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H0065.........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
STATE LANDS - Amends existing law to revise provisions relating to the
lease of state lands.
01/26 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/29 Rpt prt - to Res/Con
02/02 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/05 Ret'd to Res/Con
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 65
BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO STATE LANDS; AMENDING SECTION 58-307, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PROVI-
3 SIONS RELATING TO THE LEASE OF STATE LANDS.
4 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
5 SECTION 1. That Section 58-307, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
6 amended to read as follows:
7 58-307. TERM OF LEASE -- APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL -- ALLOWANCE FOR
8 IMPROVEMENTS. (1) No lease of state public school endowment lands, other than
9 those valuable for stone, coal, oil, gas or other minerals, shall be for a
10 longer term than ten (10) years.
11 (2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, all state lands may be
12 leased for a period of up to twenty-five (25) years to the federal government,
13 to federal agencies, state agencies, counties, or cities, school districts or
14 political subdivisions when leased for public purposes. Such leases for public
15 purposes may be entered into by negotiation and shall secure a rental amount
16 based on the fair market value of the state land.
17 (3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, all state endowment
18 lands may be leased for a period of up to forty-nine (49) years for commercial
19 purposes, under such terms and conditions as may be set by the board, provided
20 that, for such leases in excess of ten (10) years, the board consults with the
21 county commissioners of the county in which the lands are located before leas-
22 ing the lands, and the use for which the land is leased shall be consistent
23 with the local planning and zoning ordinances insofar as is reasonable and
24 practicable. For each lease in excess of ten (10) years, the department shall
25 hold a hearing in the county in which the parcel is located.
26 (4) The term "commercial purposes" means any commercial or industrial
27 enterprises, retail sales outlets, business and professional office buildings,
28 hospitality enterprises, commercial recreational activities, multifamily resi-
29 dential developments and other similar businesses as defined by the board. For
30 purposes of this section, agricultural leases, grazing leases, oil and gas
31 leases, mineral leases, geothermal leases, communication site leases, single
32 family, recreational cottage site and homesite leases, and leases for other
33 similar uses, are not considered leases for commercial purposes.
34 (5) The board may require that all fixed improvements constructed upon
35 land leased for commercial purposes be removed or become the property of the
36 state upon termination of the lease, and that any heirs, encumbrances or
37 claims of third parties with respect to any improvements shall be expressly
38 subordinate and subject to the rights of the state under this section.
39 (6) Except for geothermal, oil and gas, mineral and commercial leases,
40 the lease year shall run from January 1 through December 31, and all leases
41 shall expire on December 31 of the year of expiration.
42 (7) All applications to lease or to renew an existing lease which expires
43 December 31 of any year, shall be filed in the office of the director of the
2
1 department of lands by the thirtieth day of April preceding the date of such
2 expiration. Such applications will be considered by the state land board and
3 be disposed of in the manner provided by law; except that the board may
4 reject conflicting applications for a lease for commercial purposes if the
5 lessee exercises the preference right to renew clause, and provided such right
6 is specified in the lease.
7 (8) Where conflicts appear upon leases, except for mineral leases which,
8 pursuant to chapter 7, title 47, Idaho Code, contain a preferential right to
9 renew clause, such applications shall be considered as having been filed
10 simultaneously. However, nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the
11 state board of land commissioners from accepting and considering applications
12 for new leases at any time.
13 (9) In case improvements have been made on land while under lease which
14 is expiring, and the former lessee is not the successful bidder, but the land
15 is leased to another, the amount of such improvements shall be paid to the
16 former lessee. The following shall be considered improvements: plowing done
17 within one (1) year, provided no crop has been raised on the plowed land after
18 such plowing, fencing, buildings, cisterns, wells, growing crops and any other
19 asset which shall be considered an improvement by the director.
20 (10) Commercial leases of the state lands shall not be subject to the con-
21 flict auction provisions of section 58-310, Idaho Code. The board may, at its
22 discretion, consider individual applications or call for proposals and sealed
23 bids by public advertisement, and may evaluate said proposals and award the
24 lease to the bidder whose proposal achieves the highest return over the term
25 of the lease and who is capable of meeting such terms and conditions as may be
26 set by the board; in the alternative, the board may call for lease applica-
27 tions by public advertisement and if more than one (1) person files an appli-
28 cation to hold an auction in the same manner as provided in section 58-310,
29 Idaho Code. In either all cases, the board must obtain a reasonable rental,
30 based upon fair market value of the state land, throughout the duration of the
31 lease. The board may reject any or all proposals and any or all bids, and may
32 reoffer the lease at a later date if the board determines that the proposals
33 or bids do not achieve the highest and best use of the land at market rental.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16719
This proposed legislation amends the definition of "commercial
purposes" as any commercial or industrial enterprise as defined
by the state land board. However, agricultural leases, grazing
leases, oil and gas leases, mineral leases, geothermal leases,
single family, recreational cottage site and homesite leases, and
leases for other similar uses, will remain as leases not
considered leases for commercial purposes.
Current Idaho Code allows the board to reject conflicting
applications for a lease for commercial purposes if the lessee
exercises the preference right to renew clause. This proposed
legislation would further require that such preference right be
specified in the lease.
The proposed legislation adds wording that would allow the
board the latitude to consider individual applications in
addition to the current procedure that a call for proposals and
sealed bids for a commercial lease may be made.
FISCAL NOTE
No fiscal impact.
Contact
Name: Stan Boyd, Ridgeline Energy
Phone: 208-344-2271
Dar Olberding 208-345-0706
George Bacon, Lands, Dept of 334-0244
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 65