reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-10 - Powers of State Forestry Commission Employees as to Enforcement of Laws, Prevention and Suppression of Forest Fires, Etc.

Section 9-13-10
Powers of State Forestry Commission employees as to enforcement of laws, prevention and suppression of forest fires, etc.
All employees of the State Forestry Commission appointed as forest law enforcement officers by the State Forester are hereby constituted peace officers of the State of Alabama with full police power and may exercise such powers anywhere within the state. They are hereby authorized to carry firearms or other weapons when they are actually in the discharge of their duties as such officers as provided by law. They shall be clothed with the power to arrest with or without warrant any person who shall violate any of the laws of the State of Alabama or any rule or regulation of the Alabama Forestry Commission and take him before a proper court for trial. All employees of the State Forestry Commission and all duly appointed officers of the United States whose duty it is to prevent and suppress forest fires are empowered to enter any lands and to construct thereon fire lines, fire lanes or fire breaks, to set back fires thereon if necessary to prevent the further spread of fire then actually burning and to do all other work necessary in the performance of their duties, including the right to enter any lands for the purpose of making investigations for the cause or causes of fires, without liability for trespass or damage therefrom.
(Acts 1939, No. 492, p. 711, § 3; Code 1940, T. 8, §206; Acts 1967, No. 724, p. 1560, § 1; Acts 1980, No. 80-507, p. 786, § 1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-10.1 - Assistance of State Forestry Commission in Control and Suppression of Wildfires by Other State Agencies.

Section 9-13-10.1
Assistance of State Forestry Commission in control and suppression of wildfires by other state agencies.
All state agencies, in the performance of their duties and responsibilities to the people of Alabama, are authorized to aid and assist the State Forestry Commission in the control and suppression of wildfires, on request of the Governor of Alabama, with such requested resources that are reasonably available and needed to cope with the specific situation.
(Acts 1976, No. 102, p. 98.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-10.2 - Rulemaking Authority; Violations; Enforement.

Section 9-13-10.2
Rulemaking authority; violations; enforement.
(a)(1) The State Forestry Commission may adopt, alter, amend, or repeal rules governing the preservation, protection, and use of state forests and any other lands owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the commission.
(2) Any person who violates a rule adopted pursuant to this section shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each offense, and may be required to pay all costs of the proceedings.
(3) When collected, all fines shall be paid to the Office of the State Forester to be delivered to the State Treasurer and placed in the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund.
(b) The State Forester and any employee of the State Forestry Commission so designated by the State Forester shall have and is vested with the authority to prefer charges and issue a citation against a person for violating a rule adopted pursuant to this section or for the violation of any other provision of this article.
(Act 2018-462, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-12 - Uncontrolled Fires Declared Public Nuisances; Liability for Refusal or Neglect to Control or Extinguish Same.

Section 9-13-12
Uncontrolled fires declared public nuisances; liability for refusal or neglect to control or extinguish same.
Any fire burning uncontrolled on any forested, cutover, brushland or grassland area is hereby declared to be a public nuisance by reason of its menace to life and property. Any person, firm, association or corporation responsible either for the starting or the existence of such fire is hereby required to make a reasonable effort to control or extinguish it as soon as he has knowledge thereof, and if such person, firm, association or corporation shall refuse or neglect to do so, any organized fire suppression force may suppress the nuisance thus constituted by controlling and extinguishing the fire, and the cost thereof may be recovered from said person, firm, association or corporation responsible for the starting or existence of such fire.
(Acts 1939, No. 429, p. 711, § 2; Code 1940, T. 8, §205.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-13 - Setting on Fire, etc., of Woods, etc., Without Written Notice to Adjacent Landowners.

Section 9-13-13
Setting on fire, etc., of woods, etc., without written notice to adjacent landowners.
Any person or corporation who shall set fire to or procure another to set fire to any woods, logs, brush, weeds, grass or clearing upon his or its own land without giving adjacent landowners five days' written notice of such intention to do so, unless he or it shall have taken all possible care and precaution against the spread of such fire, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, § 12; Code 1923, §4114; Code 1940, T. 8, §207.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-14 - Equipping of Locomotives, etc., With Appliances to Prevent Escape of Fire.

