FISCAL
NOTE
WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then Finance.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §19-1A-3 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring moneys collected from the
sale of timber realized through management of the state-owned forests and parks be distributed on a pro
rata basis to the specific forest or park that was timbered; and creating a
special fund.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §19-1A-3 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 1A. DIVISION OF
FORESTRY.
§19-1A-3.
Division of Forestry; Division Director; duties, powers, dedication of certain
moneys; creation of a special revenue account; creation of a special fund.
The Division of Forestry
heretofore created is hereby continued. And, except as otherwise provided in
this article, all powers and duties previously exercised by the Director of
Natural Resources under subsection (13), section seven, article one and article
three, chapter twenty of this code, except those powers and duties relating
solely to wildlife areas as described in section three, article three, chapter
twenty of this code, heretofore transferred to the Division of Forestry, are
hereby continued in the Division of Forestry, except Kanawha State Forest as
hereinafter provided. The Division of Forestry has within its jurisdiction and
supervision the state forests, other forests and woodland areas, the protection
of forest areas from injury and damage by fire, disease, insects and other
pestilences and forces, the management of forest areas for natural resources,
conservation and undeveloped recreational activities, administration of the
southeastern interstate forest fire protection compact and other compacts and
agreements relating to forest management and husbandry, and the administration
and enforcement of laws relating to the conservation, development, protection,
use and enjoyment of all forest land areas of the state consistent with the
provisions of sections one and two of this article. All moneys collected from
the sale of timber realized through management of the state-owned forests and state-owned
parks shall
be deposited in a special fund, the Forest and Park Timbering Fund. Those
moneys shall then be distributed on a pro rata basis to the specific forest or
park that was timbered. Moneys from the
sale of seedlings from the tree nurseries shall be paid into the State Treasury
and shall be credited to a special account within the Division of Forestry and
used exclusively for the purposes of this article and article three, chapter
twenty of this code.
The Division of Forestry
has jurisdiction to regulate the growing, digging, collecting, gathering,
possession and sale of ginseng as provided in section three-a, of this article.
The chief of the Division
is the Director of the Division of Forestry who shall be appointed and
qualified as provided in section five of this article.
The Director of the
Division of Forestry shall study means and methods of implementing the
provisions of section fifty-three, Article VI of the Constitution of West
Virginia, relating to forest lands, and shall prepare and recommend legislation
thereon.
The division lines within
the state forests between improved recreation areas under the management of the
Division of Natural Resources and the demonstration forests under the
management of the Division of Forestry, heretofore established by agreement,
are hereby continued with the exception of Kanawha State Forest where the entire
forest will be managed by and under the jurisdiction of the Division of Natural
Resources for multiple uses and the Division of Natural Resources shall
continue to provide recreational opportunities, including, but not limited to,
mountain-biking trails, hiking trails, horseback-riding trails and hunting,
fishing and trapping lands. The forest may not be designated as a state park or
state recreation area; however, any sale of timber from Kanawha State Forest
shall continue to be prohibited.
In the event of
disagreement over the placement of a division line or dual occupancy of a
building, the disposition shall be decided by the Legislature's Joint Committee
on Government and Finance at a regularly scheduled meeting.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to require the moneys collected from the sale of timber realized through
management of the state-owned forests and parks be distributed on a pro rata basis to the specific
forest or park that was timbered. The bill creates a special fund.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.