Extensions of managed forest land orders

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) administers the managed forest land program that exempts a landowner from payment of municipal property taxes on land in the program in exchange for the landowner's payment of an acreage share, which is lower than the municipal property tax, and for the landowner's compliance with approved forestry and other conservation practices. The duration of a managed forest land order may be either 25 or 50 years.

This bill allows the owner of managed forest land to apply to DNR for an extension of a managed forest land order by an additional ten years from the date of the expiration of the original order under certain circumstances. An owner may apply for an extension of the order if 30 percent or more of the merchantable timber on five or more contiguous acres of the managed forest land was adversely affected by fire, ice, snow, insects, disease, wind, or flooding. The bill requires that the cause of the adverse effect on the managed forest land must have occurred within 15 years before the date of the expiration of the original order and must have resulted in a reduction of 30 percent or more in stumpage value to the owner. "Stumpage value" is the value of timber before it is cut as established in rules promulgated by DNR.

Who's behind it

5 senators are its authors⁠. 4 are Democrats and 1 is a Republican.

4 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DNR

Versions and amendments

Every text the Legislature printed for this bill, including proposed changes. Each opens on the Legislature's site.

• Amendment SSA1-SB296
• LC Amendment Memo