Bill Text: CA AB1414 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Forestry: timber harvesting.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-2)

Status: (Passed) 2011-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 584, Statutes of 2011. [AB1414 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB1414-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1414	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Committee on Natural Resources (Assembly Members
Chesbro (Chair), Brownley, Dickinson, Grove, Halderman, Huffman,
Monning, and Skinner)

                        MARCH 15, 2011

   An act to amend Sections 4514, 4514.5, 4526, 4526.5, 4527, 4527.5,
4528.5, 4551.5, 4553, 4561, 4562.7, 4583.2, 4583.5, 4584, and 4603,
to amend the heading of Article 3 (commencing with Section 4531) of
Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4 of, and to repeal Sections 4522,
4522.5, 4532, 4533, 4534, 4536, 4537, 4538, 4539, 4540, 4561.2, and
4561.3 of, the Public Resources Code, and to repeal Section 14 of
Chapter 1290 of the Statutes of 1989, relating to forestry.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1414, as introduced, Committee on Natural Resources. Forestry:
timber harvesting.
   (1) The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973, among other
things, prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a
timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional
forester has been submitted to, and approved by, the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection.
   The act defines "timber operations" as the cutting or removal or
both of timber or other solid wood forest products from timberlands
for commercial purposes, together with all incidental work, including
site preparation that involves disturbances of soil or burning of
vegetation following timber harvesting activities conducted after
January 1, 1988. The act also requires rules and regulations adopted
by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to apply to the conduct
of timber operations that includes site preparation involving
disturbances of soil or burning of vegetation following timber
harvesting activities conducted after January 1, 1988.
   This bill would delete the January 1, 1988, date limitation on the
definition of "timber operations." The bill would also delete the
January 1, 1988, date limitation with respect to rules and
regulations relating the site preparation work.
   (2) The act requires the board to divide the state into not less
than 3 districts by taking into account differing physical
characteristics, as provided. The act requires district advisory
committees to advise the board in the establishment of district
forest practice rules to govern timber operations on timberlands
within the district.
   This bill would repeal and delete provisions relating to the
district technical advisory committees.
   (3) The act requires a timber owner, defined as a person who owns
timberland or cutover land, among other types of land, to file a
timber harvesting plan with the department on all or any part of
timberland that he or she plans to harvest for timber. The act
defines "cutover land" to mean land that has borne a crop of
commercial timber from which at least 70% of the merchantable
original growth timber stand has been removed by logging or destroyed
by fire, among other things.
   This bill would repeal the definition of, and delete the reference
to, cutover land.
   (4) The act requires timberland harvested between January 1, 1974,
and the adoption of stocking standards, to be classified as
adequately stocked if as a result of stocking that took place
following the timber harvest, specified minimum standards are met.
The act requires all stocking requirements that were in existence
prior to January 1, 1974, to remain in full force and effect for
timberland that was harvested prior to that date. The act also
classifies areas as acceptably stocked if it contains at least 5
countable trees for each tree that was harvested, if the department
had determined that the area was not acceptably stocked prior to any
timber harvesting activities that took place between the effective
date of the act and the adoption of permanent stocking standards.
   The bill would delete and repeal these provisions.
   (5) Existing law requires the board to adopt rules for control of
timber operations that will result or threaten to result in
unreasonable effects on the beneficial uses of the waters of the
state. Existing law requires the rules to include rules for, among
other things, minimizing the effects of erosion on watercourses and
lakes by doing certain things, including maintenance of installed
drainage facilities and soil stabilization treatments on skid trails,
roads, and landings, as provided.
   The bill would delete the requirement that the board adopt rules
relating to minimizing the effects of erosion on watercourses and
lakes by maintenance of installed drainage facilities and soil
stabilization treatments on skid trails, roads, and landings, as
provided.
   (6) Existing law authorizes the board to exempt from the act a
person engaged in forest management whose activities are limited to
certain things, including the cutting, removal, or sale of timber or
other solid wood forest products from the species Taxus brevifolia
(Pacific Yew), as provided.
