SB203 By Senator Orr RFD Finance and Taxation General Fund Rd 1 10-MAR-15

SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, the State Forestry Commission is an independent agency of the state, with the power to appoint the State Forester who is responsible for managing everyday operations of the commission.

This bill would rename the Department of Agriculture and Industries to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

This bill would create the Division of State Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

This bill would transfer the duties, responsibilities, papers, funds, property, and other effects of the State Forestry Commission to the Division of State Forestry.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

To amend Sections 2-3-1, 2-3-2, 9-3-1, 9-3-4, 9-3-5, 9-3-6, 9-3-7, 9-3-8, 9-3-9, 9-3-10, 9-3-10.1, 9-3-11, 9-3-12, 9-3-13, 9-3-14, 9-3-15, 9-3-17, 9-3-19, 9-8A-3, 9-10A-4, 9-13-1, 9-13-3, 9-13-4, 9-13-5, 9-13-6, 9-13-8, 9-13-9, 9-13-10, 9-13-10.1, 9-13-11, 9-13-24, 9-13-40, 9-13-41, 9-13-42, 9-13-43, 9-13-44, 9-13-45, 9-13-46, 9-13-47, 9-13-49, 9-13-50, 9-13-63, 9-13-64, 9-13-65, 9-13-80, 9-13-84, 9-13-103, 9-13-104, 9-13-122, 9-13-124, 9-13-125, 9-13-126, 9-13-140, 9-13-141, 9-13-161, 9-13-162, 9-13-163, 9-13-164, 9-13-166, 9-13-167, 9-13-181, 9-13-182, 9-13-185, 9-13-189, 9-13-190, 9-13-192, 9-13-193, 9-13-194, 9-13-195, 9-13-196, 9-13-201, 9-13-225, 9-13-226, 9-13-272, 9-13-273, 9-15-3, 9-15-30, 9-15-82, 11-84-2, 23-1-293, 31-9C-2, 32-6-272, 32-6-410, 32-6-411, 32-6-413, 36-16-11, 36-21-8, 36-27-59, 36-30-1, 36-30-2, 36-32-1, 40-7-25.1, 41-4-33.1, 41-6A-8, and 41-23-141 of the Code of Alabama 1975, related to the State Forestry Commission; to rename the Department of Agriculture and Industries as the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services; to create a Division of State Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services; to transfer the duties, responsibilities, papers, funds, property, and other effects of the State Forestry Commission to the Division of State Forestry; and to repeal Sections 9-3-2, 9-3-3, and 9-3-16 of the Code of Alabama 1975.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:Section 1. Sections 2-3-1, 2-3-2, 9-3-1, 9-3-4, 9-3-5, 9-3-6, 9-3-7, 9-3-8, 9-3-9, 9-3-10, 9-3-10.1, 9-3-11, 9-3-12, 9-3-13, 9-3-14, 9-3-15, 9-3-17, 9-3-19, 9-8A-3, 9-10A-4, 9-13-1, 9-13-3, 9-13-4, 9-13-5, 9-13-6, 9-13-8, 9-13-9, 9-13-10, 9-13-10.1, 9-13-11, 9-13-24, 9-13-40, 9-13-41, 9-13-42, 9-13-43, 9-13-44, 9-13-45, 9-13-46, 9-13-47, 9-13-49, 9-13-50, 9-13-63, 9-13-64, 9-13-65, 9-13-80, 9-13-84, 9-13-103, 9-13-104, 9-13-122, 9-13-124, 9-13-125, 9-13-126, 9-13-140, 9-13-141, 9-13-161, 9-13-162, 9-13-163, 9-13-164, 9-13-166, 9-13-167, 9-13-181, 9-13-182, 9-13-185, 9-13-189, 9-13-190, 9-13-192, 9-13-193, 9-13-194, 9-13-195, 9-13-196, 9-13-201, 9-13-225, 9-13-226, 9-13-272, 9-13-273, 9-15-3, 9-15-30, 9-15-82, 11-84-2, 23-1-293, 31-9C-2, 32-6-272, 32-6-410, 32-6-411, 32-6-413, 36-16-11, 36-21-8, 36-27-59, 36-30-1, 36-30-2, 36-32-1, 40-7-25.1, 41-4-33.1, 41-6A-8, and 41-23-141, of the Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:

§2-3-1.

"There shall be a State Board of Agriculture, Forestry, and Industries Consumer Services composed of 11 14 members which shall consist of the Governor as ex officio chairman, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, the Director of the Cooperative Extension Service of Auburn University, the Administrative Head of Agriculture and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Auburn University, the Administrative Head of Forestry of Auburn University, four five outstanding farmers and, three outstanding leaders of industry three forest landowners, and two licensed and registered foresters.

§2-3-2.

"The four five farmer members shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of qualified candidates provided by the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA), and confirmed by the Senate; and the five forestry members and the three industry members shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of qualified candidates provided by the Alabama Forestry Association, and confirmed by the Senate; provided, that no two of the farmer members shall reside in the same congressional district of the state;. provided further, that no two of the industry members shall reside in the same congressional district of the state. The members of said State Board of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services and Industries appointed by the Governor shall hold office for and only during the tenure of office of the Governor making the appointment and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

§9-3-1.

"(a) There is hereby created and established a State Forestry Commission, hereinafter referred to as commission, which commission shall be composed of seven members to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Two members shall be appointed for a period of one year, two for a period of two years, two for a period of four years and the remaining member for a period of five years. Upon the expiration of said terms, appointments thereafter shall be for a period of five years and until their respective successors in office have been appointed and qualified. At all times at least two of such members shall be licensed and registered foresters under the laws of Alabama. At all times at least three of such members shall be owners of timberland in Alabama within the Alabama Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services the Division of State Forestry.

§9-3-4.

"The functions and duties of the commission Division of State Forestry shall be as follows:

"(1) To protect, conserve and increase the timber and forest resources of this state and to administer all laws relating to timber and forestry and the protection, conservation and increase of such resources;

"(2) To make recommendations on exploration, surveys, studies and reports concerning the timber and forest resources and to assist in publication of results, publish such thereof as will be of general interest;

"(3) To maintain, supervise, operate and control all state forests;

"(4) To cooperate with and enter into cooperative agreements and stipulations with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or any other federal officer or department, board, bureau, commission, agency or office thereunto authorized with respect to the protection of timbered and forest-producing land from fire, insects and disease, the acquisition of forest lands to be developed, administered and managed as state forests, the production, procurement and distribution of forest trees and shrub planting stock, the carrying on of an educational program in connection therewith, the assistance of the owners of farms in establishing, improving and renewing wood lots, shelter belts, windbreaks and other valuable forest growths, the growing and renewing of useful timber crops and the collection and publication of data with respect to the timber and forest resources or any other matters committed to the commission Division of State Forestry by this title;

"(5) To make and enforce all regulations and restrictions required for such cooperation, agreements or stipulations;

"(6) To carry on a program of education and public enlightenment with respect to the timber and forest and other natural resources of Alabama;

"(7) To make an annual report to the Governor and Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries concerning the activities and accomplishments of the commission Division of State Forestry for the preceding fiscal year;

"(8) To make recommendations to the Legislature such to the Commissioner and State Forester on legislation as may be needed further to protect, conserve, increase or to make available or useful the timber and forests and other natural resources of Alabama; and

"(9) To advise the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and State Forester on general forestry matters in Alabama.

"(9) To supervise, direct and manage all activities of the forestry Commission and its staff and employees.

§9-3-5.

"The present State Forester shall continue to serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries or until he otherwise separates from service. Upon the transfer of the present State Forester to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall set the salary for the present State Forester. Upon the position being vacated, the State Forester shall be appointed by the Governor, based upon the recommendation of three of the five forestry board members. The State Forester appointed under the provisions of this section shall be subject to the provisions of the State Merit System and must have earned a minimum of a bachelor of science degree in forestry and must be licensed and registered under the forestry laws of Alabama with considerable experience in the forestry field.

"It shall be the duty of the Alabama Forestry Commission to appoint with the advice and consent of the Governor a State Forester who shall serve as the executive secretary and administrative officer for the commission. The person so appointed as the State Forester must have earned a minimum of a bachelor of science degree in forestry and must be licensed and registered under the forestry laws of Alabama with considerable experience in the forestry field. The State Forester shall receive a salary as fixed by the commission and shall serve at the pleasure of the commission and shall receive actual expenses when traveling on official business of the commission. Until otherwise provided for by the commission, the present State Forester of the Division of Forestry of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources shall continue to serve as the State Forester under the commission. The State Forester shall devote his full time to the duties of his office. He shall be required to take the oath of office and give bond in the sum of $50,000.00.

§9-3-6.

"The present Assistant State Forester shall continue to serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries or until he otherwise separates from the service. Upon the transfer of the present Assistant State Forester to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall set the salary for the present Assistant State Forester. Upon the position being vacated, the Assistant State Forester shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. The Assistant State Forester appointed under the provisions of this section shall be subject to the provisions of the State Merit System and must have earned a minimum of a bachelor of science degree in forestry with considerable forestry experience.

"The commission shall also appoint, with the advice and consent of the Governor, an Assistant State Forester, who shall hold at least a bachelor degree in forestry with considerable forestry experience. The Assistant State Forester shall serve as the chief assistant to the State Forester. The Assistant State Forester's salary shall be set by the commission, and he shall be paid his actual expenses when traveling on official business of the commission.

§9-3-7.

"The commission Division of State Forestry shall have its main offices in the City of Montgomery; provided, that it the Commissioner may establish other district or subdistrict offices throughout the state in such places as it he or she may deem advisable or necessary.

§9-3-8.

"No member of the State Board of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services commission, during the tenure of his or her office or within two years thereafter, shall be eligible for appointment as State Forester or for any employment under in the commission Division of State Forestry.

§9-3-9.

"The commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, with consent of the State Board of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, shall have the power to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations pertaining to all phases of forestry within this state, which rules and regulations when adopted shall have the force and effect of law. All rules and regulations of the Division of Forestry of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources State Forestry Commission heretofore promulgated shall continue in effect until repealed or amended by the commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, with consent of the State Board of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

§9-3-10.

"(a) There is hereby created a fund in the State Treasury to be known as the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund. All money derived by the commission Division of State Forestry shall be deposited to the credit of said fund for the use of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services in maintaining, supervising, operating, and controlling all state forests, and for any other purpose not inconsistent with the provisions of this act. The Comptroller shall establish a Forestry Program under the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services. All proceeds of the Alabama Forestry Fund shall be exclusively designated for this program.

"(b) After the effective date of this act, all funds remaining in the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund #0312 shall be transferred into the Alabama Forestry Fund established by this section.

§9-3-10.1.

"(a) There is hereby established an Emergency Forest Fire, Insect and Disease Fund into which there is automatically appropriated $180,000.00 annually at the beginning of each state fiscal year. The state Comptroller shall transfer said moneys from the General Fund to such emergency fund annually at the beginning of each state fiscal year. Said emergency fund shall not exceed a total accumulated amount of $1,000,000.00. The moneys in said fund may be expended from time to time to meet emergency forest fire, insect and disease needs as deemed necessary by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, State Forester, and Governor. The moneys expended from said fund for such emergency needs shall be automatically replenished and are hereby appropriated from the General Fund annually to the extent of $180,000.00 per year at the beginning of each state fiscal year until the said $1,000,000.00 ceiling is reached. The state Comptroller shall make the transfer to replenish the funds within a period of one week following the commencement of each state fiscal year.

"(b) The moneys appropriated herein may be expended for salaries, capital expenditures or any other category of expenditures deemed necessary by the State Forester and Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries for emergency forest fire, insect and disease suppression and control. This money shall be conditional upon approval of the Governor.

"(c) After the effective date of this act, all funds remaining in the Emergency Forest Fire Fund #0311 shall be transferred to the Emergency Forest Fire, Insect and Disease Fund established by this section.

§9-3-11.

"The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and the State Forester is are hereby authorized and required to create a steering committee to represent rural community fire departments.

§9-3-12.

"Said steering committee shall be composed of 13 members; one from each of the 10 administrative districts established by the Division of State Forestry of the Alabama Forestry Commission, one member from the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments, one member from the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs and one member from the Alabama Firemen's Association. The President of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs shall appoint one member of his association to serve on the committee, the President of the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments shall appoint one member of his association to serve on the committee, and the President of the Alabama Firemen's Association shall appoint a member of his association to serve on the committee. The Commissioner and the State Forester shall appoint the remaining committee members from each administrative district of the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry, with each such member being a volunteer fireman. All members shall serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority. Vacancies on the committee shall be filled by the same appointing authority who appointed the vacating member.

§9-3-13.

"The steering committee shall make recommendations to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and State Forester regarding how to improve the rural community fire program and how to solve immediate problems including parts exchange, training and financial assistance through federal grants.

§9-3-14.

"The committee shall meet semiannually, with the members of the committee setting the date. The State Forester and Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall have the authority to call special meetings. A majority of members shall constitute a quorum.

§9-3-15.

"Members of the committee shall not be compensated for their services, but each shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses in the same manner and amount that state employees are reimbursed. Such expenses shall be paid out of forestry commission Division of State Forestry funds.

§9-3-17.

"(a) The term "volunteer fire department" shall apply to and be used to define an organized group of area residents who meet the following requirements for personnel, training and equipment:

"(1) The group shall be organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of Alabama as a nonprofit organization or as an authority of a legal subdivision. All persons who are members of said group shall be known as "volunteer fire fighters," and shall have been qualified as such by participating in organized fire protection and suppression training programs. All fire fighters must attend regularly scheduled meetings, drill, and training classes within the department and same shall be documented and kept on file at the department location for one year.

"(2) A "volunteer fire department" shall have no less than 80 percent unsalaried membership.

