 23
subsection, sets out the material facts and applicable statutes and regulations and any 24
other information required by statute or regulation to be consi dered upon which the 25
determination that the sale, lease, or other disposal will best serve the interests of the 26
state was based; however, a written finding is not required before the approval of 27
(A) a contract for a nego tiated sale authorized under 28
AS 38.05.115; 29
(B) a lease of land for a shore fishery site under AS 38.05.082; 30
(C) a permit or other authorization revocable by the 31
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commissioner; 1
(D) a mineral claim located under AS 38.05.195; 2
(E) a mineral lease issued under AS 38.05.205; 3
(F) an exempt oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale under 4
AS 38.05.180(d) of acreage subject to a best interest finding i ssued within the 5
previous 10 years or a reoffer oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale under 6
AS 38.05.180(w) of acreage subject to a best interest finding i ssued within the 7
previous 10 years, unless the commissioner determines that subs tantial new 8
information has become available that justifies a supplement to the most recent 9
best interest finding for the exe mpt oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale 10
acreage and for the reoffer oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale acreage; 11
however, for each oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale described in this 12
subparagraph, the director sha ll call for comments from the pub lic; the 13
director's call for public comme nts must provide opportunity fo r public 14
comment for a period of not less than 30 days; if the director determines that a 15
supplement to the most recent be st interest finding for the acr eage is required 16
under this subparagraph, 17
(i) the director shall issue the supplement to the best 18
interest finding not later than 90 days before the sale; 19
(ii) not later than 45 days before the sale, the director 20
shall issue a notice describing the interests to be offered, th e location 21
and time of the sale, and the terms and conditions of the sale; and 22
(iii) the supplement has the st atus of a final written best 23
interest finding for purposes of (i) and (l) of this section; 24
(G) a surface use lease under AS 38.05.255; 25
(H) a permit, right-of-way, or easement under AS 38.05.850; 26
( I ) a r e c r e a t i o n a l c a b i n s i t e l e a s e o r s a l e u n d e r 27
AS 38.05.600; 28
(7) the director shall include in 29
(A) a preliminary written finding, if required, a summary of 30
agency and public comments, if any, obtained as a result of con tacts with other 31
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agencies concerning a proposed disposal or as a result of infor mal efforts 1
undertaken by the department to solicit public response to a pr oposed disposal, 2
and the department's preliminary responses to those comments; and 3
(B) the final written finding a summary of agency and public 4
comments received and the department's responses to those comments. 5
* Sec. 3. AS 38.05.045 is amended to read: 6
Sec. 38.05.045. Generally. All land owned in fee by the state or to which the 7
state may become entitled, excepting tide, submerged, or shorel and, and timber or 8
grazing land, may be sold as provided in AS 38.05.045 - 38.05.0 69 and AS 38.08. 9
However, this section does not p revent the disposition of land as provided in 10
AS 38.05.300, 38.05.321, 38.05.600, 38.05.810 - 38.05.870, 38.05.920, 38.05.945 and 11
38.05.946. 12
* Sec. 4. AS 38.05.065(b) is amended to read: 13
(b) The contract of sale for land sold under AS 38.05.057 , [OR] under former 14
AS 38.05.078, or under AS 38.05.600 shall require the remainder of the purchase 15
price to be paid in monthly, quarterly, or annual installments over a period of not more 16
than 30 [20] years. Installment payments plus interest shall be set on t h e l e v e l -17
payment basis. The interest rate to be charged on installment p ayments is the rate 18
provided in (i) of this section. 19
* Sec. 5. AS 38.05.125(a) is amended to read: 20
(a) Each contract for the sale, lease, or grant of state land, and each deed to 21
state land, properties, or intere st in state land, made under A S 38.05.045 - 38.05.120, 22
38.05.321, 38.05.600, 38.05.810 - 38.05.825, AS 38.08, or AS 38.50 except as 23
provided in AS 38.50.050 is subject to the following reservatio ns: "The party of the 24
first part, Alaska, hereby expressly saves, excepts and reserves out of the grant hereby 25
made, unto itself, its lessees, successors, and assigns forever, all oils, gases, coal, ores, 26
minerals, fissionable materials, geothermal resources, and foss ils of every name, kind 27
or description, and which may be in or upon said land above des cribed, or any part 28
thereof, and the right to explore the same for such oils, gases , coal, ores, minerals, 29
fissionable materials, geotherma l resources, and fossils, and i t also hereby expressly 30
saves and reserves out of the grant hereby made, unto itself, i ts lessees, successors, 31
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and assigns forever, the right to enter by itself, its or their a g e n t s , a t t o r n e y s , a n d 1
servants upon said land, or any part or parts thereof, at any a nd all times for the 2
purpose of opening, developing, drilling, and working mines or wells on these or other 3
land and taking out and removing therefrom all such oils, gases , coal, ores, minerals, 4
