An Act To Improve Compliance with the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §575-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
(1) With prior written notification to the landowner, enter and examine forest land for the purpose of determining compliance with the forest management and harvest plan required under section 574-B;
(2) Request and review a forest management and harvest plan required under section 574-B, which must be provided by a landowner or the landowner's agent upon request; and
(3) Request and review an expired forest management and harvest plan, which must be provided by a landowner or the landowner's agent upon request.
A forest management and harvest plan provided to the director of the forestry bureau or the director's designee under this subsection is confidential and is not a public record as defined in Title 1, section 402, subsection 3, except that the director may publish at least one summary report annually, which may not reveal the activities of any person and which must be available as a public record.
Except when requested by the landowner or a transfer of the property occurs, the assessor may not withdraw a parcel from tree growth classification while it is under review pursuant to this subsection. An assessor may not unreasonably deny a request to transfer a parcel reviewed by the forestry bureau to classification as farmland or open space land under subchapter 10.
No later than March 1st of odd-numbered years beginning in 2019, the forestry bureau shall issue a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters that summarizes the activities of the forestry bureau with regard to reviews of parcels conducted pursuant to this subsection.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law.
1. It authorizes the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Forestry to review certain parcels of land classified under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law to determine whether the landowner is complying with the requirements of the law and whether the land is being managed in compliance with the forest management and harvest plan for that parcel. The bureau is required to report any noncompliance after a specified period to the assessor. The owner of a parcel found by the forestry bureau to be in noncompliance with the law may apply to reclassify the parcel as farmland or open space under the farm and open space tax law.
2. It requires the bureau to offer assistance to landowners found in noncompliance.