"(3) Each volunteer fire department shall have as a minimum of fire fighting apparatus the following:

"a. One tanker truck capable of carrying and pumping no less than 500 gallons of water with adequate nozzle pressure to suppress wildfire, structural fire and other fires.

"b. Motorized apparatus shall be equipped with the following minimum required equipment:

"1. One booster reel with 150 feet of 3/4 or one inch rubber hose with suitable nozzle attached; or

"2. 150 feet of pre-connected 1 1/2 inch fire hose with suitable fog/stream nozzle attached.

"c. In areas where a sufficient number of fire hydrants are provided, the tanker shall also carry 200 feet of 2 1/2 inch fire hose together with a 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch wye connector for use with smaller hose and other equipment.

"d. One 24 foot extension ladder with a 12 foot roof ladder.

"e. Hand tools - spanner wrenches, axes, pike pole, bolt cutter, flashlights, a first aid kit and one each pressure water and a chemical fire extinguisher.

"(4) An alerting system must be set up and maintained, which will be capable of alerting the greatest number of fire fighters in the shortest possible time.

"(5) Communications between the tanker and other units, including the base station are to be installed at the earliest possible time; however, the use of citizen band radio equipment is not recommended.

"(6) Housing for motorized equipment shall be provided at the department location of such type and size as to provide virtually freezeproof conditions for vehicles. A training room should also be provided at the earliest possible time.

"(b) All of the aforementioned items shall consummately define a "volunteer fire department," for purposes of legal recognition, but are not to be construed as standards set for any insurance classification by insurance services office or any other local, state or other agency.

"(c) The Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry may assist any fire department needing additional equipment to meet the standards for certification.

"(d) The Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry shall be the state agency entity delegated as certifying authority under this section and shall certify all departments which are cooperators with that commission the division.

"(e) All noncooperating departments which request certification shall be reviewed by the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments and a recommendation for certification shall be made by the association to the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry.

"(f) The provisions of this section shall supersede and take precedence over any local law or municipal ordinance in conflict herewith. All laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

§9-3-19.

"(a) As used in this section, the term "fire control or fire rescue equipment" includes, but is not limited to, a motor vehicle, fire fighting tools, protective gear, breathing equipment, and other vehicles, supplies, and tools used in fire fighting or fire rescue.

"(b) Any person, corporation, partnership, association, or governmental entity may donate or give away used or obsolete fire control or fire rescue equipment to the Alabama Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services for its use or for distribution to certified volunteer fire departments. Any person, corporation, partnership, association, or governmental entity that donates fire control or fire rescue equipment shall not be liable for civil damages for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting from a defect in the equipment, if the property was donated in good faith and the defect was unknown to the person making the donation. The Alabama Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services and its Commissioners and other officers and employees shall not be liable for civil damages for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting from a defect in equipment sold, loaned, donated, or otherwise made available in good faith by the commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services to certified volunteer fire departments pursuant to this section. A breathing apparatus that is donated to the commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall be recertified to the manufacturer's specifications by a technician certified by the manufacturer before it is made available to a volunteer fire department. Any cost incurred by the commission department in recertifying a breathing apparatus shall be reimbursed to the commission it by the volunteer fire department which received the breathing apparatus.

§9-8A-3.

"(a) The members of the commission shall consist of the Governor; the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries; the President of the Alabama Farmers Federation; the President of the Alabama Cattlemen's Association; the Chair of the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee; a member of the Alabama Forestry Commission State Board of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services designated by the Governor; the President of the Alabama Association of Conservation Districts; and two citizens of the state of good reputation who are active farmers or timberland owners or involved in environmental protection appointed by the Governor. Each voting member of the commission, except the two citizens appointed by the Governor, may appoint a designee to represent him or her at all commission meetings. The members of the commission may request that a member replace his or her designee if the designee has been absent from three or more consecutive meetings without good cause. The Chair of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, the Chair of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee, two members of the House, and two members of the Senate appointed by the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor, respectively, shall also serve as nonvoting ex officio members of the commission and as an oversight committee to review and report to the Legislature respecting the programs and activities of the commission. The members of the commission appointed by the Governor shall be appointed at the beginning of each organizational session of the Legislature to serve until the next organizational session of the Legislature; provided, however, that the initial appointed members will be appointed promptly following ratification by the qualified electors of the state of the amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 that was proposed by House Bill 10 introduced at that special session of the Legislature that convened on January 23, 1985. Each member shall hold office for the term of his or her appointment, if he or she is appointed, or as long as he or she serves in one of the positions listed above, and until his or her successor shall have been appointed and qualified.

"(b) The Governor shall serve as chair of the commission and the commission shall elect from among its members a vice-chair, a secretary, and such other officers as it may determine. The State Treasurer of Alabama shall serve as treasurer of the commission.

"(c) If at any time there is a vacancy among the appointed members of the commission, a successor member shall be appointed to serve for the unexpired term applicable to the vacancy. The appointment of each appointed member of the commission, other than those initially appointed, whether for a full term or to complete an unexpired term, shall be made by the same officer of the state who appointed the member of the commission whose term has expired or is to expire or in whose position on the commission the vacancy otherwise exists. The appointment shall be made not earlier than 30 days prior to the date on which the member of the commission is to take office. Each appointed member of the commission shall hold office from the effective date of his or her appointment until the expiration of the term, or portion thereof, for which he or she was appointed, and if the term of any member of the commission expires prior to the reappointment of the member of the commission or prior to the appointment of his or her successor, the member of the commission shall continue to serve until his or her successor is appointed, and if the member of the commission is reappointed for a new term after the expiration of the immediately preceding term which he or she has been serving, his or her new term of office shall be deemed to have commenced at noon on the date on which the immediately preceding term shall have expired. Members of the commission shall be eligible for reappointment without limit as to the number of terms previously served.

"(d) Each member of the commission shall, at the time of his or her appointment or otherwise becoming a member and at all times during his or her term of office, be a qualified elector of the state, and a failure by any member of the commission to remain so qualified during the term shall cause a vacancy of the office of the member of the commission. Any member of the commission may be impeached and removed from office as a member of the commission in the same manner and on the same grounds provided in Section 173 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, or successor provision thereof, and the general laws of the state for impeachment and removal of the officers of the state subject to Section 173 or successor provision thereof. The Governor and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may not be impeached and removed from office as members of the commission apart from their impeachment and removal from the respective offices by virtue of which, ex officio, they serve as members of the commission.

"(e) Regular meetings of the commission shall be held at the time and place fixed by resolution or by law of the commission. Special meetings of the commission shall be held at the call of the chair or whenever three members of the commission so request, in each case upon two days' notice to each member of the commission given in person or by registered letter or telegram. The notice to each member of the commission may be waived by the member of the commission, either before or after the meeting with respect to which notice would otherwise be required. A majority of the voting members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and decisions shall be made and resolutions adopted on the basis of a majority of the quorum then present and voting, with each voting member of the commission having a single vote. No vacancy in the membership of the commission or the voluntary disqualification or abstention of any member of the commission shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all of the powers and duties of the commission. No member or officer of the commission shall receive any salary therefor, but may be reimbursed for necessary travel and the reasonable expenses of performing the duties of office. All proceedings of the commission shall be reduced to writing by the secretary, signed by the chair and at least three members of the commission, recorded in a substantially bound book, and filed in the office of the commission. All proceedings of the commission shall be open to the public, except that executive or secret sessions may be held when the character or good name of a person is involved, and all records of the commission shall be subject to public inspection during business hours. Copies of the proceedings, when certified by the secretary under the seal of the commission, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the matters and things therein certified.

"(f) No member, office, or employee of the commission shall be personally liable for the obligations or acts of the commission.

"(g) The commission may allow for telephone and video conferencing for meetings to constitute a quorum.

§9-10A-4.

"Any management guidelines developed by watershed management authorities to protect forested watersheds shall follow the best management practices established by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services as they pertain to forested watersheds.

§9-13-1.

"The Governor may, upon the recommendation of the State Forestry Commission the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, accept gifts of land to the state, the same to be held and administered by the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services as state forests and to be so used as to demonstrate the practical utility of timber culture. Such gifts must be absolute, except the mineral and mining rights over and under said lands (but no reservation of any timber rights in connection therewith) may be reserved and except for a stipulation that they be held and administered as state forests; and the Attorney General shall see that all deeds of gift or other grants to the state of land mentioned above are properly executed and convey good title before the gift is accepted.

§9-13-3.

"(a) The commission Division of State Forestry shall give such advice, assistance and cooperation as may be practicable to private landowners and promote, so far as it may be able, a proper appreciation in this state among all classes of the population of the benefits to be derived from forest culture, preservation and use.

"(b) The commission Division of State Forestry may take such measures as may be reasonable and practicable to prevent and suppress forest fires and other influences harmful to forest growth and may apply such parts of the forestry fund and other funds accruing to it as may be necessary to such purposes and to providing such systems of control as it may establish, either independently or in cooperation with the federal government and other agencies, public or private.

"(c) The commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall be the sole cooperating agency in joint work in the promotion and development of forestry and other matters and interests devolving upon it by law, among all classes of land ownership in the state, in which both the state and the federal government may have financial or administrative participation.

"(d) The commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, for the purpose of establishing, developing and maintaining state forests, administrative headquarters sites, tower sites and other areas necessary for its efficient operation, may acquire land by donation, purchase, condemnation or lease, and for these purposes may use such funds as may be available to it and not otherwise obligated and may enter into agreements with the federal government or other agencies and private landowners for acquiring by lease, purchase or otherwise such lands as in its judgment are desirable or necessary.

"When lands are acquired or leased under this section, the commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Industries is authorized to make expenditures from any funds not otherwise obligated for the management, development and utilization of such areas, to sell or otherwise dispose of products from such lands, to have sole charge of all state forests and other lands that have been acquired hereunder and to have authority to make such rules and regulations for the management, administration, occupancy and use of said lands and all property and things of whatsoever nature therein or thereon as it shall find necessary.

"The commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall have full power and authority to sell, exchange or lease lands under its jurisdiction when in its judgment it is advantageous to the state to do so in the orderly development and management of state forests and other designated areas; provided, however, that said sale, lease or exchange shall not be contrary to the terms of any contract which it has entered into. In the event any state forest lands or assets are sold, proceeds shall be deposited in the Alabama Forestry Fund.

"(e) The commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services may employ such officers, assistants and employees as may be necessary and, as to persons employed wholly or in part in carrying out the provisions of cooperative agreements with the federal government or other agencies, for such compensation heretofore or hereafter paid may use such contributions or receipts as may be derived from the United States or from any private or philanthropic source.

§9-13-4.

"There shall be a fund known as the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund. This fund shall consist of all occupational licenses and privilege taxes imposed by the state for engaging in any business dealing with timber or timber products and all fines and forfeitures arising under the provisions of this chapter, and all appropriations made by the State of Alabama from its General Funds in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter shall be paid into said Alabama Forestry Commission Fund. There shall also be paid into said Alabama Forestry Commission Fund all sums accruing to the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry from whatsoever source. This fund shall be used and expended by the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services in accordance with the terms of the gift, bequest, appropriation or donation from which said moneys are derived and, in absence of any such terms, shall be expended by the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, Division of State Forestry in furtherance of any of the provisions of this chapter. All necessary expenses of the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry shall be payable out of said fund on the requisition of the State Forester; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to require the diversion of any funds from any particular purpose for which they were collected, allotted or budgeted if the effect of such diversion would penalize the state in retaining or securing any federal funds or federal assistance, and no funds shall be withdrawn nor expended for any purpose whatsoever unless the same shall have been allotted and budgeted in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41 of this Code and only in the amounts and for the purposes provided by the Legislature in the general appropriation bill.

§9-13-5.

"All sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, constables, marshals and such other persons as may be designated or appointed by the Governor, or by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, or State Forester are hereby declared to be forest wardens, and they shall report to the said Commissioner, State Forester, and to the district attorney for the county in which the same occur any violations of any provisions of this chapter.

§9-13-6.

"The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and State Forester shall have the power to appoint any person in any area of the state who is skilled in forestry work or fire prevention as a forest fire warden, on a volunteer status, whose duties shall be to prevent and suppress forest fires in his respective locale. All persons so appointed shall receive a duly executed commission signed by the State Forester appointing authority and stating on the face thereof the appointee's name and title.

§9-13-8.

"At the discretion of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries or State Forester, such forest fire wardens may be issued fire-fighting equipment from such equipment as may be available for such purposes to the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry, and any such equipment so issued may be used only for the suppression of forest fires.

§9-13-9.

"The State Forester Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, with the approval of the state merit board, shall have the power to provide for the compensation to be received by such forest fire wardens if, in his or her judgment, he deems such compensation is deemed necessary; provided, that they the forest fire wardens shall receive compensation only for such hours as are spent on fire fighting and for any actual expenses incurred by them in the performance of such duties.

§9-13-10.

"All employees of the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services appointed as forest law enforcement officers by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries or State Forester are hereby constituted peace officers of the State of Alabama with full police power and may exercise such powers anywhere within the state. They are hereby authorized to carry firearms or other weapons when they are actually in the discharge of their duties as such officers as provided by law. They shall be clothed with the power to arrest with or without warrant any person who shall violate any of the laws of the State of Alabama or any rule or regulation of the Alabama Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services and take him or her before a proper court for trial. All employees of the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, who are appointed as forest law enforcement officers, and all duly appointed officers of the United States whose duty it is to prevent and suppress forest fires are empowered to enter any lands and to construct thereon fire lines, fire lanes or fire breaks, to set back fires thereon if necessary to prevent the further spread of fire then actually burning and to do all other work necessary in the performance of their duties, including the right to enter any lands for the purpose of making investigations for the cause or causes of fires, without liability for trespass or damage therefrom.

§9-13-10.1.

"All state agencies, in the performance of their duties and responsibilities to the people of Alabama, are authorized to aid and assist the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry in the control and suppression of wildfires, on request of the Governor of Alabama, with such requested resources that are reasonably available and needed to cope with the specific situation.