   This bill would delete this authorization.
   (7) The bill would make other technical changes to the act.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 4514 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4514.   No provision of this   This 
chapter or  any   a  ruling, requirement,
or policy of the board is  not  a limitation on  any
of  the following:
   (a) On the power of  any   a  city or
county or city and county to declare, prohibit, and abate nuisances.
   (b) On the power of the Attorney General, at the request of the
board, or upon his  or her  own motion, to bring an action
in the name of the people of the State of California to enjoin
 any  pollution or nuisance.
   (c) On the power of  any   a  state
agency in the enforcement or administration of  any provision
of   the  law  which   that
 it is specifically authorized or required to enforce or
administer.
   (d) On the right of  any   a  person to
maintain at any time  any   an  appropriate
action for relief against  any   a 
private nuisance as defined in Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479)
of Division 4 of the Civil Code or for any other private relief.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4514.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4514.5.   Any   A  person may commence
an action on his  or her  own behalf against the board or
the department for a writ of mandate pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 1084) of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Code of
Civil Procedure to compel the board or the department to carry out
 any   a  duty imposed upon them under
 the provisions of  this chapter.
  SEC. 3.  Section 4522 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4522.  "Committee" means a district technical advisory committee.

  SEC. 4.  Section 4522.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4522.5.  "Cutover land" means land which has borne a crop of
commercial timber from which at least 70 percent of the merchantable
original growth timber stand has been removed by logging or destroyed
by fire, insects, or tree diseases and which is now supporting, or
capable of growing, a crop of commercial timber or other forest
products, and which has not been converted to other commercial or
agricultural use. 
  SEC. 5.  Section 4526 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4526.  "Timberland" means land, other than land owned by the
federal government and land designated by the board as experimental
forest land, which is available for, and capable of, growing a crop
of trees of  any   a  commercial species
used to produce lumber and other forest products, including Christmas
trees. Commercial species shall be determined by the board on a
district basis  after consultation with the district
committees and others  .
  SEC. 6.  Section 4526.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4526.5.  "Timber operator" means  any   a
 person who is engaged in timber operations  himself
 or who contracts with others to conduct  such
  the  operations on his  or   her
 behalf, except a person who is engaged in timber operations as
an employee with wages as his  or her  sole compensation.
  SEC. 7.  Section 4527 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4527.  (a) (1) "Timber operations" means the cutting or removal,
or both, of timber or other solid wood forest products, including
Christmas trees, from timberlands for commercial purposes, together
with all the incidental work, including, but not limited to,
construction and maintenance of roads, fuelbreaks, firebreaks, stream
crossings, landings, skid trails, and beds for the falling of trees,
fire hazard abatement, and site preparation that involves
disturbance of soil or burning of vegetation following timber
harvesting activities  conducted after January 1, 1988
 , but excluding preparatory work such as treemarking,
surveying, or roadflagging.
   (2) "Commercial purposes" includes (A) the cutting or removal of
trees that are processed into logs, lumber, or other wood products
and offered for sale, barter, exchange, or trade, or (B) the cutting
or removal of trees or other forest products during the conversion of
timberlands to land uses other than the growing of timber that are
subject to Section 4621, including, but not limited to, residential
or commercial developments, production of other agricultural crops,
recreational developments, ski developments, water development
projects, and transportation projects.
   (b) For purposes of this section, the removal of trees less than
16 inches in diameter at breast height from a firebreak or fuelbreak
does not constitute "timber operations" if the removal meets all of
the following criteria:
   (1) It is located within 500 feet of the boundary of an urban wild
land interface community at high risk of wildfire, as defined on
pages 752, et seq. of Number 3 of Volume 66 (January 4, 2001) of the
Federal Register, as that definition may be amended from time to
time. For purposes of this paragraph, "urban wildland interface
community at high risk of wildfire" means an area having one or more
structures for every five acres.
