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Committee hears bill to extend timber-purchase reporting requirement; industry and DNR back extension
Summary
House Bill 1389 would extend a timber-purchase reporting requirement that supports Department of Revenue stumpage-value tables. DNR staff and industry witnesses said the reporting produces data used to calculate the timber excise tax base; supporters asked the committee to extend the sunset four years.
House Bill 1389, which would extend timber-purchase reporting requirements for an additional four years, received a staff briefing and public testimony before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 29.
Committee staff summarized the bill and the background: purchasers of timber are required to report larger timber sales to the Department of Revenue; that information (total price, acreage, volume by species and log grade) is used to produce stumpage-value tables, which in turn help determine the tax base for the timber excise tax. The current reporting requirement is scheduled to expire Sept. 30, 2025; HB 1389 would extend the expiration by four years.
Representative Adam Birnbaum, the bills prime sponsor, said the extension was short and technical: the measure "allows the timber industry to continue to provide some data to DNR, which DNR uses to more accurately assess the value of timberland," and he described the bill as jointly supported by the timber industry and DNR.
Tom Davis of the Washington Forest Protection Association, representing private timberland owners, said the data benefits both the Department of Revenue and timber purchasers. Davis urged passage and explained the recurring-sunset structure: the reporting is subject to a multi-year sunset because the information reported is commercially sensitive and periodic legislative review allows future businesses to reassess their willingness to share proprietary data.
Why it matters: The reporting feeds the stumpage-value tables used to calculate the excise tax on timber harvests. Without updated reporting, Davis told the committee, the Department of Revenue would have less accurate market information for setting tax values.
Outcome and next steps: The committee held a public hearing and received testimony in support; no executive action or votes were taken on HB 1389 during the meeting. Committee staff noted testimony on record both pro and con; members were invited to follow up with the sponsor ahead of anticipated scheduling.
Ending: Representative Birnbaum and an industry witness asked the committee to pass the extension to avoid a reporting lapse on Sept. 30, 2025. No votes were recorded at the Jan. 29 hearing.