fissionable materials, geothermal resources, and fossils, and t o that end it further 5
expressly reserves out of the grant hereby made, unto itself, its lessees, successors, and 6
assigns forever, the right by its or their agents, servants and attorney s at any and all 7
times to erect, construct, maintain, and use all such buildings , machinery, roads, 8
pipelines, powerlines, and railroads, sink such shafts, drill s uch wells, remove such 9
soil, and to remain on said land or any part thereof for the fo regoing purposes and to 10
occupy as much of said land as may be necessary or convenient f or such purposes 11
hereby expressly reserving to itself, its lessees, successors, and assigns, as aforesaid, 12
generally all rights and power in, to, and over said land, whet her herein expressed or 13
not, reasonably necessary or convenient to render beneficial and efficient the complete 14
enjoyment of the property and rights hereby expressly reserved." 15
* Sec. 6. AS 38.05.600 is repealed and reenacted to read: 16
Sec. 38.05.600. Recreational cabin sites. (a) The longstanding policy of the 17
state, declared in art. VIII, secs. 1, 2, and 9, Constitution o f the State of Alaska, and 18
the Alaska Land Act (AS 38.05) has been to encourage the settle ment of the state's 19
land and the development of its resources by making land availa ble for the maximum 20
use consistent with the public i nterest. Consistent with the Co nstitution of the State of 21
Alaska, it is the intent of the l egislature that state land be made available to all 22
Alaskans for recreational purposes to promote the maximum use o f state land 23
consistent with the public interest. 24
(b) The commissioner shall administer a program for the leasin g and sale of 25
state land for recreational cabin sites to eligible applicants. A recreational cabin site 26
shall be made available through either a schedule of land offer i n g s i s s u e d b y t h e 27
commissioner under (c) of this s ection or the recreational cabi n site nomination 28
process described in (d) of this section. 29
(c) The commissioner shall annua lly publish a schedule of land offerings that 30
lists areas available for the staking of a recreational cabin s ite. The department shall 31
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provide public notice of the a nnually published schedule of lan d offerings and of any 1
revisions made to the schedule. An eligible applicant may apply for the lease or sale of 2
a recreational cabin site from the schedule of land offerings. 3
(d) An eligible applicant may nominate and apply for a lease o r sale of up to 4
10 acres of available state land for a recreational cabin site that is not included in the 5
commissioner's schedule of land o fferings. Nominated land must have legal access or 6
access provided under generally allowed uses and be unencumbere d by any easement, 7
right-of-way, or other legal encumbrance so that the surface es tate may be leased or 8
sold as provided in this secti on. A recreational cabin site on nominated land shall be 9
located at least one quarter mile from any other recreational c abin site. The applicant 10
has the burden of demonstrating that nominated land is eligible f o r l e a s e a n d s a l e 11
under this section. 12
(e) The commissioner may not approve an application for the lease or sale of a 13
recreational cabin site on land that is classified as mineral o r oil and gas land unless 14
the applicant has held a valid mining claim located on the parc el or contiguous to the 15
parcel for the preceding five years. Notwithstanding (d) of thi s section, an applicant 16
holding a valid mining claim under this subsection may nominate land that is less than 17
one-quarter mile from another recreational cabin site. 18
(f) If the commissioner approves an application, the departmen t shall provide 19
public notice of the intent to s ell or lease the land to the ap plicant. After the time for 20
public notice, the commissioner may issue the lease under (g) of this section or sell the 21
land under (i) of this section. 22
(g) The commissioner may issue a lease under this section to a n eligible 23
applicant for a term of up to 10 years. Excepting sites under ( e) of this section on 24
which a valid mining claim is located, land leased under this section may be used only 25
as a recreational cabin site during the term of the lease. A re creational cabin site lease 26
must require that the leased land be surveyed at the cost of th e lessee no later than five 27
years from commencement of the lease. The commissioner may term inate a lease 28
before its expiration if a lessee fails to use the land in the manner required by the terms 29
of the lease. At any time during the lease, the lessee may purc hase the recreational 30
cabin site. 31
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(h) The commissioner shall set annual fees for a lease under t his section to 1
ensure that the state receives a fair return for the use grante d. After termination of a 2
recreational cabin site lease, improvements or personal property remaining on the land 3
shall be managed in the same manner provided in AS 38.05.090 fo r removal or 4
reversion of improvements upon termination of leases of state land. A lease under this 5
section may be assigned with the consent of the commissioner. 6
(i) The commissioner may sell la nd offered or nominated under this section to 7
an eligible applicant. A sale must be at fair market value, and the purchaser shall pay 8