   (2) It is part of a community wildfire protection plan approved by
the department or part of a department fire plan.
   (3) The trees to be removed will not be processed into logs or
lumber.
   (4) The work to be conducted is under a firebreak or fuelbreak
project that has been subject to a project-based review pursuant to a
negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or
environmental impact report in compliance with the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000)). For projects to be conducted on forested landscapes, as
defined in Section 754, the project and the project-based review
shall be prepared by or in consultation with a registered
professional forester.
   (5) The removal of surface and ladder fuels is consistent with
paragraph (9) of subdivision (k) of Section 4584.
  SEC. 8.  Section 4527.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4527.5.  "Timber owner" means  any   a 
person who owns commercial timber, timberland  , cutover land
 , or timber rights, including Christmas tree rights, on
lands of another except a federal agency.
  SEC. 9.  Section 4528.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4528.5.  This chapter does not apply to  any 
 a  person who engages in activities  herein
 regulated  by this chapter  , as an employee, with
wages as his  or her  sole compensation.
  SEC. 10.  The heading of Article 3 (commencing with Section 4531)
of Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

      Article 3.  Districts  and Committees 


  SEC. 11.  Section 4532 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4532.  Each committee shall consist of nine members, and all shall
represent the general public interest. 
  SEC. 12.  Section 4533 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4533.  All members shall be appointed on the basis of their
educational and professional qualifications and their general
knowledge of, and interest and experience in, ecology, soil science,
watershed hydrology, range management, silviculture and forestry,
forest recreation, forest landscape architecture, forest products
manufacture, forest industry economics, or fish and wildlife habitat.

  SEC. 13.  Section 4534 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4534.  Five members of the committee shall be selected from the
general public, three members shall be selected from the forest
products industry, and one member shall be selected from the range
livestock industry. At no time shall a majority of the members, nor
any of the members selected from the general public, be persons with
a direct personal financial interest, within the meaning of Section
1120 of the Government Code, in timberlands. 
  SEC. 14.  Section 4536 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4536.  The committees shall be continuing bodies, and vacancies
shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments are made.
An appointment to a vacancy on a committee occurring before the
expiration of a term shall be for the remainder of that term, and the
person appointed shall be appointed from the appropriate group for
the vacant seat. 
  SEC. 15.  Section 4537 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4537.  The committees shall meet at least once each year, in
January, and at other times as necessary. All meetings of the
committee shall be open to the public, and notice of such meetings
shall be provided 10 days in advance to any person who requests such
notice in writing; provided, that meetings may be held with 24-hour
notice when such meetings are necessary to discuss unforeseen
emergency conditions as may be provided by the board in regulations
adopted pertaining hereto. 
  SEC. 16.  Section 4538 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4538.  An employee of the department shall be designated by the
board to serve as secretary of each district committee and shall meet
with and take part in all deliberations of the committee, but shall
vote only in the case of a tie. 
  SEC. 17.  Section 4539 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4539.  The appointive members of the committee shall receive no
compensation for their services but shall be entitled to their actual
and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

  SEC. 18.  Section 4540 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4540.  Each committee shall advise the board in the establishment
of district forest practice rules to govern timber operations on
timberlands within the district. In advising the board, the committee
shall not interfere with any of the powers and duties of the board.
The committees shall consult with, and carefully evaluate the
recommendations of, the department, concerned federal, state and
local agencies, educational institutions, civic and public interest
organizations, and private organizations and individuals. Each
committee shall seek an optimum of interagency cooperation in
identification of problems and proposing solutions. 
