HB 1075 Summary

• Terminates the Eastern Red Cedar Registry Board and transfers its functions to a new Office of the Eastern Red Cedar Registry Coordinator under the Department of Environmental Quality, with coordinator salary ranging from $30,000 to $40,000 annually.

• Creates the Oklahoma Resource Reclamation Act to manage Eastern Red Cedar infestation on private lands, with goals including wildfire prevention, creating defensible zones around structures, and protecting water rights and grazing lands.

• Establishes property tax incentives allowing owners of infested land to receive in lieu tax treatment at $1.00 per acre (capped at 1,000 statewide acres), with reclassification to timber waste category during active cedar removal.

• Creates the Woody Biomass Energy Initiative Council to develop renewable woody biomass energy usage plans, investigate biomass furnace feasibility for state facilities and schools, and seek federal and private funding for implementation.

• Authorizes a 30% income tax credit for qualified biomass fuel property and heating property expenditures made after December 31, 2014, effective through 2024, with five-year carryforward provisions.