SENATE BILL: Forest Restoration Act of 2013 (Law'd)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Okay, Ben, are you willing to allow the changes or do you want a vote on it as is?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Okay, Ben, are you willing to allow the changes or do you want a vote on it as is?

I'm willing to change.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Just putting it out there that I will support the version without the 25% survival requirement if it comes to a vote. I'll leave whether or not it comes to a vote to Ben.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Okay, so is someone going to start putting the changes in black and white so they can be added to Ben's amendment?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

It seems like this bill would encourage higher tree density - which isn't always a good thing for some species, and forest fires also become a greater concern.

[Oakvale]

I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea of a survival threshold, but how are we to measure such a thing? Check on the trees twenty years later and give the company a tax break then?

[Franzl]

I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea of a survival threshold, but how are we to measure such a thing? Check on the trees twenty years later and give the company a tax break then?

That could be part of a stimulus package in several years - hiring a few thousand tree checkers...

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I still dislike 2.2; I'm not a fan of tax breaks, and this one would be quite hefty. What about offering a carbon credit?

Not a fan of the system myself, but it might be a better way of doing this bill. How would that look, I mean how would the trees planted be linked in terms of maybe a ratio to the number of credits? Does the administration of the program need to be changed to facilitate that?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Come on NIXY, TALK TO ME NOW!!!!!

[Spamage]

It seems like this bill would encourage higher tree density - which isn't always a good thing for some species, and forest fires also become a greater concern.

True, it does appear that way as you are required to plant more trees than those you logged but you are only forced to do so because as saplings planted trees have higher mortality rates. For those that do survive the ecosystem expands, eventually there aren't enough niches for some of the trees to survive and they ultimately die out as well.  Nature truly has a great way of sorting out itself.

Also in response to Nix, every forest is unique, although the requirements would be similar the true results are that as long as the native species are planted in their correct biome then the forest will continue its unique tradition.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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Sponsor Feedback: Unclear
Status: Pending completion of Amendment 53:14.

[Oakvale]

I support Senator Nix's amendment - it removes the requirement I was most concerned about, the clause requiring a certain percentage of trees to survive to adulthood, but I have to echo the concerns about imposing a uniform requirement for varied ecoysystems. I'm not an ecologist, so I can't speak with any authority about this, so I'm open to persuasion. I'm assuming some studies have been done on this...

[HagridOfTheDeep]

If we're concerned about listing the invasive species, couldn't we start with a base list like the one I provided and just specify that the National Forestry Association has the power to modify the list however it sees fit?

According to about.com, these are some of the major invasive tree species in the country:

Black Locust
Chinaberrytree
Mimosa
Royal Paulownia
Tallow Tree
Tree-of-Heaven
White Poplar

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

We are kind of in procedural limbo here because I am not getting clear directives from bill and amendment sponsors.

Is Ben's amendment going to be modified, or is it going to be withdrawn for something else at this point?

[Spamage]

We are kind of in procedural limbo here because I am not getting clear directives from bill and amendment sponsors.

Is Ben's amendment going to be modified, or is it going to be withdrawn for something else at this point?

Personally, I prefer Nix's... but its not my choice to withdraw Ben's

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I'm willing to withdraw mine in favor of Nix's.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

We are kind of in procedural limbo here because I am not getting clear directives from bill and amendment sponsors.

Is Ben's amendment going to be modified, or is it going to be withdrawn for something else at this point?

Personally, I prefer Nix's... but its not my choice to withdraw Ben's

Does that mean, you are accepting Nix's as friendly?

[Spamage]

We are kind of in procedural limbo here because I am not getting clear directives from bill and amendment sponsors.

Is Ben's amendment going to be modified, or is it going to be withdrawn for something else at this point?

yes
Personally, I prefer Nix's... but its not my choice to withdraw Ben's

Does that mean, you are accepting Nix's as friendly?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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Sponsor Feedback: Friendly
Status: Senators have 24 hours to object to the above amendment.

[Oakvale]

I will vote for this if the amendment passes - however, should we consider imposing a limit on the maximum a company can be fined by the new Forestry Association?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The amendment has been adopted. 

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I will vote for this if the amendment passes - however, should we consider imposing a limit on the maximum a company can be fined by the new Forestry Association?

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

What would the Senator think of as an appropriate amount for this limit?

[Niemeyerite]

I will vote for this if the amendment passes - however, should we consider imposing a limit on the maximum a company can be fined by the new Forestry Association?

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

What would the Senator think of as an appropriate amount for this limit?

I think we should put a minimum limit if you want to impose a maximum.

[Oakvale]

I will vote for this if the amendment passes - however, should we consider imposing a limit on the maximum a company can be fined by the new Forestry Association?

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

What would the Senator think of as an appropriate amount for this limit?

I think we should put a minimum limit if you want to impose a maximum.

Agreed, that's a good idea too.

I don't know what kind of figures you all want to deal with here - naturally we don't want just a slap on the wrist that a corporation can shrug off but I don't think it's good policy to be excessively punitive.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

We don't have a GM here so we need to work together and start throwing out numbers until we find some that six members can agree to. It is crude and inneffective but it is the best we can do.

I'll start the bidding

Maximum - $10 billion
Minimum - $10,000

Don't like them, then start offering your own. That is the point.