Section 9-13-14
Equipping of locomotives, etc., with appliances to prevent escape of fire.
Logging and railroad locomotives, donkey and threshing engines and other engines and boilers operated in, through and near forest or brush which do not burn oil as fuel shall be provided with appliances to prevent the escape of fire and sparks from the smoke stacks thereof and with devices to prevent the escape of fire from ashpans and fire boxes. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall be a misdemeanor punishable, upon conviction, by a fine of not less than $10.00 nor more than $100.00 for each and every offense thus committed; but the escape of fire accidentally from engines equipped with the standard appliances to prevent the escape of fire shall not constitute an offense against the section.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638; Code 1923, §4115; Code 1940, T. 8, §208.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-15 - Attachment of Wires, etc., to Trees in Towns or Cities by Lighting or Power Companies.

Section 9-13-15
Attachment of wires, etc., to trees in towns or cities by lighting or power companies.
No electric lighting or power company shall attach any wires or other lighting appliances to any trees along any street of any town or city in this state. In towns and cities where such wires and lighting appliances are already attached to trees, the persons, firms or corporations owning the same shall remove the same. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $25.00 nor more than $100.00 for each and every offense so committed.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638; Code 1923, §4118; Code 1940, T. 8, §211.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-22 - District Attorneys to Prosecute Violators of Provisions of Chapter.

Section 9-13-22
District attorneys to prosecute violators of provisions of chapter.
The district attorneys of the several counties shall prosecute all violators of the provisions of this chapter.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638; Code 1923, §4117; Code 1940, T. 8, §210.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-23 - Jurisdiction of Prosecutions Under Chapter.

Section 9-13-23
Jurisdiction of prosecutions under chapter.
The district courts of this state shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all cases and prosecutions originating under the provisions of this chapter and shall impose and collect fines not exceeding the amount of $100.00, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638; Code 1923, §4116; Code 1940, T. 8, §209.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-24 - Fees of Arresting Officers, etc.; Informers' Fees.

Section 9-13-24
Fees of arresting officers, etc.; informers' fees.
When an arrest for a violation of the provisions of the forestry laws is made by a salaried officer or salaried employee of the State Forestry Commission and the defendant is convicted, there shall be taxed as costs the same fee as the sheriff in this state is entitled to for similar services and, if collected from the defendant, shall be immediately remitted by the trial court directly to the State Forester, and said fee shall be used for the purpose of the administration of the State Forestry Commission. If the person making the arrest shall be a nonsalaried officer or not an employee of the State Forestry Commission and if said fee is collected from the defendant, such person shall be entitled to said fee and shall receive in addition thereto an informer's fee of one-half the fine in each case where the information furnished by him results in a conviction and the fine is collected and paid into court; provided, however, that in no case shall the amount paid to the informant or party making the affidavit as to the commission of any offense embraced in this chapter exceed the sum of $25.00. All amounts in excess of $25.00 shall be remitted to the State Forester as provided in this section. No fee shall be allowed in cases of acquittal.
(Acts 1936-37, Ex. Sess., No. 161, p. 183, § 1; Code 1940, T. 8, §218; Acts 1951, No. 984, p. 1659, § 1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 1 - General Provisions. › Section 9-13-25 - Forestry Study Committee Established; Membership; Meetings; Duties; Powers; Expenses; Reports.

Section 9-13-25
Forestry Study Committee established; membership; meetings; duties; powers; expenses; reports.
REPEALED IN THE 2018 REGULAR SESSION BY ACT 2018-152 EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2018. THIS IS NOT IN THE CURRENT CODE SUPPLEMENT.
(Acts 1979, No. 79-711, p. 1264, § 1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-40 - Declaration of Public Policy; Deferred Taxation of Timber on Lands Designated as Auxiliary State Forests Authorized and Directed.

