An Act to Require Forest Landowners to Report the Registration or
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0039
Sponsors: PLUECKER
Amends: 12 MRSA §8881, 12 MRSA §8885

Legislative Document
No. 39
H.P. 3
House of Representatives, January 8, 2025
An Act to Require Forest Landowners to Report the Registration or 
Sale of Their Forest Carbon Credits
Submitted by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint 
Rule 204.
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 6, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative PLUECKER of Warren.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §8881, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A.  Forest carbon credit.  "Forest carbon credit" means a unit that is equivalent to 
one metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions that are avoided, removed or absorbed as a 
result of forest management activities that are either undertaken or deferred to increase 
forest carbon storage or sequestration.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §8881, sub-§2-B is enacted to read:
2-B.  Forest carbon project.  "Forest carbon project" means a planned set of forest 
management activities for a defined area of forest land that is designed to provide forest 
carbon credits and that is registered with a voluntary or regulatory forest carbon protocol 
or registry.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §8881, sub-§2-C is enacted to read:
2-C.  Forest carbon project developer.  "Forest carbon project developer" means a 
nonprofit or for-profit entity that acts on behalf of a forest landowner to establish forest 
carbon credits to meet the requirements of a voluntary or regulatory forest carbon protocol 
or registry.  "Forest carbon project developer" also means a forest landowner that acts as 
the forest landowner's own developer to register or sell forest carbon credits.
Sec. 4.  12 MRSA §8885, sub-§2-B is enacted to read:
2-B.  Report of forest carbon projects.  A forest landowner, or a forest carbon project 
developer acting on behalf of the forest landowner, shall submit a report to the director for 
a forest carbon project involving forest land in the State whenever forest carbon credits are 
registered.  The report must include the following information:
A.  The name of the forest carbon project and the forest carbon project developer;
B.  The name of the original forest landowner that registered or sold the forest carbon 
credits;
C.  The name of the current forest landowner or forest landowners as of the date of 
filing, if applicable;
D.  The date or dates when the forest carbon credits were registered;
E.  The expected duration of the enrollment of the affected forest land in the forest 
carbon project;
F.  The total forest acreage enrolled in the forest carbon project by town, township or 
plantation;
G.  The total forest acreage enrolled in the forest carbon project that is subject to current 
use tax treatment under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law or the Farm and Open Space 
Tax Law;
H.  The total forest acreage enrolled in the forest carbon project that is subject to a 
conservation easement and the name of the easement holder;
I.  The book and page number at the registry of deeds for the ownership of forest land 
in each county in which the forest carbon project occurs;
J.  The date of the recording along with the book and page number at the registry of 
deeds of any changes to terms or agreements of the forest carbon project;
K.  The date of the most recent forest carbon project monitoring visit;
L.  The number of forest carbon credits registered;
M.  The method of accounting used to determine the number of forest carbon credits.  
The method of accounting may be identified by reference to the method used by the 
forest carbon protocol or registry that lists the forest carbon credits;
N.  Whether the forest carbon project includes agreements or requirements to limit or 
prohibit timber harvesting on some or all of the affected forest land and, if so, how; 
and
O.  If forest carbon credits are sold, whether the purchaser of the credits will apply the 
credits to offset emissions from other activities occurring within or outside the State.
The report must be filed within 60 days of the registration of forest carbon credits.
Sec. 5.  12 MRSA §8885, sub-§2-C is enacted to read:
2-C.  Updated report on forest carbon projects.  A forest landowner, or a forest 
carbon project developer acting on behalf of the forest landowner, shall update the report 
required under subsection 2-B whenever forest carbon credits are sold or retired, cancelled, 
lost or reversed.  The report must include any changes to the information required under 
subsection 2-B and the status of the credits previously registered or sold.  The report must 
be filed within 60 days of the sale or retirement, cancellation, loss or reversal of the forest 
carbon credits.
Sec. 6.  12 MRSA §8885, sub-§2-D is enacted to read:
2-D.  Report deadline; other information; fees.  A forest landowner or a forest 
carbon project developer that registered or sold a forest carbon credit prior to the effective 
date of this subsection has until July 1, 2026 to file the report required pursuant to 
subsection 2-B or 2-C.
The director may require other information the director determines necessary to fulfill the 
purposes of this subchapter.  The reports must be filed on forms established by the 
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.  The initial report filed pursuant to 
subsection 2-B must be accompanied by a fee of $200 for forest carbon projects over 1,000 
acres in size.  Subsequent reports as required pursuant to subsection 2-C for sales or 
retirements, cancellations, losses or reversals of forest carbon credits do not require a fee.
The director shall maintain a permanent record of the registration or sale of forest carbon 
credits and report to the Attorney General any failure of an entity subject to the 
requirements of subsection 2-B or 2-C, as disclosed by the report or otherwise known to 
the director, to comply with the requirements of this subchapter.  The fees established under 
this subsection must be held by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
in a nonlapsing, special account to defray the costs of maintaining the record and carrying 
out the department's duties under this section.
Sec. 7.  12 MRSA §8885, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. F, §47 and 
affected by Pt. X, §2 and amended by PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §7 and PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. 
A, §23, is further amended to read:
3.  Reports.  Reports required under subsections 1 and, 2 and 2-A are due during the 
month of January.  If the period of cutting under subsection 1 or, 2 or 2-A extends beyond 
December 31st of any calendar year, a report must be submitted during the month of 
January for the preceding year.  A person filing a harvest notification form pursuant to 
section 8883‑B must complete and return to the bureau a harvest report whether or not the 
forest landowner has harvested that year.
SUMMARY
This bill requires a forest landowner or forest carbon project developer to report the 
registration or sale of a forest carbon credit to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation 
and Forestry, Bureau of Forestry.