§9-13-11.

"(a) It shall be a Class C felony for every person, firm, association, or corporation to do either of the following:

"(1) Willfully, maliciously or intentionally burns, sets fire to, attempts to set fire to, or causes to be burned or any fire to be set to any forest, grass, woodlands, or other inflammable vegetation on any lands not owned, leased, controlled, or in the lawful possession of the person, firm, association, or corporation setting the fire or burning such lands or causing the fire to be set or lands to be burned.

"(2) Shall have in his or her possession or shall set, throw or place any device, instrument, or other incendiary paraphernalia, including any time-delay incendiary device, in or adjacent to any forest, grass, woodlands, or other inflammable vegetation, which forest, grass, woodland or other inflammable vegetation is not owned, leased, controlled, or in the lawful possession of the person possessing such device, instrument, or paraphernalia.

"(b) It shall be a Class B misdemeanor for any person, firm, association, or corporation:

"(1) Who recklessly or with wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property allows a fire to escape from land owned, leased, or controlled by him or her, whereby any property of another is injured or destroyed;

"(2) Who shall burn any brush, stumps, logs, rubbish, fallen timber, grass, stubble, or debris of any sort, whether on one's own land or that of another, without taking reasonably necessary precautions, both before lighting the fire and all times thereafter to prevent the escape thereof;

"(3) Who shall set fire to any brush, stumps, logs, rubbish, fallen timber, grass, stubble, or debris of any sort within or near any forest or woodland, unless the area surrounding said material to be burned shall be cleared of all inflammable material for a reasonably safe distance in all directions and maintained free of all inflammable material so long as such fire shall continue to burn;

"(4) Who shall set a fire within or near any forest, woodland, or grassland without clearing the ground immediately around it free from material which will carry fire, or shall leave such fire before it is totally extinguished or start a fire in any forest, woodland, or grassland by throwing away a lighted cigar, cigarette, match or by the use of firearms or in any other manner and leave the same unextinguished;

"(5) Who shall destroy, remove, injure, or deface any fire warning or notices or deface any inscription or devices comprising such notices;

"(6) Who shall burn any new ground, field, grasslands, or woodlands, or adjoining woodlands or grasslands of another within any area which has been placed under organized forest fire protection by the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry without first obtaining verbal authorization from the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry by obtaining a burning permit number.

"(c) It shall be a Class A misdemeanor for any person to recklessly or with wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property burn, set fire to, attempt to set fire to, or cause to be burned or any fire to be set to any forest, grass, woodlands, or other inflammable vegetation on any lands not owned, leased, controlled, or in the lawful possession of the person setting the fire or burning such lands or causing the fire to be set or lands to be burned without the permission of the lawful owner.

"(d) (1) Burning permits may be obtained from the district operations center when the center is in active operation. The following criteria must be met:

"a. The person requesting the permit must have adequate tools, equipment, and manpower to stay with and control the fire during the entire burning period.

"b. The person requesting the permit is responsible to keep the fire confined.

"c. In no case will the person requesting the permit allow the fire to be unattended until it is dead out.

"(2) Burning permits will be issued if the individual requesting the permit states that the above criteria will be met unless the State Forester shall declare a fire alert. Under fire alert conditions the State Forester may allow issuance of permits at his or her discretion, taking into account the number of fires burning in the district, current and projected weather conditions, the ability of the person seeking the permit to contain the fire and that individual's knowledge of fire behavior, and other factors which may affect fires and fire behavior. A fire alert will be issued by the State Forester for any district or portion of a district that in the opinion of the State Forester, has existing conditions which produce extraordinary danger from fire or smoke.

"(3) If subsequent to issuance of a permit a lawfully authorized fire escapes to the lands of another and an investigation reveals that the permit holder did not meet all the criteria as set forth above, the fire will be treated as if no legal authorization had been obtained.

"(4) A burning permit once issued may be revoked if the person requesting the permit fails to comply with proper burning procedures or if weather conditions develop which may result in erratic fire or smoke behavior.

"(e) An area shall be deemed legally placed under organized forest fire protection by the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the State of Alabama Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services upon proclamation of the State Forester. Such proclamation shall describe the lands placed in said area and shall be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the county where the lands composing said area are located. If there are no newspapers published in the county where said lands are located, then said proclamation shall be published in a newspaper of an adjoining county. In the event the lands composing said area are located in more than one county, such proclamation shall be so published in a newspaper in each county where said lands are located. Beginning with the twelfth day after the first publication of said proclamation in said newspaper or newspapers, the lands described in the proclamation shall be deemed in an area under organized forest fire protection. Upon the trial of any person, firm, or corporation for the violation of any provision of this section, a certified copy of said proclamation executed by the State Forester shall be admissible in evidence and shall be conclusive evidence of the fact that the lands described in said proclamation constitute an area under organized forest fire protection within the meaning of this section.

"(f) All moneys collected for any violation of this section as fines, forfeitures, etc., shall go to the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund and shall be used in defraying the expense of the administration of such State Forestry Commission the Division of State Forestry.

§9-13-24.

"When an arrest for a violation of the provisions of the forestry laws is made by a salaried officer or salaried employee of the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services and the defendant is convicted, there shall be taxed as costs the same fee as the sheriff in this state is entitled to for similar services and, if collected from the defendant, shall be immediately remitted by the trial court directly to the State Forester Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, and said fee shall be used for the purpose of the administration of the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry. If the person making the arrest shall be a nonsalaried officer or not an employee of the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services and if said fee is collected from the defendant, such person shall be entitled to said fee and shall receive in addition thereto an informer's fee of one-half the fine in each case where the information furnished by him results in a conviction and the fine is collected and paid into court; provided, however, that in no case shall the amount paid to the informant or party making the affidavit as to the commission Division of State Forestry of any offense embraced in this chapter exceed the sum of $25.00. All amounts in excess of $25.00 shall be remitted to the State Forester Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries as provided in this section. No fee shall be allowed in cases of acquittal.

§9-13-40.

"It is the declared policy of the state to encourage reforestation of cutover lands and timber culture generally; and to that end and in consideration of the public benefits arising therefrom, the timber growing on lands which shall hereafter be designated by the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry as auxiliary state forests under the provision of this article shall not be taxable or assessed for taxation by any authority from the time that said lands are so designated until they are withdrawn as auxiliary state forests, and only the land on which said timber grows may be taxed or assessed for taxation as if the ownership of the timber growing thereon had been severed from the ownership of the land, and the valuation of the timber growing on auxiliary state forests shall not be included in the valuation of the shares of stock in any domestic corporation owning such timber in arriving at the valuation of the shares of stock of such corporation for taxation; provided, that said land shall be appraised jointly by the Department of Revenue and the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry with view to its use for timber production purposes, such appraisal being made with due regard to the fact that the timber yields from such lands require a considerable period of years for maturing and that the valuation determined by such appraisal for the purposes of taxation of the land independently of the timber shall not be increased during the continuance of such land as auxiliary state forests; and provided further, that when the land embraced within an auxiliary state forest does not exceed 160 acres, the land shall not be taxed or assessed for taxation.

§9-13-41.

"Any owner of lands desiring to devote the same to forest culture and to have the same designated as auxiliary state forests shall file with the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry an application in writing, which shall be signed by such owner, describing the lands which said owner desires to have designated as auxiliary state forests, stating his willingness to enter into the contract provided for in this article and such other information as the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry may require and praying that such lands shall be designated by the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry as auxiliary state forests.

§9-13-42.

"The State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry may, in its discretion, require the applicant to furnish an abstract of title of said lands showing him the applicant to be the owner in fee thereof or other satisfactory proof of title, and all rights of dower or homestead in said lands, as against the operation of said contract, shall be released before the same is approved.

§9-13-43.

"Upon the filing of such application, the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry shall, as soon as practicable, inspect the said land or cause the same to be inspected by the State Forester or some other competent and suitable person; and, if the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry shall find said lands to be suited for forest culture, it shall certify that fact, together with a copy of said application to the Governor, who shall, if he deems it advisable to do so, thereupon cause the contract provided for in this article to be drawn by the Attorney General, and, upon the execution of the same, by the owner of the land, the Governor shall execute the same for and on behalf of and in the name of the State of Alabama.

Said contract shall be executed in quadruplicate. One copy shall be filed with the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry and one with the Department of Revenue or body exercising its jurisdiction and powers. One copy shall be delivered to the owner of the land, and the fourth shall be filed by the State Forester for record in the probate office of the county or counties in which said land is situated, at the cost of the owner. The Attorney General shall approve the execution of said contracts.

§9-13-44.

"The Governor may, at his discretion, upon designation of any lands as auxiliary state forests, under the provisions of this article, on behalf of and in the name of the State of Alabama, enter into a contract by and with the owner of said land and the successors and assigns of said owner, the said covenant to run with the land that, in consideration of the devotion of said land to reforestation and of the public benefits arising therefrom, the timber growing on said land shall not be taxable nor assessed for taxation, directly or indirectly, or by any authority, until said lands are withdrawn as auxiliary state forests and that only the land upon which said timber is grown may be taxed or assessed for taxation during said period and that, if said land is taxed or assessed for taxation, it shall be assessed and valued as if the ownership of the timber had been severed from the ownership of the land; provided, that said land shall be appraised jointly by the Department of Revenue and the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry, such appraisal being made with due regard to the fact that the timber yields from such lands require a considerable period of years for maturing and that the valuation determined by such appraisal for the purposes of taxation of the land independently of the timber shall be the valuation of such lands upon and from the effective date of the approval of the contract and shall not be increased during the continuance of such lands as auxiliary state forests and that, if the land included under the contract does not exceed 160 acres, the land shall not be taxed or assessed for taxation.

"It shall be agreed in said contract that the owner of said land will devote the same to forest culture and that no use shall be made of said land that will militate against the growth of the timber thereon; that the owner will use diligence in protecting the same against fire in accordance with rules established by the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services and that the owner will not withdraw said lands as auxiliary state forests for a period of five years after the same are entered as such and will not cut, turpentine or otherwise utilize the timber thereon before the withdrawal of the same as auxiliary state forests, except in accordance with rules formulated by the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, which rules and other rules mentioned in this article it is authorized and directed to make.

"Upon application of any owner of land comprised within auxiliary state forests heretofore established under contract of current effect, provisions authorized in this section but not included in the original contract may, with the approval of the Governor, be included in a supplemental contract modifying the terms of the original contract.

§9-13-45.

"If any owner or the successor in title of any such owner shall violate the provisions of his contract, the Governor may, in his discretion, abrogate the same by a written order to be filed with the Department of Revenue, the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry and the said owner or his successor in title. Upon such abrogation, the privilege tax provided for in this article shall at once become due and payable in all respects as if said lands had been legally withdrawn as auxiliary state forests.

§9-13-46.

"(a) Any owner of land designated as auxiliary state forests may, after the lapse of five years from the designation of the said lands as such, file with the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry an application in writing to withdraw the same or any part thereof, and thereupon the value of the timber on the land desired to be withdrawn shall be appraised and the privilege tax thereon computed as provided for in this article; and, on the payment of said privilege tax, the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry shall make an order withdrawing the same as an auxiliary state forest, a copy of which shall be filed with the Department of Revenue, a copy entered in a book to be kept for that purpose by the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry, a copy delivered to the said owner and a copy filed by the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry at the cost of the owner in the probate office in the county or counties in which said land is situated.

"(b) The owner of such lands shall have the right to harvest or otherwise use parts of said timber without withdrawing the land under the rules which said State Forestry Commission the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services is directed to make.

"(c) In either event, the privilege tax provided for in this article shall be paid on the value of the timber withdrawn or harvested at the time of said withdrawal or harvesting.

§9-13-47.

"Upon withdrawal of said lands or any part thereof as auxiliary state forests or harvesting or other use of parts of timber on said land without withdrawing the land, the value of the timber thereon shall be appraised separately in each county where such timber is located by the Department of Revenue and the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry as of the date of such withdrawal or harvesting, whereupon the owner of such timber shall pay as a privilege tax for the entry and withdrawal of such lands as auxiliary state forests or for the harvesting of the timber on such lands a sum of money equal to eight percent of the appraised value of the timber.

§9-13-49.

"Said privilege tax shall be paid to the State Forestry Commission Alabama Forestry Fund for use by Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services and by it reported to the Comptroller and paid into the Treasury, whereupon the Comptroller shall draw and transmit to the tax collector of each county wherein such timber has been appraised and with respect to which such tax has been paid a warrant payable to such tax collector for the full amount of tax paid as to such county. Thereupon the tax collector shall treat and consider the payments so made to himself as if he had collected the same for and on account of state and county taxes duly assessed by the tax assessor upon the timber appraised as provided in this article and shall proceed to apportion, distribute and pay the same as if such taxes were ad valorem taxes assessed against the owner of the timber, after deducting therefrom for himself a commission of two percent upon the amount of such taxes and paying also the tax assessor a commission of two percent thereon. In all counties in which officials are paid on a salary basis, the commissions authorized in this section shall by said officials be paid into the treasury of said county.

§9-13-50.

"The State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry shall keep a book in which shall be recorded all applications for the designation of lands as auxiliary state forests, contracts entered into upon such applications and withdrawals or forfeitures thereof.

§9-13-63.

"Any person, firm, or corporation buying, contracting to buy, or otherwise acquiring logs, poles, piling, crossties, pulpwood, veneer bolts, stave bolts, or other unmanufactured or semimanufactured forest products shall keep a written record in this state of every such purchase. The record shall contain the name of the person or persons from whom the product was acquired, the county from which the timber or other forest product was severed, the amount thereof and the date of delivery, which information shall be obtained from the person or persons from whom the product was acquired. This record shall be a true, accurate, and correct statement of the transaction as provided for in this section. Any person who knowingly gives false information to the purchaser of the product or who willfully misstates the facts with intent to defraud is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1000, or a jail sentence of not less than 10 days nor more than one year or both fine and imprisonment. The purchaser shall be entitled to rely upon the information furnished by the seller. The information given under this section shall be kept by the person or persons acquiring the forest products and shall be available, during business hours, to a duly authorized agent or employee of the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry. The record shall be kept available for a period of not less than three years. Any person, firm, or corporation failing to keep the record or in any manner falsifying it is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than nor more than $1000, or a jail sentence of not less than 10 days nor more than a year or both fine and imprisonment.

