CHAPTER 513
H.P. 1312 - L.D. 1872
An Act To Provide Forest Certification Cost-share Incentives to Forest Landowners and Licensed Foresters
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA c. 801-A, as amended, is further amended by repealing the chapter headnote and enacting the following in its place:
CHAPTER 801-A
FOREST CERTIFICATION INCENTIVE COST-SHARE FUND
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §8011, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. KKKK, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§8011. Cost-share fund established; purpose
A forest certification incentive cost-share fund, referred to in this chapter as "the fund," is established as a nonlapsing dedicated account to provide incentives to licensed foresters and landowners for obtaining independent 3rd-party certification and recertification. The bureau shall administer the fund in accordance with section 8014. The bureau may accept donations and grants from public and private sources for deposit in the fund.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §8012, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. KKKK, §1, is amended to read:
3. Independent 3rd-party certification. "Independent 3rd-party certification" means a system that verifies
sustainable forest management through an independent 3rd-party audit of a licensed professional forester's management of a client's forest lands.that forest management is consistent with a certification program's standards through an independent 3rd-party audit of the management of forest lands. To be considered an "independent 3rd-party certification" system:
A. The certification program, including, but not limited to, the standards for awarding certification and the protocols for ascertaining compliance, must be developed and administered by an entity with no financial interest in the entity seeking certification except by reason of the contract for certification services; and
B. The organization retained to perform the certification audit may not receive any financial benefit from timber harvesting on the land or from the entity being audited, except for the contractual relationship for the audit service.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §8012, sub-§
4, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. KKKK, §1, is amended to read:4. Licensed forester. "Licensed
professionalforester" means a person licensed pursuant to Title 32, chapter7576.Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §8013, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. KKKK, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §8014 is enacted to read:
§8014. Administration of cost-share fund; procedure
The bureau shall administer the fund to reimburse eligible persons for a portion of the costs of obtaining independent 3rd-party certification in accordance with this section.
1. Eligibility. The following persons are eligible for cost-share funds:
A. A licensed forester who has obtained independent 3rd-party certification or recertification as a forest resource manager in order that the forester's client landowners may obtain the benefits accruing from such certification;
B. A landowner who owns 1,000 acres or less of forest land statewide and has obtained independent 3rd-party certification or recertification for the land; and
C. A group of landowners who have collectively obtained 3rd-party certification or recertification for their land as long as some or all of the landowners own 1,000 acres or less.
2. Maximum amount of cost-share funds distributed. The amount of cost-share funds distributed to a person eligible for reimbursement under subsection 1, paragraph A or B may not exceed 50% of the cost of obtaining independent 3rd-party certification.
The maximum amount of cost-share funds distributed to a group of landowners eligible for reimbursement under subsection 1, paragraph C is calculated by multiplying the number of landowners in the group who own 1,000 acres or less of forest land by 50% of the cost of obtaining independent 3rd-party certification and dividing the product by the total number of landowners in the group.
For the purposes of this subsection, "cost of obtaining independent 3rd-party certification" means the fee paid to an external auditor to complete the certification process.
3. Repayment required. A licensed forester, landowner or group of landowners that accepts cost-share funds in accordance with this chapter but that fails to retain certification for the full certification period shall repay the full amount of the cost-share funds received to the bureau. The bureau may impose a reasonable interest rate on the amount of the funds to be repaid. The bureau shall deposit all repayments and interest received under this subsection into the fund.
4. Forms. The bureau shall provide application forms for licensed foresters, landowners and groups of landowners seeking cost-share funds pursuant to this chapter.
Effective August 23, 2006.
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