Section 9-13-40
Declaration of public policy; deferred taxation of timber on lands designated as auxiliary state forests authorized and directed.
It is the declared policy of the state to encourage reforestation of cutover lands and timber culture generally; and to that end and in consideration of the public benefits arising therefrom, the timber growing on lands which shall hereafter be designated by the State Forestry Commission as auxiliary state forests under the provision of this article shall not be taxable or assessed for taxation by any authority from the time that said lands are so designated until they are withdrawn as auxiliary state forests, and only the land on which said timber grows may be taxed or assessed for taxation as if the ownership of the timber growing thereon had been severed from the ownership of the land, and the valuation of the timber growing on auxiliary state forests shall not be included in the valuation of the shares of stock in any domestic corporation owning such timber in arriving at the valuation of the shares of stock of such corporation for taxation; provided, that said land shall be appraised jointly by the Department of Revenue and the State Forestry Commission with view to its use for timber production purposes, such appraisal being made with due regard to the fact that the timber yields from such lands require a considerable period of years for maturing and that the valuation determined by such appraisal for the purposes of taxation of the land independently of the timber shall not be increased during the continuance of such land as auxiliary state forests; and provided further, that when the land embraced within an auxiliary state forest does not exceed 160 acres, the land shall not be taxed or assessed for taxation.
(Code 1923, §992; Acts 1935, No. 23, p. 38, §1; Acts 1935, No. 500, p. 1078, §1; Acts 1936-37, Ex. Sess., No. 14, p. 7, §1; Code 1940, T. 8, §189.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-41 - Designation of Lands as Auxiliary State Forests - Applications.

Section 9-13-41
Designation of lands as auxiliary state forests - Applications.
Any owner of lands desiring to devote the same to forest culture and to have the same designated as auxiliary state forests shall file with the State Forestry Commission an application in writing, which shall be signed by such owner, describing the lands which said owner desires to have designated as auxiliary state forests, stating his willingness to enter into the contract provided for in this article and such other information as the State Forestry Commission may require and praying that such lands shall be designated by the State Forestry Commission as auxiliary state forests.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, §8; Code 1923, §997; Code 1940, T. 8, §194.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-42 - Designation of Lands as Auxiliary State Forests - When Abstract of Title, etc., Required; Release of Dower or Homestead Rights.

Section 9-13-42
Designation of lands as auxiliary state forests - When abstract of title, etc., required; release of dower or homestead rights.
The State Forestry Commission may, in its discretion, require the applicant to furnish an abstract of title of said lands showing him to be the owner in fee thereof or other satisfactory proof of title, and all rights of dower or homestead in said lands, as against the operation of said contract, shall be released before the same is approved.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, §8; Code 1923, §1000; Code 1940, T. 8, §197.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-43 - Designation of Lands as Auxiliary State Forests - Inspection of Lands; Drafting and Execution of Contracts.

Section 9-13-43
Designation of lands as auxiliary state forests - Inspection of lands; drafting and execution of contracts.
Upon the filing of such application, the State Forestry Commission shall, as soon as practicable, inspect the said land or cause the same to be inspected by the State Forester or some other competent and suitable person; and, if the State Forestry Commission shall find said lands to be suited for forest culture, it shall certify that fact, together with a copy of said application to the Governor, who shall, if he deems it advisable to do so, thereupon cause the contract provided for in this article to be drawn by the Attorney General, and, upon the execution of the same, by the owner of the land, the Governor shall execute the same for and on behalf of and in the name of the State of Alabama.
Said contract shall be executed in quadruplicate. One copy shall be filed with the State Forestry Commission and one with the Department of Revenue or body exercising its jurisdiction and powers. One copy shall be delivered to the owner of the land, and the fourth shall be filed by the State Forester for record in the probate office of the county or counties in which said land is situated, at the cost of the owner. The Attorney General shall approve the execution of said contracts.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, §8; Code 1923, §§998, 999; Code 1940, T. 8, §§195, 196.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-45 - Abrogation of Contracts.

Section 9-13-45
Abrogation of contracts.
If any owner or the successor in title of any such owner shall violate the provisions of his contract, the Governor may, in his discretion, abrogate the same by a written order to be filed with the Department of Revenue, the State Forestry Commission and the said owner or his successor in title. Upon such abrogation, the privilege tax provided for in this article shall at once become due and payable in all respects as if said lands had been legally withdrawn as auxiliary state forests.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638; Code 1923, §1003; Code 1940, T. 8, §200.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-46 - Withdrawing of Lands as Auxiliary State Forests; Harvesting or Use of Timber Without Withdrawing of Lands; Payment of Privilege Tax Generally.

