By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – A measure to impose a moratorium on creating any new carbon sequestration forest farms in the state and the formation of a study committee on the impacts to the municipal timber tax revenue is more likely to pass into law after Littleton Republican Sen. David Rochefort got his colleagues to include it in a non-related parental rights bill.

House Bill 560 was also used as a vehicle for Sen. William Gannon, R-Sandown, to include that refusal to consent to testing for operating under the influence of alcohol would yield the driver a one-year loss of license rather than the current 180 days. 

The amendments passed on voice votes in the Senate Thursday.

Adding unrelated bills at the last minute to popular bills is a common occurrence, particularly at the end of the budget season.

House Bill 560 is related to parental access to a minor child’s medical records from schools. It passed on a voice vote in the House earlier this year and is likely to pass.

Now the popular bill has a few add-ons.

North Country municipal and county officials are concerned about the advent of carbon sequestration and the possible loss of timber tax revenue and they need to learn more about what this is and what it means to the state’s forest products industry, municipal taxation and habitat change.

For years, the state has had a yield tax on timber. It provides communities with a 10 percent tax on all cut lumber in town, city or in the case of an unincorporated place, to the county.

And this adds up to big money that might otherwise have to be picked up by taxpayers or a reason to have to cut municipal and county services.

The 146,000-acre Connecticut Headwaters tract in Pittsburg, Stewartstown and Clarksville is now owned by Bluesource Sustainable, a company that can make money leaving the trees standing to offset carbon impacts by corporations trying to get to net zero emissions goals. In their case, this land at the very tip of the state is enrolled for 100 years in the California compliance market.

While the company has vowed to continue to cut and notably has an easement with the state that looks to cut timber on it and allows public recreation, those communities have seen a reduction in timber tax revenue since the property was enrolled. Bluesource has offered a payment in lieu of those fees to help the municipalities but the future of more of this sort of thing has lawmakers worried.

There are about a dozen properties now listed in the state where landowners can potentially make money from carbon sequestration.

Sen. Rochefort sought the amendment, which was special ordered to the very end of the long day’s calendar, Thursday, which included approval of a 15 billion-plus, two-year budget.

It will now go to the House for a likely committee of conference to work through differences as will Sen. Gannon’s DWI related proposal.

A copy of the DWI-related amendment is here https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/billinfo.aspx?id=910&inflect=2

Adding this is seen as an insurance policy of sorts for both issues’ survival if the House decided to vote down that bill or HB 123.

A copy of the non-germane carbon amendment is here, which passed on a voice vote https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/pdf.aspx?q=amendment&id=2025-2661S

House Bill 123 is still going forward but with an uncertain future on its own in the House. 

While it emerged from the House committee as an extension of the yield tax, though on standing timber, and got a unanimous ought to pass motion, concerns about implementation and other questions led it to almost being derailed there entirely. 

When it went to the Senate a committee changed the bill to a moratorium and study committee.