Senate Bill 2653

(As Passed the Senate)

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT SUBMERGED LOGS SHALL NOT BE REMOVED FROM PUBLIC TRUST TIDELANDS OR SUBMERGED LANDS FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES UNLESS APPROVED BY THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE THROUGH A PUBLIC TRUST TIDELANDS LEASE WITH THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, BY AND THROUGH THE SECRETARY OF STATE, THAT AUTHORIZES THE REMOVAL OF SUBMERGED LOGS WITHIN A SPECIFIED AREA AND FOR A SPECIFIED LENGTH OF TIME; TO PROVIDE THAT THE LESSEE SHALL PAY TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE AN APPRAISED LEASEHOLD INTEREST FOR USE OF THE REMOVAL AREA AS SET FORTH IN THE LEASEHOLD AGREEMENT PLUS 15% OF THE STUMPAGE VALUE RECEIVED BY THE LESSEE FROM THE RECOVERED SUBMERGED LOGS; TO REQUIRE LESSEES TO POST A PERFORMANCE BOND TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS SET FORTH IN THE LEASEHOLD AGREEMENT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE SHALL ALLOCATE AND PAY ANY FUNDS DERIVED FROM THE PUBLIC TRUST TIDELANDS LEASE FOR THE RECOVERY AND SALE OF SUBMERGED LOGS TO THE PUBLIC TRUST TIDELANDS FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) For purposes of the section:

(a) "Commercial use" means harvesting submerged logs by a lessee for other than residential use, including, but not limited to, any sale or resale of harvested submerged logs at any time before or after harvesting or after harvest processing.

(b) "Harvest," "harvesting" or "harvested" means removal of submerged logs from Public Trust Tidelands, removing submerged logs from Public Trust Tidelands, or submerged logs removed from Public Trust Tidelands.

(c) "Lease" means a Public Trust Tidelands lease from the lessor authorizing the lessee to harvest submerged logs from a removal area during a specified time.

(d) "Lessor" means the State of Mississippi acting by and through the Secretary of State with the approval of the Governor.

(e) "Removal area" means an area of Public Trust Tidelands identified by survey or other information in sufficient detail to support a lease to harvest submerged logs. A removal area for a residential use lease only:

(i) Cannot extend more than the lesser of seven hundred fifty (750) yards from the shore of the Mississippi Sound, a bay, a river, a stream, a bayou, or other similar normally flowing water body, or to a line equidistant between two (2) shores of the Mississippi Sound, a bay, a river, a stream, a bayou, or other similar normally flowing water bodies; and

(ii) Must be located within a littoral or riparian area of a specific upland property.

(f) "Residential use" means harvesting submerged logs by a lessee for personal use. Residential use does not include any sale of harvested submerged logs either before or after harvesting or any other commercial use.

(g) "Specified time" means a specified period of a year, years, or part of a year during which a lease authorizes a lessee to harvest submerged logs.

(h) "Submerged log" shall mean:

(i) Any portion of the trunk of a felled tree that has not been further processed for any end use and located on, in, embedded in, or buried under Public Trust Tidelands; and

(ii) Any lumber processed for any end use from the trunk of a felled tree located on, in, embedded in, or buried under Public Trust Tidelands.

(2) Submerged logs are the property of the State of Mississippi.

(3) A lease is required to harvest submerged logs.

(4) A lease application will be submitted to the Secretary of State.

(a) The lessor may offer the lessee applicant the appropriate lease for a removal area.

(b) Lease applications for the same or overlapping removal areas will be considered in the order submitted to the Secretary of State.

(5) The application for a residential use lease can only be submitted by the record owner of the specific upland property adjacent or contiguous to the requested removal area. The right to a residential use lease cannot be assigned to or exercised by any other person, entity, or interest.

(6) The application for a commercial use lease can be submitted by any person, entity, or interest, including the record owner of any specific upland property adjacent or contiguous to the requested removal area.

(7) All leases must contain a provision that should harvesting not commence within six (6) months of the effective date of the lease, the lease is cancelled.

(8) Commercial use harvesting will not unreasonably interfere with the upland owner's riparian or littoral use.

(9) A lessee:

(a) Shall not interfere with navigation when harvesting submerged logs;

(b) Shall not harvest submerged logs from any natural or artificial oyster reef or oyster bed; and

(10) A residential use lessee shall pay to the Secretary of State a leasehold annual rent or pro-rated annual rent for a specified period of less than a year for use of the removal area.

(11) A commercial use lessee shall pay to the Secretary of State a leasehold annual rent or pro-rated annual rent for a specified period of less than a year for use of the removal area and fifteen percent (15%) of the gross value received by the lessee from the harvested submerged logs.

(12) The lessor shall require a performance bond from a commercial use lessee in an amount and with appropriate surety conditions as determined by the Secretary of State to secure state compliance with the conditions and limitations set forth in the lease.

(13) Harvesting submerged logs without a lease may subject the violator to civil penalties as may be provided by law.

(14) Any funds derived from the lessee shall be deposited in the Public Trust Tidelands Fund established in Section 29-15-9, and shall be subject to the provisions of that fund.

(15) The Secretary of State may adopt such rules necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this section pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Law.

(16) A lease entered into pursuant to this section is in addition to and does not abrogate any requirement for permission or permit by any other government agency, including, but not limited to, the Mississippi Department of Marines Resources and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.