BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1492| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1492 Author: Assembly Budget Committee Amended: 8/7/12 in Senate Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEW COMMITTEE : 11-0, 8/15/12 AYES: Leno, Alquist, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Simitian, Wolk, Wright NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson, Anderson, Fuller, Gaines, La Malfa ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant SUBJECT : Budget Act of 2012: Timber Harvesting SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill makes various changes related to Timber Harvest Plans and revenues to implement the budget actions as part of the 2012-13 budget package. ANALYSIS : The bill includes the following changes: 1.Allows a timber harvest plan approved after July 31, 2012 to be in effect for a period of not more than five years with extensions authorized for a two-year period. 2.Establishes the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund in the State Treasury and imposes a new assessment on lumber as follows: CONTINUED AB 1492 Page 2 A. Imposes an assessment on lumber products and engineered wood products at a rate of one percent of gross receipts from the sale of those products. B. Funds are required to be available upon appropriation for administrative costs, and for purposes relating to the regulatory activities of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and other state and local agencies involved in the management of forest lands. C. Funds may be made available for management of forest lands, the cost of managing forest resource programs in the state, and for certain grants to state and local public agencies for fire protection, fire suppression and restoration activities. D. Retailers may be reimbursed for costs to set up collection systems. The fee may be itemized on receipts. 1.Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency annually to submit a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee on the activities of all state departments, agencies and boards relating to forest and timberland regulation. 2.Allows civil action by a public agency to recover damages caused in a fire but limits the measure of damages for injuries to timber, trees, or underwood negligently cause by fire to the actual damages suffered. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes This bill should not result in any changes to the budget act in related budget actions. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/29/12) California Association of Professional Scientists OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/29/12) CONTINUED AB 1492 Page 3 California Republican Assembly Home Depot Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Lowe's Company LTD Lumber Association of California and Nevada National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association Retail Industry Leaders Association San Diego Gas and Electric Company Valley Industry and Commerce Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Association of Professional Scientists state, "A functional and credible Timber Harvest Review Program requires meaningful participation from each of the reviewed team agencies. While all of the agencies face budget constraints that limit participation, the situation at DFG is particularly shocking. Repeated cuts to DFG's Timber Harvest Review Program have reduced staffing from over 50 PY's in 2006-07 to less than 10 PY's in the current fiscal year. These cuts have left DFG without the capacity to protect our wildlife resources in vast areas of the state. The proposal shifts the costs of reviewing logging plans from the General Fund to the end user. Such an assessment would be exceedingly minor for any one consumer, but cumulatively, it provides enough resources to adequately and sustainably fund a multi-agency Timber Harvest Review Program. In the end, AB 1492 will offer better stewardship of our states valuable forest resources and result in a healthier and cleaner environment." ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Retail Industry Leaders Association state, "The proposed one percent tax on consumers who purchase limber or wood products in California is one that has the potential to further cripple an industry that ha show slight signs of recovery following an economic downturn unprecedented in its length and especially acute for the housing industry. Furthermore, retailers and their customers should not have to shoulder the burden of funding regulatory activities related to the Timber Harvest Plan review. This initiative does not benefit the retail or construction industries, but rather serves as an alternative to a direct fee or tax on CONTINUED AB 1492 Page 4 landowners who apply for timber harvesting permits." DLW:n 8/29/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED