An Act to Promote Equity in the Forest Products Industry by Allowing Commercial Wood Haulers to Be Eligible for Ce1tain Sales Tax Exemptions and Refunds''.
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 2279
Committee Amendment CA_A_SA_A_S778 (Senate)
Amends: 10 MRSA §1500-Q, 12 MRSA §8003, 12 MRSA §8005

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SENATE AMENDMENT" fr" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 994, 
L.D. 2279, "An Act to Promote Equity in the Forest Products Industry by Allowing 
Commercial Wood Haulers to Be Eligible for Ce1tain Sales Tax Exemptions and Refunds''. 
Amend the amendment by inse1ting after the title the following: 
'Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act to Amend Provisions Relating to Certain Sales Tax Exemptions and Refunds 
for Commercial Wood Haulers, Payment for Harvesting Wood and Recol_"d~. of,tne 
Bureau of Forestry' ' 
• 
Amend the amendment by inse1ting after the first instructional paragraph the 
following: 
'PART A' 
Amend the amendment by inse1ting after section 6 the following: 
'Sec. 7. Legislative findings and intent. The Legislature finds that the State, as 
the holder of the 2nd largest amount of land in the State and a significant market pa1ticipant 
in timber operations, has an active interest in ensuring that the logging industry in general 
and commercial haulers of forest products specifically remain commercially viable in the 
State. The Legislature further finds and intends that the sales tax exemption provided in 
this Pait to purchasers or lessees engaged in commercial wood harvesting that are located 
in this State and that have a physical place of business in the State will create and sustain 
logging jobs, encourage responsible harvesting practices and provide many other direct and 
indirect economic benefits to the State.' 
Amend the amendment in section 8 in the first line (page 2, line 3 7 in amendment) by 
striking out the following: "Act" and inse1ting the following: 'Pait' 
Amend the amendment by inse1ting after section 8 the following: 
'PART B 
Sec. B-1. 10 MRSA §1500-Q, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 357, § 1, is amended to 
read: 
§1500-Q. Payment for harvesting wood 
Page I - 131LR3077(05) 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
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SENA TE AMENDMENT" ,4 "to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 994, L.D. 2279 { S/T1 ~ 
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An entity that contracts with a person to harvest wood and place the wood roadside so 
that the entity is able to have the wood hauled away for use or processing HH:tSt shall pay 
the person within 30 days of the person's fulfilling the contract and placing the wood 
roadside. The Depatiment of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, referred to in this 
chapter as "the department," or a person licensed to scale wood pursuant to section 2365-A 
under contract with the depatiment shall conduct random inspections to ensure that entities 
are complying with the requirements of this section chapter. 
1. Violation. Any violation of this chapter constitutes prima facie evidence of a 
violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act. 
2. Civil penalty. Each violation of this chapter constitutes a civil violation for which 
a penalty of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 may be adjudged. Each day a violation 
of this chapter continues constitutes a separate offense. 
Sec. B-2. 12 MRSA §8003, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2021, c. 280, §5, is :further 
amended to read: 
3. Powers and duties. The director shall exercise the powers of the office and Be,,lli 
responsible for the execution and enforcement of the duties of the bureau as set forth in 
chapters 801 -8-09- to 810. 
A. The director shall administer the bureau in an efficient manner and, with the consent 
of the commissioner, shall organize the bureau as necessary to carry out the purposes 
of this P ati. 
• • •• 
C. The director may, with the consent of the commissioner, accept grants and funds 
from and enter into contracts with federal, state, local or other public and privMe 
organizations to carry out the purposes of this Patt. 
D. The director may, with the consent of the commissioner, employ or retain expe11 
and professional consultants to assist in the duties of the bureau to the extent of funds 
available. 
E. The director may take measures to encourage an interest in forestry and shade trees 
in the schools, colleges and among the general public and to encourage some degree of 
elementary instruction in forestry and conservation of natural resources. 
F. The director shall on or before September 1st, annually, submit to the commissioner 
a repo11 of the bureau's activities during the preceding fiscal year ending June 30th. 
G. The director shall biennially prepare a budget for the bureau and submit it to the 
commissioner. 
H. The director shall have prepared annually a forest fire plan for each administrative 
unit established according to the authority of section 8906, subsection 1. The plans 
shftl.t must incorporate the annual forest fire plans of municipalities. 
