HB 2954

REFERENCE TITLE: state land advisory board; establishment.
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 2954
Introduced by
Representative
  Way
AN
ACT
Amending title 37, chapter 1, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 37-111; amending section 37-132,
Arizona Revised Statutes; RELATING to the state land department.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 37, chapter 1, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 37-111, to read:
START_STATUTE37-111. State land advisory board; members; power and duties;
recommendations
A. The state land advisory board is
established in the department to ensure the commissioner fulfils the
commissioner's fiduciary responsibility to maximize value of state lands for
state land trust beneficiaries and to advise the commissioner on both of the
following:
1. selling and leasing state lands.
2. Enhancing the value of state
lands.
B. The board consists of the
following members:
1. Five members who are appointed by
the governor.
2. Two members who are appointed by
the president of the senate.
3. Two members who are appointed by
the speaker of the house of representatives.
C. The department and the
commissioner shall provide the board with all of the following:
1. Administrative and technological
support.
2. Meeting space.
3. all information in the
department's or commissioner's possession that the board determines is
necessary to fulfill the purposes of the board.
D. The board shall elect a
chairperson from among its members.
E. The board shall meet not less than
once each quarter at a time and place set by the chairperson to discuss the
activities of the department and to provide recommendations to the
commissioner. The chairperson may call additional meetings as the chairperson
deems necessary.
F. The board may provide
recommendations to the legislature as necessary to improve the operations of
the department consistent with the purposes of the board. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 37-132, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE37-132. Powers and duties
A. The commissioner shall:
1. Exercise and perform all powers and duties vested
in or imposed on the department and prescribe such rules as are necessary to
discharge those duties.
2. Exercise the powers of surveyor-general
except for the powers of the surveyor-general exercised by the state
treasurer as a member of the selection board pursuant to section 37-202.
3. Make long-range plans for the future use of
state lands in cooperation with other state agencies, local planning
authorities and political subdivisions.
4. Promote the infill and orderly development of
state lands in areas beneficial to the trust and prevent urban sprawl or
leapfrog development on state lands.
5. Classify and appraise all state lands, together
with the improvements on state lands, for the purpose of sale, lease or grant
of rights-of-way.� The commissioner may impose such conditions and
covenants and make such reservations in the sale of state lands as the
commissioner deems to be in the best interest of the state
trust. The provisions of this paragraph are subject to hearing
procedures pursuant to title 41, chapter 6, article 10 and, except as provided
in section 41-1092.08, subsection H, are subject to judicial review
pursuant to title 12, chapter 7, article 6.
6. Have authority to lease for grazing,
agricultural, homesite or other purposes, except commercial, all land owned or
held in trust by this state.
7. Have authority to lease for commercial purposes
and sell all land owned or held in trust by this state, but any such lease for
a term longer than ten years for commercial purposes or any such sale shall
first be approved by the board of appeals.
8. Except as otherwise provided, determine all
disputes, grievances or other questions pertaining to the administration of
state lands.
9. Appoint deputies and other assistants and
employees necessary to perform the duties of the department and assign their
duties subject to title 41, chapter 4, article 4 and require of them such
surety bonds as the commissioner deems proper. The compensation of
the deputy, assistants or employees shall be as determined pursuant to section
38-611.
10. Make a written report to the governor annually,
not later than September 1, disclosing in detail the activities of the
department for the preceding fiscal year and publish it for distribution.� The
report shall include an evaluation of auctions of state land leases held during
the preceding fiscal year considering the advantages and disadvantages to the
state trust of the existence and exercise of preferred rights to lease
reclassified state land.
11. Withdraw state land from surface or subsurface
sales or lease applications if the commissioner deems it to be in the best
interest of the trust.� This closure of state lands to new applications for
sale or lease does not affect the rights that existing lessees have under law
for renewal of their leases and reimbursement for improvements.
12. serve as the primary asset
manager and fiduciary of the state land trust.
B. The commissioner may:
1. Take evidence relating to, and may require of the
various county officers information on, any matter that the commissioner has
the power to investigate or determine.
2. Under such rules as the commissioner adopts, use
private real estate brokers to assist in any sale or long-term lease of
state land and pay, from fees collected under section 37-107, subsection
B, paragraph 1, a commission to a broker that is licensed pursuant to title 32,
chapter 20 and that provides the purchaser or lessee at auction.� The purchaser
or lessee at auction is not eligible to receive a commission pursuant to this paragraph. A
commission shall not be paid on a sale or a long-term lease if the
purchaser or lessee is a political subdivision of this state.
3. Require a permittee, lessee or grantee to post a
surety bond or any form of collateral deemed sufficient by the commissioner for
performance or restoration purposes. The commissioner shall use the
proceeds of a bond or collateral only for the purposes determined at the time
the bond or collateral is posted. For agricultural lessees, the
commissioner may require collateral as follows:
(a) As security for payment of the annual
assessments levied by the irrigation district in which the state land is
located if the lessee has a history of late payments or
defaults. The amount of the collateral required may not exceed the
annual assessment levied by the irrigation district.
(b) As security for payment of rent, if an extension
of time for payment is requested or if the lessee has a history of late
payments of rent. The collateral shall be submitted at the time any
extension of time for payment is requested.� The amount of the collateral
required may not exceed the annual amount of rent for the land.
(c) A surety bond shall be required only if the
commissioner determines that other forms of collateral are insufficient.
4. Withhold market and economic analyses,
preliminary engineering, site and area studies and appraisals that are
collected during the urban planning process from public viewing before they are
submitted to local planning and zoning authorities.
5. Withhold from public inspection proprietary
information received during lease negotiations. The proprietary
information shall be released to public inspection unless the release may harm
the competitive position of the applicant and the information could not have
been obtained by other legitimate means.
6. Issue permits for short-term use of state
land for specific purposes as prescribed by rule.
7. Contract with a third party to sell recreational
permits.� A third party under contract pursuant to this paragraph may assess a
surcharge for its services as provided in the contract, in addition to the fees
prescribed pursuant to section 37-107.
8. Close urban lands to specific uses as prescribed
by rule if necessary for dust abatement, to reduce a risk from hazardous
environmental conditions that pose a risk to human health or safety or for
remediation purposes.
9. Notwithstanding subsection A, paragraph 4 of this
section, authorize, in the best interest of the trust, the extension of public
services and facilities either:
(a) That are necessary to implement plans of the
local governing body, including plans adopted or amended pursuant to section 9-461.06
or 11-805.
(b) Across state lands that are either:
(i) Classified as suitable for conservation purposes
pursuant to section 37-312.
(ii) Sold or leased at auction for conservation
purposes.
10. Contract with a qualified third-party reviewer
that is selected by the commissioner to review any application submitted to the
department if the commissioner determines that the department will not be able
to take action on the application within sixty working days after the
application is submitted to the department. A third-party
reviewer that reviews an application pursuant to this paragraph shall do both
of the following:
(a) Review the application and take all other
related actions in accordance with all requirements that are adopted by the
department.
(b) Notify the department and the applicant of the
findings of the review.
C. The commissioner or any deputy or employee of the
department may not have, own or acquire, directly or indirectly, any state
lands or the products on any state lands, any interest in or to such lands or
products, or improvements on leased state lands, or be interested in any state
irrigation project affecting state lands. END_STATUTE