A majority of the membership of the Local Boundary Commission must vote in favor of a proposed boundary change before it may be presented to the legislature.
Three members of the commission constitute a quorum for the conduct of business at a meeting. Two members constitute a quorum for the conduct of business at a hearing.
The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development may display or authorize the display of entries at places other than the regional competitions.
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A local government boundary change may not be proposed to the legislature unless a hearing on the change has been held in or in the near vicinity of the area affected by the change.
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A program of the department under AS 44.33.740 in a rural area may not exceed $100,000 in cost a year.
The chair of the commission or the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development with the consent of the chair may call a meeting or hearing of the Local Boundary Commission. All meetings and hearings shall be public.
If authorized by the entrant, an entry not selected for display may be sold for not less than the price set by the entrant on the entry form. The entry shall be transferred to the purchaser by competition officials on receipt of a money order or cashier's check made out to the entrant.
The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development may accept grants of money and other assistance from private persons or groups, from political subdivisions of the state, or from others to conduct and promote annual competitions and displays.
The Local Boundary Commission shall keep minutes of all meetings and hearings. If the proceedings are transcribed, minutes shall be made from the transcription. The minutes are a public record. All votes taken by the commission shall be entered in the minutes.
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Members of the Local Boundary Commission receive no pay but are entitled to the travel expenses and per diem authorized for members of boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180 .
Repealed or Renumbered
If the department determines that there are contractors in an area designated as an area impacted by an economic disaster and who are qualified to perform a contract, preference to the extent feasible shall be given to those contractors under regulations adopted by the department.
Four regional competitions shall be held each summer in the Southeastern, Southcentral, Central, and Northwestern Senatorial Districts. First place and honorable mention awards shall be made in each category and one grand prize award and one honorable mention award shall be made for each region.
Repealed or Renumbered
Article 05. ALASKA MINERALS COMMISSION
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Article 03. CHILD CARE FACILITY REVOLVING LOAN FUND
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Judges at the regional competitions shall be selected by the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development and composed of a panel of five, two of whom shall be selected from nominees of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood and three of whom shall be selected by the department on the basis of their knowledge and appreciation of Alaskan Native arts and crafts and of art in general.
Repealed or Renumbered
Article 06. NATIVE ART COMPETITIONS
The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall solicit invitations from the larger communities in each of the regions for holding the regional competition. The community in each region which offers the best facilities and the greatest measure of cooperation for conducting the competition shall be selected as the location of the regional competition.
The department, after consultation with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, may adopt regulations to implement AS 44.33.285 - 44.33.310.
Repealed or Renumbered
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A city or platting authority may make funds under its control available to the department for the purposes of obtaining planning work or planning assistance, or both, for its area. The department may contract for, accept, and expend the funds for urban planning for the local jurisdiction.
When a local government boundary change is proposed to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular session, the change becomes effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of the members of each house.
Article 10. BOROUGH FEASIBILITY STUDIES
In order that the competitions may be held without undue disruption and in order that winning items may be displayed at other places, all entries submitted for judging shall be held in temporary custody by the state until they are no longer needed for display, at which time they shall be disposed of in accordance with the wishes of the entrant as set out on the entry form.
Repealed or Renumbered
In AS 44.33.840 - 44.33.849, 'commissioner' means the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development.
Article 11. ALASKA REGIONAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Repealed or Renumbered
The commissioner may contract for studies of the feasibility of establishing boroughs in the unorganized borough. A study may be conducted under this section only if
(1) appropriations are available for that purpose; and
(2) the study is requested by a person residing in the area to be studied or by a city located in the area to be studied.
Public notice of a hearing of the Local Boundary Commission shall be given in the area in which the hearing is to be held at least 15 days before the date of the hearing. The notice of the hearing must include the time, date, place, and subject of the hearing. The commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development shall give notice of the hearing at least three times in the press, through other news media, or by posting in a public place, whichever is most feasible.
Repealed or Renumbered
The department may accept and expend grants from the federal government and other public or private sources, may contract with reference to them, and may enter into contracts and exercise all other powers necessary to carry out AS 44.33.781 - 44.33.788.
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In AS 44.33.781 - 44.33.790, 'department' means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
Article 09. LOCAL BOUNDARY COMMISSION
Repealed or Renumbered
(1) 'commissioner' means the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development;
(2) 'department' means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
Article 02. ALASKA DIVISION OF TOURISM
Repealed or Renumbered
The department shall dispose of property acquired through default or foreclosure of a loan made under AS 44.33.240 - 44.33.275. Disposal shall be made in a manner that serves the best interests of the state, and may include the amortization of payments over a period of years.
The commissioner may establish by regulation and the department may charge reasonable fees for department publications, research data, and other centralized administrative services to cover the cost of reproduction, printing, mailing, distribution, and other centralized administrative services.
The department shall make recommendations to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and to appropriate program agencies concerning the effect upon the comprehensive plan or other land use plans or proposals of municipalities and unincorporated communities with respect to the facility procurement plan required to be prepared in accordance with AS 35.10.170 .
The principal executive officer of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development is the commissioner of commerce, community and economic development. Except with respect to the commissioner's membership on the board of directors of the Alaska Railroad Corporation, whenever a statute provides that the commissioner is a member of a board, council, or other similar entity, the commissioner may designate an employee of the department to act in the commissioner's place.
The governor may, upon recommendation of the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development, designate by proclamation an area as an area impacted by an economic disaster. When an area is so designated, the legislature may appropriate money for assistance grants and the governor may recommend in the governor's budget submission that capital projects planned for the area be accelerated and that new projects be funded for the area. The proclamation may provide that waivers of capital projects requirements, as authorized in AS 44.33.300, become effective only to the extent set out in the proclamation.