I. The director is authorized to collect and classify statistics relating to the forests and 
connected interests of the State and research the extent to which the forests of the State 
are being destroyed by fires, insects, diseases and by wasteful cutting. The director may 
also asce11ain, to the extent possible, the effect of the diminution of the wooded surface 
of the land upon the watersheds of the lakes, rivers, water powers and other natural 
resources of the State. 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
QC., 
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SENATE AMENDMENT" ,4" to COMMITTEEAMENDMENT"A" to S.P. 994, L.D. 2279 {S-77'iJ) 
J. The director is authorized to conduct inspections and investigations on any lands to 
survey and inspect shade, ornamental or forest trees pursuant to the authority a11d 
procedures set fo1ih in chapter 803. 
K. The director may issue and enforce any license or permit authorized by this Pait. 
L. The director may, with the consent of the commissioner, acquire and hold any right 
or interest in real or personal prope1iy on behalf of the State. 
M. Except for lands acquired under the authority of paragraph N, the directo1;· is 
authorized, with the consent of the commissioner, to sell, grant, lease, transfer or 
otherwise convey any real or personal prope1iy under the jurisdiction of the bureau. 
The director shall deposit the proceeds from the sale or lease of prope1ty into the forest 
protection unit account. At least 60 days prior to offering any surplus property for sale 
under this paragraph, the director shall notify the Executive Director of the Legislative 
Council and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
forest resources 1natters of the director's intent to sell the property. 
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M-1. The proceeds under paragraph M may be used only to upgrade existing structures 
owned by the forest protection unit within the bureau, to consolidate operations of the 
unit through the improvement, repair, replacement, purchase or construction of 
structures and to purchase land upon which to build structures. Ownership of any land 
purchased under this paragraph or structures purchased or constructed under this 
paragraph must be held in the name of the unit. 
Ownership of land or prope1ty 
purchased under this paragraph may also be held in the name of the Depa1iment of 
Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of General Services when the u11it 
pa1ticipates in the consolidation of facilities with other state agencies. Any purchase 
of land or a structure pursuant to this paragraph must be approved by the Director of 
the Bureau of General Services. 
N. The director may, with the advice and consent of the Governor, purchase, when 
funds are available from bequests or trusts other than bequests made 01· inter vivos 
trusts created by the late Percival Proctor Baxter, or accept on the pati of the State gifts 
of parcels or tracts of land to the State, or may purchase land in the name of the Stiite 
for state forest purposes and may also designate and set aside such lands or po1tions 
thereof as natural areas. The director sh-a-It may not under this section acquire title by 
purchase to more than 4% of the land area within any one municipality without the 
written consent of the municipal officer thereof. The title to lands acquired under this 
section sh-a-It must be investigated and approved by the Attorney General. 
The purpose of a,cquisition of land under this paragraph is the preservation of scenic 
beauty and recreation as nearly unrestricted and general as is practicable for the people 
of the State and those whom they admit to the privilege, the production of timber for 
watershed protection, as a crop, as state forest demonstration areas for research 
purposes and for the application of model forestry techniques under a well defined. 
criteria of full-use management. The lands acquired by the Bureau of Forestry' and 
designated by it as state forests or natural areas shall never may never be sold, but may 
be exchanged for other land to permit consolidation, better access or more efficient: 
administration. Net revenues including, but not limited to, stumpage sh-a-It must be paid 
to the Treasurer of State by the director and constitute a fund to be applied to the aare 
and improvement of these lands or for the acquisition of other lands for similar 
SENA TE AMENDMENT 
SENA TE AMENDMENT"/+-" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 994, L.D. 2279 ($-ll°iJ 
purposes, except that 25% of such revenues shall must be returned by the Treasurer of 
State to the municipality wherein the land is located to be used for municipal purposes. 
