Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to 1st edition.
The previous edition transferred the Division of Forest Services and the Forestry Council from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS). Second edition also recodifies relevant provisions currently in GS Chapter 113 (Conservation and Development), GS Chapter 113A (Pollution Control and Environment), and GS Chapter 143B, in GS Chapter 106 (Agriculture), and makes conforming statutory changes in various Chapters of the General Statutes to effectuate the transfer. Amends GS 106-22 to include forest maintenance, protection, restoration, and fire prevention as duties of the Commissioner and Board of Agriculture, as well as the authority to acquire property for performance of those duties when approved by the Governor and the Council of State. Amends new GS 143A-65.1, clarifying that DACS has charge of the work of forest maintenance, forest fire prevention, reforestation, and the protection of lands and water supplies, as well as the care of state forests. Specifies that the transfers become effective July 1, 2011, with funds transferred as net of any changes enacted by the section.