  SEC. 19.  Section 4551.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4551.5.  Rules and regulations shall apply to the conduct of
timber operations and shall include, but shall not be limited to,
measures for fire prevention and control, for soil erosion control,
for site preparation that involves disturbance of soil or burning of
vegetation following timber harvesting activities  conducted
after January 1, 1988  , for water quality and watershed
control, for flood control, for stocking, for protection against
timber operations which unnecessarily destroy young timber growth or
timber productivity of the soil, for prevention and control of damage
by forest insects, pests, and disease, for the protection of natural
and scenic qualities in special treatment areas identified pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 30417, and for the preparation of
timber harvesting plans. In developing these rules, the board shall
solicit and consider recommendations from the department,
recommendations from the Department of Fish and Game relating to the
protection of fish and wildlife, recommendations from the State Water
Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality
control boards relating to water quality, recommendations from the
State Air Resources Board and local air pollution control districts
relating to air pollution control, and recommendations of the
California Coastal Commission relating to the protection of natural
and scenic coastal zone resources in special treatment areas.
  SEC. 20.  Section 4553 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4553.  The rules and regulations shall be continuously reviewed
and may be revised. During the formulation or revision of 
such   the  rules and regulations, the board shall
consult with, and carefully evaluate the recommendations of, the
department,  the district technical advisory committees,
 concerned federal, state, and local agencies, educational
institutions, civic and public interest organizations, and private
organizations and individuals.
  SEC. 21.  Section 4561 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4561.  It is the purpose of this section to set forth resource
conservation standards for timber operations, and to insure that a
cover of trees of commercial species, sufficient to utilize
adequately the suitable and available growing space, is maintained or
established after timber operations.
   To that end, the following resource conservation standards define
minimum acceptable stocking, and an area covered by a timber
harvesting plan shall be classified as acceptably stocked if either
of the following conditions exist within five years after completion
of timber operations:
   (a) The area contains an average point count of 300 per acre,
except that in areas which the registered professional forester who
prepares the timber harvesting plan has determined are site IV
classification or lower, the minimum average point count shall be 150
per acre. Point count shall be computed as follows:
   (1)  Each   A  countable tree 
which   that  is not more than four inches in
diameter at breast height to count as one.
   (2)  Each   A  countable tree over four
inches and not more than 12 inches in diameter at breast height to
count as three.
   (3)  Each   A  countable tree over 12
inches in diameter at breast height to count as six.
   (b)  (1)    The average residual basal area,
measured in stems one inch or larger in diameter is at least 85
square feet per acre, except that in areas which the registered
professional forester who prepares the timber harvesting plan has
determined are site II classification or lower, the minimum average
residual basal area shall be 50 square feet per acre. 
   The 
    (2)     The  board, on a finding that
it is in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter may encourage
selection, shelterwood, or other types of management of timber where
consistent with the biological requirements of the tree species and
may regulate the size and shape of areas in which even-age management
of timber is utilized. 
   Timberland harvested between January 1, 1974, and the adoption of
stocking standards pursuant to this chapter shall be classifed as
adequately stocked if, as a result of stocking which has taken place
subsequent to such harvest, the minimum standards specified in this
section are met.  
   Rock 
    (3)     Rock  outcroppings and other
areas not normally bearing timber shall not be considered as
requiring stocking and are exempt from  such  
the stocking  provisions.
  SEC. 22.  Section 4561.2 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4561.2.  All stocking requirements under provisions of law which
were in existence on or before January 1, 1974, shall remain in full
force and effect for timberland which was harvested prior to January
1, 1974. 
  SEC. 23.  Section 4561.3 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

   4561.3.  Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4561, on any
commercial timberlands which the department has determined do not
meet the minimum acceptable stocking standards prior to any timber
harvest activities which may take place on such lands between the
effective date of this chapter and the adoption of permanent stocking
standards pursuant to Section 4561.5, an area shall be classified as
acceptably stocked if, as a result of restocking which has taken
place subsequent to such harvest, it contains at least five countable
trees for each tree which has been harvested. 
  SEC. 24.  Section 4562.7 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4562.7.  The purpose of this section is to ensure the protection
of beneficial uses that are derived from the physical form, water
quality, and biological capability of streams. To these ends, in
addition to the rules provided for in Section 4551.5, the board shall
adopt rules for control of timber operations  which
  that  will result or threaten to result in
unreasonable effects on the beneficial uses of the waters of the
state. The rules shall include rules for:
   (a) The disposal of petroleum products, sanitary wastes, refuse,
and cleaning agents in proper dumps or waste treatment facilities to
prevent them from entering streams.