Section 9-13-46
Withdrawing of lands as auxiliary state forests; harvesting or use of timber without withdrawing of lands; payment of privilege tax generally.
(a) Any owner of land designated as auxiliary state forests may, after the lapse of five years from the designation of the said lands as such, file with the State Forestry Commission an application in writing to withdraw the same or any part thereof, and thereupon the value of the timber on the land desired to be withdrawn shall be appraised and the privilege tax thereon computed as provided for in this article; and, on the payment of said privilege tax, the State Forestry Commission shall make an order withdrawing the same as an auxiliary state forest, a copy of which shall be filed with the Department of Revenue, a copy entered in a book to be kept for that purpose by the State Forestry Commission, a copy delivered to the said owner and a copy filed by the State Forestry Commission at the cost of the owner in the probate office in the county or counties in which said land is situated.
(b) The owner of such lands shall have the right to harvest or otherwise use parts of said timber without withdrawing the land under the rules which said State Forestry Commission is directed to make.
(c) In either event, the privilege tax provided for in this article shall be paid on the value of the timber withdrawn or harvested at the time of said withdrawal or harvesting.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, §9; Code 1923, §1001; Code 1940, T. 8, §198.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-47 - Appraisal of Timber Upon Withdrawal of Lands as State Harvests, etc.; Privilege Tax.

Section 9-13-47
Appraisal of timber upon withdrawal of lands as state harvests, etc.; privilege tax.
Upon withdrawal of said lands or any part thereof as auxiliary state forests or harvesting or other use of parts of timber on said land without withdrawing the land, the value of the timber thereon shall be appraised separately in each county where such timber is located by the Department of Revenue and the State Forestry Commission as of the date of such withdrawal or harvesting, whereupon the owner of such timber shall pay as a privilege tax for the entry and withdrawal of such lands as auxiliary state forests or for the harvesting of the timber on such lands a sum of money equal to eight percent of the appraised value of the timber.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, §1; Code 1923, §995; Acts 1935, No. 23, p. 38, §1; Acts 1935, No. 500, p. 1078, §1; Code 1940, T. 8, §192; Acts 1945, No. 131, p. 132, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-48 - Lien on Timber for Payment of Privilege Taxes; Collection of Other Taxes, Etc.

Section 9-13-48
Lien on timber for payment of privilege taxes; collection of other taxes, etc.
The state shall have a lien upon the timber on land designated as auxiliary state forests for the payment of the privilege tax provided for in this article, and no other privilege or other tax, except that provided for in this section, shall be collected by or for the state or any subdivision thereof.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, §9; Code 1923, §1002; Code 1940, T. 8, §199.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-49 - Disposition of Privilege Taxes.

Section 9-13-49
Disposition of privilege taxes.
Said privilege tax shall be paid to the State Forestry Commission and by it reported to the Comptroller and paid into the Treasury, whereupon the Comptroller shall draw and transmit to the tax collector of each county wherein such timber has been appraised and with respect to which such tax has been paid a warrant payable to such tax collector for the full amount of tax paid as to such county. Thereupon the tax collector shall treat and consider the payments so made to himself as if he had collected the same for and on account of state and county taxes duly assessed by the tax assessor upon the timber appraised as provided in this article and shall proceed to apportion, distribute and pay the same as if such taxes were ad valorem taxes assessed against the owner of the timber, after deducting therefrom for himself a commission of two percent upon the amount of such taxes and paying also the tax assessor a commission of two percent thereon. In all counties in which officials are paid on a salary basis, the commissions authorized in this section shall by said officials be paid into the treasury of said county.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, §7; Code 1923, §996; Code 1940, T. 8, §193; Acts 1945, No. 131, p. 132, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 2 - Auxiliary State Forests. › Section 9-13-50 - Maintenance of Records as to Auxiliary State Forests.

Section 9-13-50
Maintenance of records as to auxiliary state forests.
The State Forestry Commission shall keep a book in which shall be recorded all applications for the designation of lands as auxiliary state forests, contracts entered into upon such applications and withdrawals or forfeitures thereof.
(Acts 1923, No. 486, p. 638, §11; Code 1923, §1004; Code 1940, T. 8, §201.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 3 - Regulations as to Cutting, Removal, Purchase, etc., of Forest Products. › Section 9-13-60 - Unauthorized Cutting, Removal, Transportation, etc., of Timber or Other Forest Products.

