Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1872
Committee Amendment CA_B_H799 (House)
Amends: 12 MRSA §8011, 12 MRSA §8014

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,flit to H.P. 1312, L.D. 
To 
Provide 
Forest Certification Cost-share 
Forest Landowners and Licensed Foresters" 
1872, Bill, 
Incentives 
"An 
to 
Amend 
the bill by 
striking out all of 
section 
and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §8011, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. 
KKKK, §l, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
S8011. 
Cost-share fund established: pu~se 
A forest certification incentive cost share fund, referred 
to in this chapter as "the fund," is established as a nonlapsing 
dedicated account to provide incentives to licensed foresters and 
landowners for obtaining independent 3rd-party certification and 
recertification. 
The 
bureau 
shall 
administer 
the 
fund 
in 
accordance with section 8014. 
The bureau may accept donations 
and grants from public and private sources for deposit in the . 
. 3 8 
.f..J.md... ' 
Further amend the bill in section 3 in subsection 3 
in 
paragraph B in the 2nd line (page 2, line 5 in L.D.) by striking 
out the following: "must receive no" and inserting in its place 
the following: 'may not receive any' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 5 and 
inserting in its place the following: 
Page l-LR2730(3) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
"'"t;: 
';~:'~>~ 
,,' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "f)" to H.P. 1312, L.D. 1872 
'Sec. 5. 12 MRS A §8013, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. 
KKKK, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §8014 is enacted to read: 
§8014. 
Administration of cost-share fund; procedure 
The bureau shall administer the fund to reimburse eligible 
persons for 
a 
portion of the costs of obtaining independent 
3rd-party certification in accordance with this section. 
1. 
Eligibility. 
The following persons are eligible for 
cost-share funds: 
A. 
A 
licensed 
forester 
who 
has 
obtained 
independent 
3rd-party certification or 
recertification 
as 
a 
forest 
resource 
manager 
in 
order 
that 
the 
forester's 
client 
landowners 
may 
obtain 
the 
benefits 
accruing 
from 
such 
certification; 
B. 
A landowner who owns 1,QQQ acres or less of forest land 
statewide, has obtained independent 3rd party certification 
Qr recertification fQr the land and submits the verification 
required under subsectiQn 5; and 
C. 
A grQup of landowners who have collectively obtained 
3rd-party certification or recertificatiQn for their land as 
lQng as some or all of the landowners own 1, 000 acres or 
less and the group submits the verification required under 
subsectiQn 6. 
2. 
Maximum amount of cost share funds distributed. 
The 
amount of cQst-share funds distributed to a person eligible for 
reimbursement under subsectiQn 1 may not exceed 50% Qf the cost 
of obtaining independent 3rd party certification. 
The maximum amount Qf cost share fundS distributed to a group of 
landowners 
eligible 
for 
reimbursement 
under 
subsection 
1, 
paragraph C is calculated by multiplying the number of landowners 
in the grQup whQ Qwn 1,aaQ acres Qr less of forest land by 50% of 
the cost of Qbtaining independent 3rd-party certification and 
dividing the product by the tQtal number Qf landQwners in the 
group. 
For 
the 
purposes 
Qf 
this 
subsection, 
"cost 
of 
Qbtaining 
independent 3rd-party certificatiQn" 
means the fee paid to an 
external auditor to complete the certification process. 
3. 
Repcument required. 
A licensed fQrester, landowner or 
group of landowners that accepts cQst-share funds in accordance 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .£ .. to H.P. 1312, L.D. 1872 
with this chapter but that fails to retain certification for the 
full certification period shall repay the full amount of the 
cost-share funds received to the bureau. 
The bureau may impose a 
reasonable interest rate 
on the 
amount of the 
funds 
to 
be 
repaid. 
The bureau shall deposit all repayments and interest 
received under this subsection into the fund. 
4. 
Forms. 
The bureau shall provide application forms for 
licensed foresters, landowners and groups of landowners seeking 
cost-share funds pursuant to this chapter. 
5. 
Verification for landowner. 
To gualify for cost-share 
funds, 
a 
landowner 
must 
provide 
a 
statement 
signed by 
the 
external auditor performing the certification under this section 
verifying that the auditor does not have a conflict of interest, 
including, but not limited to, a role in management of the land, 
and 
that 
the 
management 
plan 
and 
its 
implementation 
are 
consistent with recommendations or published guidelines for an 
independent 
3rd-party 
certification 
program 
and 
address 
the 
following: 
A. 
Sustainable harvest of timber consistent with ownership 
size and forest conditions; 
B. 
Improvement of timber guality; 
C. 
Known 
occurrences of rare, 
threatened or endangered 
species listed by the Natural Areas 
Program established 
under section 544 and the Department of Inland Fisheries and 
Wildlife; 
D. 
Known 
occurrences 
of plants 
or natural 
communities 
designated by the Natural Areas Program established under 
section 544 in accordance with section 544-B; 
E. 
Deer 
wintering 
areas 
and 
other 
important habitats 
identified 
Wildlife; 
by 
the 
Department 
of 
Inland 
Fisheries _ and 
F. 
Vernal pools and other important habitats identified 
during site visits; and 
G. 
Diversity within native habitats, 
such as size and 
condition of trees and age classes of stands, consistent 
with ownership size and forest conditions. 
6. 
Verification for 
group of landowners. 
A group of 
landowners applying for cost share funds must provide a statement 
signed by the group's certification manager verifying that: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ~, to H.P. 1312, L.D. 1872 
A. 
A representative subset of the entire group of certified 
properties has been sampled during a field audit process; and 
B. 
Management of the certified properties is consistent 
with the guidelines under subsection 5, paragraphs A to G.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the minority report of the Joint Standing 
Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. 
Like the 
majority 
report, 
it 
expands 
the 
eligibility 
criteria 
for 
reimbursement from the forest certification incentive cost-share 
fund to include a group of landowners who collectively receive 
certification, allows the fund to be used for recertification and 
limits 
the 
amount 
of 
reimbursement 
received 
by 
a 
group 
of 
landowners based on the number of landowners at or below the 
I,OOO-acre ownership threshold. 
The minority report adds that to 
qualify for cost-share funds, a landowner or group of landowners 
must 
submit 
a 
statement 
verifying 
that 
management 
of 
the 
certified land addresses each of 7 areas. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT