Alaska 2023-2024 Regular Session

Alaska House Bill HB287 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	HB0287a -1- HB 287
3	3	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
4	4
5	5	33-LS1183\A
6	6
7	7
8	8
9	9
10	10
11	11	HOUSE BILL NO. 287
12	12
13	13	IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
14	14
15	15	THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
16	16
17	17	BY REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER
18	18
19	19	Introduced: 1/24/24
20	20	Referred: State Affairs
21	21
22	22
23	23	A BILL
24	24
25	25	FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
26	26
27	27	"An Act relating to public notice for certain state actions and public hearings; and 1
28	28	providing for an effective date." 2
29	29	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
30	30	* Section 1. AS 38.05.073(c) is amended to read: 4
31	31	(c) If the commissioner identifies land for recreational facilities development 5
32	32	leasing under (a) of this section, at least 30 days before the commissioner decides to 6
33	33	solicit proposals from potential lessees, the commissioner shall provide public notice 7
34	34	of the location and the specific type of recreational facilities development being 8
35	35	considered and request comments. The notice shall be provided to (1) a municipality if 9
36	36	the land is entirely or partially within the boundaries of the municipality; (2) a regional 10
37	37	corporation organized under 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. (Alaska Native Claims Settlement 11
38	38	Act) if the boundaries of the corporation established by 43 U.S.C. 1606(a) encompass 12
39	39	part or all of the land and the land encompassed by the corporation's boundaries is 13
40	40	entirely or partially outside the municipality; (3) a village corporation organized under 14 33-LS1183\A
41	41	HB 287 -2- HB0287a
42	42	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
43	43
44	44	43 U.S.C. 1601 if all or part of the land is within 40 miles of the village for which the 1
45	45	corporation was established and the land is located entirely or partially outside a 2
46	46	municipality; (4) other persons affected by the specific recreational facility 3
47	47	development; and (5) persons who have specifically requested to be notified. Public 4
48	48	notice identifying the location and the specific type of recreational facilities 5
49	49	development under consideration must also be published on the Alaska Online 6
50	50	Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the 7
51	51	commissioner, notice may also be published [AT LEAST TWICE] in a newspaper 8
52	52	of general circulation in the state and in a local newspaper in general circulation in the 9
53	53	region where the land is located. The comments received under this subsection 10
54	54	become part of the public record for the consideration of the commissioner. 11
55	55	* Sec. 2. AS 38.05.073(e) is amended to read: 12
56	56	(e) After preparing a request for proposals under (d) of this section, the 13
57	57	commissioner may issue the request to solicit proposals from persons who are 14
58	58	interested in leasing the land for recreational facilities development. The request for 15
59	59	proposals must be published on the Alaska Online Public Notice System 16
60	60	(AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the commissioner, notice 17
61	61	may also be published [ADVERTISED AT LEAST THREE TIMES] in a newspaper 18
62	62	of general circulation in the state and in a local newspaper in general circulation in the 19
63	63	region where the land is located. The proposals submitted to the commissioner must 20
64	64	include the specific facts on which the potential lessee bases its ability to develop the 21
65	65	land, including its ability to comply with the items identified in (d)(1) - (4) of this 22
66	66	section. 23
67	67	* Sec. 3. AS 38.05.205(a) is amended to read: 24
68	68	(a) Prior discovery, location, and recording shall initiate prior rights to mineral 25
69	69	deposits subject to AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275 in or on state land, other than submerged 26
70	70	land, which is open to mining leasing. Locations shall be made and certificates of 27
71	71	location recorded in accordance with AS 38.05.195. If the located land is available 28
72	72	only for leasing, the director shall publish notice of the recording of the location and 29
73	73	notice that a mineral lease will be issued on the Alaska Online Public Notice 30
74	74	System (AS 44.62.175). When appropriate in the judgment of the director, the 31 33-LS1183\A
75	75	HB0287a -3- HB 287
76	76	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
77	77
78	78	director may also publish these notices in a paper of general circulation in the area 1
79	79	of the location [, NOTICE OF THE RECORDING OF THE LOCATION AND 2
