Opinion ID: 1239050
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Chapter 48 and Chapter 210

Text: The legislature established the Interim Mental Health Trust Commission (Trust Commission) in 1986. Ch. 132, SLA 1986. It gave the Trust Commission the power to approve proposals for the sale, lease, or exchange of mental health trust land and to make recommendations for resolving the litigation. See Ch. 132, §§ 2(d), 4, SLA 1986. One year later, based on discussions among all parties, the legislature attempted to settle the litigation by adopting Chapter 48, SLA 1987 (Chapter 48). Chapter 48 directed the commissioner of natural resources to establish the fair market value of the original trust lands under procedures approved by the Trust Commission. Ch. 48, § 4(a), SLA 1987. Once the Trust Commission established the fair market value of the lands, the commissioner, with the approval of the Trust Commission, was to select a combination of original trust lands and lands within legislatively designated areas with a fair market value equal to that of the original trust. Ch. 48, § 4, SLA 1987. The State would then compensate the trust for its use of these lands by paying it a rent of eight percent of the fair market value. Ch. 48, § 2, SLA 1987. Chapter 48 also provided that, until the fair market value of the trust land was established, the State would pay the trust five percent of unrestricted general fund revenues annually. Ch. 48, § 11, SLA 1987. Finally, the legislation created the Alaska Mental Health Board to determine the needs of persons to be served by the mental health program and to transmit recommendations for services and funding to the governor and legislature. See Ch. 48, § 6, SLA 1987. During enactment of Chapter 48, other plaintiff groups moved to intervene in the action. The superior court permitted Anita Bosel et al. [3] (Bosel Intervenors) to intervene on behalf of developmentally disabled individuals, [4] and H.L. et al. [5] (H.L. Intervenors) to intervene on behalf of chronic alcoholics with psychoses. AMHA and Weiss opposed the addition of the Bosel Intervenors. After an examination of the legislative history of the AMHEA, the superior court in 1988 concluded that Congress intended to benefit developmentally disabled individuals as well as those suffering from a psychiatric illness who may require hospitalization (Beneficiary Decision). The superior court also concluded that beneficiaries of the trust included chronic alcoholics suffering from psychoses and senile individuals who suffer major mental illnesses as a result of their senility. In December 1989 two of the three members of the Trust Commission estimated the fair market value of the original trust lands to be $2.243 billion. The third member, the delegate of the commissioner of natural resources, rejected this figure and estimated the value of the original trust lands to be about $565 million. In response to these conflicting valuations, the commissioner of natural resources declared an impasse and refused to implement Chapter 48. In 1990 the legislature enacted a different proposal under which the State would pay six percent of unrestricted general fund revenues annually to the trust. Ch. 210, § 2, SLA 1990. This solution, which avoided the issue of the fair market value for the original trust land, foundered due to opposition by plaintiffs who feared revenues would fall. During this period of negotiations, the State continued to convey original trust land. However, after the failure of Chapter 48, the plaintiffs obtained a preliminary injunction prohibiting the State from transferring trust lands or any interest in trust lands pending final resolution of the litigation. In addition, the plaintiffs refiled lis pendens on all original trust lands. [6] The injunction and lis pendens affected thousands of land transactions.