Title 37 — Public Lands

A. The commissioner may designate certain urban lands as suitable for a development plan. The designation may be made only for lands for which a state general plan has been approved under section 37-332, or a conceptual plan has been developed pursuant to section 37-331.03. The d…

A. The commissioner may approve a development plan which includes a proposed master plan area if the proposed master plan area: 1. Is within the corporate boundaries of a city or town. 2. Has inadequate infrastructure to use state land for its highest and best use. 3. Has an area…

A. On approval of the development or secondary plan, the commissioner may reclassify the lands consistent with the plan. The existing lessee is entitled to compensation as provided by this chapter. B. Upon the reclassification of state lands, the existing lessee shall be given no…

A. If an existing lease is cancelled due to reclassification under section 37-335, and if the existing lessee either did not utilize his preferred right to lease the reclassified land or was unsuccessful in obtaining the reclassified lease, the lessee is entitled to receive reimb…

A. The governing body of an incorporated city or town or the board of directors of a county improvement district or a community facilities district pursuant to title 48, chapter 4, article 6 may submit to the commissioner for approval an improvement plan to be carried out by the …

A. Officially certified descriptions of all urban lands included within the boundaries of a city special assessment or county improvement district subject to an approved improvement plan, with the amounts of assessments and charges of every character made against the leasehold in…

This chapter shall not be construed as creating a lien against the interest of this state in any urban lands, nor an obligation against this state to pay charges or assessments imposed against urban land pursuant to an improvement plan. No action of any nature may be brought to f…

A. The commissioner may enter into agreements with any public or private party to permit the construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure on urban lands, including a community identity package for urban lands with a plan that is approved pursuant to this article. The…

A. The commissioner may adopt rules pursuant to title 41, chapter 6 to carry out this article. All rules adopted by the commissioner are subject to review and approval by the legislature. B. Following the adoption of a rule, the commissioner shall immediately forward a certified …

A. The commissioner shall review all applications before issuing a development planning permit or secondary permit. The application shall include: 1. The applicant's experience, expertise and financial capability to prepare and complete the development or secondary plan. 2. The e…

The state land department may make preliminary investigation of projects for the reclamation of state lands by the storage of flood waters, for the discovery and development of subterranean water for irrigation and domestic purposes, or the diversion of running streams adapted fo…

A. The state land department shall make and file locations, appropriations, and rights of way of waters, reservoir sites and dam and power sites whenever the location and filing is deemed advisable for the irrigation of state lands. The land department shall, for and on behalf of…

A. The state land department may investigate and determine adverse claims to lands the title to which is held by the state, and in instances where title to other land is obtained in lieu of such land, the department may relinquish the claim of the state thereto. The determination…

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires, "acquired entitlement land" means land which this state acquired from the United States after December 31, 1985 and at the time it was acquired it was entitlement land under title 31 United States Code chapter 69 and the acq…

A. Each fiscal year the commissioner shall pay to each county in which acquired entitlement land is located a payment from monies appropriated and available for such purpose in an amount determined under this section to be used by the county for any official purpose. B. Subject t…

All persons qualified to make entry under the public land laws of the United States, who settle upon, cultivate or improve a tract of land in the state for the purpose of acquiring title thereto as a homestead or desert land entry under the laws of the United States, and who are …

A. A person shall not hold more than one claim of the classes referred to in section 37-411 at the same time. B. The claimant shall distinctly mark the boundaries of his claim so that it can be readily traced, and shall accurately describe it in a written notice under oath. The n…

The state may, when necessary for its uses or for the uses of any state department or institution, take over any state lands and the improvements thereon by reimbursing the owners for the improvements, and the department or institution so using the lands shall lease them and pay …

A. The governing board or officer of a state department or institution desiring to avail itself of the provisions of this article shall make application to the governor for taking the lands over, and, if the application is approved by the governor, it shall be transmitted to the …

Upon payment by the state for improvements on state land taken over by the state or its departments or institutions the improvements shall become the property of the state. If the land subsequently is sold or leased to other parties, the purchaser or lessee shall reimburse the st…

A. If a state agency or institution that leases a parcel of trust land is also a beneficiary of that trust, the department may offset trust proceeds to the agency against the rent due from the agency or institution. The amount of the offset shall be included in the agency's or in…

A. The department may grant rights-of-way for any purpose it deems necessary, and sites for reservoirs, dams and power or irrigation plants, or other purposes, on and over state lands, subject to terms and conditions the department imposes. The department may make rules respectin…

The state land department shall conserve, sell or otherwise administer the timber products, stone, gravel and other products and property upon lands belonging to the state under rules not in conflict with the enabling act and the constitution.

