Revision: May 31, 2024, 8:32 a.m.
HB 1697-FN - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
22Feb2024... 0482h
05/02/2024 1614s
2024 SESSION
24-3134
08/10
HOUSE BILL 1697-FN
AN ACT relative to forest carbon credit programs.
SPONSORS: Rep. A. Davis, Coos 2; Rep. Ouellet, Coos 3; Rep. Tierney, Coos 1; Rep. S. King, Coos 4; Rep. Cascadden, Coos 5; Rep. Noel, Coos 5
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill:
I. Requires the department of revenue administration to conduct a study of the issues related to lost timber tax revenue as a result of forest lands located within New Hampshire being enrolled in carbon credit offset programs.
II. Requires the division of forestry to establish and maintain a public registry of all forest lands enrolled in a carbon program.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
22Feb2024... 0482h
05/02/2024 1614s 24-3134
08/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to forest carbon credit programs.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Department of Revenue Administration; Timber Tax. The department of revenue administration shall conduct a study of the issues related to lost timber tax revenue as a result of forest lands located within New Hampshire being enrolled in carbon credit offset programs. The department shall provide a preliminary report including its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the legislature on or before November 1, 2024, and a final report on or before November 1, 2025.
2 New Paragraph; Forest Registry; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 227-G:4 by inserting after paragraph XI the following new paragraph:
XII.(a) Establishment and maintenance of a public registry listing forest lands located within New Hampshire that are enrolled in one or more carbon programs that reflect the land's capacity to remove and store carbon from the atmosphere, including requirements for owners of such land to file a notice of enrollment that includes the following information insofar as the information is already publicly available:
(1) The legal name of the owner of the subject land;
(2) Reference to the tax map and lot number of the subject land;
(3) The name of the program, or program registry or registries, under which the subject land is enrolled;
(4) The date of enrollment in the forest carbon credit program;
(5) The period of enrollment in the forest carbon credit program; and
(6) Acreage of subject land.
(b) The land owner or their agent, or the forest carbon program administer, shall notify the municipality or municipalities where the subject land is located, or the applicable governing body or bodies of the territory in which the land is located, of the filing of a notice pursuant to subparagraph (a).
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
24-3134
Amended 3/11/24
HB 1697-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2024-0482h)
AN ACT relative to forest carbon credit programs.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | None
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Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | General Fund
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Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None
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• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No | ||||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires the Department of Revenue Administration to conduct a study of the issues related to lost timber tax revenue as a result of forest lands located within New Hampshire being enrolled in carbon credit offset programs. The bill also requires the Division of Forestry to establish and maintain a public registry of all forest lands enrolled in a carbon program.
The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Division of Forests and Lands assumes the registration process will operate much like the current Intent to Cut Notification process (RSA 79:10) whereby the landowner would submit a form notifying municipal assessing officials of their intent to enroll their property in a carbon credit program. The town would send a copy of the completed form(s) to Division of Forests and Lands for recording in the state registry. Administrative staff within the Division would maintain the statewide registry in an Excel spreadsheet. Given the current number of enrolled landowners and the relatively slow rate of enrollment, the Division does not expect this administrative work would require additional staff or significant staff time to manage. The Division indicates implementing the law would require working with the NH Municipal Association, the NH Timberland Owners Association, the NH Tree Farm Program, the Current Use Board and other statewide conservation organizations to inform landowners of the new Forest Carbon Registry. The Division estimates that building and maintaining the carbon registry would require approximately 25 to 30 hours of staff time annually at an administrative rate of $50/hour for a total of $1,250 to $1,500.
The Department or Revenue Administration indicates this bill instructs the Department to conduct a study of the issues related to lost timber tax revenue as a result of forest lands located within the state being enrolled in carbon credit offset programs. The Department states the study would include a statistical analysis of timber tax revenue collected from parcels of land enrolled in carbon credit offset programs by comparing timber tax revenue from those lands prior to and after enrolling in such programs. If the intended scope of the study is more expansive, beyond providing Timber Tax revenue statistics, the Department may need to seek and contract the services of an external consultant with specialized knowledge in carbon credit offset programs and forestry to complete the report. Depending on the scope of the study, the bill may result in an indeterminable additional cost that could not be absorbed in the Department's operating budget. Any such costs are expected to be incurred in FY 2025.
The bill would require the Department to provide its final report including findings and any recommendations for future legislation on or before November 1, 2024. To perform the study, the Department assumes information on the owners and the description of their property enrolled in carbon credit offset programs will be available, however no such registry of lands enrolled in carbon credit offset programs currently exists. The Department notes, depending on the number of owners enrolling their land in carbon credit offset programs, it may be restricted by the confidentiality statute of RSA 21-J:14 in its reporting of the results of the study.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Departments of Revenue Administration and Natural and Cultural Resources