   (b) Construction of logging road and tractor trail stream
crossings to assure substantially unimpaired flow of water and to
assure free passage of fish both upstream and downstream.
   (c) Minimizing damage to unmerchantable streamside vegetation,
particularly hardwood trees.
   (d) Minimizing damage to streambeds or banks resulting from
skidding or hauling logs through, across, or into streams, by
operating tractors or other heavy equipment in or near streambeds, or
by construction of log landings or logging roads in or near the
channels of streams.
   (e) Control of slash, debris, fill, and side cast earth, resulting
from timber operations, which may be carried into streams.
   (f) Minimizing the effects of erosion on watercourses and lakes by
 all   both  of the following:
   (1) Installation and maintenance of drainage facilities and soil
stabilization treatments as required on timber operations.
   (2) Planned abandonment of roads and landings. 
   (3) Maintenance of installed drainage facilities and soil
stabilization treatments on skid trails, roads, and landings for a
period of at least one year after filing of the work completion
report, provided the report is approved. 
  SEC. 25.  Section 4583.2 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4583.2.  The registered professional forester who prepared the
timber harvesting plan and or any other registered professional
forester who is employed by the owner or operator, shall report to
the owner and operator if there are deviations of any sort from the
plan  which   that  in  his
  the forester's  judgment threaten the attainment
of the resource conservation standards or other regulations
promulgated pursuant to this chapter.
  SEC. 26.  Section 4583.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4583.5.  If the board finds that the registered professional
forester has made  any   a  material
misstatement in the filing of  any   a 
timber harvesting plan or report  under  
pursuant to  this chapter, it shall take disciplinary action
against  him   the forester  as provided
under Section 775.
  SEC. 27.  Section 4584 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4584.  Upon determining that the exemption is consistent with the
purposes of this chapter, the board may exempt from this chapter, or
portions  thereof   of this chapter  , a
person engaged in forest management whose activities are limited to
any of the following:
   (a) The cutting or removal of trees for the purpose of
constructing or maintaining a right-of-way for utility lines.
   (b) The planting, growing, nurturing, shaping, shearing, removal,
or harvest of immature trees for Christmas trees or other ornamental
purposes or minor forest products, including fuelwood.
   (c) The cutting or removal of dead, dying, or diseased trees of
any size.
   (d) Site preparation.
   (e) Maintenance of drainage facilities and soil stabilization
treatments.
   (f) Timber operations on land managed by the Department of Parks
and Recreation.
   (g) (1) The one-time conversion of less than three acres to a
nontimber use. A person, whether acting as an individual or as a
member of a partnership, or as an officer or employee of a
corporation or other legal entity, shall not obtain more than one
exemption pursuant to this subdivision in a five-year period. If a
partnership has as a member, or if a corporation or other legal
entity has as an officer or employee, a person who has received this
exemption within the past five years, whether as an individual or as
a member of a partnership, or as an officer or employee of a
corporation or other legal entity, then that partnership,
corporation, or other legal entity is not eligible for this
exemption. "Person," for purposes of this subdivision, means an
individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity.
   (2) (A) Notwithstanding Section 4554.5, the board shall adopt
regulations that become effective and operative on or before July 1,
2002, and do all of the following:
   (i) Identify the required documentation of a bona fide intent to
complete the conversion that an applicant will need to submit in
order to be eligible for the exemption in paragraph (1).
   (ii) Authorize the department to inspect the sites approved in
conversion applications that have been approved on or after January
1, 2002, in order to determine that the conversion was completed
within the two-year period described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1104.1 of Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations.
   (iii) Require the exemption  under   pursuant
to  this subdivision to expire if there is a change in
timberland ownership. The person who originally submitted an
application for an exemption  under   pursuant
to  this subdivision shall notify the department of a change in
timberland ownership on or before five calendar days after a change
in ownership.
