House unanimously votes to stagger terms on Forest Lands Taxation Advisory Committee

House Bill 17, which modifies terms for members of the Forest Lands Taxation Advisory Committee, passed second reading unanimously after the sponsor said the change would prevent the simultaneous expiration of all committee members and preserve institutional memory.

Representative Thane, the bill sponsor, said the measure "establishes a productivity standard to determine the taxable valuation of forest lands" and preserves the committee’s composition at nine members while staggering terms to avoid a loss of continuity. He explained the bill retains the initial sections establishing productivity standards and that the term changes appear on page three of the bill.

Representative Gillette asked a clarifying question about whether the bill added more members; Thane replied it did not, saying, "No. The committee composition is currently 9 and it will be retained at 9." The bill was presented as a request of the revenue interim committee and was reported out of house taxation with unanimous bipartisan support.

The House recorded a unanimous vote of 100-0 to pass the bill on second reading.