Solicitation for Public Input – Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office - Department of Natural Resources Regulatory Revisions

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Solicitation for Public Input - Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office - Department of Natural Resources Regulatory Revisions

Solicitation for Public Input - Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office - Department of Natural Resources Regulatory Revisions

Notice of Public Scoping Under Administrative Order 360 for possible Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office (TLO), Regulation Changes contained in 11 AAC 99.

Background. In response to Administrative Order 360, the TLO is soliciting written comments from affected industries, community organizations, and the general public regarding regulations and materials incorporated by reference in 11 AAC 99.

In 1994, the Alaska legislature mandated the creation of the TLO within DNR to serve as the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority's (AMHTA) land manager. Under AS 38.05.801, the TLO must manage AMHTA lands consistent with the 1956 Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act; a federal act of congress that set aside lands to be managed for the benefit of mental health programs in, at the time, the territory of Alaska. Because of AS 38.05.801 and the 1956 Enabling Act, the TLO's management decisions are guided by private trust principles - as explained by the Alaska Supreme Court in State v. Weiss, 706 P.2d 681, fn. 3 (Alaska 1985) - and thus all decisions are made in the best interest of the Trust beneficiaries for mental health programs. This means that AMHTA lands are not managed by the TLO under the public trust doctrine or as state public domain land, but to maximize a return for the AMHTA and its beneficiaries.

The regulations under 11 AAC 99 seek to effectuate the legislative mandates described above.

The TLO is undertaking this solicitation process to ask the public for ideas, suggestions, and input before drafting or proposing any specific regulation amendments or repeals. Any proposed regulation amendments or repeals that the TLO drafts will undertake a separate public review process.

The TLO is particularly interested in specific ideas for regulatory change that may:

• Clarify existing regulatory requirements;
• Advance land management solely in the best interest of the Trust and its beneficiaries;
• Improve or streamline procedures, application requirements, and review processes;
• Reduce administrative burdens;
• Streamline authorizations;
• improve communication procedures;
• provide greater transparency with respect to standards, decision-making, and rationales for application processing; or
• Clarify interagency roles;

Written comments can be submitted electronically to the TLO via email at [email protected]. Additionally, TLO will accept comments submitted by mail and addressed to the Trust Land Office / 2600 Cordova St., Suite 201, Anchorage Alaska 99508. The comments must be received no later than November 1^st, 2025.

Written comments are desired. Questions can be asked at a hearing to be held virtually on October 14^th, 2025.

Hearing Zoom Information (registration required): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/OBecnK2aRCKy2GYyfIV5HQ

There will not be in-person attendance provided at the hearing site. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 12 PM and end at 2 PM.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the TLO is prepared to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Please contact the Trust Land Office at (907) 269-8658 for assistance. Requests for assistance must be received at least 96 hours prior to the comment deadline in order to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided. Statewide TTY: 711 for Alaska Relay or 1-800-770-8973.

Please note that input provided in response to this solicitation will be subject to inspection, copying, and distribution as public records under AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.220. Please do not include any confidential information in written or oral comments.

The TLO is not currently proposing any specific regulation change and there are no draft regulations prepared for public comment under the Administrative Procedure Act at this time. If the TLO undertakes revisions to these regulations, there will be an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed regulation changes that are released for public review and comment under the Administrative Procedure Act.

The TLO maintains a list of individuals and organizations interested in Mental Health Trust land. Those on the list will automatically be sent a copy of all of the TLO's notices of proposed regulation changes. To be added to or removed from the list, send a request to the TLO at 2600 Cordova St., Suite 201, Anchorage Alaska 99508, giving your name, and either your e-mail address or mailing address, as you prefer for receiving notices.

Individuals can also sign up to receive automated notifications of all State of Alaska notices, including public notice for regulation changes, by subscribing to the Alaska Online Public Notices System: https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Default.aspx

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