Alaska SB 255: An Act relating to the selection and conveyance of municipal general grant lands; providing for the transfer of real property to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; and providing for an effective date.

Bill Text

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 SENATE BILL NO. 255 
 
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA 
 
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION 
 
BY SENATOR YUNDT 
 
Introduced:  2/23/26 
Referred:   Community and Regional Affairs, Resources  
 
 
A BILL 
 
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED 
 
"An Act relating to the selection and conveyance of municipal general grant lands; 1 
providing for the transfer of real property to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; and 2 
providing for an effective date." 3 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4 
   * Section 1. AS 29.65.050(b) is amended to read: 5 
(b)  All approved selections under former AS 29.18.190 and 29.18.200 for 6 
which patent has not been issued to a municipality on July 1, 1978, shall be reviewed 7 
by the director within nine months after July 1, 1978. Any approved selection of land 8 
that was vacant, unappropriated, unreserved land on the date of selection is valid as of 9 
the date of the approval under former AS 29.18.190, 29.18.200, 29.18.201, 29.18.202, 10 
and 29.18.203, and a patent shall be issued to the municipality within three months 11 
after approval by the director of a plat of survey or upon the director's receipt of 12 
notice from the municipality that it will accept the land without a survey under 13 
AS 29.65.070(a). The acreage shall be credited toward fulfillment of the 14 

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municipality's entitlement. A municipality is not entitled to receive patent under this 1 
chapter to more than its entitlement determined under AS 29.65.010 - 29.65.030. Any 2 
prior approval by the director of municipal selections for land that was not vacant, 3 
unappropriated, unreserved land on the date of selection shall be rescinded, and patent 4 
may not be issued except when disposal to a third party by sale or lease has occurred. 5 
Transfers of land to municipalities under this chapter are subject to AS 38.05.321. 6 
Classification actions as reflected on the land status records of the Department of 7 
Natural Resources are determinative of land classification status for purposes of this 8 
chapter.  9 
   * Sec. 2. AS 29.65.050(c) is amended to read: 10 
(c)  The director shall approve or disapprove each selection for patent within 11 
nine months of its selection by a municipality. Before a decision is issued, the 12 
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall review the 13 
selection and recommend approval or disapproval of it. The director may disapprove a 14 
selection only upon a finding that the public interest in retaining state ownership of the 15 
land outweighs the municipality's interest in obtaining the land. If the director 16 
determines that the public interest in land selected in satisfaction of an entitlement 17 
under AS 29.65.010(a)(13), (14), (15), or (16) can be adequately protected by issuing 18 
a patent that is subject to stipulations, conditions, or covenants, and if the municipality 19 
agrees to accept the land subject to those stipulations, conditions, or covenants, the 20 
director may approve a selection that would otherwise be disapproved and may issue 21 
the patent with the stipulations, conditions, or covenants agreed to by the municipality. 22 
A patent shall be issued to the municipality for land selected in satisfaction of a 23 
general grant land entitlement vested under AS 29.65.010 - 29.65.030 within three 24 
months after  25 
(1)  approval by the director of a plat of survey; or 26 
(2)  the director's receipt of notice from the municipality that it will 27 
accept the land without a survey under AS 29.65.070(a).  28 
   * Sec. 3. AS 29.65.070(a) is amended to read: 29 
(a)  If land selected by a municipality is not surveyed [UNSURVEYED] at the 30 
time of approval, the director may [SHALL] survey, or may approve the 31 

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municipality's survey of, the exterior boundaries of an approved selection without 1 
interior subdivision, and, for surveyed land, shall issue patent in terms of the exterior 2 
boundary survey. The cost of the survey shall be borne by the municipality. If land 3 
selected by a municipality has been surveyed at the time of its selection, the 4 
boundaries shall conform to the public land subdivisions established by the approved 5 
survey. A municipality may request a patent for land that has not been surveyed. 6 
The director may issue a patent for an approved selection that has not been 7 
surveyed if the municipality has provided notice that it will accept the land 8 
without a survey. In issuing a patent for a parcel of land that has not been 9 
surveyed, the director shall issue a patent that includes sufficient detail to 10 
describe the exterior boundary of the selection. 11 
   * Sec. 4. AS 38.04.045(b) is amended to read: 1