Revision: April 8, 2010, midnight
HB 681-FN – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
13Jan2010… 0005h
2009 SESSION
06/01
HOUSE BILL 681-FN
AN ACT relative to assessments for aquatic resource compensatory mitigation.
SPONSORS: Rep. E. Merrick, Coos 2; Rep. T. Russell, Rock 13; Rep. S. Merrick, Coos 2; Rep. Sad, Ches 2; Sen. Reynolds, Dist 2
COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development
This bill temporarily increases the percentage of certain administrative assessments related to aquatic resource compensatory mitigation.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
13Jan2010… 0005h
09-0345
06/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to assessments for aquatic resource compensatory mitigation.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Aquatic Resource Compensatory Mitigation; Fund Established. RSA 482-A:29, II is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
II. A separate, non-lapsing account shall be established within the fund into which all administrative assessments collected under RSA 482-A:30, III and RSA 482-A:30-a, II shall be placed. Such account moneys shall only be used to support up to 2 full-time positions for administration of the fund and related projects. No other fund moneys shall be used for state personnel costs.
2 Payment for Freshwater and Tidal Wetlands Losses. Amend RSA 482-A:30, III to read as follows:
III. An administrative assessment which equals [5] 20 percent of the sum of paragraphs I and II.
3 Payment for Freshwater and Tidal Wetlands Losses. Amend RSA 482-A:30, III to read as follows:
III. An administrative assessment which equals [20] 5 percent of the sum of paragraphs I and II.
4 Payment for Stream or Shoreline Losses. Amend RSA 482-A:30-a, II to read as follows:
II. An administrative assessment equal to [5] 20 percent of the amount in paragraph I.
5 Payment for Stream or Shoreline Losses. Amend RSA 482-A:30-a, II to read as follows:
II. An administrative assessment equal to [20] 5 percent of the amount in paragraph I.
6 Rulemaking. Amend RSA 482-A:31, II to read as follows:
II. The method of calculating the amount of in lieu payments under RSA 482-A:30 and RSA 482-A:30-a which shall approximate the total cost of wetlands construction, stream and river construction, or such other mitigation actions as would have been required by the department and incurred by the applicant in the absence of making such payments. An administrative assessment of [5] 20 percent of the total cost shall be added as part of the calculation method.
7 Rulemaking. Amend RSA 482-A:31, II to read as follows:
II. The method of calculating the amount of in lieu payments under RSA 482-A:30 and RSA 482-A:30-a which shall approximate the total cost of wetlands construction, stream and river construction, or such other mitigation actions as would have been required by the department and incurred by the applicant in the absence of making such payments. An administrative assessment of [20] 5 percent of the total cost shall be added as part of the calculation method.
8 Report. Amend RSA 482-A:33 to read as follows:
482-A:33 Report. The department shall submit an annual report by October 1 beginning with fiscal year 2006, to the fiscal committee, the chairperson of the house resources, recreation and development committee, and the chairperson of the senate environment and wildlife committee summarizing all receipts and disbursements of the aquatic resource compensatory mitigation fund, including a description of all projects undertaken and the status of the administrative assessment account. Each report shall be in such detail with sufficient information to be fully understood by the general court and the public. After submission to the general court, the report shall be available to the public.
9 Department Investigation. The department of environmental services shall investigate ways of compiling and providing information on known compensatory mitigation opportunities to applicants who need to compensate for unavoidable impacts by their proposed projects, as part of the wetlands permitting process. The department shall report on the results of this investigation on October 1, 2011 as part of its annual report under RSA 482-A:33.
10 Effective Date.
I. Sections 3, 5, and 7 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2012.
II. Section 1 shall take effect July 1, 2010 at 12:01 a.m.
III. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
LBAO
09-0345
Amended 02/01/10
HB 681 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to assessments for aquatic resource compensatory mitigation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Environmental Services states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2010-0005h), will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on restricted state, county and local expenditures and revenue in FY 2011 and each year thereafter.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Environmental Services states this bill amends the aquatic resource compensatory mitigation fund by creating a separate, non-lapsing account in the fund into which all administrative assessments collected under RSA 482-A:30, III and RSA 482-A:30-a,II shall be deposited. The bill increases the administrative assessment from 5 percent to 20 percent for FY 2011 and FY 2012 then decreases the administrative assessment back to 5 percent in FY 2013. The bill also allows the moneys in this separate, non-lapsing account to be used to support up to 2 full-time positions for administration of the fund and related projects. The Department states in lieu of other forms of compensatory mitigation, applicants have the option to pay into the aquatic resource compensatory mitigation fund. Since it is not a mandate to pay into the fund the Department is not able to estimate how many applications and projects will be submitted to the Department. The Department states the fiscal impact of this bill on restricted state, county, and local expenditures and revenue cannot be determined, but anticipates any fiscal impact will be minimal.
This bill does not authorize new positions.