§9-13-64.

"All employees of the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry, and other employees of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, as designated by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, shall have the powers of peace officers in the enforcing of the provisions of this article. They shall be allowed to enter any lands and to do any work necessary in the performance of their duties without liability for trespass or damage therefrom.

§9-13-65.

"All fines collected from violations of Sections 9-13-60 and 9-13-63 shall go to the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund.

§9-13-80.

"The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

"(1) PERSON. Such term includes any individual, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, receiver, trustee or any other group or combination acting as a unit.

"(2) DEPARTMENT. The Department of Revenue of the State of Alabama.

"(3) (2) TAXPAYER. Any person liable for taxes under this article.

"(4) (3) PRODUCER. Any person engaging or continuing to engage in this state in the business of severing timber or any other forest products from the soil, whether as owner, lessee, concessionaire or contractor. Such definition shall also include any person who assembles or causes to be assembled any forest product for shipment out of the State of Alabama in an unmanufactured condition.

"(5) (4) FOREST PRODUCTS. Logs, timber, pulpwood, chemical wood, bolts, crossties and switch ties, mine ties, coal mine props, ore mine props, poles, piles, turpentine (crude gum) and stumpwood (tarwood).

"(6) (5) SEVER. To fell, cut or otherwise separate from the soil; provided, that for the purpose of this article, any person who is the owner or lessee of timber and is also the processor thereof or a manufacturer of products derived therefrom shall be deemed the person engaged in severing such timber from the soil, notwithstanding the fact that the severance is made by an independent contractor or otherwise.

"(7) COMMISSIONER. The Commissioner of Revenue of the State of Alabama.

"(8) (6) MANUFACTURER. As applied to forest products suitable for manufacture into lumber, the person who operates the sawmill or plant in which such products are so manufactured into lumber; as applied to pulpwood, chemical wood and bolts, the person who operates the paper mill, chemical plant or other plant in which such forest products are processed; as applied to crossties, switch ties, mine ties, props, poles and piles, the person who purchases from the producer; as applied to turpentine, the person who processes or cooks the crude gum; as applied to stumpwood, the person who operates the plant or retort in which such product is processed.

"(9) (7) CONCENTRATION YARD. A place where lumber is brought or received within the State of Alabama in a green or rough form or condition for manufacturing or for processing or for resale.

§9-13-84.

"(a) The taxes imposed by this article, and any other taxes imposed on the severance of forest products, shall be due and payable quarterly to the State Department of Revenue and shall, when collected, be paid by such department into the State Treasury. When so paid into the State Treasury, all such taxes shall be credited by the Treasurer to a special fund which is hereby created and which shall be known as the Special State Forestry Fund of the State of Alabama, which fund shall be disbursed under the supervision of the State Forester Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, subject to the restrictions embodied in this article, for the purpose of carrying out the statewide forestry program as provided by law and for no other or different purposes. Not less than 85 percent of the taxes collected under and by virtue of this article shall be expended for forest protection. No portion of such fund shall revert to the General Fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year, and any surplus shall be allowed to accumulate from year to year and be disbursed as exigencies of the statewide forestry program may require.

"There is hereby continuously appropriated the receipts from the taxes levied in this article to the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services for the use of the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry. Such amount of money as shall be appropriated for each fiscal year by the Legislature to the Department of Revenue with which to pay the salaries, the cost of operation and the management of the said department shall be deducted, as a first charge thereon, from the taxes collected under and pursuant to said article; provided, however, that the expenditure of said sum so appropriated shall be budgeted and allotted pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 4, Title 41 and limited to the amount appropriated to defray the expenses of operating said department for each fiscal year; provided further, however, that for the fiscal years ending September 30, 1989, and September 30, 1990, the portion of the receipts allocated to the Forestry Commission is hereby appropriated for use in their fire control program.

"(b) After the effective date of this act, all funds remaining in the current special State Forestry Fund #0332 of the State Forestry Commission shall be transferred to the Special State Forestry Fund of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, Division of State Forestry.

§9-13-103.

"If the department Department of Revenue finds that a person liable for taxes under any provisions of this article designs quickly to depart from the state or to remove his property therefrom, or to conceal himself or his property therein or to do any other act tending to prejudice or to render wholly or partly ineffectual proceedings to collect such tax unless such proceedings are brought without delay, the department Department of Revenue shall cause notice of such finding to be given such person together with a demand for an immediate return and immediate payment of such taxes. Thereupon such taxes shall become immediately due and payable. If such person is not in default in making such return or paying any taxes prescribed by this article and furnishes evidence satisfactory to the department Department of Revenue under regulations to be prescribed by the department Department of Revenue that he will duly return and pay the taxes to which the department's Department of Revenue's finding relates, then such tax shall not be payable prior to the time otherwise fixed for payment. If such person fails to appear and make such showing, then the department Department of Revenue shall make such assessment final and execution may immediately issue as is provided in this article.

§9-13-104.

"When requested by the commissioner Commissioner of Revenue, all transporters of forest products out of, within or across the State of Alabama shall be required to furnish said commissioner, under oath and upon forms prescribed by him, any and all information relative to the transportation of such forest products, and such reports shall contain, in addition to other required information, the name of the shipper, the date of shipment, the quantity and type or character of such forest products, stated in units or measurements applicable to such forest products, the point of receipt or shipment and the point of destination; provided, that in the case of common carriers using bills of lading or way bills prescribed or approved by the interstate commerce commission, such common carriers shall only be required to keep the usual records at the office or offices in this state where such records are usually kept.

§9-13-122.

"Whenever the State Forester determines that there exists an infestation or infection injurious to timber of forest growth on privately owned lands and that said infestation or infection is of such a nature as to be a menace to the timber on forestlands of adjacent owners, the State Forester, with the approval of the State Forestry Commission Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, may declare the existence of a control zone and describe and fix the control zone boundaries.

§9-13-124.

"Whenever the State Forestry Commission State Forester determines that insect or disease control work within the designated control zone is no longer necessary or feasible, then the he or she State Forestry Commission shall instruct the state forester by issue a written order to dissolve the control zone.

§9-13-125.

"In order to accomplish the suppression, eradication and destruction of such tree infestation or infection as outlined in this article, the State Forestry Commission Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may enter into cooperative agreements with the federal government and other public or private agencies and with forest landowners using any such funds as may be pledged in such agreements for the suppression of infestation or infection in forest trees.

§9-13-126.

"There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Control of Forest Tree Insects and Diseases Fund." Such fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated thereto by the Legislature; all revenues collected under the provisions of this article; and any moneys paid into the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services or the Division of State Forestry by the federal government or any agency thereof to be used for the purpose of this article. All such funds are hereby appropriated to the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, Division of State Forestry, to be used to carry out the purposes of this article. No portion of such fund shall revert to the General Fund of the State at the end of any fiscal year, and any surplus shall be allowed to accumulate from year to year and be disbursed as exigencies of the state's insect infestation or disease infection programs may require.

§9-13-140.

"Whenever conditions exist in any county or counties in this state which produce extraordinary danger from fire, the State Forestry Commission Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, with approval of the Governor, may by regulation declare a drought emergency condition in such county or counties.

§9-13-141.

"At such time as the State Forestry Commission Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries has declared by regulation a drought emergency in any county or counties, it shall be unlawful in such county or counties for any person to set fire to any forest, grass, woods, wildlands or marshes or to build a campfire or bonfire or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest, grass or woods fire. This prohibition does not apply to any backfire set by an official representative or agent of the State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services. Nor does this prohibition apply when a backfire is set by any person for the purpose of saving life or property; provided, that such person shall have the burden of proving the necessity for setting such backfire if he claims same as a defense.

§9-13-161.

"For the purpose of receiving the financial and supervisory cooperation of the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the State of Alabama Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services in forest protection, any county commission is empowered, authorized and required to assess and levy a special annual tax not to exceed $.04 per acre against the forested acreage of the county subject to the conditions set forth in Section 9-13-163.

§9-13-162.

"The State Forestry Commission State Forester is hereby empowered and directed to establish and designate such forest protection areas prior to the submission of the petition provided for in Section 9-13-163.

§9-13-163.

"For the purpose of receiving the financial and supervisory cooperation of the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the State of Alabama Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services in forest protection, the county commission is required to make, assess and levy a special annual tax upon all said lands in the county, or any definitely described portion thereof, immediately upon receipt of a petition so requesting, signed by a majority of the freeholders of the county, or any definitely described portion thereof, said area to be known as a forest protection area.

§9-13-164.

"The State Forestry Commission State Forester is hereby empowered and directed to furnish to the county commission of the county in which it is proposed to establish a forest protection area a list of the landowners within said proposed forest protection area, said list to show the total amount of forestland owned by each landowner subject to the forest protection tax within said forest protection area.

§9-13-166.

"The tax so assessed shall be collected as other taxes are collected and remitted to the state Treasurer and placed in a "Forest Protection Fund" to be expended by the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the State of Alabama Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services for forest fire protection in the county, or any definitely described portion thereof, against which the tax has been assessed.

§9-13-167.

"The tax provided for in Section 9-13-161 shall remain the same from year to year, except that it may be changed or discontinued upon receipt of a petition so requesting, signed by a majority of the freeholders of the county, or any definitely described portion thereof, involved or by the State Forestry Commission of the State of Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.

§9-13-181.

"The county commission of any county in this state is authorized, when the need therefor exists, to provide in the manner specified in this division protection against forest fires in such county by participating in the State Forestry Commission's Division of State Forestry's fire protection program.

§9-13-182.

"Any county commission which provides forest fire protection to the persons and property of its county by participating in the State Forestry Commission's Division of State Forestry's fire protection program may in the manner specified in this division assess the whole or any part of the cost of such fire protection program, not in excess of $.05 per acre, to the owners of forestland in the county; provided, that such assessment is not greater than the benefit accruing to such forestland due to the availability of such fire protection.

§9-13-185.

"All moneys accruing to any county from the assessments as provided in this division shall be placed in the county treasury or depository, as the case may be, to the credit of a special fire protection fund, which fund shall be used or disbursed by said county commission only in participating in the State Forestry Commission's Division of State Forestry's fire protection program within such county under such procedures and policies as may be prescribed by the State Forestry Commission and Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services. Any unexpended balance in said fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain therein for use during the ensuing fiscal year.

§9-13-189.

"As used in this article, the following words shall have the meanings stated below, unless the context requires otherwise:

"(1) COMMISSION. The Alabama Forestry Commission. DEPARTMENT. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

"(2) FOREST LAND. Any land which supports a forest growth or which is being used or reserved for any forest purpose and is classified as Class III forest property in Section 40-8-1(b)(1), but excludes land within the city limits of any incorporated municipality.

"(3) OWNER. Any person who is engaged in and has an economic risk in the business of producing or causing to be produced, for market, forest or timber products.

"(4) PERSON. Any individual, partnership, corporation, company, society, or association, or other business entity.

"(5) LESSEE. Any person who leases land for a period over five years for the purpose of producing or causing to be produced, for market, forest or timber products.

§9-13-190.

"The forestry and fire prevention program provided for in this article shall be administered by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry. The commission and Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall have the authority to adopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article.

§9-13-192.

"The charge, fee, or assessment will be levied and collected in the same manner as ad valorem taxes are levied and collected. All revenues or moneys collected under the provisions of this article shall be distributed by the office of the county tax collector, or person charged with the collection of taxes, to the commission department's Division of State Forestry. The first assessment and collection of the levy provided for herein shall be during and for the fiscal (tax) year beginning October 1 next following the satisfaction of all prerequisites required herein for imposition of the levy herein provided.

§9-13-193.

"(a) The commission department shall authorize a referendum among owners or lessees of forest land to determine whether an assessment shall be levied upon said owners or lessees to offset, in whole or in part, the cost of forestry and forest fire protection programs.

"(b) The assessment levied against each owner or lessee under this article shall be ten cents per acre of forest land owned.

"(c) All affected owners or lessees of forest land shall be entitled to vote in any such referendum. The commission department shall determine any questions of eligibility to vote and shall establish rules and regulations pertaining to the vote.

"(d) If a majority of those voting at the referendum vote in favor of the assessment, then the charge, fee or assessment shall be collected from the owners or lessees of forest land. The finance charge, fee or assessment levied by this article shall not be effective until a majority vote is obtained according to guidelines established by the commission department.

"(e) The finance charge, fee or assessment shall be due and payable at the same time as county ad valorem taxes. The assessments collected in each county under this article shall be promptly remitted to the commission department under such terms and conditions as the State Forester and Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall deem necessary to ensure that such assessments are used in a sound forestry program and for the prevention of and protection against forest fire.

"(f) With respect to any referendum conducted under the provisions of this article, the duly certified organization shall, not less than 30 days before the date of such referendum, cause to be published at least once a week for three weeks in a newspaper of county-wide circulation the date, hours, polling places and rules for voting in the referendum, the amount and basis of the assessment proposed to be collected, the means by which such assessment shall be collected, and the general purposes to which said amount so collected shall be expended and applied. Such notice shall be published by the certified organization through the medium of an established forestry publication and written notice therefor shall be given to each county agent and Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry supervisor in this state.

§9-13-194.

"The arrangements for the place, time and management of any referendum held under this article shall be under the direction of the commission department. The commission department shall bear all expenses incurred in conducting the referendum, including the furnishing of ballots and arranging for the necessary poll holders.

§9-13-195.

