An Act To Encourage Development in the Logging Industry

CONCEPT DRAFT SUMMARY

This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.

This bill proposes to encourage development in the logging industry by enacting a variety of measures, which may include:

1. Changes to the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law; and

2. Changes to certain labor laws, including requiring a landowner to notify the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Division of Forestry if forest land is harvested using bonded labor under the federal H2 bonded labor program under 20 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 655.200 et seq. This proposal might provide that, if a landowner or a harvester employed by or under contract to the landowner uses bonded labor under the federal H2 bonded labor program or the landowner fails to provide the required notification, the land would be suspended from the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law for the year in which bonded labor is used and a penalty would be assessed under the commercial forestry excise tax to compensate the State for the General Fund contribution to the cost of forest fire protection activities.