Section 9-13-60
Unauthorized cutting, removal, transportation, etc., of timber or other forest products.
(a) It is unlawful for any person or persons to do any of the following:
(1) Willfully and knowingly cut, kill, destroy, girdle, chop, chip, saw or otherwise damage timber or forest products not his own or without authority of the legal owner.
(2) Willfully and knowingly remove timber or other forest products other than his own or without authority of the legal owner.
(3) Willfully and knowingly transport timber or other forest products which have been severed or removed in violation of subdivision (1) or (2).
(4) Willfully and knowingly purchase or contract to purchase or otherwise obtain timber or forest products severed, removed or transported in violation of subdivision (1), (2), or (3).
(5) Willfully and knowingly sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of logs, poles, piling, crossties, pulpwood, veneer bolts, staves, or other unmanufactured or semimanufactured forest products not his or her own or without authority of the legal owner.
(6) Alter or by any means cause a weight measuring device to give a false reading as to the actual or true weight of any forest products for the purpose of deceiving or defrauding any person, firm, or corporation.
(7) Willfully and knowingly remove timber or other forest products of another by means of deception, as defined in Section 13A-8-1.
(b) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided by law.
(c) This section shall not apply to any utility or corporation engaged in providing electric service. Nor shall it apply to the employees, contractors, agents, or representatives of a utility or corporation engaged in providing electric service where such employees, contractors, agents, or representatives are acting within the course and scope of their employment, contract, or agency.
(Acts 1939, No. 626, p. 993, §1; Code 1940, T. 8, §218(1); Act 2010-704, p. 1706, §1; Act 2012-428, p. 1168, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 3 - Regulations as to Cutting, Removal, Purchase, etc., of Forest Products. › Section 9-13-61 - Charges in Affidavits, Informations or Indictments Under Article; Proof of Title, Etc.

Section 9-13-61
Charges in affidavits, informations or indictments under article; proof of title, etc.
In any affidavit, information or indictment under this article, the person or persons accused may be charged with commencing or conspiring to commence at some particular time to commit any of the acts hereby made punishable and of continuing to commit the same at divers times and on divers days between that day and some other day to be therein stated. It shall not be necessary, in order to convict, to prove title of the lands on which the alleged violation of Section 9-13-60 occurred, but it shall be sufficient to prove title, legal, equitable or colorable, in the State of Alabama or any corporation or any person or persons other than the accused; and it shall not be necessary to allege in the affidavit, information or indictment or prove on the trial the kind of timber or forest products which are the subject of the action.
(Acts 1939, No. 626, p. 993, §2; Code 1940, T. 8, §218(2).)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 3 - Regulations as to Cutting, Removal, Purchase, etc., of Forest Products. › Section 9-13-62 - Liability.

Section 9-13-62
Liability.
Any person or entity who damages, destroys, cuts, or removes timber or other forest products not owned by that person or without the authority of the legal owner, and any person or entity who shall supervise any other person in so doing, regardless of whether the act was done knowingly or intentionally, shall be jointly and severally liable to the owner for double the fair market value of the timber or other forest products that were damaged, destroyed, cut, or removed. However, any person or entity possessing the power of eminent domain and any employee, agent, or contractor of the person or entity who, while clearing a utility right-of-way or easement, mistakenly cuts, damages, destroys, or removes timber or other forest products from lands adjacent to the utility right-of-way or easement shall only be liable for the reasonable fair market value of the damaged timber or forest products and no more, unless it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the acts where done with the intent to wrongfully injure or remove the timber or forest products, in which case the entity or person shall be liable to the owner for double the fair market value of the timber or other forest products that were damaged, destroyed, cut, or removed.
(Acts 1939, No. 626, p. 993, §3; Code 1940, T. 8, §218(3); Act 2000-806, p. 1918, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 3 - Regulations as to Cutting, Removal, Purchase, etc., of Forest Products. › Section 9-13-63 - Record of Purchases, etc., of Manufactured or Semimanufactured Forest Products; Provision of False Information to Purchasers, etc.; Failure to Maintain Record, Etc.

