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Committee OKs amendment giving state land board power to cancel leases bought to impede development
Summary
The committee adopted an amendment and advanced Senate Bill 2302, which would give the Board of University and School Lands authority to cancel state leases if the board finds the lease was purchased with the intent to hinder resource development; committee voted 6-0 to recommend passage as amended.
Senate Bill 2302, amended to shift decision-making to the Board of University and School Lands and to allow lease cancellation where the board finds a lease was purchased to hinder development, was adopted by the committee and recommended for passage 6-0.
Sponsors said the language was modeled on steps other states have taken to ensure that state mineral leases not be used to block development. Committee discussion emphasized the amendment moves authority to the five-member board rather than a single commissioner to ensure a multi-member deliberative decision.
Members asked how the board would determine "no intent to develop," with Chairman Patton and others noting economic cycles make proof of intent complex. Sponsors said the board would exercise judgment and that the amendment had been developed with the state land department's input. The amendment was adopted by voice vote and the committee later recorded a 6-0 roll-call to advance the amended bill with a due-pass recommendation.
The sponsor agreed to carry the bill forward.
