Section 12. Land exchanges; purposes; notice; hearings; submission to the voters

A. The legislature shall provide a process by law for exchanging lands granted or confirmed by the enabling act for public lands in this state under the terms and conditions prescribed by this section.


B. The purpose of the exchange must be either:


1. To assist in preserving and protecting military facilities in this state from encroaching development.


2. To improve the management of state lands for the purpose of sale or lease or conversion to public use of state lands.


C. Before the public hearings are held pursuant to subsection D, paragraph 3 of this section:


1. At least two independent appraisals must be made available to the public showing that the true value of any lands the state receives in the exchange equals or exceeds the true value of the lands the state conveys.


2. At least two independent analyses of the proposed exchange must be made available to the public showing:


(a) The income to the trust before the exchange from all lands the state conveys and the projected income to the trust after the exchange from all lands the state receives.


(b) The fiscal impact of the exchange on each county, city, town and school district in which all the lands involved in the exchange are located.


(c) The physical, economic and natural resource impacts of the proposed exchange on the surrounding or directly adjacent local community and the impacts on local land uses and land use plans.


D. Land may not be exchanged unless:


1. The exchange is in the best interest of the state land trust.


2. Public notice of the proposed exchange includes full disclosure of all details of the transaction, the ownership of all parcels of the lands involved in the exchange, including independent and ancillary parties, a legal and general description of the location of all parcels of the lands and the appraised value of all parcels of the lands.


3. Public hearings are held at the state capital and in a location of general accessibility in the vicinity of the state lands being exchanged. Notice of the time and place of the hearings must be given beginning at least six weeks before each hearing in a manner prescribed by law. During this period, a process shall be provided for public comment on the proposed exchange.


4. The exchange is approved by the qualified electors of this state in the manner of a referendum pursuant to article IV, part 1, section 1 at the next regular general election. To be approved, the proposition must receive an affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors voting on the measure.


E. Land exchanges are not considered to be sales for the purposes of this article.