   (iv) The board may adopt regulations allowing a waiver of the
five-year limitation described in paragraph (1) upon finding that the
imposition of the five-year limitation would impose an undue
hardship on the applicant for the exemption. The board may adopt a
process for an appeal of a denial of a waiver.
   (B) The application form for the exemption pursuant to paragraph
(1) shall prominently advise the public that a violation of the
conversion exemption, including a conversion applied for in the name
of someone other than the person or entity implementing the
conversion in bona fide good faith, is a violation of this chapter
and penalties may accrue up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for
each violation pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 4601).
   (h) Easements granted by a right-of-way construction agreement
administered by the federal government if  any 
timber sales and operations within or affecting these areas are
reviewed and conducted pursuant to the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.). 
   (i) The cutting, removal, or sale of timber or other solid wood
forest products from the species Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew), if
the known locations of any stands of this species three inches and
larger in diameter at breast height are identified in the exemption
notice submitted to the department. Nothing in this subdivision is
intended to authorize the peeling of bark from, or the cutting or
removal of, Taxus brevifolia within a watercourse and lake protection
zone, special treatment area, buffer zone, or other area where
timber harvesting is prohibited or otherwise restricted pursuant to
board rules.  
   (j) 
    (i)  (1) The cutting or removal of trees in compliance
with Sections 4290 and 4291 that eliminates the vertical continuity
of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns for
the purpose of reducing flammable materials and maintaining a fuel
break for a distance of not more than 150 feet on each side from an
approved and legally permitted structure that complies with the
California Building Standards Code, when that cutting or removal is
conducted in compliance with this subdivision. For purposes of this
subdivision, an "approved and legally permitted structure" includes
only structures that are designed for human occupancy and garages,
barns, stables, and structures used to enclose fuel tanks.
   (2) (A) The cutting or removal of trees pursuant to this
subdivision is limited to cutting or removal that will result in a
reduction in the rate of fire spread, fire duration and intensity,
fuel ignitability, or ignition of the tree crowns and shall be in
accordance with any regulations adopted by the board pursuant to this
section.
   (B) Trees shall not be cut or removed pursuant to this subdivision
by the clearcutting regeneration method, by the seed tree removal
step of the seed tree regeneration method, or by the shelterwood
removal step of the shelterwood regeneration method.
   (3) (A) Surface fuels, including logging slash and debris, low
brush, and deadwood, that could promote the spread of wildfire shall
be chipped, burned, or otherwise removed from all areas of timber
operations within 45 days from the date of commencement of timber
operations pursuant to this subdivision.
   (B) (i) All surface fuels that are not chipped, burned, or
otherwise removed from all areas of timber operations within 45 days
from the date of commencement of timber operations may be determined
to be a nuisance and subject to abatement by the department or the
city or county having jurisdiction.
   (ii) The costs incurred by the department, city, or county, as the
case may be, to abate the nuisance upon any   a
 parcel of land subject to the timber operations, including,
but not limited to, investigation, boundary determination,
measurement, and other related costs, may be recovered by special
assessment and lien against the parcel of land by the department,
city, or county. The assessment may be collected at the same time and
in the same manner as ordinary ad valorem taxes, and shall be
subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case
of delinquency as is provided for ad valorem taxes.
   (4) All timber operations conducted pursuant to this subdivision
shall conform to applicable city or county general plans, city or
county implementing ordinances, and city or county zoning ordinances.
This paragraph does not authorize the cutting, removal, or sale of
timber or other solid wood forest products within an area where
timber harvesting is prohibited or otherwise restricted pursuant to
the rules or regulations adopted by the board.

    (5) (A) The board shall adopt regulations, initially as emergency
regulations in accordance with subparagraph (B), that the board
considers necessary to implement and to obtain compliance with this
subdivision.
   (B) The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A)
shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code). The adoption of emergency
regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, or
general welfare. 