"Natural areas" means limited areas of land whl6fl that have retained their wilderness 
character, although not necessarily completely natural and undisturbed, or have rare or 
vanishing species of plant or animal life or similar features of interest whl6fl that are 
wo1thy of preservation for the use of present and future residents of the State. Natural 
areas held by the State shall must include and be designated as one or more of the 
following 3 types and the location of each shall must be described in the designation:· 
Type 1. Semiwilderness areas whl6fl that by their size or location offer the experience 
of solitude and self-reliance. Whereas, lands at the higher elevations are imp01tant for 
protection of watersheds, are ecologically vulnerable if unwisely altered by human 
interference and often may be uneconomic for logging or construction, it is hereby 
found that such lands generally may be suitable for this classification; 
Type 2. Units of impo1tance for all the natural sciences, especially ecology, and with 
outstanding value for education and research and for the appreciation of natural 
processes. Preservation in the desired condition shall must be the prevailing purpose of 
such holdings. Visitation shall must be regulated so as to ensure this preservation on a 
permanent basis; and 
Type 3. Areas whl6fl that are not of ecological or semiwilderness stature but whl6fl 
that have the appearance of being in an untouched natural state or whl6fl that are 
capable of attaining that appearance if held and managed for this purpose. 
Relating to natural areas of Type 1, 2 or 3, all land uses and practices shall be are 
subject to regulations rules of the bureau, promulgated adopted pursuant to Title 5, 
chapter 375, subehapter II subchapters 2 and 2-A, in carrying out the purposes of this 
paragraph to manage or maintain the areas for the preservation of their natural 
condition. Areas designated under these classifications e-aJt may be removed from such 
designation only by approval of the director, with the advice and consent of the 
Governor, following public notice and hearing. All lands acquired and administered 
under this paragraph and all other state forests shall must be managed under the same 
principles whleh that govern the management of the public reserve lands, to the extent 
not inconsistent with this section and management of such state forests shall must, in 
any event, be coordinated with the management of the public reserved lands in order 
to facilitate the accomplishment of applicable management objectives. 
0. The director may delegate the powers and duties of this Patt to the director's agents 
and representatives, including municipal forest fire wardens appointed by the director. 
P. The director shall act as a liaison with the Department of Environmental Protection, 
the Maine Land Use Planning Commission, the Depaitment of Inland Fisheries and 
Wildlife and the Cooperative Extension Service on forest1y issues. 
Q. The director, in cooperation with public and private landowners, shall actively 
pursue creating areas on public and private land where the principles and applicability 
of outcome-based forest policy, as defined in section 8868, subsection 2-B, can be 
applied and tested. No more than 6 such areas may be designated. The director shall 
seek to designate areas of various sizes owned by different landowners. The designated· 
areas must represent differing forest types and conditions and different geographic· 
SENA TE AMENDMENT 
QC.,· 
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SENATE AMENDMENT" />r» to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 994, L.D. 2279 ( ~ -,7 i) 
regions of the State. Prior to entering into an outcome-based forestty agreement, the 
director and the panel of technical experts under section 8869, subsection 3-A shall 
conduct a comprehensive review of the proposed outcome-based forest1y agreement. 
The term of initial agreements may not exceed 5 years. The director may renew an 
agreement ifrequirements under this section and section 8869, subsection 3-A are met. 
The term of a subsequent agreement may not exceed 5 years. 
R. The director shall enforce section 8006 for those violations discovered as pa1t of 
the inspection process pursuant to Title 10, section 2364-B, subsection 6 and within 
the existing resources of the bureau. 
Sec. B-3. 12 MRSA §8005, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 358, § I and amended by PL 
2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §7 and PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §23, is fu1ther amended to read: 
§8005. Certain information confidential 
1. Contact information. Social security numbers, addresses, telephone numbers and 
electronic mail addresses of landowners owning less than 1,000 acres of forest land 
statewide and collected by the bureau for the purposes of contacting landowners under 
section 8611, or received by the bureau in notifications filed under section 8883~8, or in 
reports received under Title 36, section 581-G are confidential and may be disclosed only 
in accordance with this section. 
2. Forest management plan and information. Social security numbers, forest 
management plans and supporting documentation of forest management activities on 
private forest land and held by the bureau for the purposes of administering landowner 
assistance programs authorized under this chapter and chapter 805 are confidential and may 
be disclosed only in accordance with this section. 
3. 
Disclosure. 
Except as provided in subsection 4, the director may disclose 
confidential information in accordance with this subsection. Confidential infonnation 
disclosed pursuant to this subsection remains the prope1iy of the bureau. Recipients of the 
confidential information may not disclose this infonnation or use this info1111ation except 
as authorized by the director. 
A. The director may disclose information designated as confidential under this section 
to a governmental entity that, in the opinion of the director, requires this information.,_ 
including, but not limited to, when necessa1y to facilitate an investigation into a 
complaint or suspected violation of this Pait and to avoid imminent and serious harm. 
