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2019 SESSION

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SB 1469 Timber theft; accounting, penalty.

Introduced by: A. Benton "Ben" Chafin | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

Timber sales; theft; accounting; penalty. Provides that a person who buys and removes timber from a landowner's property is guilty of timber theft if he fails to pay the landowner by the date specified in their agreement or, if there is no written agreement, within 60 days of removing the timber. The bill provides that a person who is convicted of timber theft is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and shall be ordered to pay three times the value of the timber removed in addition to any penalties imposed by the court. The bill provides that, following the passing of the payment deadline, a buyer's failure to pay within 10 days of receiving a demand for payment shall constitute prima facie evidence of the buyer's intent to violate the timber theft provision. An exception exists for a purchaser who made payment to a person he believed in good faith to be the rightful owner of the timber.

The bill requires a timber buyer, in certain cases, to furnish at the request of the landowner an accounting of each load removed from the property, with all supporting documentation. A person who fails to provide such information, or who provides false information, is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

The bill extends from 30 days to 90 days the period during which the owner of land on which a person encroached and cut timber has the right to notify such trespasser and to appoint a timber estimator to determine the amount of damages and directs the State Forester to assist landowners and law-enforcement agencies with regard to reported cases of timber theft.

Finally, the bill excludes from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act those records of the Department of Forestry that are composed of confidential commercial or financial information supplied to the Department in the course of a timber theft investigation. This bill is identical to HB 2411.


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