"In the event the referendum conducted under this article fails to receive the required number of affirmative votes, the commission department may call another referendum after the expiration of two years.

§9-13-196.

"(a) An owner or lessee of forest land who fails to pay, upon reasonable notice, any assessment levied under this article shall, in addition to the assessment, be subject to a per acre penalty as established by the department's commission's rules and regulations.

"(b) Any finance charge, fee, or assessment levied shall constitute a lien on the property against which it is levied. In case of default in the payment of such finance charge, fee, or assessment, the subject land may be sold in the same manner and under the same conditions that lands are sold for the satisfaction of liens for county ad valorem taxes, provided, however, no sale of the subject land may occur within three years from the date of said default, and redemption from such sale may be effected in the same manner as is provided by law for redemption where land is sold for nonpayment of ad valorem taxes.

§9-13-201.

"The expenses incurred by the advisory committee Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services in attending meetings of the Southeastern Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact shall be payable out of the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund. Such expenses shall include travel costs and other necessary expenses of the advisory committee members of the State of Alabama to and from meetings of the compact or its duly constituted sections or committees.

§9-13-225.

"When any judgment of condemnation or forfeiture is made in any case filed under the provisions of this section, the judge making such judgment shall order and direct that said vehicle and equipment be forfeited or awarded to the State Forester Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries to be sold or used by him in the enforcement of the law.

"And said The order provided for herein, in the event that no appeal is taken within 15 days from the rendition thereof, shall be carried out and executed. The court, at its discretion, shall direct in said judgment that the cost of the proceedings be paid by the person(s) in whose possession said vehicle and equipment were found when seized, or by any party or parties that claim to own said vehicle and equipment, or any interest therein, and who contested the condemnation and forfeiture thereof. The State Forester Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall keep a permanent record of all such vehicles and equipment awarded to him as provided for herein, to be accounted for as other public property.

§9-13-226.

"In the event the seized items are sold, the proceeds from the sale shall be used, first, for payment of all proper expenses of the proceedings for forfeiture and sale, including expenses of seizure, maintenance or of custody, advertising and court costs; and the remaining proceeds from such sale shall be in the property of the Alabama Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services or other entities whose law enforcement agencies or departments are determined by the Alabama Forestry Commission Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries to have been participants in the investigation resulting in the seizure. Such award and distribution shall be made on the basis of the percentage(s) as determined by the State Forester Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries which the respective agencies or departments contributed to the police work resulting in the seizure.

§9-13-272.

"As used in this article, the following words shall have the following meanings:

"(1) CERTIFIED PRESCRIBED BURN MANAGER. An individual who successfully completes a certification program approved by the Alabama Forestry Commission and Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

"(2) PRESCRIBED BURNING. The controlled application of fire to naturally occurring vegetative fuels for ecological, silvicultural, agricultural and wildlife management purposes under specified environmental conditions and the following of appropriate precautionary measures which cause the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and accomplishes the planned land management objectives.

"(3) PRESCRIPTION. A written plan for starting and controlling a prescribed burn to accomplish the ecological, silvicultural, and wildlife management objectives.

§9-13-273.

"(a) No property owner or his or her agent, conducting a prescribed burn in compliance with this article, shall be liable for damage or injury caused by fire or resulting smoke unless it is shown that the property owner or his or her agent failed to act within that degree of care required of others similarly situated.

"(b) Prescribed burning conducted in compliance with this article shall be considered in the public interest if it meets all of the following requirements:

"(1) It is accomplished only when at least one certified prescribed burn manager is supervising the burn or burns that are being conducted.

"(2) A written prescription is prepared and witnessed or notarized prior to prescribed burning.

"(3) A burning permit is obtained from the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry.

"(4) It is conducted pursuant to state law and rules applicable to prescribed burning.

"(c) The Alabama Forestry Commission and Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services may promulgate rules for the certification of prescribed burn managers and guidelines for a prescribed burn prescription.

"(d) The Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry may charge and collect fees and other payments from persons applying for certification or training as a prescribed burn manager as may be necessary to provide training required for certification as a prescribed burn manager and to carry out other administrative aspects of this article; however the expenditure of any fees charged by the Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry under this subsection shall be budgeted and allotted pursuant to the Budget Management Act and Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41.

§9-15-3.

"It shall be the duty of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as to all unused lands owned absolutely by the state to determine which of said lands are most suitable to be devoted to forest culture and to make a list of such lands and file the same in the office of the Department of Finance, and the lands, as shown on such list, shall thereafter, at the direction of the Governor, be devoted to forest culture or to the purposes of state parks under the administration of the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services or the Division of Parks, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as state forests or state parks.

§9-15-30.

"(a) Title to all lands of the swamp and overflowed category or swamp and overflowed indemnity lands, which are, subsequent to September 5, 1951, patented to the State of Alabama by the federal government and recorded in the office of the Secretary of State, shall be vested in the Division of Lands of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

"(b) The Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall utilize such lands for the purpose or purposes which he deems to be most expedient and beneficial. He is hereby authorized to practice forestry upon such lands and may lease such lands for the exploration or extraction of oil, gas or other minerals. Said land shall be supervised and managed in the same manner as other lands which are under the supervision of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources are managed.

"(c) The Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall have the authority, with the approval of the Governor, to sell, lease, exchange or otherwise dispose of these lands as he may deem advisable.

"(d) The revenue derived from the sale, lease, management or utilization of such lands shall be covered into the State Treasury by the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources to the credit of either the State Lands Fund, the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund or State Park Fund as the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources deems appropriate and for the best interest of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

"(e) This section is not intended to and does not transfer or affect title to those lands of this category or nature which have been previously patented to the state and which have been recorded in the office of the Secretary of State. Such titles shall remain vested in the institution or department in which they are at present vested.

§9-15-82.

"(a) This article shall not apply to the transfers of real property between departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, institutions, corporations, or agencies of the state. These transfers may be made by mutual agreements between the chief executive officers of the respective departments with the approval of the Governor. This article shall not apply to the leasing or sale of timber from unused lands under Section 9-15-1 et seq.; to the leasing or sale of timber from school lands and swamp and overflowed lands under Section 9-15-30 et seq.; to the leasing of oil, gas, and other minerals under Section 9-17-60 et seq.; real property sold by the Department of Revenue under tax sales and redemptions; to the sale of property by the Alabama Historical Commission under Section 41-9-249(7); to reversions made under Section 31-4-18; to the sale or conveyance of real property by the Alabama Housing Finance Authority; to the sale or lease of any interest in real property owned for investment purposes by any trust fund administered by the Division of Risk Management; or to property traded in right of way negotiations or sales of excess right of way or uneconomic remnants by the State Department of Transportation. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall have the authority to conduct real property sales in accordance with this article without going through the Lands Division. In so doing, the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry shall comply with all other provisions of this article. This article shall not apply to the granting of easements, rights-of-way for utilities, roads, streets, and sidewalks where there is no competitive market. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, institutions and systems of higher education with separately constituted boards of trustees or those institutions of higher education subject to the supervision and authority of the State Board of Education that have written policies and procedures governing transfers of interest in real property have the authority to conduct real property sales and leases by public auction or publicly sought sealed bid in accordance with procedures in the article for advertising and receiving bids, without going through the Lands Division of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Furthermore, in those cases in which it can be economically justified and it is deemed to be in the best interest of the institution or system and the State of Alabama to offer an interest in real property for sale or lease through a listing with a duly licensed real estate broker who shall publicize the offer in accordance with customary practices or through negotiation after publicly announced requests for proposals to sell or lease the property are made, rather than through a procedure otherwise described in this article, the institution or system may do so, provided that a written declaration setting forth the specific reasons why it is deemed to be in the best interest of the institution or system and the State of Alabama to make specific sale or lease in question in such manner is made by an agent of the institution authorized by the board of trustees or the State Board of Education, and subsequently ratified by the board of trustees or the State Board of Education and the document shall be retained and made a part of the permanent file and shall be open to public inspection. Sales and leases transacted as described in this section shall be deemed to be in compliance with all provisions of this article. Ground leases and leases of facilities by institutions of higher education to social or professional organizations, faculty members, employees, or for institution-related purposes which are designed to enhance the operation of the institution and are declared to be in the best interest of the institution by the board of trustees or the State Board of Education, are exempt from the provisions of this article. Such declaration shall be maintained as aforesaid.

"(b) Except as set out hereinafter, nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply in any manner to the sale or lease of any real property or any interest therein owned in whole or in part by any county or municipal board of education, any county or municipal government or any of their respective boards, agencies, departments, corporations, or instrumentalities including corporations and/or boards in regard to which any county or municipal governing body is a determining or appointing authority. Provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply in any manner to the sale or lease of any real property or interest therein owned by the State of Alabama and the departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, instrumentalities, corporations, and agencies of the state to the United States government, any county or municipal board of education, any county or municipal governing body or any of their respective boards, agencies, departments, corporations, or instrumentalities including corporations and/or boards in regard to which any county or municipal governing body is a determining or appointing authority, subject to the condition that such property or any interest therein is not resold, leased, or otherwise transferred in whole or in part, within three years, to any private person, firm, or corporation without compliance with the provisions of this article. Provided, however, that if the property is to be sold within three years from the date it was acquired, the state shall have the right to repurchase the property at the price it was sold by the state. Provided, further, that all such transactions between the United States government, any county or municipal board of education, any county or municipal government, or any of their respective boards, agencies, departments, corporations, or instrumentalities including corporations or boards and the state or any department, board, bureau, commissions, instrumentalities, corporations, and agencies of the state shall have the approval of the Governor and written notice of such transaction shall be given to the Lands Division of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at least 30 days before the closing of such transaction.

"(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, this article shall not apply to lease-leaseback transactions entered into by institutions and systems of higher education with separately constituted boards of trustees provided that any such institution or system of higher education shall at all times remain the owner of any real property the subject of any such lease-leaseback transaction.

"(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, this section shall not apply to the sale, lease, or transfer of any property owned by a municipal commercial development authority subject to Article 6, commencing with Section 11-54-170, of Chapter 54 of Title 11.

§11-84-2.

"The State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services is hereby authorized and it shall have the power to supply from its forest tree nursery or nurseries such forest tree seedlings and transplants as may be necessary and suitable for reforesting any part or all of any lands so acquired or now owned and so administered by any such county, city, or town and to furnish such technical assistance and supervision as the said State Forestry Commission it may deem necessary for the proper management and administration of such lands and forest thereon free of cost to the counties, cities, and towns; provided, that the respective counties, cities, and towns shall agree to administer such lands in accordance with the practices and principles of scientific forestry as determined by said State Forestry Commission the Division of State Forestry.

§23-1-293.

"(a) The Designating Committee shall consist of a state legislator to be appointed by the Governor, a state Senator appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, a member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, and the heads, or their official designees, of the following seven departments:

"(1) The Alabama State Department of Transportation.

"(2) The Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel.

"(3) The Alabama Historical Commission.

"(4) The Alabama Council on the Arts.

"(5) The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

"(6) The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

"(7) The Alabama Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, Division of State Forestry.

"(b) The Designating Committee shall perform the following duties:

"(1) Designate as scenic byways from the highways recommended to it by the Advisory Council, as provided in subsection (d) of Section 23-1-294.

"(2) Advise the Governor and the Legislature of each designation.

"(3) Adopt procedures for the administration of designating and managing scenic byways.

"(4) Remove the designation of a highway as a scenic byway where it deems appropriate.

§31-9C-2.

"(a) There is created the Alabama First Responder Wireless Commission, which shall be responsible for promoting the efficient use of public resources to ensure that law enforcement, fire and rescue services, and essential public health and emergency support personnel have effective communication services available in emergency situations, and to ensure the rapid restoration of such communication services in the event of disruption caused by natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other public emergency.

"(b) The commission shall consist of the following members:

"(1) The Governor or his or her designee.

"(2) The Director of the Alabama Department of Transportation or his or her designee.

"(3) The Director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety or his or her designee.

"(4) The Director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs or his or her designee.

"(5) The Director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency or his or her designee.

"(6) The Director of the Alabama Department of Homeland Security or his or her designee.

"(7) The Director of the Alabama Department of Corrections or his or her designee.

"(8) The Director of the Alabama Department of Finance or his or her designee.

"(9) The Director of the Alabama Department of Public Health or his or her designee.

"(10) The President of the Alabama Sheriff's Association or his or her designee.

"(11) The President of the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police or his or her designee.

"(12) The President of the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments or his or her designee.

"(13) The Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard or his or her designee.

"(14) The Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources or his or her designee.

"(15) The Administrator of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or his or her designee.

"(16) The President of the Alabama Association of Emergency Managers or his or her designee.

"(17) The President of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs or his or her designee.

"(18) The President of the Alabama Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association or his or her designee.

"(19) The President of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama or his or her designee.

"(20) The President of the Alabama League of Municipalities or his or her designee.

"(21) The Tribal Chair of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians or his or her designee.

"(22) The President of the Alabama Association of 9-1-1 Districts or his or her designee.

"(23) The President of the Alabama Association of Rescue Squads or his or her designee.

"(24) The Chairperson of the Alabama Forestry Commission State Forester or his or her designee.

"(25) The Chairperson of the Federal Communication Commission Region 1 700 Mhz Regional Planning Committee or his or her designee.

"(26) The Statewide Interoperability Coordinator for Alabama or his or her designee.

"(27) The Alabama State Fire Marshall or his or her designee.

"(28) The Director of the Alabama Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Industries Consumer Services or his or her designee.

"(c) The members of the commission shall serve a term of not less than two years.

"(d) By October 1, 2013, the Director of the Alabama Department of Homeland Security shall call a meeting of the commission in the City of Montgomery, Alabama, to elect from its membership a chair, vice chair, and other officers as the director deems necessary. The commission shall adopt rules to govern its proceedings but shall meet at least quarterly. A majority of the membership of the commission shall constitute a quorum for all meetings. A written record shall be maintained of all meetings.

