An Act Regarding the Transportation of Products in the Forest Products Industry”
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 2061
Committee Amendment CA_A_S479 (Senate)
Amends: 10 MRSA §2364-B, 36 MRSA §574-D

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to S.P. 731, L.D. 2061, Bill, “An Act 
Regarding the Transportation of Products in the Forest Products Industry”
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following:
'Sec. 1.  10 MRSA §2364-B, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 454, §1 and 
amended by PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §§5 and 7 and PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §23, is further 
amended to read:
6.  Presentation of trip ticket to forest ranger.  Upon request, a truck driver or an 
owner or manager of any log yard or mill site shall present a copy of the trip ticket to a 
forest ranger in any log yard or mill site. Upon request, a wood scaler shall present the 
record of measurement including a copy of the trip ticket or information contained on the 
trip ticket to a forest ranger. A forest ranger may request and use this information for the 
purpose of enforcing and investigating alleged violations of Title 12, section 8883; Title 
14, section 7552; and Title 17, section 2510.  For purposes of this subsection, "forest 
ranger" means a person employed by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry, Bureau of Forestry under Title 12, section 8901.  A truck driver, an owner or 
manager of any log yard or mill site or a wood scaler who fails to comply with the 
provisions of this subsection is subject to the penalties provided in section 2368.
Sec. 2.  10 MRSA §2364-B, sub-§7 is enacted to read:
7.  Prohibition on intrastate transport of forest products.  A landowner who owns 
50,000 or more acres of forest land in the State may not allow the transportation of forest 
products harvested on that landowner's land from a location in the State to another 
location in the State in violation of federal law or regulation or an international trade 
agreement that prohibits the transportation of goods from a location in the United States 
to another location in the United States. An employee charged with enforcing the 
provisions of this subchapter shall forward all trip tickets evidencing a violation of this 
subsection to the State Tax Assessor for the purposes of enforcing Title 36, section 
574-D.
Date: 
(Filing No. S-          )
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to S.P. 731, L.D. 2061
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §574-D is enacted to read:
§574-D.  Intrastate transportation of forest products
If a landowner owns 50,000 or more acres of forest land in the State and allows the 
transportation of forest products harvested on the landowner's land from a location in the 
State to another location in the State in violation of federal law or regulation or an 
international trade agreement that prohibits the transportation of goods from a location in 
the United States to another location in the United States after 2 violations of Title 10, 
section 2364-B, subsection 7, all land of that landowner must be considered ineligible for 
classification under this subchapter and must be withdrawn pursuant to section 581.
A landowner whose land is withdrawn from classification under this section is not 
eligible for a property tax exemption under subchapter 4-C, reimbursement under chapter 
or any income tax credit under chapter 822 and may not receive any state-awarded 
grant or other state funding.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment replaces the bill.  It requires that owners and managers of log yards 
and mill sites must present a copy of a trip ticket to a forest ranger in the log yard or mill 
site upon request.  The amendment adds a requirement related to the transportation of 
forest products by providing that a landowner of 50,000 or more acres of forest land in 
the State may not allow the transportation of forest products harvested on the landowner's 
land from a location in the State to another location in the State in violation of federal law 
or regulation or an international trade agreement that prohibits the transportation of goods 
from a location in the United States to another location in the United States.  The 
amendment provides that a landowner with 2 prior violations of the new transportation 
requirement is ineligible for classification of the landowner's land under the Maine Tree 
Growth Tax Law and the landowner may not receive certain tax incentives or state grants 
or other state funding.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
Approved: 03/16/20
LD 2061
LR 3098(02)
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The bill also restricts businesses or contractors that no longer qualify for tree growth because of the eligibility criteria 
discussed above from receiving a property tax exemption under the Business Equipment Tax Exemption program 
(BETE), the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program (BETR) or any other income tax credit provided by 
the State.  To the extent a contractor or business falls within this ineligibility criteria, General Fund revenues, Local 
Government Fund revenues (revenue sharing) and municipality revenue would be increased.  It is not known at this 
time if any contractors or businesses would fall under these provisions and no estimate of any increased revenue is 
made.
This bill excludes from Maine Tree Growth Tax Law a parcel of land larger than 50,000 acres to which a landowner 
allows transportation of forest products harvested on the landowner's land from a location in the State to another 
location in the State in violation of federal law or regulation. To the extent that there are parcels in tree growth that 
would not meet the new eligibility criteria, those parcels would be removed from the program and Other Special 
Revenue Funds revenue and municipal revenue would be increased from penalties and increased tax revenue arising 
from changing the assessment. No estimate of the impact on revenues is made at this time.
Fiscal Note
Potential current biennium revenue increase - General Fund
Potential current biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds
Potential current biennium revenue increase - Municipalities
An Act Regarding the Transportation of Products in the Forest Products Industry
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
Committee: Taxation
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
LR3098(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1