(1) 'commissioner' means the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development;
(2) 'department' means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
Article 08. PLANNING ASSISTANCE
(a) The commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development may sell or transfer at par value or at a premium to a bank or other private purchaser for cash or other consideration the mortgages and notes held by the department as security for loans made under AS 44.33.240 - 44.33.275.
(b) [Repealed, Sec. 14 ch 122 SLA 1980].
(1) 'child care facility' means an establishment the principal purpose of which is to provide care for children not related by blood, marriage, or legal adoption, including but not limited to day care centers, family day care homes, and schools for preschool age children;
(2) 'department' means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
Article 04. AREAS IMPACTED BY ECONOMIC DISASTER
(a) There is established as a special account within the child care facility revolving loan fund the foreclosure expense account. This account is established as a reserve from fund equity.
(b) The commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development may expend money credited to the foreclosure expense account when necessary to protect the state's security interest in collateral on loans made under AS 44.33.245 or to defray expenses incurred during foreclosure proceedings after a default by an obligor.
To facilitate planning in municipalities that exercise planning and zoning authority, the department may provide planning assistance, including but not limited to surveys, land use studies, urban renewal plans, technical services, model acts that include regulations designed to encourage development and use of energy systems not dependent on oil or gas, and other planning work to a city, borough, or other platting authority. In an area under the jurisdiction, for planning purposes, of a city, borough, or other platting authority, the department may not perform the planning work except at the request or with the consent of the local authority.
There is in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development a Local Boundary Commission. The Local Boundary Commission consists of five members appointed by the governor for overlapping five-year terms. One member shall be appointed from each of the four judicial districts described in AS 22.10.010 and one member shall be appointed from the state at large. The member appointed from the state at large is the chair of the commission.
A request for a study of the feasibility of establishing a borough in the unorganized borough shall be submitted to the commissioner in writing and must include
(1) a description of the boundaries of the area of the proposed study; and
(2) an indication of local interest in the proposed study consisting of either
(A) a petition requesting the study containing the signatures and addresses of five percent of the voters residing in the area of the proposed study based on the number of voters who voted in the area in the last statewide election; or
(B) resolutions requesting the study adopted by the governing bodies of at least five percent of the cities within the area of the proposed study.
A child care facility is eligible for a loan under AS 44.33.240 - 44.33.275 if
(1) the applicant submits to the department a plan for the use of the loan funds that is approved by the commissioner;
(2) [Repealed, Sec. 9 ch 112 SLA 1981].
(3) [Repealed, Sec. 7 ch 153 SLA 1978].
(4) [Repealed, Sec. 7 ch 153 SLA 1978].
(5) the applicant meets additional eligibility standards established by the department under AS 44.33.245 (b)(1).
The department shall conduct a program of research, training, and technical assistance to coastal resource districts necessary for the development, implementation, and maintenance of district coastal management plans under AS 46.40. The technical assistance shall include the direct granting to the coastal resource districts of a portion of any funds received by the state from the federal coastal zone management program, in amounts to be individually determined for each coastal resource district by the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development. State agencies shall assist the department in carrying out the purposes of this section.
Repealed or Renumbered
The purposes of AS 44.33.119 - 44.33.135 are to
(1) encourage the expansion and growth of the state's visitor industry for the benefit of the citizens of the state;
(2) ensure that the economic benefits to be derived from tourism in the state are retained in the state, to the greatest extent possible;
(3) ensure that a maximum number of residents of the state are employed in the tourism industry;
(4) ensure that consideration is given in the development and implementation of the tourism program to local community goals and objectives, to impacts on existing private enterprises, and to impacts on recreational and subsistence opportunities for the residents of the state;
(5) promote the development of tourism opportunities throughout the state, including along the highway system of the state, the marine highway, and in rural areas of the state.
(a) The department may
(1) make loans for the construction, renovation, and equipping of child care facilities, including private nonprofit child care facilities;
(2) adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of AS 44.33.240 - 44.33.275, including regulations to establish reasonable fees for services provided and charges for collecting the fee; and
(3) collect the fees and charges established under this subsection.
(b) The department shall
(1) develop eligibility standards for loans to child care facilities;
(2) adopt guidelines for the determination of loan terms.
(a) In the performance of contracts awarded by the state in an area impacted by an economic disaster, residents of the area shall be employed where they are available and qualified so that the economic effects of alleviating the disaster will be maximized. If resident labor is not available, the contractor shall inform the Department of Labor and Workforce Development of the number of additional workers needed, the positions to be filled, and the efforts made at recruitment in the area. If the Department of Labor and Workforce Development is satisfied that a good faith effort has been made by the contractor to hire residents of the area, it may issue a certificate allowing other hire for designated positions. A clause requiring these provisions shall be part of each state contract awarded.
(b) Wages paid for employment under this section shall be in conformance with the minimum rates of pay schedule published by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development in accordance with AS 36.05.030.
(a) The Alaska Forest Products Research and Marketing Program is established in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
(b) The program is established to provide a statewide information clearinghouse and coordinator to gather and disseminate information relating to research and development, including technical, logistical, financing, marketing, and other relevant information regarding the manufacture of specific value-added wood products and the establishment of new high value-added manufacturing facilities in the state, and to assist in coordinating existing research and development efforts by state and federal agencies and other public and private entities.
(c) The program coordinator shall identify unfilled needs and problems impeding the development of a high value-added wood products industry in the state, gather information and conduct analyses, and propose solutions by exploring successful models in other states and nations.
