Senate Bill No. 711

(By Senator Love)

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[Introduced February 19, 2007; referred to the Committee on Agriculture; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-1C-11c, relating to creating open and closed classifications of managed timberland; assessment; valuations; and taxes imposed.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-1C-11c, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1C. FAIR AND EQUITABLE PROPERTY VALUATION.
§11-1C-11c. Open, closed and restricted areas.

(a) Scope. -- This article applies to owners of twenty-five hundred acres or more of land certified as managed timberland and subject to a cooperative contract with the Division of Forestry pursuant to section eleven-a of this article.
(b) Open areas; restriction. -- Except as provided in subdivisions (1) and (2), each owner subject to the provisions of this article shall permit public access to the land for hunting, fishing, hiking, sight-seeing, photography and cross-country skiing.
(1) An owner may restrict public access to any area of open managed forestland which is within three hundred feet of any building or within three hundred feet of a commercial logging operation that conforms to the management plan.
(2) An owner may prohibit the use of motor vehicles, motor cycles, all terrain vehicles and snowmobiles on any open managed forestland. At the request of an owner, the department may provide assistance in enforcing the prohibition.
(c) Closed areas. -- An owner subject to the provisions of this section may designate the property as closed to public access. Provided, That the acres comprising the closed area are assessed pursuant to subsection (g) of this section.
(1) If an owner designates any area of certified managed timberland as closed, any addition to the land may be designated as closed only under the following conditions:
(A) The addition does not exceed twenty-five percent of the acreage at the time the land was designated as closed; and
(B) The addition is contiguous to the area that is already designated as closed.
(3) If all or any part of closed managed timberland is withdrawn or transferred, the owner may designate a different or an additional closed area if it meets the requirements of (1)(A)of this section.
(d) Modification of designation. -- The owner of certified managed timberland may modify the designation of a closed or open area two times during the term of the cooperative contract.
(e) Signs.-- An owner may post signs specifying the designation of or restrictions applicable to any area of managed forest land. The department may, by rule, specify design standards for these signs.
(f) Penalty.-- Any person who fails to comply with subsection (a) or any rule promulgated under this section shall be subject to forfeit not more than five hundred dollars.
(g) Tax roll.-- The assessor, upon receipt of a designation of either open or closed, shall enter in a special column or other appropriate place on the tax roll the description of each parcel of land designated as managed timberland, and shall specify the acreage of each parcel that is designated open or closed. The land shall be assessed as indicated below and is subject to review pursuant to section eleven-b of this article.
(h) Valuation for closed land.--
(1) Land that is certified managed timberland designated as closed, will be treated as noncertified managed timberland and assessed in accordance with subdivision (b), section eleven-b of this article.
(2) Managed timberland designated as closed but subject to a leasehold for value will be treated as noncertified managed timberland and assessed in accordance with subdivision (b), section eleven-b of this article and an amount that is equal to twenty percent of the average statewide property tax per acre of Class III property as defined in section five, article eight of this chapter for each acre that is designated as closed in accordance with this article.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create open and closed classifications for certified managed timberlands,
assessment, valuations, and taxes imposed.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.