An Act To Strengthen Maine's Timber Theft Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1759
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: NUTTING, BRYANT
Amends: 17 MRSA §25

Legislative Document 
No. 1759 
S.P.676 
In Senate, December 30, 2005 
An Act To Strengthen Maine's Timber Theft Laws 
Submitted by the Department of Conservation pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 28,2005. Referred to the Committee 
on Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Senator NUTTING of Androscoggin. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Senator: BRYANT of Oxford, Representative: BRYANT of Windham. 
Printed on recy(; led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17 MRSA §25I2 is enacted to read: 
§2512. 
Failure to pay for trees harvested 
~l~. __ ~De~f~i~n~i~t_~~·o~n~s~. __ ~A~s~~u~s~e~d~~1~·n=-~t~h~i~s~~s~e~c~t=i~0~n~, __ ~u~n~1~e~s~s~t,he 
~~text otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following 
terms 
have 
the 
following meanings. 
A. 
"Forest products" means 
logs, 
pulpwood, 
veneer, bolt 
wood, wood chips, stud wood, poles, pilings, biomass fuel 
wood, fuel wood or other products commonly known as forest 
Rroducts, but does not include Christmas trees, maple syrup, 
nursery products 
used 
for 
ornamental 
purposes. 
wreaths, 
bough material, cones or other seed crops. 
B. 
"Handling or processing facility" means sawmills, bolter 
mills, shingle mills, veneer mills, fence pole and piling 
making 
operations, 
pulp 
and 
paper 
mills, 
wafer 
board, 
particle board 
and 
plywood mills, 
whole 
tree 
chippers L 
commercial fuel wood processors, custom processing mills of 
~hese products and log yards established to accumulate logs 
for transshipment to these facilities. 
C. 
"Harvest operation" means the harvest of forest products 
on land in a single municipality or township. Land harvested 
need not be contiguous, and more than one hary~ster may work 
a harvest operation. 
2. 
Payment within 30 days required. 
A person conducting a 
harvest operation shall pay the landowner for each truckload of 
harvested forest products within 
days of delivery to the 
handling or processing facility. 
A. 
In accordance with Title 10, section 2364-A, subsectj.on 
2-G, a copy of the measurement tally sheet or stumpage sheet 
for each truckload of harvested forest products transported 
to a handling or processing facility must be provided to the 
landowner when the person conducting a harvest operation 
~s the 
landowner. 
Full payment for each truckload of 
harvested forest 
products 
transported 
to 
a 
handling 
or 
processing facility must be made to the landowner within 30 
days of delivery to the handling or processing facility. 
B. 
A person that violates this section commits 
a civil 
violation. The following minimum penalties apply: 
(1) 
For the first offense, 
a fine of not less than 
$300; and 
Pagr. l-LR2729(11 
(2) 
For subse~~nt offenses within 5 years of the date 
of conviction for the first violation, a fine of not 
less than $500. 
C. 
A person that violates this section after having been 
.2.djudicated as having committed 2 or more civil violations 
under this section within the previous 5-year period commits 
a Class E crime. 
D. 
In addition to the fines imposed in paragraph B, 
the 
court may order a person adjudicated to have violated this 
section to provide upon request to any forest ranger of the 
Department of Conservation, 
Bureau of Forestry copies of 
measurement tally sheets for subsequent harvest operations 
being conducted by the violator for a period not to exceed 
one year. 
3. 
Exemptions. 
The following are exempt from this section: 
A. 
The Department of Transportation in the performance of 
activities under Title 23, section 701; 
B. 
Public utilities in maintaining adequate facilities in 
emergencies in compliance with Title 35-A, section 301; and 
C. 
Municipal 
employees, 
persons 
contracting 
with 
a 
municipali ty or other legitimate agents of a municipality 
acting within the course and scope of their employment or 
performing 
volunteer 
work 
for 
the 
municipality 
removing 
street trees or fallen trees or in emergencies. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires that a 
copy of the measurement tally 
sheet or stumpage sheet for each truckload of harvested forest 
products transported to 
a handling or processing facility, 
in 
accordance with Title 10, 
section 2364-A, 
subsection 2-G, 
be 
provided to the landowner when the person conducting a harvest 
operation pays the landowner. 
Full payment for each truckload of 
harvested forest products transported to a handling or processing 
facility must be made to the landowner within 30 days of delivery. 
The bill establishes a penalty of not less than $300 for the 
first offense and a 
fine of $500 
for 
any subsequent offense 
within 5 years of the first offense. 
The bill also makes it 
,c 
Class E crime if a person violates the section 2 or more 
time~:, 
within 5 years.