Alaska Senate passes the Personal Use Cabin Permit Program Act

The Alaska Senate has passed Senate Bill 219, providing Alaskans with an opportunity to retain a Personal Use Cabin Program permit within their family until a permanent cabin site solution can be provided by the Legislature and the Division of Mining, Land and Water.

The state cabin site program was repealed in 1997 to pave the way for a permanent solution incorporating long-term leases and outright land sales. However, little has been done in the 25 years. The lack of a solution threatens privately owned cabins around the state. SB 219 is an attempt to be responsive to those Alaska families.

In an effort to preserve family-type recreational cabins on state land, the bill allows any living personal use cabin permit holder to transfer to or add a name of an immediate family member to their permit. The transferred permit would then be valid for the lifetime of that immediate family member. Permits can be transferred only once and are valid for the lifetime of that immediate family member.

If a permit holder has died since 2020, a surviving family member has the option of assuming the privileges of the permit. The permit would then be valid until the original permit holder would have reached their life expectancy.

“Over the generations, Alaska families have created beautiful, lasting family memories at these recreational cabins that have become second homes for many, said Senate President Peter Micciche (R-Soldotna), who sponsored Senate Bill 219.

“I have personally fielded many calls from very upset families who have been informed that their permit has lapsed and they must remove their family cabin, often due to administrative issues or limited options. Often these cabins have been a part of a family for generations,” Micciche said.

“Since the repeal of the program, once a family loses their permit due to the premature death of the permit holder, renewal issues, or a departmental mistake, the permit expires forever, and the cabin must be removed from the land. SB 219 is designed to solve issues beyond the control of a family with a permitted cabin,” the senator said.

“Recreational cabins have provided a healthy recreational lifestyle for many Alaska families. This bill secures the permitted site and cabin until permanent solutions are passed into statute,” he said.

SB 219 is now on the way to the House of Representatives. For more information, please contact Madison Govin in Micciche’s office at 907-465-2828.