§171-41.6 Lessees within the last ten years of their lease terms; requests for interest. [Repeal and reenactment on June 30, 2028. L 2018, c 149, §7.] (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided in section 171-36(b), (c), and (e) and section 171-193, a lessee of public land that is classified as commercial and industrial use pursuant to section 171-10 and that is subject to the management, administration, or control of the board may submit, during the last ten years of the term of the original lease, a written request to the board to initiate a request for interest process as provided in this section.
(b) Within one hundred eighty days of a lessee's written request to initiate a request for interest, the board shall:
(c) Within ninety days after the closing date specified in the notice, the board shall determine if any persons have qualified under the terms of the request for qualifications and shall notify all persons who expressed interest as to whether they qualified. The board shall also notify the current lessee as to whether any other persons qualified.
(d) The board shall enter into direct negotiation with the current lessee immediately upon notification if no other qualified persons have expressed interest in the property.
(e) If the land is not leased pursuant to subsection (d) within three years before the termination date of the lease, the board shall dispose of the land by public auction as provided in this chapter; provided that the board has determined that at least one person, who:
has expressed interest in leasing the land and any improvements to the land that existed as of the date of the written request in subsection (a). The auction upset price shall be the greater of the current rent or the fair market rent pursuant to section 171-17(d) based upon the appraised value of the land and any improvements to the land that existed as of the date of the written request.
The current lessee may bid on a new lease at the public auction. The current lessee's business plan shall be deemed acceptable to the board and the current lessee shall not be required to submit a new business plan; provided that the current lessee is in compliance with the terms of the existing lease and has submitted a business plan prior to the date of the auction.
(f) Lease terms for any new lease executed pursuant to this section shall be determined by the board and shall:
(g) Unless specifically required to do so by the board, the current lessee shall not be required to remove improvements or restore the land to a vacant condition at the expiration of the lease; provided that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that the current lessee or State may have, this subsection shall not alter any obligation of a current lessee to indemnify, defend, and hold the State harmless from any claims regarding pollution or contamination of the land with potentially hazardous substances.
(h) This section shall not apply to:
(i) As used in this section, "improvements" means all physical improvements constructed, owned, or constructed and owned by the lessee during the lease term and shall exclude all infrastructure constructed, owned, or constructed and owned by third parties, such as water and sewer pipes, electricity and telephone lines and cables, or other infrastructure. [L 2017, c 215, pt of §2; am L 2018, c 149, §3; am L 2019, c 111, §2]