Senate Bill 2930

AN ACT TO ENACT THE FOREST PRODUCT FAIRNESS ACT; TO REQUIRE AN OPEN PROCESS FOR THE APPROVAL OF INCENTIVES FOR THE SUPPORT OF FOREST PRODUCTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Forest Product Fairness Act."

SECTION 2. The Legislature recognizes the enormous contribution that the Mississippi forest products industry makes to the state. The continued health of the industry is vital to Mississippi's economic well-being. A fair and equitable process for awarding state incentives to the forest products industry is necessary to maintain economic viability. The purpose of this act is to provide for a procedure that will ensure an open process for the awarding of incentives, that encourages the use of forest products but does not give an unfair advantage to one segment of the forest products industry over another, and that does not put existing businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

SECTION 3. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.

(b) "Forest products" include the following:

(i) Products that are derived from woody biomass;

(ii) Forest wood waste, including residual tops and limbs of trees, unused cull trees, pre-commercial thinnings and wood or debris from noncommercial tree species, slash or brush;

(iii) Any wood chips or fibers or other organic substances and any inorganic substances recovered from forest wood waste or produced as byproducts of processing wood.

(c) "Incentives" means any tax exemption, tax credit, tax exclusion, tax deduction, rebate, investment, contract or grant made available by the state to directly support the purchase of forest products. "Incentives" shall not mean any such benefit available under statutorily provided programs.

(1) Incentives to directly support the purchase of forest products shall be approved by the commissioner through a fair and equitable process prior to being awarded. The process shall be open to individuals and both new and existing partnerships, corporations, associations or other legal entities.

(2) The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act, after consulting with the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.