Section 9-13-63
Record of purchases, etc., of manufactured or semimanufactured forest products; provision of false information to purchasers, etc.; failure to maintain record, etc.
Any person, firm, or corporation buying, contracting to buy, or otherwise acquiring logs, poles, piling, crossties, pulpwood, veneer bolts, stave bolts, or other unmanufactured or semimanufactured forest products shall keep a written record in this state of every such purchase. The record shall contain the name of the person or persons from whom the product was acquired, the county from which the timber or other forest product was severed, the amount thereof and the date of delivery, which information shall be obtained from the person or persons from whom the product was acquired. This record shall be a true, accurate, and correct statement of the transaction as provided for in this section. Any person who knowingly gives false information to the purchaser of the product or who willfully misstates the facts with intent to defraud is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1000, or a jail sentence of not less than 10 days nor more than one year or both fine and imprisonment. The purchaser shall be entitled to rely upon the information furnished by the seller. The information given under this section shall be kept by the person or persons acquiring the forest products and shall be available, during business hours, to a duly authorized agent or employee of the State Forestry Commission. The record shall be kept available for a period of not less than three years. Any person, firm, or corporation failing to keep the record or in any manner falsifying it is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than nor more than $1000, or a jail sentence of not less than 10 days nor more than a year or both fine and imprisonment.
(Acts 1939, No. 626, p. 993, §4; Code 1940, T. 8, §218(4); Acts 1993, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 93-888, p. 158, §2.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 3 - Regulations as to Cutting, Removal, Purchase, etc., of Forest Products. › Section 9-13-64 - Powers of State Forestry Commission Employees as to Enforcement of Article, Etc.

Section 9-13-64
Powers of State Forestry Commission employees as to enforcement of article, etc.
All employees of the State Forestry Commission shall have the powers of peace officers in the enforcing of the provisions of this article. They shall be allowed to enter any lands and to do any work necessary in the performance of their duties without liability for trespass or damage therefrom.
(Acts 1939, No. 626, p. 993, §5; Code 1940, T. 8, §218(5).)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 3 - Regulations as to Cutting, Removal, Purchase, etc., of Forest Products. › Section 9-13-65 - Disposition of Fines.

Section 9-13-65
Disposition of fines.
All fines collected from violations of Sections 9-13-60 and 9-13-63 shall go to the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund.
(Acts 1939, No. 626, p. 993, §6; Code 1940, T. 8, §218(6).)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-80 - Definitions.

Section 9-13-80
Definitions.
The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(1) COMMISSIONER. The Commissioner of Revenue of the State of Alabama.
(2) CONCENTRATION YARD. A place where logs, pulpwood, or inwoods pulpwood chips severed in Alabama are brought or received within the State of Alabama in a green or rough form or condition for resale to processors or manufacturers or for shipment out of state.
(3) DEPARTMENT. The Department of Revenue of the State of Alabama.
(4) FOREST PRODUCTS. Logs, pulpwood, poles, pilings, inwoods pulpwood chips, and stumpwood (tarwood).
(5) MANUFACTURER. As applied to logs suitable for manufacture into lumber, plywood, veneer, or other solid wood product, the person who operates the sawmill or plant in which the products are manufactured; as applied to pulpwood, the person who operates the paper or pulp mill, oriented strand board mill, pellet mill, or other plant in which the products are manufactured; as applied to poles and pilings, the person who purchases from the producer; as applied to stumpwood, the person who operates the plant or retort in which the product is utilized.
(6) PERSON. Any individual, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, receiver, trustee, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
(7) PROCESSOR. A chip mill or other facility that receives forest products from a producer and further processes those forest products before delivery to a manufacturer.
(8) PRODUCER. Any person engaging or continuing to engage in this state in the business of severing timber or any other forest products from the soil, whether as owner, lessee, concessionaire, or contractor. The term shall also include any person who assembles or causes to be assembled any forest product for shipment out of the State of Alabama in an unmanufactured condition.
(9) SEVER. To fell, cut, or otherwise separate from the soil. For the purpose of this article, any person who is the owner or lessee of timber and is also the processor thereof or a manufacturer of products derived therefrom shall be deemed the producer engaged in severing such timber from the soil, notwithstanding the fact that the severance is made by an independent contractor or otherwise.
(10) TAXPAYER. Any person liable for taxes under this article.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §1; Acts 1953, No. 695, p. 948, §1; Acts 1955, No. 530, p. 1177, §1; Act 2017-301, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-81 - Levy of Severance Tax; Lien Upon Forest Products, etc., for Payment of Tax.

