A Senate committee is expected to amend a bill on the licensing of foresters Tuesday to make it clear that landowners don’t need to be licensed to practice forestry on their own property.
H.355 would require anyone practicing commercial forestry to obtain a license from the state. But confusion arose Monday over whether that would apply to landowners.
The license would be available only to those with a degree in forestry or related fields, or who have performed enough work in the field to demonstrate competence, or who have some combination of both credentials.
Senators say they intend to bring an amendment to the floor Tuesday afternoon that would clarify that property owners are exempt when practicing forestry on their own holdings of less than 40 acres.
Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, who reported the bill on the floor on behalf of the Government Operations Committee, said the issue arose because of the way the bill was worded.
Landowners are exempt from a prohibition on practicing forestry without a license, according to the bill — a way of putting it that Bray said essentially created a double negative. The bill was written in accordance with legislative conventions, but to avoid further confusion senators preferred to state affirmatively that landowners may practice without a license, Bray said later in an interview.
Senators are expected to vote on the amendment, and the bill itself, Tuesday afternoon.