(a) There is established in the department the bulk fuel storage facilities grant fund. Grants may be made by the department from this fund to a community to acquire and install community bulk storage facilities.
(b) Grants made under this section for the acquisition and installation of a bulk fuel storage facility may not exceed $100,000 per community.
(c) If the governing body of two or more communities determine that their fuel requirements may be served by a single bulk fuel storage facility, the communities may jointly apply for grants to acquire and install a single bulk fuel storage facility. When communities apply jointly under this subsection, the limitation in (b) of this section is multiplied by the number of communities that submit the joint application.
(d) Before a grant is made under this section, the city council or, if the community is not incorporated, a reasonable representative body in the community shall agree in writing to maintain and operate the bulk storage facility to be constructed with the proceeds of the grant.
(a) There is in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development the child care facility revolving loan fund to carry out the purposes of AS 44.33.240 - 44.33.275. Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this section, the fund may not be used for any other purpose.
(b) The department may use money in the fund for costs of administering AS 44.33.240 - 44.33.275.
(c) On June 30 of each fiscal year the unexpended and unobligated cash balance of the fund that is attributable to loans owned by the fund lapses into the general fund.
(a) A loan to a child care facility under AS 44.33.240 - 44.33.275 may not exceed $50,000.
(b) The rate of interest charged shall be seven percent a year on the unpaid balance of the loan.
(c) The duration for repayment of a loan may not exceed 20 years.
(d) All principal and interest payments, and any money chargeable to principal or interest that is collected through liquidation by foreclosure or other process on loans made under AS 44.33.240 - 44.33.275, shall be paid into the child care facility revolving loan fund.
(e) If a child care facility ceases operation, any loan to the facility from the fund is due on the date the facility ceases operation.
(a) The Alaska Minerals Commission is established in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
(b) The commission is composed of 11 members. The commission shall be composed of individuals who have at least five years' experience in the various aspects of the minerals industries in the state. The governor shall appoint five members of the commission, one of whom must reside in a rural community. The president of the Senate shall appoint three members of the commission. The speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint three members of the commission. Each member serves at the pleasure of the appointing authority.
(c) The commission shall make recommendations to the governor and to the legislature on ways to mitigate the constraints, including governmental constraints, on development of minerals, including coal, in the state.
(d) The commission shall report its recommendations each year to the governor during the first 10 days of the regular session of the legislature. The commission shall notify the legislature that the report is available.
(1) 'base period' means any 10 years after 1950, not necessarily continuous, and if the economic disaster is caused by a fisheries failure the period shall consist of years during which a fishery produced at economically representative levels as determined by the Department of Fish and Game;
(2) 'department' means the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development;
(3) 'economic disaster' means that the annual income to workers in the designated area dropped below the average annual income for the base period for workers in the designated area and the drop in income is of such magnitude that the average family income of all residents of the designated area as determined by the department is below the poverty guidelines issued by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, adjusted by the department to reflect subsistence economic patterns and appropriate cost-of-living differentials; the availability of alternate employment shall be considered in determining whether an economic disaster has occurred under this paragraph.
(a) A municipality, a nonprofit corporation formed under AS 10.20, or a bona fide nonprofit civic, fraternal, or service organization may receive, as a grant, matching money from the state for up to 50 percent of the costs of a program or project that the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development determines is consistent with the purposes of AS 44.33.119 and is likely to promote or develop visitor travel, including
(1) the promotion of conventions;
(2) the construction, improvement, or operation of visitor destination facilities and tourist attractions; and
(3) the development and preservation of attractions of historical, contemporary, recreational, or cultural interest.
(b) The commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.
(c) A grant awarded under this section may not be used for tourism marketing.
The boundaries of an area studied shall conform to the boundaries indicated in the request for the study under AS 44.33.842 unless the commissioner, after a public hearing held in the area of the proposed study, determines that the boundaries should be altered. In determining the boundaries of an area to be studied, the commissioner shall consider
(1) the standards applicable to the incorporation of boroughs under AS 29.05.031 ;
(2) boundaries of regional corporations established under 43 U.S.C. 1606;
(3) census divisions of the state used for the 1980 census;
(4) boundaries of the regional educational attendance areas established under AS 14.08.031 ; and
(5) boundaries of coastal resource service areas organized under AS 46.40.110 - 46.40.210.
There is created in the department the Exxon Valdez oil spill unincorporated rural community grant fund. The fund consists of money appropriated to the fund from the Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration fund, the Alyeska settlement fund, and other sources. Appropriations to the fund do not lapse unless otherwise provided by the legislature in the bill making the appropriation to the fund. The department may use the fund to make grants to unincorporated rural communities in the area affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill for capital projects for purposes of restoring, replacing, or enhancing subsistence resources or services or other services damaged or lost as the result of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In this section,
(1) 'Alyeska settlement fund' means the trust fund established in the state treasury for the purpose of receiving, holding, and disbursing the settlement proceeds received by the state under the Agreement and Consent Decree in re: The Exxon Valdez, United States District Court, District of Alaska, Case No. A92-175 Civil, decree entered November 25, 1992;
(2) 'Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration fund' means the fund established by the Department of Revenue to implement the judgment entered by the United States District Court for Alaska in the criminal case United States of America v. Exxon Shipping Company and Exxon Corporation, No. A90-015 CR.
