The bill introduces the "Forestry Parity Act," which aims to provide parity of treatment for forestry and forest product operations, similar to farming and agriculture operations. It emphasizes the importance of forests for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and economic value, and seeks to ensure forest conservation is given the same status as farm and open space conservation under taxation laws. The bill defines relevant terms, protects forest operations from nuisance actions, allows for the registration of forestry vehicles with special farm plates, and amends the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation's purposes to include forestry. It also amends the assessment of tangible personal property to include agriculture and forestry machinery and equipment in the mid-life class for depreciation purposes.

The bill proposes various tax exemptions, including a new section 44-5-42.2 that provides a tax exemption for all forestry product operations machinery and motor vehicles with farm plates. It also amends sales and use tax exemptions, including exemptions for contractors working with exempt agencies, gasoline and airplane fuels, items purchased for manufacturing, food and food ingredients, medicines and drugs sold on prescription, and sales to the state or its political subdivisions. The bill further exempts motor vehicles sold to nonresidents, sales in public buildings by licensed blind people, and items used in air and water pollution control facilities. It outlines exemptions for tangible personal property or supplies acquired for pollution control facilities, special adaptations and adapted motor vehicles for persons with disabilities, heating fuels, electricity, gas, and manufacturing machinery and equipment used in industrial plants. Additional exemptions are detailed for commercial fishing vessels, clothing and footwear, sales of water for residential use, sales of boats to nonresidents, and farm equipment used for commercial farming. The bill also includes insertions such as exemptions for textbooks and on-site hazardous waste recycling, and a deletion regarding the exemption of boats or vessels from sales tax after a certain date.

Statutes affected:
7618: 42-64-5, 44-5-12.1, 44-18-30, 44-27-1, 45-24-37