   (k) 
    (j)  (1) Until January 1, 2013, the harvesting of trees,
limited to those trees that eliminate the vertical continuity of
vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns, for
the purpose of reducing the rate of fire spread, duration and
intensity, fuel ignitability, or ignition of tree crowns.
   (2) The board may authorize an exemption pursuant to paragraph (1)
only if the tree harvesting will decrease fuel continuity and
increase the quadratic mean diameter of the stand, and the tree
harvesting area will not exceed 300 acres.
   (3) The notice of exemption, which shall be known as the Forest
Fire Prevention Exemption, may be authorized only if all of the
conditions specified in paragraphs (4) to (10), inclusive, are met.
   (4) A registered professional forester shall prepare the notice of
exemption and submit it to the director, and include a map of the
area of timber operations that complies with the requirements of
paragraphs (1), (3), (4), and (7) to (12), inclusive, of subdivision
(x) of Section 1034 of Title 14 of the California Code of
Regulations.
   (5) (A) The registered professional forester who submits the
notice of exemption shall include a description of the preharvest
stand structure and a statement of the postharvest stand stocking
levels.
   (B) The level of residual stocking shall be consistent with
maximum sustained production of high-quality timber products. The
residual stand shall consist primarily of healthy and vigorous
dominant and codominant trees from the preharvest stand. Stocking
shall not be reduced below the standards required by any of the
following provisions that apply to the exemption at issue:
   (i) Clauses 1 to 4, inclusive, of subparagraph (A) of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 913.3 of Title 14 of the California
Code of Regulations.
   (ii) Clauses 1 to 4, inclusive, of subparagraph (A) of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 933.3 of Title 14 of the California
Code of Regulations.
   (iii) Clauses 1 to 4, inclusive, of subparagraph (A) of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 953.3 of Title 14 of the California
Code of Regulations.
   (C) If the preharvest dominant and codominant crown canopy is
occupied by trees less than 14 inches in diameter at breast height, a
minimum of 100 trees over four inches in diameter at breast height
shall be retained per acre for Site I, II, and III lands, and a
minimum of 75 trees over four inches in diameter at breast height
shall be retained per acre for Site IV and V lands.
   (6) (A) The registered professional forester who submits the
notice shall include selection criteria for the trees to be harvested
or the trees to be retained. In the development of fuel reduction
prescriptions, the registered professional forester should consider
retaining habitat elements, where feasible, including, but not
limited to, ground level cover necessary for the long-term management
of local wildlife populations.
   (B) All trees that are harvested or all trees that are retained
shall be marked or sample marked by or under the supervision of a
registered professional forester before felling operations begin. The
board shall adopt regulations for sample marking for this section in
Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. Sample marking shall
be limited to homogenous forest stand conditions typical of
plantations.
   (7) (A) The registered professional forester submitting the
notice, upon submission of the notice, shall provide a confidential
archaeology letter that includes all the information required by any
of the following provisions that apply to the exemption at issue:
   (i) Paragraphs (2) and (7) to (11), inclusive, of subdivision (c)
of Section 929.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations,
and include site records if required pursuant to subdivision (g) of
that section or pursuant to Section 929.5 of Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations.
   (ii) Paragraphs (2) and (7) to (11), inclusive, of subdivision (c)
of Section 949.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations,
and include site records if required pursuant to subdivision (g) of
that section or pursuant to Section 949.5 of Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations.
   (iii) Paragraphs (2) and (7) to (11), inclusive, of subdivision
(c) of Section 969.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of
Regulations, and include site records if required pursuant to
subdivision (g) of that section or pursuant to Section 969.5 of Title
14 of the California Code of Regulations.