To promote development of rural areas of the state, the department is authorized to
(1) investigate social and economic conditions of rural areas to determine the need to expand economic opportunities and improve living conditions;
(2) formulate a coordinated program to broaden and diversify the economic base of rural areas;
(3) coordinate administration of emergency relief, surplus food distribution, or other public assistance programs, except the regular relief and assistance programs of the federal government in rural areas;
(4) formulate and conduct a program of construction of basic facilities to improve health, welfare, and economic security and provide employment and income in the rural areas;
(5) promote training and educational programs designed to expand employment opportunities for residents of rural areas;
(6) enter into agreements with other state agencies and departments to provide for the distribution in rural communities of surplus electrical power from state-owned power sources located in those communities and to expend funds for this purpose;
(7) make grants to communities for bulk fuel storage facilities;
(8) cooperate with the Department of Environmental Conservation and other agencies to provide technical assistance to communities in the installation, operation, and management of bulk fuel storage facilities.
(a) The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall direct a continuing program of competitions. The competitions shall be held each summer to select outstanding examples of Alaskan Native arts and crafts.
(b) The Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, after consulting with a committee from the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood appointed by their councils from among the memberships of those organizations, shall adopt regulations for the competitions, providing for, but not limited to the following:
(1) eligibility requirements for entrants;
(2) categories for entry, such as basketwork, wood carving, pottery, stone work, ivory work, painting, etc.;
(3) criterion for selecting category winners and grand prize winners;
(4) transportation and display of entries;
(5) prizes and awards for winning entrants which are restricted to ribbons, cups, plaques, etc.;
(6) preparation of entry forms that
(A) give the name and mailing address of the entrant,
(B) show that each entry is the work of the entrant,
(C) give the minimum price that the entrant will accept for the entry,
(D) provide the entrant with a choice of having the entry sold, retained for display by the state, or returned to the entrant, and
(E) identify and describe the entry; and
(7) restricting the entrant from entering competitions in more than one region.
(a) The Local Boundary Commission shall
(1) make studies of local government boundary problems;
(2) adopt regulations providing standards and procedures for municipal incorporation, annexation, detachment, merger, consolidation, reclassification, and dissolution;
(3) consider a local government boundary change requested of it by the legislature, the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development, or a political subdivision of the state; and
(4) develop standards and procedures for the extension of services and ordinances of incorporated cities into contiguous areas for limited purposes upon majority approval of the voters of the contiguous area to be annexed and prepare transition schedules and prorated tax mill levies as well as standards for participation by voters of these contiguous areas in the affairs of the incorporated cities furnishing services.
(b) The Local Boundary Commission may
(1) conduct meetings and hearings to consider local government boundary changes and other matters related to local government boundary changes, including extensions of services by incorporated cities into contiguous areas and matters related to extension of services; and
(2) present to the legislature during the first 10 days of a regular session proposed local government boundary changes, including gradual extension of services of incorporated cities into contiguous areas upon a majority approval of the voters of the contiguous area to be annexed and transition schedules providing for total assimilation of the contiguous area and its full participation in the affairs of the incorporated city within a period not to exceed five years.
(a) The commissioner shall contract for a study of the feasibility of establishing a borough in the unorganized borough by following the procedures under AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code). The commissioner shall include terms in the contract that provide for
(1) public participation in the preparation of the study;
(2) completion of the study not later than June 30 of the third year after the year the contract is executed.
(b) A study under this section must include
(1) a recommendation for or against incorporation of a borough containing all or part of the area studied;
(2) an evaluation of the economic development potential of the area studied;
(3) an evaluation of capital facility needs of the area studied;
(4) an evaluation of demographic, social, and environmental factors affecting the area studied;
(5) an evaluation of the relationships among regional educational attendance areas, coastal resource service areas, and other regional entities responsible for providing services in the area studied;
(6) an evaluation of the relationships between the existing cities within the area studied and regional entities responsible for providing services in the area; and
(7) specific recommendations for
(A) organization of a home rule or general law borough government if one is recommended;
(B) changes in organization of cities in the area studied; or
(C) the improvement of the delivery of services to the public by the state in the area studied.
(a) [Repealed, Sec. 84 ch 58 SLA 1999].
(b) The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall
(1) cooperate with organizations in the private sector for the promotion and development of tourism into and within the state;
(2) coordinate with municipal, state, and federal agencies for the development of tourism resources in the state;
(3) promote and develop the state's tourist industry;
(4) cooperate with the private sector in the planning and execution of a destination tourism marketing campaign under AS 44.33.125 that is in the public interest;
(5) promote the development of visitor industry facilities, both in the public sector and the private sector, through the use of state resources as appropriate;
(6) plan and advocate for tourism and tourism development in coordination with the private sector, municipalities, state, and federal agencies;
(7) administer and evaluate the tourism marketing contract program under AS 44.33.125 ;
(8) administer a visitor information center located in Tok; and
(9) conduct research related to tourism.
(c) [Repealed, Sec. 28 ch 90 SLA 1991].
(d) During the term of a contract with a qualified trade association under AS 44.33.125 (a), the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development may not execute another tourism marketing campaign except as provided under AS 44.33.125 (b), (c), or (d).
When the governor has by proclamation declared an area impacted by an economic disaster, the following provisions regarding public contracts may be waived to the extent specified in the proclamation:
(1) the requirement of a contractor's bond as prescribed in AS 36.25.010 may be waived if the contract amount does not exceed $100,000;
(2) the public bid requirements as contained in AS 19.10.170 , AS 19.30.191(b), AS 35.15.010 - 35.15.020, and AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code) may be waived if the contract is to be performed by a contractor whose principal office is in the designated area and the contract amount does not exceed $50,000;
(3) the general policy to require all construction to be under bid contract as contained in AS 19.10.170 , AS 35.15.010 , and AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code) may be waived if the contract is to be performed by the state, another governmental entity, or a nonprofit entity.
