| Summary |
Section 1 of the bill creates the timber industry workforce
development program (internship program) in the Colorado state forest
service (forest service) to provide incentives to timber businesses to hire
interns through partial reimbursement of the costs to such businesses of
hiring interns. Not later than January 1, 2023, the forest service is
required to promulgate policies, procedures, and guidelines for
administering the internship program. The bill specifies minimum
components of the policies, procedures, and guidelines.
Subject to available appropriations, the forest service may
reimburse a qualified timber business an amount not to exceed 50% of the
actual cost to the business to employ the intern. The actual cost includes
the wages paid to the intern, a reasonable allocation of fixed overhead
expenses, and all incidental costs directly related to the internship. Based
on the annual appropriation for the internship program, the forest service
shall determine how many internships may be approved, the amount of
reimbursement per internship, and whether a timber business may be
reimbursed for more than one intern in the same fiscal year. However, no
timber business may be reimbursed for more than 3 internships in the
same fiscal year.
Under current law, for fiscal years commencing on or after July 1,
2008, but prior to the fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2020, and for
fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2021, but prior to the fiscal
year commencing on July 1, 2026, all sales, storage, and use of wood
from salvaged trees in Colorado that were killed or infested by mountain
pine beetles or spruce beetles, including but not limited to products such
as lumber, furniture built from the salvaged trees, and wood chips or
wood pellets generated from the salvaged trees, are exempt from the state
sales and use tax.
For fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2022, but prior to
the fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2026, section 2 extends this
exemption to include all sales, storage, and use of wood harvested in
Colorado that is sold on a retail basis, including but not limited to
products such as lumber, furniture built from such wood, wood chips or
wood pellets generated from such wood, and wood from salvaged trees
in Colorado that were killed or infested by mountain pine beetles or
spruce beetles.
For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2021, but
prior to January 1, 2027, section 3 allows a timber business doing
business in Colorado to claim a credit against the state income tax for
20% of the costs incurred by the taxpayer in purchasing mechanized
equipment, certain vehicles, and equipment infrastructure used in the
production of wood products, not to exceed $10,000 for the aggregate of
all such qualifying items purchased in any one income tax year. The bill
specifies additional requirements concerning the administration of the tax
credit.
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