   (B) The director shall submit a complete copy of the confidential
archaeological letter and two copies of all required archaeological
or historical site records to the appropriate Information Center of
the California Historical Resource Information System within 30 days
from the date of notice submittal to the director. Before submitting
the notice to the director, the registered professional forester
shall send a copy of the notice to Native Americans, as defined in
Section 895.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
   (8) Only trees less than 18 inches in stump diameter, measured at
eight inches above ground level, may be removed. However, within 500
feet of a legally permitted structure, or in an area prioritized as a
shaded fuel break in a community wildfire protection plan approved
by a public fire agency, if the goal of fuel reduction cannot be
achieved by removing trees less than 18 inches in stump diameter,
trees less than 24 inches in stump diameter may be removed if that
removal complies with this section and is necessary to achieve the
goal of fuel reduction. A fuel reduction effort shall not violate the
canopy closure regulations adopted by the board on June 10, 2004,
and as those regulations may be amended.
   (9) (A) This subparagraph applies to areas within 500 feet of a
legally permitted structure and in areas prioritized as a shaded fuel
break in a community wildfire protection plan approved by a public
fire agency. The board shall adopt regulations for the treatment of
surface and ladder fuels in the harvest area, including logging slash
and debris, low brush, small trees, and deadwood, that could promote
the spread of wildfire. The regulations adopted by the board shall
be consistent with the standards in the board's "General Guidelines
for Creating Defensible Space" described in Section 1299 of Title 14
of the California Code of Regulations. Postharvest standards shall
include vertical spacing between fuels, horizontal spacing between
fuels, maximum depth of dead ground surface fuels, and treatment of
standing dead fuels, as follows:
   (i) Ladder and surface fuels shall be spaced to achieve a vertical
clearance distance of eight feet or three times the height of the
postharvest fuels, whichever is the greater distance, measured from
the base of the live crown of the postharvest dominant and codominant
trees to the top of the surface fuels.
   (ii) Horizontal spacing shall achieve a minimum separation of two
to six times the height of the postharvest fuels, increasing spacing
with increasing slope, measured from the outside branch edges of the
fuels.
   (iii) Dead surface fuel depth shall be less than nine inches.
   (iv) Standing dead or dying trees and brush generally shall be
removed. That material, along with live vegetation associated with
the dead vegetation, may be retained for wildlife habitat when
isolated from other vegetation.
   (B) This subparagraph applies to all areas not described in
subparagraph (A).
   (i) The postharvest stand shall  not  contain  no
 more than 200 trees over three inches in diameter per
acre.
   (ii) Vertical spacing shall be achieved by treating dead fuels to
a minimum clearance distance of eight feet measured from the base of
the live crown of the postharvest dominant and codominant trees to
the top of the dead surface fuels.
   (iii) All logging slash created by the timber operations shall be
treated to achieve a maximum postharvest depth of nine inches above
the ground.
   (C) The standards required by subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be
achieved on approximately 80 percent of the treated area. The
treatment shall include chipping, removing, or other methods
necessary to achieve the standards. Ladder and surface fuel
treatments, for any portion of the exemption area where timber
operations have occurred, shall be done within 120 days from the
start of timber operations on that portion of the exemption area or
by April 1 of the year following surface fuel creation on that
portion of the exemption area if the surface fuels are burned.
   (10) Timber operations shall comply with the requirements of
paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 1038
of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. Timber operations
in the Lake Tahoe region shall comply instead with the requirements
of paragraphs (1) to (16), inclusive, of subdivision (f) of Section
1038 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
   (11) After the timber operations are complete, the department
shall conduct an onsite inspection to determine compliance with this
subdivision and whether appropriate enforcement action should be
initiated.
  SEC. 28.  Section 4603 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4603.  The Attorney General may, on his  or her  own
motion or at the request of the board, bring an action to enforce
compliance with the rules and regulations of the board and 
the provisions of  this chapter.
  SEC. 29.  Section 14 of Chapter 1290 of the Statutes of 1989 is
repealed. 
  SEC. 14.    The department shall, on or before
January 1, 1998, report to the Governor and the Legislature with an
evaluation on whether the objectives of uneven-aged management and
sustained yield are being met for each parcel or group of contiguous
parcels for which a nonindustrial timber management plan has been
approved pursuant to this act.