2006 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 529 – Timber, state-owned, sale, measure

HOUSE BILL NO. 529

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Bill Status



H0529.........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
TIMBER - SALE - Amends existing law to revise measuring methods for the
sale of state-owned timber.
                                                                        
02/01    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/02    Rpt prt - to Res/Con
02/16    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/17    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/22    3rd rdg - PASSED - 64-0-6
      AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer, Bell,
      Bilbao, Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Brackett, Bradford, Cannon,
      Chadderdon, Clark, Collins, Crow, Deal, Edmunson, Ellsworth,
      Field(18), Field(23), Garrett, Hart, Harwood, Henbest, Henderson,
      Jaquet, Kemp, Lake, LeFavour, Loertscher, Martinez, Mathews, McKague,
      Miller, Mitchell, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Pence, Raybould,
      Ring, Ringo, Rusche, Rydalch, Sali(Sali), Sayler, Schaefer,
      Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24),
      Smylie(Luker), Snodgrass, Stevenson, Trail, Wills, Wood, Mr. Speaker
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Bedke, Denney, Eskridge, McGeachin, Moyle,
      Roberts
    Floor Sponsor - Andrus
    Title apvd - to Senate
02/23    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Env
03/13    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/14    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/16    3rd rdg - PASSED - 28-7-0
      AYES -- Andreason, Brandt, Broadsword, Bunderson, Burtenshaw,
      Cameron, Coiner, Compton, Corder, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher, Gannon,
      Geddes, Goedde, Hill, Jorgenson, Keough, Little, Lodge, McGee,
      McKenzie, Pearce, Richardson, Schroeder, Stegner, Sweet, Williams
      NAYS -- Burkett, Kelly, Langhorst, Malepeai, Marley, Stennett, Werk
      Absent and excused -- None
    Floor Sponsor - Little
    Title apvd - to House
03/17    To enrol
03/20    Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/21    Pres signed - To Governor
03/22    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 130
         Effective: 07/01/06

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-eighth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2006
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 529
                                                                        
                          BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO STATE-OWNED TIMBER; AMENDING SECTION 58-415, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE
  3        MEASURING METHODS FOR THE SALE OF STATE-OWNED TIMBER.
                                                                        
  4    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  5        SECTION 1.  That Section 58-415, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
  6    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
  7        58-415.  MEASURING  METHOD  USED IN SALE OF STATE-OWNED TIMBER. -- COST OF
  8    SCALING -- PAYMENT. In all cases of For sales of timber from state lands,  the
  9    state  board  of  land  commissioners  shall  cause  the  timber  to be scaled
 10    measured, in lieu of measurement by cruising selling by lump sum  based  on  a
 11    cruise,  unless  in the discretion of the state board of land commissioners it
 12    shall be, in any particular instance, in the public interest of the  state  to
 13    use the cruising lump sum method. In addition to the purchase price, the state
 14    board  of  land  commissioners shall, in all cases where the scaling method is
 15    used, require the purchaser to pay, in addition to the purchase price, and not
 16    as part thereof, the cost of scaling, as may be determined  by  the  board  in
 17    each case. The sum so collected shall in each case be remitted to the director
 18    of  the department of lands to be by him placed in the land department's scal-
 19    ing trust account to be used for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  salaries  and
 20    expenses  of the scaling of state timber sales Acceptable methods of measuring
 21    timber shall include, but are not limited to, weight, scaling, cubing, by  the
 22    lineal foot, or by the piece.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
 
                             RS 15476

Currently a timber sale purchaser is required to pay for the cost of 
scaling, and those monies are deposited into the scaling trust account 
to fund scaling activities.  Due to the change in the funding 
structure passed by the legislature in 2001, there is no longer a need 
for a separate scaling trust account.  Scaling activities can be 
budgeted from the Earnings Reserve Account the same as all other 
endowment activities.

The proposed changes will also clarify 1) that the preferred method of 
selling state sales is by measuring the actual forest products removed 
versus selling on a lump sum basis based on a cruise estimate, and 2) 
by providing some examples of measuring.


                             FISCAL NOTE

Currently, the endowments pay for measuring (scaling) forest products 
removed from state endowment lands by deducting the cost of scaling as 
a line-item in state timber sale appraisals.  Timber purchasers are 
then billed an equal amount.  The resulting income is credited to the 
State Scaling Operations Fund.  Although this legislation will 
eliminate the charge for scaling, the values appraised for state 
timber will be raised by an equal amount.  Therefore, there will be no 
fiscal impact to the endowments, which will now fund scaling directly 
from the Endowment Earnings Reserve Funds.

The annual revenue to the State Scaling Operations Fund is around one 
million dollars.  Income approximately equals expenses.  This 
legislation proposes transferring the State Scaling Operations Fund to 
the Endowment Earnings Reserve Funds, approximately $1,220,000.

Although the funds currently collected for the State Scaling 
Operations Fund come from the endowments, the earned interest, about 
$21,000 per year, accrues to the state's General Fund.  Shifting the 
State Scaling Operations Fund activity to the Endowment Earnings 
Reserve Funds, and thereby changing the deposit of interest earnings, 
is consistent with the founding principles of the endowment statutes 
and the Idaho Constitution (1).  Interest earnings accruing to the 
general fund will reduce by approximately $21,000 annually. 

(1) Moon v. State Board of Land Commissioners, 111 Idaho 389, 724 P.2d 
125 (1986) 



CONTACT
Name:	George Bacon
Agency:	Lands, Dept of
Phone:	334-0200

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE	H 529