Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                        H.624
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                                      H.624
 Introduced by Representatives Sims of Craftsbury, Lipsky of Stowe, Anthony
                of Barre City, Boyden of Cambridge, Brennan of Colchester,
                Buss of Woodstock, Demrow of Corinth, Harrison of
                Chittenden, Parsons of Newbury, Pearl of Danville, Rice of
                Dorset, Templeman of Brownington, and Williams of Granby
 Referred to Committee on
 Date:
 Subject: Conservation and development; timber harvesting; water quality;
          financial assistance
 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes multiple
 provisions related to the support of the forest economy in the State. The bill
 would require the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to establish and
 administer the Forest Management and Climate Resilience Grant Program to
 provide financial assistance to logging contractors to ensure implementation of
 effective water quality protection and climate adaptation practices on harvest
 sites. The bill also would require the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and
 Recreation (Commissioner) to coordinate and oversee the creation of an
 economic impact and workforce availability study of professional logging and
 trucking in Vermont. In addition, the bill would require the Commissioner to
                                                                       VT LEG #373126 v.1
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                         H.624
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 establish a program to provide free safety training to logging contractors and
 timber truckers.
    An act relating to providing financial assistance to the forest economy
 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
 Sec. 1. FOREST MANAGEMENT AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE GRANT
         PROGRAM
    (a) As used in this section:
       (1) “Forest product” means logs, pulpwood, veneer, bolt wood, wood
 chips, stud wood, poles, pilings, biomass, fuel wood, maple sap, or bark.
       (2) “Forestry operation” means activities related to the management of
 forests, including a timber harvest; pruning; planting; reforestation; pest,
 disease, and invasive species control; wildlife habitat management; and
 fertilization. “Forestry operation” includes the primary processing of forest
 products of commercial value on a parcel where the timber harvest occurs.
       (3) “Logging contractor” means a business that is primarily engaged in
 timber harvesting, is responsible for harvesting operations from stump to
 roadside, and maintains direct contractual relationships with landowners.
       (4) “Timber” means trees, saplings, seedlings, bushes, shrubs, and
 sprouts from which trees may grow, of every size, nature, kind, and
 description.
                                                                        VT LEG #373126 v.1
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       (5) “Timber harvest” or “harvest timber” means a forestry operation
 involving the cutting and transport of timber or forest products.
    (b) The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation shall establish and
 administer the Forest Management and Climate Resilience Grant Program to
 provide financial assistance to logging contractors to ensure implementation of
 effective water quality protection and climate adaptation practices on harvest
 sites. The Program shall provide financial assistance to logging contractors for
 the following:
       (1) implementation of accepted management practices (AMPs) on
 harvest sites to enhance water quality protection and climate adaptation
 measures before forest operations take place;
       (2) purchase by logging contractors of materials or practices that can be
 used for forest access road construction, landing preparation, bridge
 construction or installation, culvert protection or installation, and sediment
 control in advance of harvest implementation in order to comply with the
 AMPs and other potentially applicable water quality requirements; and
       (3) financial assistance or cost share for a logging contractor to be
 Master Logger Certified by third-party entities, such as the Northeast Master
 Logger Certification Program of the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands.
                                                                         VT LEG #373126 v.1
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                          H.624
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    (c) The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation may establish criteria
 for eligibility under the Forest Management and Climate Resilience Grant
 Program, including priority of assistance and application requirements.
    (d) In addition to other funds appropriated to the Department of Forests,
 Parks and Recreation in fiscal year 2025, $5,000,000.00 from the General Fund
 is appropriated to the Department to implement the requirements of this
 section.
 Sec. 2. FOREST ECONOMY IMPACT STUDY
    (a) The Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation shall coordinate
 and oversee the creation of an economic impact and workforce availability
 study of professional logging and trucking in Vermont. The study shall:
       (1) assess the overall annual contribution of logging businesses and
 timber trucking to the economy of the State of Vermont;
       (2) estimate the number of logging businesses, timber trucking
 businesses, and other associated logging businesses in the State;
       (3) estimate the number of persons directly or indirectly employed by
 logging businesses, timber trucking, and associated logging businesses in the
 State, including an estimate of the labor income paid in the aggregate and as
 average employee wages by these businesses;
       (4) assess the workforce availability for logging businesses, timber
 trucking and associated logging business, including average age of the current VT LEG #373126 v.1
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 workforce and an estimate of the number of loggers, truckers, and mechanics
 that will be available to the forest economy workforce in 10 years;
       (5) estimate the State and local taxes paid by logging businesses, timber
 trucking businesses, and other logging associated businesses; and
       (6) summarize the workplace injuries incurred by logging and timber
 trucking businesses and the effect of injuries and training on workers’
 compensation insurance rates.
    (b) To conduct the study, the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and
 Recreation shall collaborate with the Professional Logging Contractors of the
 Northeast, the University of Vermont’s School of Forestry, the University of
 Vermont Center for Rural Studies, and other interested parties.
    (c) The Commissioner may contract with consultants or other persons with
 knowledge and expertise of economics and the logging and timber trucking
 industries to complete the study or components of the study required under this
 section.
    (d) On or before January 1, 2025, the Commissioner shall submit the
 completed study to the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and
 Forestry and the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
    (e) In addition to other funds appropriated to the Department of Forests,
 Parks and Recreation in fiscal year 2025, $100,000.00 from the General Fund VT LEG #373126 v.1
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 is appropriated to the Department to implement the study required by this
 section.
 Sec. 3. SAFETY TRAINING FOR LOGGING AND TIMBER TRUCKING
    (a) The Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation shall establish a
 program to provide free safety training to logging contractors or timber
 truckers and their employees in order to improve workplace safety, reduce
 injuries and insurance claims, and lower insurance costs.
    (b) The Commissioner shall coordinate with the Professional Logging
 Contractors of the Northeast (PLC) and other interested parties to design, host,
 and implement safety training for logging contractors, timber trucking firms,
 and their employees in Vermont. At least four logging and two trucking safety
 trainings will be conducted annually under the program.
    (c) The Commissioner shall coordinate with PLC to organize a safety
 committee that shall include contractors, insurance agents, insurance
 underwriters, and other stakeholders to assist in the planning of annual
 trainings. The safety committee shall design or inform the trainings required
 under this section.
    (d) When funds are available under this program, the Commissioner may
 provide financial assistance for logging contractors to become Master Logger
 Certified by the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands so that logging VT LEG #373126 v.1
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 contractors qualify as safety certified logging contractors as defined by the
 Department of Financial Regulation.
    (e) In addition to other funds appropriated to the Department of Forests,
 Parks and Recreation in fiscal year 2025, $100,000.00 from the General Fund
 is appropriated to the Department to implement the safety training and other
 requirements of this section.
 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE
    This act shall take effect on July 1, 2024.
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