Section 9-13-81
Levy of severance tax; lien upon forest products, etc., for payment of tax.
To provide further for conservation of the natural resources of the state by protection of the state's forests and development of the forestry program, there is levied and shall be collected as provided in this article a privilege tax on every person who owns timber prior to severance and engages or continues to engage in the state in the business of severing timber or any other forest products from the soil for sale, profit, or commercial use whether as owner, lessee, concessionaire, or contractor. The privilege tax imposed by this article is in addition to other taxes now levied and shall be known as the forest products severance tax. The tax, together with interest and penalties imposed by this article, shall be a lien upon the forest products so severed and upon the product or products manufactured therefrom until the tax imposed by this article with respect to such forest products shall have been paid or until such forest products or the products manufactured therefrom shall have been sold by the manufacturer thereof, but the lien of such tax shall not be enforceable against the bona fide purchaser from the manufacturer of any such forest products or of the products manufactured therefrom.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §2; Act 2017-301, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-83 - Exemptions From Taxes.

Section 9-13-83
Exemptions from taxes.
The taxes levied by this article shall not apply to nor shall such taxes be required of those individual owners of timber who occasionally sever or cut the same from their own premises to be utilized by them in the construction or repair of their own structures, buildings or improvements or for their home consumption or used by them in the processing of their farm products.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §4.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-84

Section 9-13-84
Payment and disposition of taxes generally; Special State Forestry Fund; appropriation of tax receipts for use of State Forestry Commission.
(a) The taxes imposed by this article, and any other taxes imposed on the severance of forest products, shall be due and payable quarterly to the department and, when collected, shall be paid by the department into the State Treasury. When so paid into the State Treasury, all such taxes shall be credited by the Treasurer to a special fund which is hereby created and which shall be known as the Special State Forestry Fund of the State of Alabama, which fund shall be disbursed under the supervision of the State Forester, subject to the restrictions embodied in this article, for the purpose of carrying out the statewide forestry program as provided by law and for no other or different purposes. Not less than 85 percent of the taxes collected under and by virtue of this article shall be expended for forest protection. No portion of the fund shall revert to the General Fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year, and any surplus shall be allowed to accumulate from year to year and be disbursed as exigencies of the statewide forestry program may require.
(b) There is continuously appropriated the receipts from the taxes levied in this article to the State Forestry Commission for the use of the State Forestry Commission. The amount of money as shall be appropriated for each fiscal year by the Legislature to the department with which to pay the salaries, the cost of operation, and the management of the department shall be deducted, as a first charge thereon, from the taxes collected under and pursuant to this article. The expenditure of the sum so appropriated shall be budgeted and allotted pursuant to Article 4, commencing with Section 41-4-80, of Chapter 4, Title 41 and limited to the amount appropriated to defray the expenses of operating the department for each fiscal year, or two percent of the receipts, whichever is less.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §5; Acts 1951, No. 843, p. 1474, §1; Acts 1967, No. 763, p. 1619, §1; Acts 1988, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 88-842, p. 315, §1; Act 2017-301, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-85 - Expenditures for Forest Protection.

Section 9-13-85
Expenditures for forest protection.
Repealed by Act 2017-301, § 4, effective July 1, 2017.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §6; Acts 1967, No. 763, p. 1619, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-86 - Filing of Quarterly Reports and Payment of Taxes - Manufacturers and Processors; Payment of Taxes.

Section 9-13-86
Filing of quarterly reports and payment of taxes - Manufacturers and processors; payment of taxes.
Every manufacturer and processor, within 30 days after the expiration of each quarter annual period expiring, respectively, shall on the last day of March, June, September, and December of each year, file with the department a statement under oath, on forms prescribed by the department, showing the kinds of forest products and the gross quantity of each manufactured during the preceding quarter annual period by the manufacturer or processor, showing the county or counties in which such products were severed from the soil and showing the gross quantity, if any, of such forest products severed from soil outside the State of Alabama and such other reasonable and necessary information pertaining thereto as the department may require for the proper enforcement of this article. At the time of rendering such quarter annual reports, the manufacturer or processor shall pay to the department the taxes imposed by this article with respect to all forest products severed from the soil in the State of Alabama and embraced in the report. In the case that any logs, pulpwood, or inwoods pulpwood chips are sold or delivered to a concentration yard, then the taxes provided for in this article shall be reported and paid by the owner or owners of the concentration yard to the department.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §7; Acts 1953, No. 695, p. 948, §2; Act 2017-301, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-87 - Filing of Quarterly Reports and Payment of Taxes - Producers of Forest Products Shipping, etc., Same Out of State in Unmanufactured Condition.

