Wood that bears the indelible blue mark of Colorado’s pine beetle infestation is a step closer to becoming a little cheaper.
House Bill 1269, which would grant a sales tax exemption on beetle-kill timber or wood products, won approval in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.
Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, said the bill would create a market for beetle-kill wood.
That, in turn, would lead to more of the dead trees being removed from Colorado’s forests, reducing wildfire risk.
“We’re at a critical stage,” Gibbs said. “You look at 1.5 million acres of dead lodgepole pine, and you ask, ‘What are we going to do with this?’ It turns a negative into a positive.”
In previous hearings, some lawmakers had questioned the estimated $1 million the bill would cost state coffers. The bill survived in a House committee by a single vote.
It passed out of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 5-1, Gibbs said.
It now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee. John Ingold, The Denver Post