for the appraisal, platting costs, and a survey if not already completed for the 9
recreational cabin site. For a sale to a lessee under (g) of this section, fair market value 10
shall be determined as of the time of entry, and the lessee may apply lease payments to 11
the purchase price. 12
(j) The commissioner may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Adm inistrative 13
Procedures Act) necessary to implement this section. 14
(k) In this section, 15
(1) "eligible applicant" means a resident at least 18 years of age who 16
has not leased or purchased a rec reational cabin site during th e 10-year period before 17
submitting an application under this section; 18
(2) "resident" means an individua l who has resided in the stat e for one 19
year immediately preceding an application under this section. 20
* Sec. 7. AS 38.05.945(a) is amended to read: 21
(a) This section establishes th e requirements for notice given b y t h e 22
department for the following actions: 23
(1) classification or reclassifi cation of state land under AS 38.05.300, 24
except for land reclassified for lease or sale under AS 38.05.600, and the closing of 25
land to mineral leasing or entry under AS 38.05.185; 26
(2) zoning of land under applicable law; 27
(3) issuance of a 28
(A) preliminary written finding under AS 38.05.035(e)(5)(A) 29
regarding the sale, lease, or disposal of an interest in state land or resources for 30
oil and gas, or for gas only, subject to AS 38.05.180(b); 31
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(B) written finding for the sale, lease, or disposal of an int erest 1
in state land or resources under AS 38.05.035(e)(6), except a l ease sale 2
described in AS 38.05.035(e)(6)(F) f or which the director must provide 3
opportunity for public comment under the provisions of that subparagraph; 4
(4) a competitive disposal of an interest in state land or res ources after 5
final decision under AS 38.05.035(e); 6
(5) a preliminary finding under AS 38.05.035(e) concerning sit es for 7
aquatic farms and related hatcheries; 8
(6) a decision under AS 38.05.132 - 38.05.134 regarding the sa le, 9
lease, or disposal of an interest in state land or resources; 10
(7) an exchange of state land under AS 38.50; 11
(8) solicitation of competitive interest under AS 38.05.081(c). 12
* Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 13
read: 14
ELIGIBILITY OF PERSONAL USE CABINS FOR LEASE AND PURCHASE AS 15
RECREATIONAL CABIN SITES. (a) Notwithstanding any provision in AS 16.20 or 16
AS 41.21 to the contrary or regulations adopted by the Departme nt of Natural Resources 17
under the authority of AS 38.04.035, AS 38.05.020, AS 41.21.020 , and AS 44.37.011 that 18
state a personal use cabin permit does not convey any interest in state land or grant any 19
preference right for the lease or purchase of state land, the commissioner may 20
(1) approve a nomination by the holder of a current valid perm it for a cabin 21
site and surrounding land under AS 38.05.600, as repealed and reenacted by sec. 6 of this Act, 22
and, after public notice, sell or lease to the permit holder th e nominated land as a recreational 23
cabin site; and 24
(2) approve a nomination by a former holder, or an immediate f amily member 25
of a former holder, of a permit for a cabin site and surroundin g land under AS 38.05.600, as 26
repealed and reenacted by sec. 6 of this Act, that expired prior to the effective date of this Act, 27
and, after public notice, sell or lease to the person or family member the nominated land as a 28
recreational cabin site if the person or family member has cont inuously maintained the 29
personal use cabin at the site. 30
(b) The department may authorize a recreational cabin site und er this section that is 31
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less than one-quarter mile from another recreational cabin site. 1
(c) The lands affected by this section include those sites lis ted in the 2025 Personal 2
Use Cabin Permit Master List, located in the office of the dire ctor of the division of lands, 3
Department of Natural Resources, in Anchorage, Alaska. 4
(d) All dispositions and uses under (a) of this section of lan ds that are part of a state 5
park, state forest, state game refuge, state wildlife refuge, s tate game sanctuary, state 6
recreational area, state recreational river, state wilderness park, state marine park, state special 7
management area, state public use area, critical habitat area, bald eagle preserve, bison range, 8
or moose range are confirmed and ratified. In considering wheth er to approve a nomination 9
under this subsection, the commissioner shall consider whether the disposal is consistent with 10
the uses of the land, including the preservation of public acce ss. Land subject to this 11
subsection may be leased or sold regardless of its classification. 12
* Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 13
read: 14
TRANSITION. (a) A lease executed under AS 38.05.600 before the effective date of 15
t h i s A c t a n d i n e f f e c t o n t h e e f f e c t i v e d a t e o f t h i s A c t i s n o t subject to AS 38.05.600, as 16
repealed and reenacted by sec. 6 of this Act, and shall continue in effect pursuant to its terms. 17
(b) Land leased or sold under AS 38.05.600 before the effectiv e date of this Act is a 18
recreational cabin site for t he purpose of AS 38.05.600(k)(1), as repealed and reenacted by 19
sec. 6 of this Act. 20
* Sec. 10. Section 8 of this Act is repealed June 30, 2032. 21
* Sec. 11. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 22