(a) The department may provide itinerant loan information officers to serve persons who reside outside the major population centers of the state.
(b) The loan information officers shall be trained, to the extent that the department considers necessary, in a program administered by the department and approved by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, and the principal departments of the executive branch that administer loan programs.
(c) A majority of the loan information officers shall be persons who are conversant in Alaska Native languages that are spoken by a significant number of Alaska Natives. The department shall provide brochures and other printed materials, written in easily understandable English and in the Alaska Native languages that are spoken by a significant number of Alaska Natives, for distribution by the loan information officers. The brochures and printed materials must explain the purposes of the various state loan programs, the minimum qualifications under the programs, the method for obtaining assistance in the completion of applications for the programs, and other information the department determines will improve the access of persons in rural areas to the state's loan programs.
(d) The department shall coordinate its efforts under this section with local financial institutions and community groups to determine the proper itinerary and travel schedule of the loan information officers and to provide adequate notice to persons in rural areas of the itinerary and travel schedule of the loan information officers.
(e) The department shall assign the loan information officers to rural areas based on the current and potential future demands for loans in those areas and shall establish offices for the loan information officers in rural areas if the department determines it is necessary to provide familiarity with the area served by the loan information officers and to reduce travel costs.
(a) The commissioner
(1) shall accept, administer, and dispose of land conveyed to the state in trust by village corporations under 43 U.S.C. 1613(c)(3) (Sec. 14(c)(3) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) for the purposes specified in that section;
(2) may, with the concurrence of an appropriate village entity recognized by the commissioner under (b) of this section or, in the absence of an appropriate village entity, under procedures prescribed by regulations of the commissioner, accept, administer, and dispose of land conveyed in trust by a state or federal agency and by the dissolution of a municipality under AS 29.06.450 - 29.06.530.
(b) Transfer of land by sale, lease, right-of-way, easement, or permit, including transfer of surface resources, may be made by the commissioner only after approval of an appropriate village entity such as the traditional council, a village meeting, or a village referendum. This approval shall be by resolution filed with the department.
(c) Within one complete state fiscal year after the incorporation of a municipality in the village or of a municipality that includes all or part of the village, land acquired under this section shall be conveyed without cost to the municipality, and the municipality shall succeed to all the entrusted interest in the land.
(d) Separate accounts shall be maintained in the name of each village for the land, including the revenue from the land, acquired from each village corporation under this section.
(e) Upon the conveyance of land to a municipality under this section, the commissioner shall account to the municipality for all profits including interest generated from the land. The municipality may then request the governor to submit a request to the legislature for an appropriation for the amount due the municipality.
(f) Title to or an interest in land acquired by the department under this section may not be acquired by adverse possession or prescription. Notwithstanding (a) - (e) of this section, on the dissolution of a municipality under AS 29.06.450 - 29.06.530, unimproved land that was owned by the municipality on the date of its dissolution and received by the municipality from the state under a municipal land grant entitlement program is transferred to the commissioner of natural resources.
(g) For the purposes of this section, 'municipality' includes only first and second class cities incorporated under the laws of the state.
(a) The department shall
(1) encourage the formation of regional development organizations by providing assistance in forming organizations to interested individuals, including information on how to qualify and apply for regional development grants and federal funding under 42 U.S.C. 3121 - 3246 (Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965), as amended;
(2) assist an interested individual in establishing boundaries for a proposed organization to ensure that the region
(A) is of sufficient geographic size and contains a large enough population to form an economically viable unit with shared interests, resources, traditions, and goals;
(B) contains at least one municipality that serves as a regional center; and
(C) contains the entire area of each municipality included in the region;
(3) gather information about regional economic issues, international trade, and tourism from organizations;
(4) serve as liaison between organizations and other state agencies and encourage other agencies to make resources available to help accomplish goals of the organizations;
(5) assist each organization to
(A) provide services designed to encourage economic development to local communities and businesses;
(B) collect and distribute economic information relevant to the region;
(C) participate in state marketing campaigns and join state trade missions that are relevant to the region; and
(D) develop and implement strategies to attract new industry, expand international trade opportunities, and encourage tourism within the region.
(b) Subject to (c) of this section, the department may make regional development grants to organizations for projects the department determines will be of value in encouraging economic development. During a fiscal year, the department may make no more than 15 grants and may only make grants to one organization from a particular region. An organization that is designated an economic development district under 42 U.S.C. 3171 qualifies for grants under this subsection. The department shall by regulation adopt procedures for applying for regional development grants, including application deadlines. The department may by regulation establish additional grant eligibility requirements.
(c) To qualify for a grant, a regional development organization must match the grant by providing an amount of money from nonstate sources. The department shall establish by regulation a formula that determines the amount of the match required under this subsection based on the capability of each organization to generate money from nonstate sources. The amount of match required may not exceed the amount of grant money and may not be less than 20 percent of the grant. The total amount of grant money provided to an organization during a fiscal year may not exceed $100,000.
(d) There is established in the department the regional development fund consisting of appropriations to the fund. Money from the fund may be used only for regional development grants.
(e) In this section,
(1) 'department' means the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development;
(2) 'regional development organization' or 'organization' means a nonprofit organization or nonprofit corporation formed to encourage economic development within a particular region of the state that includes the entire area of each municipality within that region and that has a board of directors that represents the region's economic, political, and social interests.