B. The director shall provide names, addresses and electronic mail addresses upon 
request to a nonprofit corporation that provides educational services to forest 
landowners regarding sound forest management as long as the infonnation disclosed is 
used to provide information about forest management. 
4. Information designated as confidential by state or federal agency. The director 
may not disclose information furnished to the director that has been designated as 
confidential by a state or federal agency furnishing the information unless disclosure is 
authorized by the furnishing agency or with the written consent of a landowner under th is 
section. 
5. Penalty. A person who receives confidential info1111ation pursuant to subsection 3, 
paragraph B this section and uses that infonnation for a purpose other than that authorized 
by the director commits a civil violation punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000. 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
SENATE AMENDMENT" A-" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 994, L.D. 2279( $,.. '770 
Sec. B-4. 12 MRSA c. 810 is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 810 
RECORDS OBTAINED DURING INVESTIGATION CONFIDENTIAL 
§9801. Records obtained during investigation confidential 
1. Records obtained during investigation or through provision of services to 
public. Records of the bureau obtained during an investigation into a complaint or 
suspected violation of this Patt or through the provision of services to the public are 
confidential. Records obtained during an investigation of a complaint or suspected 
violation of this Patt become public upon conclusion of an investigation unless the records 
are otherwise classified as confidential by any other provision of law. For purposes of this 
subsection, "conclusion of an investigation" means: 
A. A notice of adjudicatory hearing under Title 5, chapter 3 75, subchapter 4 has been 
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given to the public; 
B. A consent agreement has been executed; 
C. An enforcement proceeding has been filed in a court of competent jurisdiction; or.· 
D. The investigation has been closed by the bureau. 
2. Penalty. A person that receives confidential information pursuant to this section 
and uses that information for a purpose other than that authorized by the director commits 
a civil violation punishable by a fine of not more than$ 1,000.' 
Amend the amendment by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Patt letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment adds a legislative findings and intent section to Committee 
Amendment "A" and changes the title. 
Current law requires an entity that contracts with a person to harvest wood and place 
the wood roadside so the entity is able to have the wood hauled away for use or processing 
to pay the person within 30 days of the person's fulfilling the contract and placing the wood 
roadside. In Pait B, the amendment provides that an entity that violates this requirement 
commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more than $1,000 may be adjudged and 
that any violation constitutes prima facie evidence of a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade 
Practices Act. 
The amendment removes the provision in current law that requires the Director of the 
Bureau of Forest1y within the Depattment of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to 
provide names, addresses and electronic mail addresses of the landowners owning less than 
• 35 
1,000 acres of forest land statewide upon request to a nonprofit corporation that provides 
educational services to forest landowners regarding sound forest management as long as 
the information disclosed is used to provide information about forest management. 
The amendment provides that records of the Depattment of Agriculture, Conservation 
and Forestty, Bureau of Forest1y obtained during an investigation into a complaint or 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
SENATE AMENDMENT" A-" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 994, L.D. 2279 ( S-71 i1 
suspected violation of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, Part 11 or through provision 
of services to the public are confidential and that these records become public upon 
conclusion of an investigation. The amendment provides that records of the bureau 
obtained during an investigation or through provision of services to the public may be 
disclosed under certain circumstances. 
The amendment also updates a cross-reference and makes technical and grammatical 
changes in the law governing the powers and duties of the Director of the Bureau of 
Forestry. 
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SPONSORED BY: c~ f6-t, (<-c__ 
(Senator IDCKMAN, C.) 
COUNTY: Kennebec 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/01/24 feae!. 
LD 2279 
LR3077(05) 
An Act to Promote Equity in the Forest Products Industry by Allowing Commercial Wood Haulers to 
Be Eligible for Certain Sales Tax Exemptions and Refunds 
Fiscal Note for Senate Amendment ''Pf to Committee Amendment "A" l S--'77 0 
Sponsor: Sen. Hickman of Kennebec 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
This amendment may increase the number of civil suits filed in the court system. The additional workload associated 
with the minimal number of new cases does not require additional funding at this time. The collection of additional 
fmes and filing fees will increase General Fund or other dedicated revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Office of the Attorney General or the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry associated with this amendment are anticipated to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted 
resources. 
LR3077(05) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1