Section 9-13-87
Filing of quarterly reports and payment of taxes - Producers of forest products shipping, etc., same out of state in unmanufactured condition.
Every producer of forest products who shall ship the same out of the State of Alabama in an unmanufactured condition or who shall sell such product for shipment outside the State of Alabama in an unmanufactured condition shall, within 30 days after the expiration of each quarter annual period expiring, respectively, on the last day of March, June, September and December of each year, file with the Department of Revenue a statement under oath, on forms prescribed by the Department of Revenue, showing the kinds of forest products and the gross quantity thereof severed from the soil in Alabama and shipped or sold for shipment to points outside the State of Alabama in an unmanufactured condition, the county or counties in which such products were severed from the soil and such other reasonable and necessary information pertaining thereto as the Department of Revenue may require for the proper enforcement of the provisions of this article. At the time of rendering such quarter annual reports, such producer of forest products shall pay to the Department of Revenue the taxes herein imposed by this article upon the forest products embraced in said report.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §8.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-88 - Recordkeeping Requirements.

Section 9-13-88
Recordkeeping requirements.
It shall be the duty of every manufacturer and processor in this state and of every producer who shall ship forest products out of the State of Alabama in an unmanufactured condition and of every concentration yard where any logs, pulpwood, or inwoods pulpwood chips are sold or delivered to it to keep and preserve suitable records with the items separated into the various items on which privilege taxes are levied in this article, and other books or accounts as may be necessary to determine the amount of taxes for which he or she is liable under this article. The books and records shall be kept and preserved for a period of three years, and all records shall be open for examination at any time by the department or its duly authorized agent.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §9; Acts 1953, No. 695, p. 948, §3; Act 2017-301, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-90 - Failure to Make Reports or Maintain Records.

Section 9-13-90
Failure to make reports or maintain records.
Any person subject to the provisions of this article who shall fail to make the reports or any of them as required by this article or who shall fail to keep the records as required by this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $25.00 nor more than $500.00 for each offense. Each month of such failure shall constitute a separate offense.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §11.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-93 - When Taxes Delinquent.

Section 9-13-93
When taxes delinquent.
The taxes provided in this article shall become delinquent after the date fixed for the filing of the quarter annual report to be filed with the department.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §28; Act 2017-301, §1.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-99 - Lien Upon Property for Payment of Taxes, Interest and Penalties.

Section 9-13-99
Lien upon property for payment of taxes, interest and penalties.
The taxes together with interest and penalties imposed by this article shall be a lien upon the property of any person subject to the provisions of this article, and the provisions of the revenue laws of the State of Alabama applying to liens for license taxes shall apply fully to the taxes levied by this article.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §19.)
2023 Code of Alabama › Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources. › Chapter 13 - Forests and Forest Products. › Article 4 - Forest Products Privilege and Severance Taxes. › Section 9-13-103 - Proceedings as to Persons Designing to Engage in Acts Prejudicial to Collection of Taxes, Etc.

Section 9-13-103
Proceedings as to persons designing to engage in acts prejudicial to collection of taxes, etc.
If the department finds that a person liable for taxes under any provisions of this article designs quickly to depart from the state or to remove his property therefrom, or to conceal himself or his property therein or to do any other act tending to prejudice or to render wholly or partly ineffectual proceedings to collect such tax unless such proceedings are brought without delay, the department shall cause notice of such finding to be given such person together with a demand for an immediate return and immediate payment of such taxes. Thereupon such taxes shall become immediately due and payable. If such person is not in default in making such return or paying any taxes prescribed by this article and furnishes evidence satisfactory to the department under regulations to be prescribed by the department that he will duly return and pay the taxes to which the department's finding relates, then such tax shall not be payable prior to the time otherwise fixed for payment. If such person fails to appear and make such showing, then the department shall make such assessment final and execution may immediately issue as is provided in this article.
(Acts 1945, No. 169, p. 285, §23.)