Article 12. ALASKA FOREST PRODUCTS RESEARCH AND MARKETING PROGRAM
(a) If the governor delegates duties as described in AS 44.33.020(a)(11) to the department, the department shall determine and assess an annual administrative cost charge for the administration of the state's role in the federal community development quota program. The department shall by regulation establish the method for implementing the charge in accordance with the provisions of this section. The department shall assess the charges on community development quota groups with approved community development plans for the fiscal year for which the charge is applicable. The community development quota group shall pay the charge.
(b) The administrative cost charge under this section for a CDQ group shall be determined by the department no later than the June 30 immediately preceding the start of the applicable fiscal year. The department shall promptly notify the CDQ group of the amount of the charge. The CDQ group shall pay the charge no later than 45 days after the department provides notice to the CDQ group of the amount of the charge.
(c) The aggregate total of administrative cost charges to all CDQ groups for a fiscal year shall approximately equal, but may not exceed, the appropriations authorized for that fiscal year for the state's role under AS 44.33.020 (a)(11), less
(1) appropriations from sources of program receipts under AS 37.05.146(b) and (c) not collected under this section; and
(2) any reappropriations of charges collected under this section.
(d) Fifty percent of the aggregate total of administrative cost charges assessed on all CDQ groups for a fiscal year shall be recovered through the standard portion of the charges and 50 percent of the aggregate total shall be recovered through the variable portion of the charges. The administrative cost charge assessed on a CDQ group for a fiscal year shall consist of a standard portion and a variable portion. The CDQ group's standard portion is calculated by dividing the aggregate total amount to be recovered through this portion by the number of CDQ groups to be assessed a charge. The CDQ group's variable portion is calculated by multiplying the aggregate total amount to be recovered through this portion by a percentage that represents the ratio of the value of the CDQ group's fisheries resource quota allocation to the total value of fisheries resources allocated under the CDQ program for the applicable year.
(e) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this section, the department may adjust the variable portion of the administrative cost charge for a fiscal year to one or more CDQ groups if the department finds that an inequitable result will occur absent the adjustment, but the aggregate total of the charges to be paid by all CDQ groups after the adjustment must equal the amount originally calculated for that fiscal year under (c) of this section.
(f) The department may not assess or collect administrative charges under this section from new CDQ groups representing communities that are not eligible for the CDQ program on June 30, 2000, for a period of two years from the actual award of a fisheries quota to that newly formed CDQ group.
(g) The department shall collect and enforce the administrative cost charge assessed under this section. The receipts from the charge assessed under this section shall be deposited in the community development quota program account in the state treasury. Under AS 37.05.146(c), receipts from charges collected under this section shall be accounted for separately, and appropriations from the account are not made from the unrestricted general fund. The legislature may appropriate money from the community development quota program account for expenditures by the department for necessary costs incurred by the department in implementing any assigned role under AS 44.33.020 (a)(11) or for any other public purpose.
(h) The Department of Administration shall identify the amount of the appropriations for the state's role under AS 44.33.020 (a)(11) that lapses into the general fund each year. The legislature may appropriate an amount equal to the lapsed amount to the community development quota program for its operating costs for the next fiscal year.
(i) The department may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to interpret or implement its duties under this section.
(j) In this section,
(1) 'CDQ group' or 'community development quota group' means an applicant under 16 U.S.C. 1855(i), or a successor program, with an approved community development plan;
(2) 'CDQ program' or 'community development quota program' means the federal community development quota program established under 16 U.S.C. 1855(i), or a successor federal program approved by the United States Secretary of Commerce;
(3) 'fiscal year' has the meaning given in AS 37.05.920 ;
(4) 'value' has the meaning given in AS 43.75.290 .
(a) The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall assist in and encourage the formation of a qualified regional seafood development association for each seafood development region identified in (b) of this section for the purpose of promoting and marketing Alaska seafood products harvested in the region. The commissioner shall designate the first organization to apply and qualify under this subsection for recognition as the qualified association for a region to be the qualified regional seafood development association for that seafood development region if the commissioner determines that the organization
(1) is established for the following purposes:
(A) promotion of seafood and seafood by-products that are harvested in the region and processed for sale;
(B) promotion of improvements to the commercial fishing industry and infrastructure in the seafood development region;
(C) establishment of education, research, advertising, or sales promotion programs for seafood products harvested in the region;
(D) preparation of market research and product development plans for the promotion of seafood and their by-products that are harvested in the region and processed for sale;
(E) cooperation with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and other public or private boards, organizations, or agencies engaged in work or activities similar to the work of the organization, including entering into contracts for joint programs of consumer education, sales promotion, quality control, advertising, and research in the production, processing, or distribution of seafood harvested in the region;
(F) cooperation with commercial fishermen, fishermen's organizations, seafood processors, the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, the Fisheries Industrial Technology Center, state and federal agencies, and other relevant persons and entities to investigate market reception to new seafood product forms and to develop commodity standards and future markets for seafood products;
(2) provides for representation of commercial fishing permit holders for each fishery in the region that is subject to a seafood development tax levied under AS 43.76.350 - 43.76.399 on the board of directors of the organization;
(3) provides for membership in the organization by any commercial fisherman who holds a commercial fishing permit for a fishery that is conducted in the region and by other persons and groups in the region who wish to be members of the organization; and
(4) is organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the state for the purpose of marketing and promoting seafood products taken in the region and seafood products taken in fisheries subject to a seafood development tax levied under AS 43.76.350 - 43.76.399.