80	80	NOTICE THAT A MINERAL LEASE WILL BE ISSUED]. The notice may be 3
81	81	combined with notices of locations either in the same general area or statewide. Unless 4
82	82	a conflicting location exists, not [NO] later than two weeks after publication of the 5
83	83	notice, an application form for a mining lease shall be mailed to the locator by the 6
84	84	director. A lease application shall be filed with the director by the locator within 90 7
85	85	days after receipt of the form. If the located land is not available for leasing, notice 8
86	86	shall be given the locator by the director and the locator's prior rights shall terminate. 9
87	87	A mining lessee has the exclusive rights of possession and extraction of all minerals 10
88	88	subject to AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275 lying within the boundaries of the lease or 11
89	89	location. Mining leases may be issued for one location or for a group of contiguous 12
90	90	locations held in common. Minerals may not be mined and marketed or used until a 13
91	91	lease is issued, except for limited amounts necessary for sampling or testing. 14
92	92	* Sec. 4. AS 38.05.945(b) is amended to read: 15
93	93	(b) When notice is required to be given under this section, 16
94	94	(1) the notice must contain sufficient information in commonly 17
95	95	understood terms to inform the public of the nature of the action and the opportunity 18
96	96	of the public to comment on it; 19
97	97	(2) if the notice is of a preliminary written finding described in 20
98	98	(a)(3)(A) of this section, the department shall give notice at the beginning of the public 21
99	99	comment period for the preliminary written finding, notifying the public of the right to 22
100	100	submit comments; the department shall give notice by [(A)] posting the notice on the 23
101	101	Alaska Online Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least 30 consecutive days; 24
102	102	the department may also give notice by one or more of the following methods: 25
103	103	(A) [(B) PUBLICATION OF A NOTICE IN DISPLAY 26
104	104	ADVERTISING FORM DESCRIBING THE PROPOSED ACTION AND 27
105	105	REFERENCING THE ONLINE NOTICE REQUIRED IN (A) OF THIS 28
106	106	PARAGRAPH IN NEWSPAPERS OF STATEWIDE CIRCULATION AND 29
107	107	IN NEWSPAPERS OF GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE VICINITY OF 30
108	108	THE PROPOSED ACTION, IF AVAILABLE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK 31 33-LS1183\A
109	109	HB 287 -4- HB0287a
110	110	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
111	111
112	112	FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS; 1
113	113	(C)] public service announcements on the electronic media 2
114	114	serving the area to be affected by the proposed action; 3
115	115	(B) [AND (D) ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING 4
116	116	METHODS: 5
117	117	(i)] publication of a [LEGAL] notice in display 6
118	118	advertising form in newspapers of statewide circulation or in 7
119	119	newspapers of general circulation in the vicinity of the proposed action; 8
120	120	(C) [, IF AVAILABLE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR 9
121	121	TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS; 10
122	122	(ii)] posting in a conspicuous location in the vicinity of 11
123	123	the action; 12
124	124	(D) [(iii)] notification of parties known or likely to be affected 13
125	125	by the action; or 14
126	126	(E) [(iv)] another method calculated to reach affected parties; 15
127	127	(3) if the notice is of an action described in (a) of this section, other 16
128	128	than notice of an action under (a)(3)(A) of this section, the department shall give 17
129	129	notice at least 30 days before the action by posting the notice on the Alaska Online 18
130	130	Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175) for at least 30 consecutive days and by one or 19
131	131	more of the following methods: 20
132	132	(A) publication of a notice in display advertising form 21
133	133	describing the proposed action and referencing the online notice required in 22
134	134	this paragraph in newspapers of statewide circulation and in newspapers of 23
135	135	general circulation in the vicinity of the proposed action, if available [, AT 24
136	136	LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS]; 25
137	137	(B) publication through public service announcements on the 26
138	138	electronic media serving the area affected by the action; 27
139	139	(C) posting in a conspicuous location in the vicinity of the 28
140	140	action; 29
141	141	(D) notification of parties known or likely to be affected by the 30
142	142	action; or 31 33-LS1183\A
143	143	HB0287a -5- HB 287
144	144	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
145	145
146	146	(E) another method calculated to reach affected persons. 1
147	147	* Sec. 5. AS 44.62.190(a) is amended to read: 2
