The board of land commissioners is hereby empowered to set the fees for sales, leases, easements of state land and all other transactions in the department of lands.
All moneys collected for fees shall be paid to the state treasurer and shall be credited to the endowment earnings reserve account for endowment land management, and to the general account [fund] for all other activities unless otherwise provided by law; provided, however, that in all cases where filing or other fees or rent moneys have been paid to the board by two (2) or more applicants for the same lands, such fees, or rent moneys, may be returned to the unsuccessful applicant from any moneys in the possession of the board; provided, that such payments shall be made out of the account to which they may have been credited.