AS Title 44, Chapter 68: State Property

Article 1. Use of State-Owned Vehicles. Chapter 68. State Property. Sec. 44.68.010. Authorized uses. State-owned vehicles may be used only in the conduct of state business. A state officer or employee may not use or permit the use of a state-owned vehicle except in the conduct of state business. Sec. 44.68.020. Regulations. The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shall adopt regulations that (1) define what is the use of state-owned automotive and mechanical vehicles in the conduct of state business and distinguish this use from misappropriation for private use; (2) prescribe use governing the storage of state-owned vehicles in those locations where storage space, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, is available for storage of state-owned vehicles; (3) provide for the marking of state-owned vehicles as property of the state and for the use of distinctive license tags for state-owned vehicles. Sec. 44.68.030. Exemptions. AS 44.68.010 — 44.68.040 do not apply to the use of vehicles by the governor. Sec. 44.68.040. Violations. A state officer or employee who violates AS 44.68.010 — 44.68.040 or a regulation adopted under AS 44.68.010 — 44.68.040 is subject to dismissal from state employment upon hearing as provided for other dismissals for cause. Article 2. Disposition of Surplus State Property. Sec. 44.68.110. Disposition of obsolete or surplus state property. (a) The Department of Administration shall take possession of obsolete or surplus property of the state, including recyclable property, for which there is no immediate or prospective use, except abandoned or obsolete school buildings and other school property. It shall also take possession of property, including recyclable property, remaining in the control of a commission or board of the state government after the commission or board stops functioning. The Department of Administration shall sell, lease, license, or dispose of the property on the terms it considers for the best interests of the state in conformance with regulations adopted under AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code). In this section, “recyclable property” means property that cannot be used for its intended purpose in its present form, but that can be used to create new property. (b) Before a state agency transfers obsolete or surplus property to the Department of Administration for sale, lease, licensing, or other disposition under (a) of this section, the state agency shall reconfigure or erase all functions, including electronic functions, of the property as necessary to prevent the property from producing indicators that the property, or a product generated by the property, is property of the state or is generated by a state agency. (c) A group of volunteers that is organized to provide search and rescue services in the state, including participation in a search and rescue party under AS 18.60.120 , may exercise a right of first refusal with respect to obsolete or surplus state property that may assist in carrying out search and rescue services before the property is sold, leased, licensed, or disposed of under (a) of this section. To qualify under this subsection, the group shall be organized as a nonprofit corporation under AS 10.20 or exercise the right of first refusal through and in the name of the municipality in which the group is located or a Native village council operating in the area in which the group is located that agrees to accept the property and use the property for search and rescue services. If the group exercises the right of first refusal through and in the name of a municipality or Native village council, the municipality or Native village council shall own the property. The Department of Administration shall provide public notice of the availability of obsolete or surplus state property that may assist in carrying out search and rescue services before the property is sold, leased, licensed, or disposed of under (a) of this section, as provided by regulation. In this subsection, “search and rescue services” means a search for a person who is lost, injured, killed, or in need of immediate rescue, the provision of aid to a person who is in distress or in immediate danger, or the retrieval of a person's remains. Article 3. Acquisition of Federal Surplus Property. Sec. 44.68.120. Authority and duty of Department of Administration. (a) The Department of Administration may (1) acquire from the United States under The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 as amended, referred to in AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140 as the “Federal Act,” and other applicable federal statutes and regulations, (63 Stat. 377 et seq., 40 U.S.C.A. 471 et seq.) property under the control of a department or agency of the United States that is usable and necessary for purposes of education (including educational activities which are of special interest to the armed services), public health or civil defense, and other purposes authorized by federal law; (2) warehouse property acquired under (a)(1) of this section; and (3) distribute the property to tax-supported medical institutions, hospitals, clinics, health centers, school systems, colleges, schools, and universities in the state, to other nonprofit medical institutions, hospitals, clinics, health centers, schools, colleges, and universities exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954, including future amendments, to civil defense organizations of the state established under state law, to organizations or institutions engaged in educational activities which are of special interest to the armed services, and to other types of institutions or activities eligible under federal law to acquire the property. (b) The Department of Administration may receive applications from the eligible institutions listed in (a)(3) of this section, including the state government and its political subdivisions, for the acquisition of federal surplus real property, investigate the applications, get an expression of views on the applications from the health or educational authorities of the state, make recommendations on applicants, needs for the property, the merits of its proposed program of use, and the suitability of the property for these purposes, and otherwise assist in the processing of applications for acquisition of real and related personal property of the United States under § 203 (k) of the Federal Act. (c) The Department of Administration may adopt the regulations and prescribe the requirements and take other action considered necessary to administer AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140 to assure maximum use and benefit to eligible institutions and organizations in the state. (d) The Department of Administration may take the action, make the expenditures, and enter into contracts, agreements, and undertakings in the name of the state, including cooperative agreements with federal agencies providing for use by and exchange between them of the property, facilities, personnel, and services of each by the other, require the reports and make the investigations required by law or regulation of the United States in connection with the disposal of real property and the receipt, warehousing, and distribution of personal property received by the department from the United States. (e) The Department of Administration may act as clearinghouse of information for eligible institutions and organizations referred to in (a) of this section and other institutions eligible to acquire federal surplus real property, locate real and personal property available for acquisition from the United States, ascertain the terms and conditions under which the property may be obtained, receive requests from the eligible institutions and organizations, and transmit to them available information in reference to the property, and