An Act to Authorize Removal of Requirements of Forest Certification Systems from the State's Forest Management Plans
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1985
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: JACKSON
Amends: 12 MRSA §1847

Legislative Document
No. 1985
S.P. 814
In Senate, May 22, 2023
An Act to Authorize Removal of Requirements of Forest 
Certification Systems from the State's Forest Management Plans
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by President JACKSON of Aroostook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §1847, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. C, §9, is 
further amended by enacting a new 2nd blocked paragraph to read:
If a forest certification system is part of a comprehensive management plan and the 
commissioner determines that the forest certification system does not maintain or enhance 
the long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities, the 
commissioner shall amend the comprehensive management plan by removing the forest 
certification system from the comprehensive management plan.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §1847, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. C, §9, is 
further amended by enacting a new 3rd blocked paragraph to read:
For purposes of this section, "forest certification system" means a voluntary, 3rd-party 
annual monitoring process that considers ecological and socioeconomic effects of forest 
management activities.
Sec. 3. Forest Stewardship Council certification.  The Commissioner of 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry shall examine the Forest Stewardship Council 
certification system to make a determination whether the Forest Stewardship Council is 
complying with its own principles relating to maintaining or enhancing the long-term social 
and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities.  Principles relating to 
forest workers and local communities include:
1.  The communities within, or adjacent to, the forest management area must be given 
opportunities for employment, training and other services;
2.  Forest management must meet or exceed all applicable laws and regulations 
covering health and safety of employees and their families;
3. The rights of workers to organize and voluntarily negotiate with their employers 
must be guaranteed;
4.  Forest management planning and operations must incorporate the results of 
evaluations of social impact.  Consultations must be maintained with people and groups 
directly affected by forest management operations; and
5.  Appropriate mechanisms must be employed for resolving grievances and for 
providing fair compensation in the case of loss or damage affecting the legal or customary 
rights, property, resources or livelihoods of local people.  Measures must be taken to avoid 
such loss or damage.
If the commissioner finds or the Legislature finds and instructs the commissioner that 
the Forest Stewardship Council is not complying with its own principles under this section, 
the commissioner shall remove the Forest Stewardship Council certification system from 
the comprehensive management plan for public lands.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that if a forest certification system is part of a comprehensive 
management plan for public lands and the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry determines that the forest certification system does not maintain or enhance the 
long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities, the 
commissioner is required to amend the management plan by removing the forest 
certification system from the comprehensive management plan.
The bill also requires the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to 
examine the Forest Stewardship Council certification system to make a determination 
whether the Forest Stewardship Council is complying with its own principles relating to 
maintaining or enhancing the long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers 
and local communities.  If the commissioner finds or the Legislature finds and instructs the 
commission that the council is not complying with its own principles, the commissioner is 
required to remove the Forest Stewardship Council certification system from the 
comprehensive management plan for public lands.