House committee unanimously approves Abbarno timber bill
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House committee unanimously approves Abbarno timber bill
The House Rural Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a bill co-authored by 20th District Rep. Peter Abbarno that would extend reporting requirements on timber purchases from July 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2025.
“The law requires every purchaser of more than 200,000 board feet of privately-owned timber to report the purchase to the state Department of Revenue on or before the last day of the month in which the purchase took place. Information gathered by these reports helps to establish stumpage value tables for trees that are commercially harvested in Washington. It also helps to indicate the amount each species of tree would sell for,” said Abbarno, R-Centralia.
“Stumpage” is the standing tree before it has been severed from the stump. Abbarno said information from the reports also helps to determine excise taxes timber harvesters pay.
“This program and the extension of the deadline are important to communities across the 20th District, where timber and forestry are woven into the history and tradition of our area,” said Abbarno. “This also helps our forest harvesters to know the real market conditions of the trees.”
House Bill 1055 passed the committee, 15-0. Abbarno, who was elected in November and took office Jan. 11, co-sponsored the measure with Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek. It was his first bill to pass from a House committee.
The bipartisan measure will likely be referred to the House Rules Committee for further action.
