An Act To Ensure Harvesting of Timber on Land Taxed under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1470
Committee Amendment CA_A_S441 (Senate)
Amends: 36 MRSA §575-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A. " to S.P. 459, L.D. 1470, Bill, "An Act To 
Ensure Harvesting of Timber on Land Taxed under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Evaluate the Harvesting of Timber on Land Taxed under the Maine 
Tree Growth Tax Law' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §575-A, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 603, §5, is repealed and the 
following enacted in its place: 
§575-A. Determining compliance with forest management and harvest plan 
1. Assistance to assessor. Upon request of a municipal assessor or the State Tax 
Assessor and in accordance with section 579, the Director of the Bureau of Forestry 
within the Department of Conservation may provide assistance in evaluating a forest 
management and harvest plan to determine whether the plan meets the definition of a 
forest management and harvest plan in section 573, subsection 3-A. Upon request of a 
municipal assessor or the State Tax Assessor, the Director of the Bureau of Forestry may 
provide assistance in determining whether a harvest or other silvicultural activity 
conducted on land enrolled under this subchapter complies with the forest management 
and harvest plan prepared for that parcel of land. When assistance is requested under this 
section and section 579, the Director of the Bureau of Forestry or the director's designee 
may enter and examine forest land for the purpose of determining compliance with the 
forest management and harvest plan. 
2. Random sampling and report. The Director of the Bureau of Forestry within the 
Department of Conservation is authorized to conduct periodic random sampling of land 
enrolled under this subchapter to identify any differences in compliance with forest 
management and harvest plans based on location or type of parcel and to assess overall 
compliance with the requirements of this subchapter. For the purposes of this subsection, 
the Director of the Bureau of Forestry or the director's designee may: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 459, L.D. 1470 
A. With appropriate notification to the landowner, enter and examine forest land for 
the pU[QQSe of detern1ining compliance with the forest management and harvest plan 
pursuant to section 574-B; 
B. Request and review a forest management and harvest plan required under section 
574-B, which must be provided by a landowner or the landowner's agent upon 
request; and 
C. Request and review an expired forest management and harvest plan, which must 
be provided by a landowner or the landowner's agent upon request, if the expired plan 
is in the possession of the landowner or the landowner's agent. 
A forest management and harvest plan provided to the Director of the Bureau of Forestry 
or the director's designee under this subsection is confidential. Information collected 
pursuant to this subsection is confidential and is not a public record as defined in Title 1, 
section 402, subsection 3, except that the director shall publish at least one summary 
report, which may not reveal the activities of any person and that is available as a public 
record. This subsection is repealed on December 31, 2014. 
Sec. 2. Report. The Director of the Bureau of ForestlY within the Department of 
Conservation shall provide a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature 
having jurisdiction over taxation matters no later than March 1, 2014. The report must 
include: findings from the periodic random sampling of land enrolled under the Maine 
Tree Growth Tax Law performed pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, 
section 575-A, subsection 2, including any findings related to any differences in 
compliance issues based on the location of parcels, such as coastal and waterfront 
properties as compared to other parcels; a summary of data concerning violations and 
enforcement activities; an assessment of the effectiveness of the Maine Tree Growth Tax 
Law in promoting the harvesting of fiber for commercial purposes and its impact on the 
fiber industry; and recommendations to address any problems identified and to ensure 
that parcels enrolled under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law meet the requirements of the 
law.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill, which was a concept draft, and changes the title. It 
authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Forestry within the Depattment of Conservation 
to conduct periodic random sampling of land enrolled under the Maine Tree Growth Tax 
Law and assess overall compliance with the law as well as differences in compliance 
based on property location. It allows the director or the director's designee to examine 
forest land and review the forest management and harvest plan, or an expired plan, upon 
request when the director is conducting a random sampling. This amendment provides 
that the information collected is confidential, except that the director is required to 
publish at least one summary repOlt that does not reveal the activities of any person or 
business entity and that must be available as a public record. It also requires the director 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~~ 
~O 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 459, L.D. 1470 
to provide a repoli that includes findings and recommendations to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters no later than 
March 1, 2014. This amendment provides that the provision authorizing the random 
sampling and report is repealed on December 31,2014. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03/12/12 frac. 
LD 1470 
LR 1636(02) 
An Act To Ensure Harvesting of Timber on Land Taxed under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" A" S .. JfI+ I 
Committee: Taxation 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Additional costs to the Department of Conservation associated with conducting periodic random sampling of land 
enrolled under the Maine tree growth tax law to ensure compliance with forest management and harvest plans and 
reporting the results and findings of these random samplings can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR1636(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1