A bill that would address the long-standing problem of timber theft in Vermont is headed to the desk of Gov. Phil Scott, now that it has cleared both chambers of the legislature. Senators on Tuesday unanimously passed the legislation, which was given the final stamp of approval in the House on Wednesday.
Sen. Richard Westman, R-Lamoille, who presented H.614 on the floor last week, said he encountered timber theft during his first term in the Legislature. While carpooling home with another lawmaker in 1983, he said, the passenger pointed to a hillside property of a homebound woman in her late 80s and said loggers were working there, even though the woman didn’t know what was happening.
The two lawmakers asked for a check from the mill where the loggers sold the stolen logs, and gave the money back to the elderly landowner.
“She cried,” recalled Westman, who said he was 23 years old at the time of the incident. “She didn’t have very much, but she owned this 60-acre piece of land.”
For decades, unscrupulous loggers have been showing up at Vermonters’ doors to offer their services, but instead taking more trees than the two parties agreed upon. They often leave properties with a mess that landowners have to clean up.
While some victims have won court cases and thousands of dollars in judgments against such loggers, few, if any, have been paid their court-ordered damages. The loggers have continued to operate, and the judicial system in Vermont has failed to stop the activity or find restitution for the victims.
Reasons for this failure include an overburdened court docket and lack of experience prosecuting crimes related to timber theft. Some state officials have recently shown interest in handling the cases, though: Earlier this year, Attorney General Charity Clark brought a civil lawsuit against one logging family on behalf of five victims on the grounds of consumer fraud.
“The issue of people going onto other people’s lands and stealing timber has long been a problem,” Westman told lawmakers. “And it’s a really hard problem to deal with.”
This session, victims of timber theft have called on lawmakers to crack down on the activity. In response, lawmakers introduced H.614, which would categorize timber theft as a type of land improvement fraud. It also includes a number of other measures, such as increasing fines and jail time for timber theft and adding loggers who have stolen timber to an existing home improvement fraud registry.
H.614 would limit the offenders’ employment opportunities. In order to earn money for logging, they would have to work for an unaffiliated company or person who does not have any fraud violations against them.
Finally, the person would need to either disclose their conviction to their new employer or post a $250,000 surety bond with the Attorney General’s Office.
Some who want to see change are still skeptical that the measures included in the bill would effectively change loggers’ operations. Loggers who have stolen timber in the past have ignored court orders and requirements from state officials for years with impunity.
To address enforcement, the bill would require the Attorney General’s Office to craft a report, due to the Legislature in January 2025, detailing the current enforcement mechanisms that apply to timber theft and potential ways to improve enforcement.
H.614 is expected to head to the governor’s desk for his signature or veto in the coming days.
Correction: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized Wednesday’s legislative action.