(b) Seafood development regions are established for each of the following regions of the state and are made up of the designated commercial fishing management areas established by the Board of Fisheries in accordance with the boundaries of those areas as adopted by the Board of Fisheries:
(1) Southeast Alaska seafood development region - Southeastern Alaska area and Yakutat area;
(2) Prince William Sound seafood development region - Prince William Sound area;
(3) Cook Inlet seafood development region - Cook Inlet area;
(4) Kodiak seafood development region - Kodiak area;
(5) Alaska Peninsula seafood development region - Alaska Peninsula area;
(6) Aleutian Islands seafood development region - Aleutian Islands area;
(7) Chignik seafood development region - Chignik area;
(8) Atka-Amlia Islands seafood development region - Atka-Amlia Islands area;
(9) Bristol Bay seafood development region - Bristol Bay area;
(10) Kuskokwim seafood development region - Kuskokwim area;
(11) Yukon-Northern seafood development region - Yukon-Northern area and Kotzebue area;
(12) Norton Sound-Port Clarence seafood development region - Norton Sound-Port Clarence area.
(c) An organization may be designated as the qualified regional seafood development association for more than one seafood development region.
(d) A qualified regional seafood development association for a fishery may request state financial assistance from the department to aid the seafood development programs of the association.
(e) A qualified regional seafood development association requesting state financial assistance shall submit an annual financial report to the department on a form provided by the department. The department may require that a qualified regional seafood development association use a uniform system of accounting. A qualified regional seafood development association requesting state assistance shall submit an annual budget to the department on or before a date specified by the department.
(f) The department may adopt regulations necessary to implement this section.
(g) In this section, 'fishery' has the meaning given in AS 16.43.990 .
(a) Subject to appropriations for the purpose, the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall, on or before April 1 of each fiscal year, contract with a single qualified trade association for the purpose of planning and executing a destination tourism marketing campaign during the next fiscal year. The contract may be awarded only if the qualified trade association provides matching funds equal to at least 50 percent of the costs of the marketing campaign described in the contract. The marketing campaign may promote distinct segments of tourism, such as highway tourism, seasonal tourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism, regional tourism, and rural tourism. Before the contract is executed, the marketing campaign plan must be approved by the department.
(b) The tourism marketing contract awarded under (a) of this section must include essential components identified by the department and may include media advertising, establishing and operating a system for responding to visitor inquiries, publishing and distributing information regarding vacation planning, establishing and maintaining Internet sites that provide tourism information, conducting market research, and other activities related to tourism that the department may designate in the contract. If the qualified trade association refuses a contract component requested by the department, the department may award a contract to another person to perform that component but only if the terms are not materially different from those offered to the qualified trade association.
(c) A qualified trade association that has been awarded a tourism marketing contract under (a) of this section has, while the contract is in effect, the right of first refusal for every other tourism marketing contract offered by the department. The qualified trade association is required to provide matching funds for a contract awarded under this subsection only if matching funds are required by the contract offer. If the qualified trade association refuses a contract offer under this subsection or fails to accept the offer within a reasonable time, the department may award the contract to another person but only under terms not materially different from those offered to the qualified trade association.
(d) If, during the term of a contract awarded under (a) of this section, funds from any source are appropriated to the department for tourism marketing activities in addition to the funds already committed under the contract, the contract may be amended to include the additional funds and the additional tourism marketing activities. The department may require the qualified trade association to provide matching funds in any amount for the additional funds, or the department may impose no matching requirement for the additional funds. If the qualified trade association refuses the additional funds, the department may use the additional funds to award a contract to another person but only under terms not materially different from those offered to the qualified trade association.
(e) The marketing campaign conducted under a tourism marketing contract awarded under (a) of this section must be directed by a group within the qualified trade association that is broadly representative of the various sectors of the visitor industry in the state and whose members are
(1) involved in a visitor industry business or have experience in tourism marketing; or
(2) officers or senior staff members of a state agency, a local government, or a nonprofit enterprise established to promote the visitor industry.
(f) Materials produced and marketing information and tourism related data generated by the qualified trade association under a contract awarded under (a) or (c) of this section are the joint property of the qualified trade association and the department. However, the qualified trade association may, but only for the purpose of promoting the state, use, sell, or lease the materials, information, and data. In addition, the qualified trade association may only permit the use by or sale to another person of the materials, information, or data if the use by the other person is also for the purpose of promoting the state. The qualified trade association may impose other restrictions on the right of another person to use the materials, information, or data. If a qualified trade association provides the right to use a mailing list generated under a contract awarded under (a) or (c) of this section, the list must be made available to every person at the same price, except that a person who is not a participant in the qualified trade association's marketing program may be charged an additional amount based on the amount of the qualified trade association's participation fee attributable to a participant's right of access to mailing lists. The qualified trade association retains all revenue generated by the association under a contract awarded under (a) or (c) of this section.
(g) A qualified trade association shall provide to the department, on request, materials produced and marketing information and tourism related data generated by the qualified trade association under a contract awarded under (a) or (c) of this section. The information and tourism related data provided to the department under this subsection are not public records under AS 40.25.100 - 40.25.220.
(h) A qualified trade association may not use money from a contract awarded under (a) or (c) of this section
(1) to lobby a municipality or an agency of a municipality or to lobby the state or an agency of the state, as those terms are defined in AS 44.99.030 (b);
(2) to raise funds that will be used to lobby a municipality or an agency of a municipality or to lobby the state or an agency of the state, as those terms are defined in AS 44.99.030 (b); or
(3) for administrative or overhead costs that directly support any effort to lobby a municipality or an agency of a municipality or to lobby the state or an agency of the state, as those terms are defined in AS 44.99.030 (b).
