Cantonal Geoinformation Act (kGeoIG) - Subject Matter (KGEOIG)

1. This law regulates

a) the execution of federal legislation in the area of geoinformation;

b) the collection, updating, management, and use of geodata by the canton and municipalities;

c) the creation of conditions for a cantonal and municipal geodata infrastructure;

d) the establishment and updating of the digital utility cadastre.

1. This law aims to ensure that geospatial data within the territory of the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden is made available to the authorities of the Confederation, cantons, and municipalities, as well as to the economy, society, and the scientific community, for broad use, in the required quality, and at reasonable costs.

1. This Law applies to

a) the geospatial base data of cantonal law and other geospatial data of the canton;

b) the geospatial base data of municipal law and other geospatial data of the municipalities, when the data is exchanged with the canton authorities.

2. The provisions for the geospatial base data under this Law also apply to the geospatial base data of federal law, provided that federal law or other cantonal law does not contain differing provisions.

1. The definitions pursuant to Art. 3 para. 1 of the GeoIG, Art. 2 of the Geoinformation Ordinance, and Art. 3 of the Ordinance on Geographical Names shall apply.

2. In addition, in this Act and its implementing provisions, the following terms mean

a) Basic geodata of cantonal law: geodata based on a regulatory decree of the canton;

b) Basic geodata of municipal law: geodata based on a regulatory decree of the municipality;

c) Geodata Infrastructure (GDI): a generally available system of procedures, facilities, technologies, data, and personnel that enables the shared exchange and efficient use of geodata;

d) Geographic Information System (GIS): a computer-based information system as part of the GDI, which makes geodata and geometadata accessible and usable through geoservices.

1. The Government Council shall designate in a catalog the geobase data of cantonal law and establish the respective access rights.

2. The authorities of the canton may collect, update, and manage geodata not based on cantonal statutory regulation

a) as temporarily limited foundational data or as a result of a project;

b) as evaluations of geobase data of federal law or cantonal law for the purpose of fulfilling cantonal duties;

c) as auxiliary data to support the fulfillment of cantonal duties.

1. The municipalities shall specify the geospatial base data of municipal and inter-municipal law in a catalog and determine the respective access authorization.

2. The catalogs of the municipalities are to be designed as uniformly as possible and harmonized in content.

1. The government council issues regulations regarding the qualitative and technical requirements for

a) Geospatial base data under cantonal and municipal law;

b) Geometadata relating to geospatial base data.

2. In doing so, it seeks to harmonize with the requirements for geospatial base data under federal law and adopts the provisions of federal law as far as possible and reasonable.

3. The qualitative and technical requirements generally also apply to other geodata according to Art. 5 Para. 2. The government council may issue differing regulations.

1. The authorities responsible for collecting, updating, and managing the geospatial base data are determined by specialized legislation.

2. In the absence of specific provisions, the responsibility falls to the cantonal or municipal authorities that are competent in the relevant subject area to which the geospatial base data pertain.

1. The competent authority pursuant to Article 8 ensures the sustainable availability of the geospatial data.

2. The governmental council regulates the archiving and historicization of the geospatial data under cantonal and municipal law.

1. Geospatial data of cantonal and municipal law as well as other geographic data according to Article 5 paragraph 2 are publicly accessible and can be used by any person, provided that no overriding public or private interests oppose this.

1. To the extent that this law does not contain any differing provisions, the provisions of the Data Protection Act shall apply.

1. The competent authority pursuant to Art. 8 may make access to geodata of the canton and the municipalities, as well as their use and dissemination, contingent upon obtaining consent. The consent shall be granted through

a) Order;

b) Contract;

c) Organizational or technical access controls.

2. The government council shall issue detailed regulations regarding

a) The permissible use and dissemination;

b) The procedure for granting access and use;

c) The obligations of the users, particularly concerning access and data protection when using and disseminating the data;

d) The attachment of source references, warnings, and indications of the currency of the data;

e) The exceptions to the requirement of consent.

1. The Government Council determines the geoservices of cantonal interest and establishes the provision of these geoservices for the geospatial reference data under cantonal law.

2. The municipalities establish the provision of geoservices for the geospatial reference data under municipal law.

3. The Government Council issues regulations for geoservices concerning qualitative and technical requirements to ensure optimal networking.

4. It regulates cross-sectional geoservices.

5. It may prescribe that certain geospatial reference data, either alone or in conjunction with other data, be made accessible in electronic form either through retrieval processes or by other means.

6. The competent authority pursuant to Art. 8 is responsible for the development and operation of these geoservices.

1. The authorities of the canton and the municipalities shall grant each other, as well as the authorities of the federal government and cantons, simple and direct access to geobasis data and other geodata.

2. The government council shall regulate the details.

1. For access to the geospatial data of the canton and municipalities, for their use, and for the use of geoservices, fees may be charged.

2. The fees consist of

a) For personal use: at most the marginal costs and a reasonable contribution to the infrastructure;

b) For commercial use: the marginal costs and a use-appropriate contribution to the infrastructure as well as to the investment and maintenance costs.

3. The fees for the use of official surveying data are divided equally between the canton and the municipalities, while those for the use of other data go to the responsible authority according to Art. 8.

4. The Government Council regulates the details and issues a unified fee schedule for the entire canton.

1. Art. 20 GeoIG applies mutatis mutandis to geospatial data under cantonal and municipal law.

1. The canton and the municipalities jointly operate a Geographic Information System (GIS).

2. For this purpose, the canton and the municipalities may establish a private or public-law entity or participate in such an entity.