148	148	(a) At least 30 days before the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, 3
149	149	notice of the proposed action shall be 4
150	150	(1) published, at the discretion of the state agency giving the notice, 5
151	151	in the newspaper of general circulation or trade or industry publication that the state 6
152	152	agency prescribes or [AND POSTED] on the Alaska Online Public Notice System 7
153	153	(AS 44.62.175); [IN THE DISCRETION OF THE STATE AGENCY GIVING THE 8
154	154	NOTICE, THE REQUIREMENT OF PUBLICATION IN A NEWSPAPER OR 9
155	155	TRADE OR INDUSTRY PUBLICATION MAY BE SATISFIED BY USING A 10
156	156	COMBINATION OF PUBLICATION AND BROADCASTING; WHEN 11
157	157	BROADCASTING THE NOTICE, AN AGENCY MAY USE AN ABBREVIATED 12
158	158	FORM OF THE NOTICE IF THE BROADCAST PROVIDES THE NAME AND 13
159	159	DATE OF THE NEWSPAPER OR TRADE OR INDUSTRY JOURNAL AND THE 14
160	160	INTERNET ADDRESS OF THE ALASKA ONLINE PUBLIC NOTICE SYSTEM 15
161	161	WHERE THE FULL TEXT OF THE NOTICE CAN BE FOUND;] 16
162	162	(2) furnished to every person who has filed a request for notice of 17
163	163	proposed action with the state agency; 18
164	164	(3) if the agency is within a department, furnished to the commissioner 19
165	165	of the department; 20
166	166	(4) when appropriate in the judgment of the agency, 21
167	167	(A) furnished to a person or group of persons whom the agency 22
168	168	believes is interested in the proposed action; and 23
169	169	(B) published or broadcast in the additional form and manner 24
170	170	the state agency prescribes; 25
171	171	(5) furnished to the Department of Law together with a copy of the 26
172	172	proposed regulation, amendment, or order of repeal for the department's use in 27
173	173	preparing the opinion required after adoption and before filing by AS 44.62.060; 28
174	174	(6) furnished by electronic format to all incumbent State of Alaska 29
175	175	legislators. 30
176	176	* Sec. 6. AS 44.62.190(f) is amended to read: 31 33-LS1183\A
177	177	HB 287 -6- HB0287a
178	178	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
179	179
180	180	(f) To the extent feasible, the subject line of electronic mail and the title of a 1
181	181	[WRITTEN] publication providing the information required by (d) of this section must 2
182	182	give the reader a fair idea of the substance of the proposed new regulation, the 3
183	183	proposed amended regulation, or the regulation proposed for repeal. 4
184	184	* Sec. 7. AS 44.62.200(d) is amended to read: 5
185	185	(d) When a state agency, other than the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, the 6
186	186	Board of Fisheries, or the Board of Game, posts, furnishes, or otherwise provides a 7
187	187	notice of the proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation under 8
188	188	AS 44.62.190, a brief description of the changes made by the proposed adoption, 9
189	189	amendment, or repeal must accompany the notice. However, if, un der 10
190	190	AS 44.62.190(a), the notice is published [IN A NEWSPAPER OR TRADE OR 11
191	191	INDUSTRY PUBLICATION] or [IS] broadcast, this subsection does not require that 12
192	192	the brief description otherwise required by this subsection accompany the notice 13
193	193	[PUBLICATION OR THE BROADCAST]. To the extent practicable, the brief 14
194	194	description shall be written in clear, easily readable language that a person without a 15
195	195	legal background is able to understand. 16
196	196	* Sec. 8. AS 44.62.245(b) is amended to read: 17
197	197	(b) When the amended version of a document or other material incorporated 18
198	198	by reference in a regulation as described in (a) of this section becomes available, the 19
199	199	state agency shall 20
200	200	(1) make the amended version of the document or other material 21
201	201	available to the public for review; and 22
202	202	(2) post, at the discretion of the agency, on the Alaska Online Public 23
203	203	Notice System (AS 44.62.175) or [AND PUBLISH] in a newspaper of general 24
204	204	circulation, [OR] trade or industry publication, or [IN A] regularly published agency 25
205	205	newsletter or similar printed publication, not later than 15 days after the amended 26
206	206	version of the document or other material becomes available, a notice that describes 27
207	207	the affected regulation, the effective date of the amended version of the document or 28
208	208	other material, and how a copy of the amended version may be obtained or reviewed. 29
209	209	* Sec. 9. AS 44.62.300(b) is amended to read: 30
210	210	(b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a person may not bring an action in 31 33-LS1183\A
211	211	HB0287a -7- HB 287
212	212	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
213	213
214	214	court to challenge the adoption, repeal, or amendment of a regulation by a state agency 1
215	215	for 2