"(e) Members of the commission shall receive reimbursement for travel expenses when approved by the chair and incurred in the performance of their duties but no other compensation.

"(f) The commission may employ or contract for an executive director, who shall serve at the pleasure of the commission and who shall be responsible directly to the commission for the general supervision and execution of the work of the commission. The commission shall fix his or her compensation, with the approval of the Governor, and shall further designate his or her duties and authority.

"(g) The commission may employ, on a part-time or full-time basis, such engineers, attorneys, laborers, technicians, or administrative employees and supervisory or professional personnel as may be necessary or advisable to carry out in the most efficient and beneficial manner the purposes and provisions of this chapter. All permanent full-time employees, other than the executive director, shall be subject to the state Merit System.

§32-6-272.

"(a) The distinctive license plates here provided for shall be prepared by the Commissioner of Revenue and shall be issued through the judge of probate, license commissioner, or other license issuing official of the several counties of the state in like manner as are other motor vehicle license plates or tags and such officers shall be entitled to their regular fees for such service.

"(b) The Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall prepare a list of all members of certified volunteer fire departments and the Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission shall prepare a list of all members of paid or part-paid fire departments. The Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry shall also add to the list any retired volunteer firefighter retired from a volunteer fire department in another state who submits proof to the commission division of eligibility pursuant to this division. The Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry and the Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission shall submit to the judge of probate, license commissioner, or other license issuing official of each county by December 1 of each year the lists of members of fire departments.

"(c) An applicant for a distinctive plate shall present to the issuing official proof of his or her identification, and the firefighter shall be issued the requested number of distinctive license plates or tags upon the payment of the regular license fee for tags, as provided by law, but shall not be required to pay the three dollar ($3) fee. The distinctive license plates or tags so issued shall be used only upon and for personally-owned, private, passenger vehicles, to include station wagons and pick-up trucks, registered in the name of the firefighter making application therefor, and when so issued to the applicant shall be used upon the vehicle for which issued in lieu of the standard license plates or license tags normally issued for such vehicle.

"(d) Any person who joins a volunteer, paid, or part-paid fire department after December 1 of any year or any person who is mistakenly omitted from the lists prepared as described above may obtain a distinctive plate by presenting to the license issuing official proof of his or her membership in a fire department by means of a certificate signed by the chief of the department on a form prescribed by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry.

"(e) Anyone who is proven to have either falsely obtained or certified an individual to obtain a distinctive firefighter license plate shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished according to law.

"(f) A distinctive license plate shall be provided, upon written request, to a widow or widower of either of a paid, part-paid, or a volunteer firefighter who dies in the line of duty. For purposes of this subsection, a death in the line of duty is determined by a circumstance in which a municipal firefighter's death would result in a death benefit under Section 11-43-144.

§32-6-410.

"Upon application to the judge of probate or license commissioner, compliance with motor vehicle registration and licensing laws, payment of regular fees required by law for license tags or plates for private passenger or pleasure motor vehicles, and payment of an additional fee of fifty dollars ($50), owners of motor vehicles who are residents of Alabama shall be issued distinctive "Alabama Forests" license tags and plates. These tags or plates shall be valid for five years, and shall then be replaced with either conventional or personalized tags or plates. Payment of required license fees and taxes for the years during which a new tag or plate is not issued shall be evidenced as provided for in Section 32-6-63. The distinctive "Alabama Forests" license tags or plates shall be produced and designed by the Alabama Department of Revenue with the advice and consent of the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services. The tags or plates shall be issued, printed, and processed like other distinctive and personalized tags or plates provided for in this chapter.

§32-6-411.

"(a) There is hereby established a separate special revenue trust fund in the State Treasury to be known as the "Forest Stewardship Education Fund," whose purpose is to promote the professional management of trees and related resources and to educate the general public regarding the contribution that trees and related resources make to the economy and environmental quality of this state.

"(b) Proceeds from the additional revenues generated by the fifty dollars ($50) for the "Alabama Forests" tags or plates, less administrative costs, shall be submitted monthly by the Alabama state Comptroller to the Forest Stewardship Education Fund. Receipts collected under the provisions of this division are to be deposited in this fund and used only to carry out the provisions of this division. Such receipts shall be disbursed only by warrant of the state Comptroller upon the State Treasurer, upon itemized vouchers approved by the State Forester; provided that no funds shall be withdrawn or expended except as budgeted and allotted according to the provisions of Sections 41-4-80 through 41-4-96 and 41-19-1 through 41-19-12, and only in amounts as stipulated in the general appropriations bill or other appropriation bills. The additional fees represent a charitable contribution from the purchaser to the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services. The funds may be used by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services or may be used through grants from the Alabama Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services to other organizations.

"(c) After the effective date of this act, all funds remaining in the Forest Stewardship Education Fund #0798 shall be transferred to the Forest Stewardship Education Fund of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, as established by this section.

§32-6-413.

"(a) The Alabama Forest Stewardship Education Fund shall be administered by the Alabama Forest Stewardship Education Committee. The committee shall be appointed by the Alabama Forestry Commission Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, upon advice from the State Forester, and composed of the following members:

"(1) One member of the Alabama Association of Consulting Foresters.

"(2) One member of the Alabama Treasure Forest Landowners Association.

"(3) One member of the Urban Forestry Association.

"(4) One member of the Society of American Foresters.

"(5) One member of the Alabama Farmer's Federation.

"(6) One member of the Alabama Forest Owners Association.

"(7) The chair of the Board of Registration for Foresters, or his or her designee.

"(8) The Dean of the Auburn University School of Forestry, or his or her designee.

"(9) The Executive Director of the Alabama Forestry Association, or his or her designee.

"(10) The State Forester, or his or her designee, who shall serve as chair of the committee.

"(b) The first six members who are appointed to the committee shall initially serve two-year terms. At the expiration of the two-year terms, the members will serve staggered three-year terms as designated by the chair of the committee. Each of the members appointed from the association, society, or federation listed in subdivisions (1) through (6) of subsection (a) shall be appointed by the Alabama Forestry Commission Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries from a list of three names submitted by the State Forester.

§36-16-11.

"There is hereby expressly exempt from Sections 36-16-8 to 36-16-10, inclusive, all livestock, animals, farm and agricultural products and property owned or used by, or in connection with, or under control of, all public schools, universities, colleges, trade schools, Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, State Library Service, and all fire control or fire rescue equipment acquired by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services from sources other than state agencies and subsequently donated to volunteer fire departments pursuant to Section 9-3-19; provided, Sections 36-16-8 to 36-16-10, inclusive, shall not apply to the Alabama hospitals for the insane and the Partlow State School and Hospital.

§36-21-8.

"Any person who, at the time of retirement, is in good standing and employed by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, the State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, the Public Service Commission, campus police at a state institution, or any other state agency which requires its officers to be Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission certified as a law enforcement officer or investigator, or by the Department of Public Safety as a State Capitol Police Officer shall receive, as part of his or her retirement benefits, without cost, his or her badge and pistol.

§36-27-59.

"(a) When used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"(1) CORRECTIONAL OFFICER. A full-time correctional officer who is certified as a correctional officer by the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission.

"(2) FIREFIGHTER. A full-time firefighter employed with the State of Alabama, a municipal fire department, or a fire district who has a level one minimum standard certification by the Firefighters Personnel Standards and Education Commission, or a firefighter employed by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services who has been certified by the State Forester as having met the wild land firefighter training standard of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

"(3) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. A full-time law enforcement officer, not covered as a state policeman, employed with any state agency, department, board, commission, or institution or a full-time law enforcement officer employed by a local unit of the Employees' Retirement System under Section 36-27-6 who is certified as a law enforcement officer by the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission.

"(b)(1) Any firefighter, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer covered under the Employees' Retirement System or the Teachers' Retirement System as a Tier I plan member, upon attainment of the requisite years of creditable service or who otherwise qualifies for service or disability retirement, shall be awarded one year of hazardous duty time for every five years of service as a firefighter, a law enforcement officer, or a correctional officer provided that the person has made the additional contribution provided in subdivision (2) or paid the additional contribution required in subsection (c) for each year of service used in determining hazardous duty time for the person. Proportional credit shall be awarded for any period of service less than five years.

"(2) Effective January 1, 2001, and each pay period thereafter, each active employee who is a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer, as defined in subsection (a), shall contribute to the Teachers' or Employees' Retirement System of Alabama six percent of his or her earnable compensation. For all pay dates beginning on or after October 1, 2011, each active employee who is a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer, as defined in subsection (a), except those employees participating pursuant to Section 36-27-6, shall contribute to the Teachers' or Employees' Retirement System of Alabama eight and one-quarter percent (8.25%) of his or her earnable compensation. For all pay dates beginning on or after October 1, 2012, each active employee who is a Tier I plan member and who is a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer, as defined in subsection (a), except those employees participating pursuant to Section 36-27-6, shall contribute to the Teachers' or Employees' Retirement System of Alabama eight and one-half percent (8.5%) of his or her earnable compensation. Any employer participating under Section 36-27-6, by adoption of a resolution, may elect for the increases in employee contributions provided by Act 2011-676 to be withheld from the earnable compensation of employees of the employer.

"(c) Any member of the Employees' Retirement System or the Teachers' Retirement System eligible under subsection (b) may receive credit for his or her eligible prior service provided the member pays to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Employees' Retirement System or the Secretary-Treasurer of the Teachers' Retirement System one percent of his or her current annual earnable compensation or previous year's annual earnable compensation, whichever is higher, for each year of claimed credit within two years of January 1, 2001, except that any firefighter employed by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall make such payment within two years of December 28, 2001. Any member participating in the Employees' Retirement System under Section 36-27-6, who has eligible prior service under this section and who also had no prior eligibility to purchase prior service credit under this subsection, may purchase prior service credit under this section at the same rate provided in subsection (b) within one year of the effective date of his or her enrollment with the Employees' Retirement System or within one year of August 1, 2004. The member may purchase his or her claimed credit in increments of five years, unless the total service credit is less than five years, in which case the service shall be purchased in its entirety. The member shall provide certification from each employing agency, on forms prescribed by the Teachers' or Employees' Retirement System, of each year of claimed service, as a prerequisite to payment under this section.

"(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any Tier II plan member.

§36-30-1.

"(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

"(1) AWARDING AUTHORITY. The State Board of Adjustment, created and existing pursuant to Article 4, Chapter 9 of Title 41.

"(2) COMPENSATION. The money benefits paid on account of injury or death which occurred during the course of employment or activity as a peace officer or firefighter and is in the nature of workers' compensation.

"(3) DEPENDENT CHILD. An unmarried child under the age of 18 years, or one over the age of 18 who is physically or mentally incapacitated from earning.

"(4) DIRECT AND PROXIMATE RESULT OF A HEART ATTACK OR STROKE. Death resulting from a heart attack or stroke caused by engaging or participating in a situation while on duty involving nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical law enforcement, fire suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, emergency medical service, prison security, disaster relief, other emergency medical response activity, or participation in a training exercise which involved nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity; and the heart attack or stroke is suffered while still on that duty after so engaging or participating or not more than 24 hours after so engaging or participating.

"(5) FIREFIGHTER or FIREFIGHTERS. A member or members of a paid or volunteer fire department of a city, town, county, or other subdivision of the state or of a public corporation organized for the purpose of providing water, water systems, fire protection services, or fire protection facilities in the state; and shall include the chief, assistant chief, wardens, engineers, captains, firefighters, and all other officers and employees of such departments who actually engage in fire fighting or in rendering first aid in case of drownings or asphyxiation at the scene of action.

"(6) PEACE OFFICER. All sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, constables, municipal police officers, municipal policemen, state and town marshals, members of the highway patrol, state troopers, Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Enforcement Division agents, enforcement officers of the Public Service Commission, revenue agents, and persons who are required by law to comply with the provisions of the Peace Officers' Minimum Standards, employees of the Board of Corrections, highway camp guards, law enforcement officers of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, all law enforcement officers of the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, livestock theft investigators of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Industries Consumer Services, Capitol security guards, narcotic agents and inspectors of the State Board of Health, any other state, county, or municipal officer engaged in quelling a riot, or civil disturbance, and university police officers.

"(b) For the purposes of this chapter, the following described persons shall be conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent:

"(1) Spouse, unless it be shown that the spouse was voluntarily living apart from the peace officer or firefighter at the time of death, or unless it be shown that the peace officer or firefighter was not in any way contributing to the spouse's support and had not in any way contributed to the spouse's support for more than 12 months next preceding the occurrence of the injury causing death.

"(2) Minor children under the age of 18 years and those over 18 if physically and mentally incapacitated from earning.

"(3) Spouse, child, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, sister, brother, mother-in-law, and father-in-law who were wholly supported by a deceased peace officer or firefighter at the time of his or her death and for a reasonable period of time prior thereto shall be considered his or her dependents and payment of compensation may be made to them as hereinafter authorized.

"(c) If a paid or volunteer firefighter, peace officer, certified police officer, or reserve law enforcement officer is killed while engaged in the performance of his or her duties and there are no designated beneficiaries, then the compensation shall be paid to his or her dependents or partial dependents in the manner prescribed by Section 36-30-3, and if there are none, the compensation shall be paid to his or her non-dependent children, and if there are none, the compensation shall be paid to his or her parents, and if there are none, the compensation shall be paid to the estate of the deceased.

"(d) Any member of the class named in subdivision (3) of subsection (b) who regularly derived part of his or her support from the earnings of the deceased peace officer or the deceased firefighter, as the case may be, at the time of his or her death and for a reasonable time immediately prior thereto shall be considered his or her partial dependent and payment of compensation may be made to such partial dependent as hereinafter authorized.

§36-30-2.