1. The canton and the municipalities shall jointly bear the costs for the establishment and further development of the GIS.

2. The canton and the municipalities shall bear the operational costs of the GIS in accordance with the polluter pays principle, with respect to the geodata and geoservices within their jurisdiction.

3. The government council shall regulate the details.

1. The Government Council designates

a) the competent cantonal department for geoinformation (GIS department);

b) the competent cantonal-communal coordination body (GIS committee).

2. The Government Council regulates the details of organization and tasks.

1. Municipalities shall maintain a digital cadastre of infrastructure, indicating the geographical location of the lines along with their aboveground and underground structural facilities for supply and disposal.

2. The owners of the lines or works shall provide the municipality with the data in digital form at no cost. In return, they shall have the right to use the cadastre free of charge.

3. The government council shall issue detailed regulations regarding

a) the content of the cadastre;

b) the qualitative and technical requirements;

c) access and usage;

d) the fees.

1. The canton maintains the cadastre of public law restrictions on property ownership (PLR cadastre).

2. It may delegate this task to third parties or agree on joint fulfillment of this task with other cantons.

3. The executive council regulates the details of the organization, in particular

a) the competent authority for maintaining the PLR cadastre;

b) the competent authorities for the creation and issuance of certified extracts.

4. The executive council enters into multi-year program agreements with the federal government. If the canton's share of the program costs exceeds 2 million francs, the approval of the cantonal council is required.

1. The government council designates the cadastral legally binding geospatial data pertaining to the cantonal law and - in consultation with the municipalities - the municipal law.

2. It designates the additional information regarding ongoing changes to public-law restrictions on property ownership, which are linked to the contents of the cadastre.

1. The government council may stipulate that the Cadastre of Public-law Restrictions on Landownership (ÖREB-Kataster) serves as an official publication organ for certain public-law restrictions on landownership.

2. It regulates the details of jurisdiction and procedure.

1. The Executive Council regulates the details

a) of the admission procedure;

b) of access;

c) of the certification procedure;

d) of subsequent certification;

e) of the allocation of costs.

1. The Executive Council enters into multi-year program agreements with the Confederation. If the cantonal share of the program costs exceeds 2 million francs, the approval of the Cantonal Council is required. The municipalities must be consulted in advance.

2. The competent department concludes detailed agreements with the Confederation for the implementation of the program agreements.

3. The Executive Council approves the cadastral survey data and the extracts produced from it, particularly the plan for the land register.

1. The Government Council may, after consulting the municipalities, expand the content of the official survey as required by federal law and impose additional requirements on the survey.

1. The Government Council designates

a) the cantonal surveying supervision pursuant to Art. 42 of the Ordinance on Official Surveying;

b) the competent authority for official surveying (Surveying Specialist Office).

2. The Surveying Specialist Office is responsible for conducting the official survey, insofar as this law and its implementing provisions do not contain differing provisions.

3. The Government Council regulates the details of organization and tasks.

1. The costs for the initial survey, renewal, periodic updating, and for special adjustments shall be borne equally by the canton and the respective municipalities, insofar as they are not covered by the federal government.

2. The costs of ongoing updates shall be borne by the natural or legal person responsible for causing them. If a responsible party cannot be identified, the property owner shall bear the costs.

3. The costs for the administration of the components of the official surveying shall be borne equally by the canton and the respective municipalities.

1. The Government Council shall enact regulations concerning in particular

a) the legally valid marketing;

b) the maintenance and reporting system;

c) the business transactions between official surveying and the land register;

d) the public disclosure and approval procedure;

e) access and utilization;

f) the fees for ongoing maintenance and collection.

1. The Executive Council designates

a) the competent cantonal authority for determining the geographical names of the official survey;

b) a nomenclature commission (specialist office for the geographical names of the official survey);

c) the competent cantonal authority for determining and modifying the names of municipalities and localities.

2. The municipalities designate the names of all streets, paths, alleys, squares, and named areas that serve as street designations for addresses within their municipal territory. They regulate the competence for determining the street names.

3. The Executive Council issues detailed regulations on

a) the procedure for determining street names;

b) the spelling of street names.

1. The municipalities are responsible for the numbering of buildings (house numbers) according to streets, paths, alleys, squares, and designated areas within their municipal territory.

2. The government council shall issue detailed regulations regarding

a) the collection, updating, and management of building addresses;

b) the numbering and signage of buildings;

c) the reporting system.

1. To the extent that no differing provisions exist, the canton or the municipalities bear the costs of the tasks for which they are responsible.

1. Shall be punished with a fine

a) Anyone who unlawfully gains access to geodata according to Art. 3 para. 1 for themselves or third parties, uses or distributes it without consent,

b) Anyone who uses geoservices without consent,

c) Anyone who disregards regulations regarding usage, particularly concerning source citation.

1. The Government Council establishes a uniform positional reference system with a positional reference framework for official surveying as well as other geobasis data throughout the entire Canton territory and determines the date of its introduction within the Canton territory.

2. The Government Council determines the date for the introduction of the cadastre of public-law property restrictions.

3. The municipalities shall create the digital utility cadastre within five years from the entry into force of this law.

4. If a perpetrator pursuant to Art. 28 para. 2 cannot be identified, the Canton and the relevant municipality shall each bear half of the costs of the ongoing updating until the first periodic updating in the relevant municipality is completed.

1. The law is subject to an optional referendum.

2. The government council determines the commencement.