216	216	(1) insufficiency or inaccuracy of the information provided under 3
217	217	AS 44.62.190(d) or (g); 4
218	218	(2) failure of the subject line of electronic mail or the title of a 5
219	219	[WRITTEN] publication to meet the requirements of AS 44.62.190(f); 6
220	220	(3) failure of the brief description required by AS 44.62.200(d) to 7
221	221	comply with the requirements of AS 44.62.200(d) relating to 8
222	222	(A) the clarity and readability of the brief description; or 9
223	223	(B) the description of the changes made by the proposed 10
224	224	adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation; or 11
225	225	(4) inaccuracy or insufficiency of the answer to a question provided by 12
226	226	the state agency under AS 44.62.213. 13
227	227	* Sec. 10. AS 46.03.110(b) is amended to read: 14
228	228	(b) After receipt of a proper application for an individual or general permit or 15
229	229	a determination by the department that a general permit should be proposed, the 16
230	230	department shall publish notice of the application or proposal, or of the availability of 17
231	231	a draft permit for comment, as applicable. At the discretion of the department, the 18
232	232	notice may be published [,] in at least two publications of a newspaper of general 19
233	233	circulation within the general area in which the disposal of waste material is proposed 20
234	234	to be made, or [. THE NOTICE SHALL ALSO BE POSTED] on the Alaska Online 21
235	235	Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175). The department [MAINTAINED UNDER 22
236	236	AS 44.62.175 AND] may also publish the notice [BE PUBLISHED] in other 23
237	237	appropriate information media. The notice must include a statement that a person who 24
238	238	wants to present views to the department with regard to the application or proposal 25
239	239	may do so in writing to the department within 30 days after the first publication of the 26
240	240	notice. The written response entitles the writer to a copy of the application or draft 27
241	241	permit, and, in the case of an application or proposal to issue a general permit, the 28
242	242	application or proposal shall also be posted by the department on the Internet at the 29
243	243	same time that notice is published under this subsection. 30
244	244	* Sec. 11. AS 46.15.065(b) is amended to read: 31 33-LS1183\A
245	245	HB 287 -8- HB0287a
246	246	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
247	247
248	248	(b) The commissioner shall, as soon as practicable, determine the rights of 1
249	249	persons owning existing appropriations. To accomplish this, the commissioner shall 2
250	250	(1) by order set a definite period for filing a declaration of 3
251	251	appropriation within a specified area or from a specified source; 4
252	252	(2) publish notice of the order on the Alaska Online Public Notice 5
253	253	System (AS 44.62.175) for at least three consecutive weeks; when appropriate in 6
254	254	the judgment of the commissioner, the commissioner may also publish notice 7
255	255	under this paragraph [ONCE A WEEK FOR THREE WEEKS] before the 8
256	256	beginning of the period in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected area; 9
257	257	(3) give notice of the order by certified mail to any appropriator within 10
258	258	the specified area or from the specified source who has requested mailed notice or of 11
259	259	whom the commissioner can readily obtain knowledge, including each owner of a 12
260	260	recorded mining claim. 13
261	261	* Sec. 12. AS 46.15.133(b) is amended to read: 14
262	262	(b) The commissioner shall publish the notice on the Alaska Online Public 15
263	263	Notice System (AS 44.62.175) and, when appropriate in the judgment of the 16
264	264	commissioner, in one issue of a newspaper of general distribution in the area of the 17
265	265	state in which the water is to be appropriated, removed, or sold. The commissioner 18
266	266	shall also have notice served personally or by certified mail on [UPON] an 19
267	267	appropriator of water or applicant for or holder of a permit who, according to the 20
268	268	records of the division of lands, may be affected by the proposed sale, appropriation, 21
269	269	or removal and may serve notice on [UPON] any governmental agency, political 22
270	270	subdivision, or person; notice shall also be served on [UPON] the Department of Fish 23
271	271	and Game and the Department of Environmental Conservation. An applicant for an 24
272	272	appropriation or removal shall pay the commissioner's costs in providing publication 25
273	273	and notice under this subsection. The commissioner may require as a condition of a 26
274	274	sale of water under AS 46.15.037 [,] that a purchaser of water reimburse the 27
275	275	department for the costs associated with providing notice of the proposed sale. 28
276	276	* Sec. 13. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 29