A. No contract for the sale of timber shall exceed a term of five years nor shall more than fifty million feet of timber be sold to any one person at one sale, nor shall any sale be made or contract entered into with any person while such person has under sale or contract more th…

A. The commissioner and the state forester shall collaborate to establish a program to remove vegetative natural products for the purposes of fire prevention and forest and watershed restoration and to facilitate the development of wood products industries in this state. B. To im…

A person is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor who: 1. Knowingly commits a trespass upon state lands, either by cutting down or destroying timber or wood standing or growing thereon, by carrying away timber or wood therefrom, by mowing, cutting, or removing hay or grass thereon or t…

A. Whoever commits any trespass upon state lands as defined by section 37-501 is also liable in a civil action brought in the name of the state in the county in which the trespass was committed, for three times the amount of the damage caused by the trespass, if the trespass was …

A. Except as provided by title 28, chapter 11 and section 37-288.01, the department may dispose of or contract for the disposal of personal property on state land without legal process if the department reasonably determines that the property was deposited by: 1. A person who was…

(Caution: 1998 Prop. 105 applies) A. After any appropriation pursuant to section 37-527, the permanent state school fund shall consist of: 1. The proceeds of all lands granted to this state by the United States for the support of common schools. 2. All property which accrues to t…

A. After any appropriation pursuant to section 37-527, the universities land fund shall consist of: 1. The proceeds of all lands granted to the state by the United States for university purposes. 2. All property donated by individuals for university purposes, unless the terms of …

A. After any appropriation pursuant to section 37-527, the normal schools land fund shall consist of: 1. The proceeds of all lands granted to the state by the United States for normal schools for the purpose of training teachers. 2. All property donated for normal schools, teache…

A. After any appropriation pursuant to section 37-527, the agricultural and mechanical colleges land fund, and the school of mines land fund, shall separately consist of the proceeds of: 1. All lands granted to the state by the United States for the respective purposes named. 2. …

A. After any appropriation pursuant to section 37-527, the legislative, executive and judicial public buildings land fund, the penitentiary land fund, the Arizona state hospital land fund, the state charitable, penal and reformatory institutions land fund, the schools and asylum …

A. The central Arizona project municipal and industrial repayment fund is established consisting of: 1. Revenues from the transfer of central Arizona project municipal and industrial water rights and the sale of central Arizona project municipal and industrial water pursuant to s…

A. The trust land management fund is established. The fund consists of up to ten percent of the annual proceeds of: 1. Each beneficiary's trust lands granted to this state by the United States. 2. All sales of timber, mineral, gravel or other natural products or property from eac…

The governing body of any county, city, town or school district may exchange with each other any land owned by them but such exchange shall not be made of lands situated in different counties. The determination of the governing body having control of the land that such land shoul…

Not less than thirty days prior to the actual exchange of such land, the governing body of any county, city, town or school district having control of the land shall cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the county in which the land is located a notic…

The exchange shall be conducted without formalities, advertisements for bids or considerations of other offers by other persons, but the value of the respective parcels of land being so exchanged shall be substantially the same as determined by an appraisal to be made by a qualif…

A. State land may be exchanged for public land in this state to improve the management of state lands for the purpose of sale or lease or conversion to public use of state lands or to assist in preserving and protecting military facilities in this state. Exchanges may be made for…

A. The department and selection board, for the purpose of consolidating surface and subsurface ownership, may exchange unleased or unclaimed subsurface rights and interests and leased oil and gas rights and interests, managed by the state land department for subsurface rights and…

A. An exchange for state lands shall not be authorized, approved or made unless the owner of the lands to be traded for state land agrees to grant the state title in fee simple with appropriate title insurance as determined to be acceptable by the department. B. The state shall g…

A. A person interested in the exchange of state lands may appear at any hearing and enter a written protest as provided in section 37-604. B. The commissioner shall render a decision regarding any protest and serve notice of the decision pursuant to section 37-133. C. Except as p…

A. Exchange of state lands managed by the state land department may be initiated by the owner of the other lands proposed to be exchanged on application forms provided by the department. B. The department, on determining that the proposed exchange presents obvious benefits to the…

The provisions of this article are supplemental to and in addition to the authority provided in chapter 3, article 2 of this title.

B. The department may not exchange sovereign land of this state for other lands under this section unless: 1. The commissioner determines that the exchange is in the best interest of the state. 2. The commissioner determines by at least one independent appraisal that either of th…

B. The commissioner shall evaluate each request pursuant to this section and, if the commissioner determines that a transfer would serve the best interest of this state and the public in the area in which the surplus land is located, the commissioner shall recommend to the state …

The consent of the state may be given pursuant to section 37-620.02 in accordance with the seventeenth clause, eighth section, of the first article of the Constitution of the United States to the acquisition by the United States by purchase, lease, condemnation or otherwise of an…

Concurrent jurisdiction over any land in the state heretofore or hereafter acquired by the United States for any of the purposes set forth in section 37-611 and over any public domain in the state reserved or used for penal purposes by the United States is ceded to the United Sta…

Any land over which exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction is ceded by the state to the United States, the state retains concurrent jurisdiction with the United States for serving process, civil or criminal, issuing under the authority of the state, or any courts, or judicial offic…

A. The state land department and selection board, for reasons of proper management, control, protection, or public use of state lands, may exchange road rights-of-way over state lands managed by the state land department for road rights-of-way over any other land within the state…