Title 9 — Title 9

of Members. There is hereby created and established a State Forestry Commission, hereinafter referred to as commission, which commission shall be composed of seven members to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Two members shall be appointed fo…

There is hereby created a fund in the State Treasury to be known as the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund. All money derived by the commission shall be deposited to the credit of said fund. History: (Acts 1969, No. 764, p. 1354, §12.)

Automatic Appropriation; Ceiling on Amount; Expenditures; Replenishment; Governor’s Approval. (a) There is hereby established an Emergency Forest Fire, Insect and Disease Fund into which there is automatically appropriated two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) annually at…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Rural Logging Efficiency Act of 2023. (b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) The forest product manufacturing sector is a large contributor to the state’s economy. (2) In order to have a successful …

Purpose. The State Forester shall create the Rural and Community Fire Protection Advisory Committee to represent certified volunteer fire departments and to support the development and improvement of rural and community fire protection throughout the state. History: (Acts 1978, N…

Membership; Vacancies. (a) The Rural and Community Fire Protection Advisory Committee shall be composed of 13 members, all of whom must be volunteer firefighters, to be appointed as follows: (1) One member of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs, who is an active chief of a vol…

Recommendations to State Forester. The advisory committee shall make recommendations to the State Forester regarding the development and improvement of rural and community fire protection throughout this state. The advisory committee shall also make recommendations to the Alabama…

Meetings; Quorum. The committee shall meet semiannually, with the members of the committee setting the date. The State Forester shall have the authority to call special meetings. A majority of members shall constitute a quorum. History: (Acts 1978, No. 515, p. 569, §4.)

Compensation and Expenses of Members. Members of the committee shall not be compensated for their services, but each shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses in the same manner and amount that state employees are reimbursed. Such expenses shall be paid out of Forest…

The State Forester is further authorized to establish a committee and call meetings of such committee to advise him on general forestry matters in Alabama. It shall consist of not more than 15 members. Section 9-3-15 shall apply in its entirety to this committee. History: (Acts 1…

(a) The term volunteer fire department shall apply to and be used to define an organized group of area residents who meet the following requirements for personnel, training, and equipment: (1) The group shall be organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of Alabama as…

Make Donations to Organizations Deemed Public in Nature. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that this section provides assistance to organized volunteer fire departments and organized search, air, and rescue squads including South Alabama Air Rescue, Incorporated, and other …

Squads. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words have the following meanings: (1) DEPARTMENT. A volunteer fire department certified by the State Forestry Commission and meeting the requirements of Section 9-3-17. (2) SQUAD. A volunteer rescue squad located in Ala…

(a) As used in this section, the term “fire control or fire rescue equipment” includes, but is not limited to, a motor vehicle, fire fighting tools, protective gear, breathing equipment, and other vehicles, supplies, and tools used in fire fighting or fire rescue. (b) Any person,…

Expenses of Members. The commission shall, upon its first meeting, which shall be called by the Governor within 60 days after appointment of the membership, elect from its membership a chairman and vice-chairman who shall serve for a period of one year. The vice- chairman shall a…

and Fees; Jurisdiction of Alabama Forestry Commission. (a) A local fire district may not assess any type of fees or dues upon forest land that is treated as timber land for ad valorem tax purposes. (b) The authority and responsibility for the control and coordination of fire prev…

Fund; Grant and Training Programs; Rulemaking Authority. (a) The Alabama Forestry Commission shall establish and administer the Rural and Community Fire Protection Development and Improvement grant program to aid volunteer fire departments in providing rural and community fire pr…

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the State Forester may sell and is responsible for the sale of any vehicles, equipment, and other personal property owned by the commission. These items shall be sold by the State Forester or his or her designee either at public auctio…

If any member of the commission fails to attend three successive meetings of the commission without good and valid cause or excuse or without a leave of absence from the chairman, his office shall be declared vacant by the commission, and the chairman shall notify the Governor of…

The functions and duties of the commission shall be as follows: (1) To protect, conserve and increase the timber and forest resources of this state and to administer all laws relating to timber and forestry and the protection, conservation and increase of such resources; (2) To m…

2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-402, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. It shall be the duty of the Alabama Forestry Commission to appoint with the advice and consent of the Governor a State Forester who shall serve as the executive secretary and administrative o…

The commission shall also appoint, with the advice and consent of the Governor, an Assistant State Forester, who shall hold at least a bachelor degree in forestry with considerable forestry experience. The Assistant State Forester shall serve as the chief assistant to the State F…

AMENDED BY ACT 2026-402, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. The commission shall have its main offices in the City of Montgomery; provided, that it may establish other district or subdistrict offices throughout the state in such places as it may deem advisab…

No member of the commission, during the tenure of his office or within two years thereafter, shall be eligible for appointment as State Forester or for any employment under the commission. History: (Acts 1969, No. 764, p. 1354, §9.)

The commission shall have the power to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations pertaining to all phases of forestry within this state, which rules and regulations when adopted shall have the force and effect of law. All rules and regulations of the Division of Forestry of the …