(i) A qualified trade association may, pursuant to the performance of a tourism marketing contract awarded under (a) or (c) of this section, award a subcontract only on a competitive basis after providing adequate notice of the availability of the subcontract and considering all responses.
(j) In this section, 'qualified trade association' means a private, nonprofit organization whose primary purposes include the promotion of tourism within the state and encouraging tourists to visit the state and that has a statewide membership consisting of representatives of all major sectors of the visitor industry, including hotels, airlines, cruise lines, wholesale and retail travel agencies, visitor attractions, convention and visitors bureaus, bed and breakfast enterprises, wilderness lodges and outfitters, and charter operations.
(a) The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall
(1) advise and assist local governments;
(2) advise the governor and other commissioners on the delivery of government services to rural areas, including services relating to public safety, justice, economic development, natural resource management, education, and public health;
(3) make recommendations to the governor and other commissioners about policy changes that would affect rural governments and rural affairs;
(4) serve as staff for the Local Boundary Commission;
(5) conduct studies and carry out experimental and pilot projects for the purpose of developing solutions to community and regional problems;
(6) promote cooperative solutions to problems affecting more than one community or region, including joint service agreements, regional compacts, and other forms of cooperation;
(7) serve as a clearinghouse for information useful in solution of community and regional problems, and channel to the appropriate authority requests for information and services;
(8) advise and assist community and regional governments on matters of finance, including but not limited to bond marketing and procurement of federal funds;
(9) prepare suggested guidelines relating to the content of notice of bond sale advertisements, prospectuses, and other bonding matters issued by local governments;
(10) administer state funds appropriated for the benefit of unorganized regions within the state, allowing for maximum participation by local advisory councils and similar bodies;
(11) as assigned through a delegation by the governor, administer and implement the state's role in the federal community development quota program established under 16 U.S.C. 1855(i) or a successor federal program; the department may adopt regulations under a delegation from the governor to implement duties under this paragraph;
(12) carry out those administrative functions in the unorganized borough that the legislature may prescribe;
(13) study existing and proposed laws and state activities that affect community and regional affairs and submit to the governor recommended changes in those laws and activities;
(14) coordinate activities of the state that affect community and regional affairs;
(15) assist in the development of new communities and serve as the agent of the state for purposes of participation in federal programs relating to new communities;
(16) supervise planning, management, and other activities required for local eligibility for financial aid under those federal and state programs that provide assistance to community and regional governments;
(17) advise and assist municipalities on procedures of assessment, valuation, and taxation, and notify municipalities of major errors in those procedures;
(18) apply for, receive, and use funds from federal and other sources, public or private, for use in carrying out the powers and duties of the department;
(19) request and utilize the resources of other agencies of state government in carrying out the purposes of this chapter to the extent such utilization is more efficient than maintaining departmental staff, reimbursing the other agencies when appropriate;
(20) administer state and, as appropriate, federal programs for revenue sharing, grants, and other forms of financial assistance to community and regional governments;
(21) administer the state programs relating to commerce or community development, enforce the laws relating to these programs, and adopt regulations under these laws;
(22) register corporations;
(23) collect corporation franchise taxes;
(24) enforce state laws regulating public utilities and other public service enterprises, banking and securities, insurance, and other businesses and enterprises touched with a public interest;
(25) make veterans' loans;
(26) furnish the budgeting, clerical, and administrative services for regulatory agencies and professional and occupational licensing boards not otherwise provided for;
(27) conduct studies, enter into contracts and agreements, and make surveys relating to the economic development of the state and, when appropriate, assemble, analyze, and disseminate the findings obtained;
(28) provide factual information and technical assistance for potential industrial and commercial investors;
(29) receive gifts, grants, and other aid that facilitate the powers and duties of the department from agencies and instrumentalities of the United States or other public or private sources;
(30) establish and activate programs to achieve balanced economic development in the state and advise the governor on economic development policy matters;
(31) formulate a continuing program for basic economic development and for the necessary promotion, planning and research that will advance the economic development of the state;
(32) cooperate with private, governmental, and other public institutions and agencies in the execution of economic development programs;
(33) review the programs and annual reports of other departments and agencies as they are related to economic development and prepare an annual report on the economic growth of the state;
(34) administer the economic development programs of the state;
(35) perform all other duties and powers necessary or proper in relation to economic development and planning for the state;
(36) request tourism-related businesses in the state to provide data regarding occupancy levels, traffic flow and gross receipts and to participate in visitor surveys conducted by the department; data collected under this paragraph that discloses the particulars of an individual business is not a matter of public record and shall be kept confidential; however, this restriction does not prevent the department from using the data to formulate tourism economic impact information including expenditure patterns, tax receipts and fees, employment and income attributable to tourism, and other information considered relevant to the planning, evaluation, and policy direction of tourism in the state;
(37) provide administrative and budgetary services to the Real Estate Commission under AS 08.88 as requested by the commission;
(38) sell at cost, to the extent possible, publications and promotional materials developed by the department;
(39) as delegated by the governor, administer under 16 U.S.C. 1856 the internal waters foreign processing permit procedures and collect related fees;
(40) administer state laws relating to the issuance of business licenses;
(41) comply with AS 15.07.055 to serve as a voter registration agency to the extent required by state and federal law, including 42 U.S.C. 1973gg (National Voter Registration Act of 1993);
(42) [Repealed, E.O. No. 112 Sec. 3 (2004)].
(43) carry out other functions and duties, consistent with law, necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purpose of this chapter;
(44) administer the Alaska BIDCO assistance program under AS 37.17.500 - 37.17.690 and adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of those statutes.
(b) The department may adopt regulations necessary to carry out its statutory functions.
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