HB 220 Alaska House · 34th Legislature (2025-2026)

An Act relating to easements and rights-of-way in state parks.

HB 220 establishes clear rules for granting easements and rights-of-way within Alaska state parks. It allows the state park department to approve access for utilities or private property if the project won’t harm park resources, serves the public interest, and follows other laws. Applicants must submit detailed plans showing public benefit, location, environmental impact, and survey data, with decisions required within 90 days. Existing easements must also be made available for public use under the same conditions.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 23, 2026 Last action May 7, 2026

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What changed between versions

HB 220 → SSHB 220 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was converted from a House Bill to a Sponsor Substitute, indicating the legislature has made significant changes to the original proposal. The primary substantive change is the addition of a new provision protecting existing easements, ensuring that valid rights-of-way are not automatically replaced with lesser permissions. Additionally, the timeline for the state to approve or reject applications was shortened from 90 days to 60 days, and the survey requirements for applications were simplified to allow GPS usage instead of traditional surveys.

Scope change

The bill now explicitly protects valid existing easements from being downgraded to lesser land use authorizations, whereas the original version did not contain this specific protection.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new subsection ensuring that valid existing easements or rights-of-way are not replaced with lesser permissions if they provide adequate access.

TIMELINE

Reduced the deadline for the commissioner to approve or disapprove an easement application from 90 days to 60 days.

REQUIREMENT

Simplified application requirements by removing the mandatory need for a formal survey, allowing GPS surveys instead.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 23, 2026

Committee

(H) REFERRED TO COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Introduced

(H) SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE INTRODUCED

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors