Committee advances bill to protect prescribed burning and clarify local restrictions
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Summary
House Bill 983 would clarify state code to prevent municipalities and counties from restricting prescribed burning conducted for forest health, fuel mitigation, habitat improvement, timber site prep and longleaf pine management; sponsors said the change resolves local confusion about 'understory' when overstory is removed.
Representative Hagan presented House Bill 983 (LC600230), saying the commission requested code language to reduce confusion about what constitutes prescribed burning and to protect its use for forest health and community safety. "Prescribed burns are a very important way that we can prevent wildfires," Hagan told the committee, adding that the bill enumerates allowed reasons (site preparation for timber cultivation, fuel mitigation, wildlife habitat improvement and longleaf pine ecosystem management).
Hagan said municipalities and counties may set burn requirements generally but that the bill would preserve two exceptions: localities may not restrict understory burns necessary for forest and wildlife health and may not prevent a landowner from reducing fuel on the forest floor to protect the community. He gave a brief example in which code language created confusion when land had been cleared for replanting and no overstory remained.
A committee member moved that the bill 'do pass'; the motion was seconded and the committee voted to advance the measure by voice vote. The transcript records the outcome but does not provide a roll-call tally.
