Budget to levy lumber tax, lengthen harvest plans

The revised budget Gov. Jerry Brown submitted this week includes a new tax on lumber along with provision to lengthen the time for which timber harvest plans are in effect.

From the California Farm Bureau Federation:

The new budget proposal includes additional reductions of $2.5 million to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and changes to timber harvest plans that couple administrative reforms with a new assessment on retail sales of wood products. [...]

The May revise also included what the administration called a reform package to change the process of creating timber harvest plans. The goal, the proposal said, is to shorten and streamline permit processing times for timber harvest plans, while extending the effective date of the plans.

Current timber harvest plans remain effective for three years, with two extensions of one year each. The proposal would extend the plans to five years, with one two-year extension.

To support regulatory activities for timber harvest plan review, the administration proposed a "lumber assessment" that it said would be applied "to retail sales of certain wood products sold in California." The administration said the assessment would provide a long-term funding stream for regulatory agencies, provide opportunities for forest restoration and "increase timber production."

The governor's revised budget proposal now goes to the Legislature, which will work with the administration to craft a final state budget.