to an unconstitutional dedica- tion of state funds because rev- enues from the land would go to the university instead of the state general fund. The state Supreme Court agreed in 2009. In 2010 the university had to give back the acres it had been given in HB 130 to the state. This did leave the university with 110,000 acres but little hope, it seemed, of ever get- ting the remaining 360,000 acres. The 2009 supreme court deci- sion left open one possible avenue for a way around the roadblock created by the dedication of funds ʭYOTYR ?SP OPNT^TZY XPY_TZYPO that the university lands transac- tion would be exempt if it were part of a “federal program.” What this could be wasn’t made clear but it could be interpreted to be part of a federal program that is a land transaction. Federal instrument an avenue for solution?
A straightforward grant of ad- ditional federal lands to the state for the university seemed out of \`P^_TZY1POP]LWZʯNTLW^QPPW_SP state was given a generous land endowment at statehood and it was up to the state to take care of the land promised to the uni- versity made in territorial times. An additional land entitlement bZ`WO LW^Z ]P\`T]P WPRT^WL_TZY TY Congress, a lengthy and uncer- tain process. However, this has led to an approach now being explored by state, university and federal of- ʭNTLW^ _SL_ L[[PL]^ MZ_S WPRLW and possible without action by Congress. It would involve lands Q]ZX _SP ^_L_Pɪ^ ]PXLTYTYR ʭaP million acres yet to be selected from its 103-million-acre state- hood grant.
CONTINUED from PAGE 53
Some municipal lands were also returned to the university af- ter lawsuits settled with the Mu- nicipality of Anchorage in 1988 and the City of Borough of Yaku- tat in 1993, the latter resulting in timber lands being restored to the university. -`_ _SP PʬZ]_^ _Z ]P^_Z]P LYO build the endowment faltered. Two bills were passed by the Leg- islature, SB 7 in 2000 and HB 130 in 2005, the latter bill approving conveyance of 265,000 acres of ^_L_P M`_ ]P\`T]TYR _SL_ PcT^_TYR ]TRS_^MPTOPY_TʭPOLNZ^_Wd[]Z - cedure. By 2009 only 33,660 acres of the 265,000 has been conveyed. Meanwhile, in 2007, conser- aL_TZYR]Z`[^ʭWPOLWLb^`T_ZaP] the transfers. Southeast Alaska Conservation .Z`YNTW Z] >0,.. LYO _SP ?ZY - gass Conservation Council ar- gued the land transfer amounted
Tim Bradner is copublisher of the Alaska Economic Report and Alaska Legislative Digest
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October 2019
The Alaska Miner
61
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