Due to a rising incidence of timber theft instances, members of the 88th Texas Legislature handed Home Invoice 1772, The Timber Asset Protection Act, to enhance and make clear Texas’ forestry bill-of-sale legal guidelines, required documentation for mills and landowners, and to apply the identical penalties to fraud as has been relevant for unauthorized harvest of timber.
Present forestry invoice of sale legal guidelines have been efficient the previous, however due to the altering course of over time of rising, delivering, manufacturing and valuating of forest products, sure authorized modifications are wanted, in addition to changes to penalties for unlawful habits.
“The primary legal guidelines coping with requiring bills-of-sale have been handed in 1977, and because the business has developed, subsequent changes in timber asset protection legal guidelines have been wanted,” mentioned Texas Consultant Trent Ashby, Dist. 9, writer of HB 1772. “This revision of our Pure Sources Code will guarantee transparency and accountability in timber transactions which is able to maintain our forest economic system working and wholesome for future generations.”
The intent of this new laws is to deter theft by requiring a extra clear timber transaction beginning with an correct invoice of sale from the forest to the mill and supply documentation for pay-as-cut timber gross sales to the forest landowner inside 45 days. This willrequire mills to present an addendum to their documentation and a brand new or revised discover signal at receiving truck scales .
The penalties for knowingly offering false info to the mill or failing to present correct and well timed documentation to the forest landowner at the moment are the identical misdemeanors and felony ranges as in timber theft instances of harvesting timber with out permission.
“Whereas investigating timber theft instances, we often seen inconsistencies in Chain-of-Custody documentation, or lack thereof,” mentioned Jarred Lemmon, Texas A&M Forest Service Assistant Chief of Regulation Enforcement. “Buttoning up the necessities of the timber sale course of with a couple of minor statutory modifications would profit all aspects of the timber business in Texas, from the time it was procured and harvested till its ultimate vacation spot after manufacturing.”
Over the previous 4 years, the Texas Forestry Affiliation petitioned for the modifications supplied in HB 1772 with focused training, in addition to by means of session with Texas A&M Forest Service for statutory and operational experience.
TFA Govt Director Rob Hughes mentioned the upgrades mirrored within the Timber Asset Protection Act are a part of the affiliation’s mission of forestry training and useful resource protection.
“Texans take pleasure in many advantages from our forests that are 95% privately owned. This laws will maintain our forest products markets aggressive guaranteeing wholesome working forests for the longer term,” mentioned Texas Senate sponsor Robert Nichols, Dist. 3.
A abstract of the timber theft laws and penalties contains:
− Revised invoice of sale statute to embody “Info be true and correct” with present strategies of describing the property deal with or use of GPS coordinates
− Somebody who knowingly gives false info on invoice of sale could be responsible of a misdemeanor which will increase to felony ranges
− Invoice of sale info retention will increase from to 5 years
− A brand new requirement of authorized proof documentation from the customer to the vendor, corresponding to a supply receipt, inside 45 days after supply to a mill
− Penalties for ‘unauthorized harvest of timber’ now apply to invoice of sale info and documentation from purchaser to forest landowner
For extra info on 2023 Timber Asset Protection Act go to
https://www.texasforestry.org/ and https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/LawEnforcement/
Rob Hughes, Govt Director
Texas Forestry Affiliation
+1 936-632-8733
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Rajneesh Singh is a journalist at Asian News, specializing in entertainment, culture, international affairs, and financial technology. With a keen eye for the latest trends and developments, he delivers fresh, insightful perspectives to his audience. Rajneesh’s passion for storytelling and thorough reporting has established him as a trusted voice in the industry.