"(a) In the event a peace officer, or a firefighter, or a volunteer firefighter, who is a member of an organized volunteer fire department registered with the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, is killed, either accidentally or deliberately, or dies as a result of injuries received while engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or dies as a direct and proximate result of a heart attack or stroke, his or her beneficiaries or dependents shall be entitled to compensation in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to be paid from the State Treasury as provided in Section 36-30-3, unless such death was caused by the willful misconduct of the officer or was due to his or her own intoxication or his or her willful failure or refusal to use safety appliances provided by his or her employer or his or her willful refusal or neglect to perform a statutory duty or any other willful violation of a law or his or her willful breach of a reasonable rule or regulation governing the performance of his or her duties or his or her employment of which rule or regulation he or she had knowledge. Any peace officer, or any firefighter, or volunteer firefighter whose death results proximately from an injury received while performing his or her duties shall, for the purposes of this article, be deemed to have been killed while in the performance of such duties. If the State Health Officer determines from all available evidence that a volunteer firefighter, who is a member of an organized volunteer fire department registered with the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, has become totally disabled as a result of any injury received while engaged in the performance of his or her fire-fighting duties and the disability is likely to continue for more than 12 months from the date the injury is incurred, then the firefighter shall be entitled to receive disability compensation in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to be paid from the State Treasury as provided in Section 36-30-3. The term total disability shall be interpreted to mean that the injured party is medically disabled to the extent that he or she cannot perform the duties of the job occupation or profession in which he or she was engaging at the time the injury was sustained. The State Health Officer may seek the assistance of any state agency in making the determination of disability and the state agencies shall cooperate with the State Health Officer in such regard. The State Health Officer shall render a decision within 30 days of the time a claim is filed. If such volunteer firefighter disagrees with any officer, he or she may appeal the determination to the State Board of Adjustment in accordance with such board's procedures for such appeals.

"(b) Beginning in calendar year 2009, the compensation amounts payable under this section shall be adjusted on January 1 of each year to reflect any increase during the preceding calendar year in the consumer price index as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The adjustment shall equal the percentage change in the consumer price index during the preceding calendar year.

§36-32-1.

"For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary:

"(1) ALABAMA FIRE COLLEGE. The independent public institution of postsecondary education established by this chapter and operated under the general control and supervision of the Alabama Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission for the purposes of educating, training, and certifying firefighters and trainees in fire prevention and suppression, emergency medical services, and related fields. All assets owned by the Alabama Fire College and the Alabama Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission, upon passage of Act 2012-207, shall remain the property of the state and shall be titled in the name of the Alabama Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission.

"(2) COMMISSION. The Alabama Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission established by this chapter.

"(3) COMMITTEE. The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee of the Alabama Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission established by this chapter.

"(4) FIRE-FIGHTING AGENCY. Any agency charged with the responsibility of detecting, combating, and preventing damage to property and lives by fires, but excluding the Alabama State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

"(5) FIRE PROTECTION PERSONNEL and FIREFIGHTER. Any person permanently employed in fire administration, fire prevention, fire suppression, fire education, arson investigation, and emergency medical services, but excluding employees of the Alabama State Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

"(6) VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER. Any person who is not permanently employed as fire protection personnel or firefighter but who otherwise engages in fire administration, fire prevention, fire suppression, fire education, arson investigation, and emergency medical services.

"(7) TRAINEE. A firefighter who has not been certified by the commission as having met the minimum basic training as set forth by Section 36-32-7 and by the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.

"(8) SCHOOL. Any school located within the State of Alabama whether privately or publicly owned which offers a course in fire protection training or related subjects and which has been approved by the commission.

"(9) STATE. The State of Alabama.

§40-7-25.1.

"(a) For ad valorem tax years beginning on and after October 1, 1978, with respect to taxable property defined in Section 40-8-1, as amended, as Class III property and upon request by the owner of such property as hereinafter provided, the assessor shall base his appraisal of the value of such property on its current use on October 1 in any taxable year and not on its fair and reasonable market value. Failure of an owner of Class III property to request appraisal at current use value shall mean that the property shall be valued on its fair and reasonable market value as otherwise provided in this title until such time as the owner thereof shall request valuation on the basis of current use value. As used in this chapter, "current use value" shall be deemed to be the value of eligible taxable property based on the use being made of that property on October 1 of any taxable year; provided, that no consideration shall be taken of the prospective value such property might have if it were put to some other possible use. It is not the intent of the Legislature to establish in this section any presumption as to the fair and reasonable market value of any property, or any minimum such value. This section shall govern only determination of the current use value of eligible property with respect to which a timely request for appraisal at current use value shall have been made.

"(b) In determining the current use value, on and after October 1, 1981, of eligible taxable property the owner of which shall elect current use valuation of such property hereunder, the assessor shall utilize the standard value method of current use valuation outlined herein. (No new application form need be filed under Section 40-7-25.2 in order for this method to be utilized with respect to property the owner of which, prior to October 1, 1981, shall have elected to have had assessed at the ratio of its assessed value to its current use value, and which property was in fact so assessed; however, the tax assessor of the county in which the property is located may request of the owner such additional information as may be required to compute current use value hereunder.) To utilize the standard value method of current use valuation, the tax assessor shall first determine the character of the property with respect to which current use valuation is elected as agricultural (which characterization shall cover all of the types of real property described in subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of Section 40-8-1 with the exception of real property used for the growing and sale of timber and forest products), forest (meaning real property used for the growing and sale of timber and forest products), residential (as defined in subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of Section 40-8-1, or historic building and site (as defined in subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of Section 40-8-1). With respect to Class III property consisting of parcels of five acres or less, the owners of which shall have elected current use valuation respecting those parcels, the tax assessor may require the submission of additional data as may be necessary to establish that the use being made of the parcels of property in question is agricultural, forest, or residential or historic building and site, as the case may be; such data may include site management plans from the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services, photographs and surveys, or verification of use from the county farm agent or the U.S. Soil Conservation Service.

"(c) With respect to agricultural and forest property, the tax assessor shall determine, utilizing the soil groups defined herein, the productivity rating or ratings applicable to such property based on the following schedule:

Soil Group Agricultural Productivity Rating Forest Productivity Rating 1 Good Good 2 Good Good 3 Average Average 4 Average Average 5 Average Average 6 Poor Average 7 Nonproductive Poor 8 Good Good 9 Poor Average 10 Nonproductive Nonproductive

"The soil groups of agricultural and forest property shall be determined using the following general definitions (to fall within a particular soil group property need not exhibit all the general characteristics described herein for that group, but must generally be describable by a preponderance of those characteristics; the Department of Revenue prior to issuing any regulations further defining soil groups hereunder shall consult with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service and the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service):

"(1) SOIL GROUP #1. Nearly level soils on uplands; mostly deep and well drained (zero to two percent slopes). Soils in this group have no limitations that significantly restrict their use for agriculture. They are well suited to a wide range of plants and may be used for cultivated crops, small grains, hay crops, pasture, or woodland. They have moderate to high available water capacity and are responsive to fertilization.

"(2) SOIL GROUP #2. Nearly level soils on uplands; mostly deep, imperfectly drained (zero to two percent slopes). Soils in this group have a wetness limitation that restricts their use for agriculture. The choice of plants may be restricted on some soils but as a group they are suited for cultivated crops, small grains, hay crops, pasture, or woodland. The wetness limitation can be partially overcome by drainage. The soils have high available water capacity and are responsive to fertilization.

"(3) SOIL GROUP #3. Nearly level soils on uplands; mostly deep, well drained with thick sandy surface layers (zero to five percent slopes). Soils in this group have a low available water capacity that restricts their use for agriculture. The choice of plants is restricted and the soils require special considerations when used for cultivated crops and small grains. Most soils in this group are well suited for hay crops, pasture, and woodland. Special practices must be used to prevent deterioration of soils and to maintain yields if used for cultivated crops. Most soils in this group have low fertility levels that are not easily corrected by fertilization.

"(4) SOIL GROUP #4. Gently sloping to sloping soils on uplands (two to six percent slopes). Soils in this group have moderate limitations that restrict their use for agriculture. The choice of plants may be restricted on some soils but as a group they are well suited for cultivated crops, small grains, hay crops, pasture, or woodland. Limitations can be overcome by conventional practices but the soils require careful management to prevent deterioration and maintain maximum crop yields. Limitations include one or more of the following: Slopes of about two to six percent, a somewhat restricted rooting zone, very slow permeability of the subsoil, and low available water capacity. Most soils in this group are responsive to fertilization.

"(5) SOIL GROUP #5. Sloping to strongly sloping soils on uplands (six to 10 percent slopes). Soils in this group have severe limitations that restrict their use for agriculture. The choice of plants is restricted and the soils require special considerations when used for cultivated crops and small grains. Most soils in this group are well suited for hay crops, pasture, and woodland. Special practices must be used to prevent deterioration of the soils and to maintain yields if used for cultivated crops. Limitations include one or more of the following: Slopes of about six to 10 percent, very slow permeability of the subsoil, shallow rooting zone, and low available water capacity. Some sandy soils in this group have low fertility levels that are not easily corrected by fertilization.

"(6) SOIL GROUP #6. Moderately steep soils on uplands (10 to 15 percent slopes). Soils in this group have very severe limitations that restrict their use for agriculture. The choice of plants is restricted and very careful management is required to prevent soil deterioration, protect crops, and to maintain crop yields. Soils in this group are generally poorly suited for row crops and small grains. They are suited to pasture and woodland but steep slopes restrict their use for hay crops. Limitations include one or more of the following: slopes of about 10 to 15 percent, shallow rooting depth, low available water capacity, and surface stoniness that interferes with tillage. Some sandy soils in this group have low fertility levels that are not easily corrected by fertilization.

"(7) SOIL GROUP #7. Steep soils on uplands (15+ percent slopes). Soils in this group have very severe limitations that make them unsuited for cultivated crops, small grains, or hay crops. They are suited for pasture only to a limited extent and are used mainly for woodland. Limitations include one or more of the following: Slopes greater than 15 percent, shallow rooting depth, low available water capacity, and surface stoniness that seriously interferes with or prohibits tillage.

"(8) SOIL GROUP #8. Bottomland soils that are well suited for cultivated crops, hay crops, and pasture. Subject to occasional water overflow with only slight damage to crops. Soil wetness is normally correctable by surface drainage. Soils in this group are well suited for woodland.

"(9) SOIL GROUP #9. Bottomland soils subject to frequent overflow with severe crop damage. Excessive wetness that persists after drainage restricts the use of these soils to mainly pasture and woodland. Woodland growth potential is excellent but equipment limitations and seedling mortality limit intensive forest management.

"(10) SOIL GROUP #10. Soils in this group have such severe limitations that they are capable of only limited production of vegetative growth. It includes soils that are normally covered with water, soils that are saline, soils that are severely gullied, and have extensive rock outcrops.

"(d) The tax assessor shall then use, on and after October 1, 1981, the following formulas and methods to determine the assessed value of each type of Class III property, with respect to which a current use valuation election has been made:

"(1) AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY. The current use standard value for agricultural property in the state shall be determined in the following manner. The owner of agricultural property desiring to elect current use valuation shall submit to the assessor satisfactory evidence indicating the soil group or groups, as defined herein, applicable to the property in question. Such evidence may, with respect to property located in counties for which countywide soil survey maps are not available from the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, include a soil survey map describing the soils of the property in question prepared by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service or other governmental or private soil mapping agency. The Department of Revenue, utilizing statistics from the Alabama Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, shall determine annually not later than November 15 (except that, for the tax year beginning October 1, 1981, the determination shall be made 30 days after April 20, 1982), for use in assessing property for taxation as of the immediately preceding October 1, the current use standard value for agricultural property as follows:

"a. The state's top three crops in terms of acreage harvested (not including hay of all types) for the most recent calendar year for which statistics are available shall be determined;

"b. Total crop production in the state of the three crops shall be multiplied by the seasonal average price received for these crops in each of the 10 most recent calendar years since 1973 for which statistics are available, and divided by the acreage harvested for each crop for each year, giving the gross return per year per crop (provided, that if corn is determined to be one of the three crops for which such calculation is made, the same formula shall be followed, but utilizing southeastern United States statistics in determining average yields per acre);

"c. From the gross return figures thus obtained, costs of production for each crop (determined for each crop using U.S. Department of Agriculture cost of production data [excluding land costs and general farm overhead costs] or such similar data as may be available to the department) shall be subtracted, giving the net return to land per year per crop;

"d. The net return per year to land per crop shall be totalled, the total being weighted to give effect to the average number of acres of each crop being harvested in the state in the 10 most recent calendar years since 1973 for which statistics are available, such total yielding income flow per acre; and

"e. Income flow per acre shall be capitalized by dividing it by the average of the annual effective interest rates on new federal land bank loans (determined in the same manner as the effective interest rates utilized under Section 2032A(e)(7)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as presently determined pursuant to regulation Section 20.2032A-4(e) issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury) charged by the New Orleans District Federal Land Bank for the 10 most recent calendar years since 1973 for which figures are available as of October 1 of each tax year, such rate to be reduced by four and one-half percent for determinations made for the first tax year to which the provisions of this chapter shall apply; with respect to tax years thereafter, the income flow per acre shall be divided by the average of said annual effective interest rates determined for the 10 most recent calendar years since 1973 for which figures are available, such rate to be reduced by the lesser of four and one-half percent or the difference between such rate and two percent.