aid and assist them to acquire federal surplus property under AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140. (f) The Department of Administration shall cooperate with the departments or agencies of the United States and shall file a state plan of operation, operate in accordance with it, and take the action necessary to meet the minimum standards prescribed in accordance with the Federal Act, and make the reports in the form and containing the information which the United States or its departments or agencies may require and shall comply with the laws of the United States and the regulations of its departments or agencies governing the allocation, transfer, use, or accounting for property donated to the state. (g) The Department of Administration may perform functions necessary to carry out the transfer of federal surplus personal property for eligible purposes under Public Law 659, 1954, as amended, and to comply with regulations of the Federal General Services Administration in connection with the Federal Act. In carrying out the purposes of this subsection the department may, upon the governor's request, act as the governor's representative in connection with the function to be performed under AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140. (h) The civil defense organization, officials, and contacts throughout the state may be used to assist in carrying out the purposes of AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140 to the extent that this is feasible and can be done without adversely affecting civil defense. The department may employ the assistants and other workers in the surplus property service necessary to carry out the purposes of AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140. Sec. 44.68.130. Financing surplus property service; special fund. (a) The functions of the Department of Administration under AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140 shall be, to the fullest extent possible, self-supporting. Funds to pay for personal services and all other expenses necessary to operate under AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140 shall be obtained from appropriations authorized under AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140 and fees charged to users of surplus property. However, charges may not be made when property is transferred for civil defense purposes. The department shall establish the fees to be charged. Charges may be made to reimburse the department for direct costs incurred on behalf of users of surplus property. (b) The charges or fees imposed by the department for the acquisition, warehousing, distribution, or transfer of federal surplus property for educational, public health, or civil defense purposes, including research, and for purposes eligible under federal law are limited to those reasonably related to the costs of care and handling in respect to acquisition, receipt, warehousing, distribution, or transfer by the department. In the case of real property, the charges and fees shall be limited to the reasonable administrative costs of the department incurred in transferring the property. A reasonable reserve may be considered as a proper cost. (c) There is a special revolving fund in the state treasury. All fees and other money collected from users and receiving agencies shall be deposited in this fund. Administrative costs and incidental expenses shall be paid from this special fund. Sec. 44.68.140. Authorization to accept property. The governing board, or the executive head of a department, instrumentality, or agency of the state government or of a town, city, school district, or other political subdivision may, by order or resolution, give an officer or employee of it continuing authority to get, certify, and accept the transfer to it of property under AS 44.68.120 — 44.68.140, and to obligate the authority for which the officer or employee acts and its funds to the extent necessary to comply with the terms and conditions of the transfers. This authority of an officer or employee remains in effect until the order or resolution is revoked and written notice of revocation is received by the Department of Administration. Article 4. Highways Equipment Working Capital Fund. Sec. 44.68.210. Fund established. The highways equipment working capital fund is established as an intragovernmental service fund for the use of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Sec. 44.68.220. Use of fund. The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shall use the highways equipment working capital fund for necessary expenses resulting from the centralization of equipment maintenance and for the operation of supply depots. The annual estimated balance in the fund may be used by the legislature to make appropriations to the department to carry out the purposes of this section. Sec. 44.68.230. Rental fees and charges. (a) Receipts from rental fees and surcharges to the various departments for equipment rental, repair, and supplies shall be deposited in the highways equipment working capital fund. The departments of the state government shall include in their annual budgets the rental fees, equipment repairs, and supplies. (b) Rental and surcharge rates charged by the department are subject to annual review and approval by the governor. Sec. 44.68.240. Records of fund. The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shall maintain cost accounting records showing the income and expenses of the highways equipment working capital fund. Sec. 44.68.250. Additions and replacements to fund. Additions to capital equipment, replacements of capital equipment, or improvements paid from the highways equipment working capital fund are subject to annual appropriation by the legislature and must be detailed in the executive budget. Article 5. Transfers to Political Subdivisions. Sec. 44.68.270. Transfer of equipment to political subdivisions. (a) The commissioner of transportation and public facilities may transfer directly to a political subdivision of the state, including a village organized under 25 U.S.C. 461 — 479, the title to automotive and construction equipment that can be used in the maintenance or construction of roads and airports. (b) Equipment may not be transferred unless it is in excess of known state requirements in the major senatorial district and is intended for use, to some extent, to maintain and construct airports or roads. (c) The commissioner may transfer equipment that in the commissioner's judgment is not economically repairable or is obsolete, without regard to (b) of this section. (d) The commissioner shall determine how the equipment is to be allocated in the best interests of the state. The commissioner may adopt necessary regulations to implement this section and AS 44.68.280 . Sec. 44.68.280. Restriction on sales by transferee. A political subdivision that receives title to automotive and construction equipment may not sell it for a period of two years after the date title is transferred. Sec. 44.68.290. Transfer of civil defense property. (a) Title to personal property received by the state from the federal government for civil defense purposes may be transferred to political subdivisions of the state that have qualified civil defense organizations by the Department of Public Safety with the approval of the state director of civil defense and the approval of the Department of Administration. This section is applicable only when title to the property is held by the Department of Public Safety. (b) As a condition of title transfer, the political subdivision is responsible for compliance with the federal and state restrictions on the property. (c) A transfer of title to property may not be made if the transfer is not in compliance with federal law and with the terms of the agreement under which the property has been made available to the state by the federal government.