ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
Purpose:
Requests voter approval
during the next general election of constitutional amendments to allow state
trust land to be exchanged for other public lands.
Background:
The State Enabling Act was
passed in 1910 to prepare the Territory of Arizona for statehood. Under the Act, certain sections of each
township were assigned to be held by the state in a trust for the benefit of
schools and other public institutions. The Enabling Act also requires that
state trust lands are to be appraised at fair market value and cannot be
disposed of for less than that amount.
The State Land Department (Department), established in 1915, has
authority over all state trust lands.
The mission of the Department is to manage the trust lands and maximize
the revenues for the beneficiaries.
In 1936, the Enabling Act
was amended to authorize the state to make land exchanges. However, the Constitution was not amended to
conform with this authority. In 1990,
the Arizona Supreme Court decided on the inconsistency between the Enabling Act
and the Constitution, ruling that the state had failed to amend the
Constitution to allow the exchange of state lands. Subsequently, the Department ceased the land exchange program.
In the past, the Legislature
has attempted to amend the Constitution to conform with the Enabling Act by
placing propositions on the general election ballot in 1990, 1992, 1994 and
2000. Each of these propositions was
progressively more restrictive with respect to the requirements for allowed
exchanges, but each failed in the general election.
S.C.R. 1004, if approved by
the voters, allows state trust land to be exchanged for other public lands
provided that the exchange is in the best interest of the state land trust and
conserves open space on trust lands.
The same provisions were contained in Proposition 100, which failed in
the 2000 general election.
The fiscal impact to the state general fund
associated with this bill is unknown.
Provisions:
1. Allows the state, after public notice, to exchange trust lands for other public lands as the legislature may provide by law, subject to the following conditions:
(a)
The
exchange is in the best interest of the state land trust.
(b)
The
purpose of the exchange is to conserve open space on trust lands offered by the
state in the exchange.
(c)
At
least two independent appraisals show that the true value of lands received in
the exchange equals or exceeds the true value of lands granted.
(d)
An
analysis of the proposed exchange shows:
1.
that
the projected income to the trust after the exchange equals or exceeds the
projected income before the exchange, and
2.
the
fiscal impact of the exchange on each county, city, town and school district in
which the exchanged lands are located.
2. Prohibits the exchange of trust lands unless:
(a)
Public
notice of the exchange is provided at least five weeks prior to the exchange,
including a legal and general description of the location of the lands, the
appraised value of the lands and the time and place of the public hearings.
(b)
Public
hearings are held at both the state capitol and at a location in the vicinity
of the lands being exchanged.
3. Stipulates that land exchanges are not considered sales of land.
4. Requires the Secretary of State to submit this proposition to the voters at the next general election.
Amendments
Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Eliminates the proposed authority to allow state trust lands to be donated to school districts for school sites.
2. Restricts the purpose of exchanges of state trust land to the conservation of open space on state trust land offered by the state.
3. Restricts lands received by the state in a state trust land exchange to public lands and eliminates the restriction that lands received in exchange be in an urbanized area.
Senate Action
ED 2/5/01 W/D
NRAE 3/9/01 DP 5-0-3
3rd Read 3/26/01 17-13
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 28, 2001