"The figure obtained using this formula, increased by 20 percent with respect to property having a productivity rating of good, decreased by 30 percent with respect to property having a productivity rating of poor, and by 75 percent with respect to property having productivity rating of nonproductive, and unchanged with respect to property having a productivity rating of average, shall be the current use standard values per acre of property in agricultural use in the state with respect to which current use valuation is elected by the owner thereof; provided, however, that such current use standard values per acre as computed hereunder shall, for the first tax year for which values are computed pursuant to the standard value method provided herein, be computed without utilizing any statistics or interest rates available for the calendar year 1981, and all calculations hereunder for the tax year beginning October 1, 1981, shall be made as if such 1981 statistics and interest rates were not available; and provided further that for each tax year following the first tax year for which values are computed pursuant to the standard value method provided herein, with respect to property of each productivity rating, the current use standard values per acre shall be adjusted so that such standard values shall not be less than 100 percent of such standard values as computed for the first tax year for which values are computed hereunder, and shall not be more than 100 percent of such standard values as computed for the first tax year for which values are computed hereunder plus, with respect to each such value, amounts equal to three percent of such values multiplied by the number of tax years elapsed since the tax year beginning October 1, 1981. Utilizing the department's determination of standard values, the tax assessor shall enter the standard value or values per acre determined hereunder, multiplied by the number of acres of agricultural property of each productivity rating included in the property with respect to which a current use valuation election is in effect, on his records and proceed to assess the property at that value for ad valorem tax purposes utilizing the assessment ratio or ratios then applicable to Class III property. In making the annual determination provided for in this subparagraph (1), the statistics utilized by the Department of Revenue shall be (except as otherwise provided herein) those most current statistics available to the department (including preliminary statistics) at the time such determinations are made as required herein; the determinations so made by the department shall not be subject to change solely because such statistics are later revised, corrected, or otherwise altered by the Alabama Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the New Orleans District Federal Land Bank.

"(2) FOREST PROPERTY. The current use standard value for forest property in the state shall be determined in the following manner. The owner of timberland desiring to elect current use valuation shall submit to the assessor satisfactory evidence indicating the soil group or groups, as defined herein, applicable to the property in question. Such evidence may, with respect to property located in counties for which county-wide soil survey maps are not available from the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, include a soil survey map describing the soils of the property in question prepared by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service or other governmental or private soil mapping agency. For each calendar year immediately preceding October 1 in each year the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall determine the average pulpwood price per cord received by timber growers in the state by estimating the average pine pulpwood price per cord and the average hardwood pulpwood price per cord received in the state during such year and determining the weighted average of those two average prices, weighting those prices on the basis of the ratio that the approximate number of cords of each of those two types of pulpwood harvested in Alabama bears to the total cords of both of such types of pulpwood harvested in Alabama, and provide that information to the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue shall utilize timber yields of 1.38 cords per acre per year, 1.05 cords per acre per year, .75 cords per acre per year and .6 cords per acre per year for land having good, average, poor, and nonproductive productivity ratings respectively to establish annual yields per acre in cords and multiply the yield per acre of timber property of each rating by the average pulpwood price per cord as provided by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry. From the products thus obtained, 15 percent thereof shall be subtracted therefrom for expenses of ownership and management, and the result of that subtraction shall equal imputed timberland net income per acre for property of each productivity rating. The imputed net income per acre figures for property of each productivity rating shall then be divided by the average of the annual effective interest rates charged on new federal land bank loans (determined as in subsection (d)(1)e. of this section) by the New Orleans District Federal Land Bank for the 10 most recent calendar years since 1973 for which figures are available as of October 1 of each tax year, such rate to be reduced by four and one-half percent for determinations made for the first tax year to which the provisions of this act shall apply; with respect to tax years thereafter, the imputed net income per acre figures shall be divided by the average of said annual effective interest rates for the 10 most recent calendar years since 1973 for which figures are available, such rate to be reduced by the lesser of four and one-half percent or the difference between such rate and two percent. The results thus obtained shall be the current use standard values per acre for property of each of the timber productivity ratings with respect to which current use valuation is elected by the owner thereof; provided, however, that for each tax year following the first tax year for which values are computed hereunder, with respect to property of each productivity rating, the current use standard values per acre shall (a) be adjusted so that such standard values shall not be less than 100 percent of such standard values as computed for the first tax year for which values are computed hereunder, and (b) not be more than 100 percent of such standard values as computed for the first tax year for which values are computed hereunder plus, with respect to each such value, amounts equal to three percent of such values multiplied by the number of tax years elapsed since the tax year beginning October 1, 1981. Utilizing the department's determination of standard values, the tax assessor shall enter such standard values per acre, multiplied by the number of acres of forest property of each productivity rating with respect to which a current use valuation election is in effect, on his records and proceed to assess the property at that value for ad valorem tax purposes utilizing the assessment ratio or ratios then applicable to Class III property. In making the annual determinations provided for in this subparagraph (2), the statistics utilized by the Alabama Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry and the Department of Revenue shall be (except as otherwise provided herein) those most current statistics available to the commission Division of State Forestry and the department (including preliminary statistics) at the time such determinations are made as required herein; the determinations so made by the commission and the department shall not be subject to change solely because such statistics are later revised, corrected, or otherwise altered by the sources thereof, including the commission Division of State Forestry and the New Orleans District Federal Land Bank.

"(3) RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY AND HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND SITES. The current use standard values for individual parcels of residential property and historic buildings and sites in each county in the state shall be determined by each county tax assessor annually utilizing comparative fair and reasonable market values of comparable residential or historic building and site property located in the county, which property cannot ordinarily be used other than as residential property or as an historic building or site, the tax assessor to presume that there is no possibility of the property being used for any other purpose than as residential property or an historic building and site, as if there were a legal prohibition against its use for any other purpose. The Department of Revenue shall promulgate appropriate regulations and orders for use by tax assessors in determining such comparable values. The tax assessor shall enter the standard values so determined on his records concerning property with respect to which a current use valuation election is in effect and proceed to assess the property at that value for ad valorem tax purposes utilizing the assessment ratio or ratios then applicable to Class III property.

"(e) Following notice to the owners of Class III property who shall request appraisal of such property at its current use value of the current use values thereof computed using the current use standard values provided for herein, those owners may, within 30 days after receipt of such notice, submit to the assessor a statement outlining any errors asserted by the owner to have been made in such appraisal. The assessor shall review such statement and determine whether the value contained in the appraisal as submitted satisfactorily represents the current use value of the property with respect to which it is submitted, and he shall promptly forward the statement to the county board of equalization with his written determination and recommendation with respect thereto, for use by the board in carrying out its duties under Section 40-3-16 and hearing any properly filed objection to the current use valuation of any parcel of property computed using the standard current use value formulas provided in this section. Such objections shall be filed and heard, and final determinations of the board respecting such objections and assessments based on current use value appealed from, in the same manner as that provided in Section 40-3-19 regarding assessments, and objections filed with respect thereto, based on fair and reasonable market value.

§41-4-33.1.

"(a) All surplus property owned by the state to be disposed of by sale at auction by the Finance Department shall first be screened by the Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services to determine if such property may be of use by volunteer fire departments for specific use in fire suppression activities. If the Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry finds such property to be useful for such purposes, then, with the approval of the state Finance Director, such property shall be transferred to the Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry. All such property shall be loaned to the volunteer fire departments.

"(b) Any property transferred to a volunteer fire department under the provisions of this section shall be used exclusively for fire protection purposes. The use of any such property other than on the business of the volunteer fire department is expressly prohibited. Any violation of the provision of this section shall be a Class A misdemeanor punishable as provided under Title 13A.

"(c) Final disposition of all properties loaned by the Forestry Commission Division of State Forestry as a result of this section shall rest with the Finance Department of the state.

§41-6A-8.

"(a) There is hereby created and established the Energy Advisory Council. For the purposes of this chapter the term "council" means the "Energy Advisory Council." The council shall be composed of the following:

"(1) Two members of the state Senate designated by the President of the Senate;

"(2) Two members of the state House of Representatives designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

"(3) Four representatives from state institutions of higher learning designated by the Governor, provided, however, that no two representatives shall be from the same institution, and provided, further, that one representative shall be from an historically black institution;

"(4) Three representatives of the citizens of the state, one designated by the Governor, one by the President of the Senate and one by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

"All other members will be appointed by the Governor from nominations submitted as follows:

"(5) One representative of the Oil and Gas Board designated by the board;

"(6) One representative of the Public Service Commission designated by the commission;

"(7) One representative of the natural gas industry, designated by the Governor;

"(8) One representative of the petroleum industry, designated by the Governor;

"(9) One representative from the private investor-owned electric utility industry and one representative from the rural electric cooperatives;

"(10) One representative of the coal industry, designated by the Governor;

"(11) One representative of agriculture to be designated by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and one representative of private, nonindustrial forestry to be designated by the Alabama Forestry Commission Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries;

"(12) One representative of the manufacturing industry, designated by the Associated Industries of Alabama;

"(13) One representative of city government to be designated by the Alabama League of Municipalities;

"(14) One representative of county government to be designated by the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama;

"(15) One representative of registered professional engineers nominated by the Joint Engineers Council of Alabama, Inc.;

"(16) One representative of the Alabama Homebuilders Association to be nominated by the association;

"(17) One representative from an Alabama technical college which offers a coal mine technology program; and

"(18) One representative of the State Department of Education.

"(b) The advisory committee shall set up such subcommittees as it deems necessary.

"(c) The director of the department shall serve ex officio as secretary to the council. The council shall meet as soon as practicable after May 19, 1980, and shall choose from among its members a chairman and a vice-chairman. The council shall meet at least twice annually, at the call of the chairman, or when at least seven members of the council officially and in writing request the secretary of the council to call a meeting.

"(d) Members of the council shall serve without compensation.

"(e) Members of the council shall serve at the pleasure of the official responsible for designating them members, but in no case shall the term of any member exceed four years unless such member is redesignated in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.

§41-23-141.

"(a) There shall also be created within the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs an Alabama Trails Commission Advisory Board which shall advise the commission in the execution of the Alabama Trails Commission's powers and duties under this article. The advisory board of directors shall be composed of the following:

"(1) Two Senators appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

"(2) Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House.

"(3) Three members of the Alabama Recreational Trails Advisory Board.

"(4) One member representing a university in this state appointed by the Governor.

"(5) One member appointed by the State Forestry Commission Forester.

"(6) One member appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.

"(7) One member appointed by the State Health Officer.

"(8) One member appointed by the Executive Director of the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

"(9) One member appointed by the U.S. Forest Service.

"(10) One member who shall be a representative of the power industry appointed by the Alabama Power Company and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Membership shall alternate between the Alabama Power Company and the Tennessee Valley Authority every two years.

"(11) One member appointed by the Alabama Farmers Federation.

"(12) One member appointed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

"(13) One member appointed by the Natural Resources Conservation Services.

"(b) The term of all Alabama Trails Commission Advisory Board appointees shall be for two years unless otherwise specified. The appointees of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives may be reappointed for no more than two consecutive terms. The members of the Alabama Trails Commission Advisory Board shall serve until a successor is appointed.

"(c) A vacancy on the advisory board shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. Members whose terms have expired may continue to serve until replaced or reappointed."

Section 2. (a) On the effective date of this act, the Department of Agriculture and Industries and State Board of Agriculture and Industries shall be renamed the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Services and State Board of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever any act, section of the Code of Alabama 1975, or any other provision of law makes reference, either direct or in context, to the Department of Agriculture and Industries or State Board of Agriculture and Industries, it shall be deemed a reference to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services or State Board of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

Section 3. (a) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, as chief executive officer of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services is hereby empowered and directed to establish the Division of State Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services and to carry out all other provisions of this act.

(b) Unless specifically prohibited or otherwise provided for by this act, the functions and duties of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, with respect to this act, shall be as follows:

(1) To protect, conserve and increase the timber and forest resources of this state and to administer all laws relating to timber and forestry and the protection, conservation and increase of such resources;

(2) To make recommendations on exploration, surveys, studies and reports concerning the timber and forest resources and to publish such thereof as will be of general interest;

(3) To maintain, supervise, operate and control all state forests;

(4) To cooperate with and enter into cooperative agreements and stipulations with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or any other federal officer or department, board, bureau, commission, agency or office thereunto authorized with respect to the protection of timbered and forest-producing land from fire, insects and disease, the acquisition of forest lands to be developed, administered and managed as state forests, the production, procurement and distribution of forest trees and shrub planting stock, the carrying on of an educational program in connection therewith, the assistance of the owners of farms in establishing, improving and renewing wood lots, shelter belts, windbreaks and other valuable forest growths, the growing and renewing of useful timber crops and the collection and publication of data with respect to the timber and forest resources or any other matters as provided in this act;

(5) To make and enforce all regulations and restrictions required for such cooperation, agreements or stipulations;

(6) To carry on a program of education and public enlightenment with respect to the timber and forest and other natural resources of Alabama;

(7) To recommend to the Legislature such legislation as may be needed further to protect, conserve, increase or to make available or useful the timber and forests and other natural resources of Alabama; and

(8) To supervise, direct and manage all activities of the Division of State Forestry and its staff and employees.

Section 4. (a) On the effective date of this act, all powers, duties, and functions and all related records, property, equipment of, employees of, and all contractual rights, obligations of, and unexpended balances of appropriations and other funds or allocations to the State Forestry Commission shall be transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

(b) Except as otherwise provided herein, all persons employed on the effective date of this act with the State Forestry Commission and transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services shall not receive a decrease in salary, benefits, or seniority or otherwise receive a decrease in classification as a result of the transfer to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

(c) Unless otherwise specified, whenever any act, Section of the Code of Alabama 1975, or any other provision of law, including any local law and Amendment 511 of the Constitution of Alabama 1901, makes reference, either direct or in context, to the "Alabama Forestry Commission" or "State Forestry Commission", it shall be deemed a reference to the Division of State Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Services.

(d) There shall be full cooperation of the State Forestry Commission, Department of Agriculture and Industries, all other state agencies and departments, and their officers, directors, and employees, to carry out the provisions of this act. The State Forester shall cooperate with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries in developing a staffing plan during the interim period after passage of this act and before the effective date described in Section 6 of this act.

Section 5. Sections 9-3-2, 9-3-3, and 9-3-16 of the Code of Alabama 1975, is hereby repealed.

Section 6. This act shall become effective on October 1, 2015 following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Forestry Commission

Agriculture and Industries Department

Forestry

Boards and Commissions

Code Repealed

Code Amended