HB 553/a
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AN ACT
RELATING TO TIMBER; ENACTING THE TIMBER GRADING ACT;
PROVIDING FOR IN-STATE STRUCTURAL TIMBER GRADING
CERTIFICATES; PROVIDING FOR THE USE OF STRUCTURAL TIMBER THAT
IS GRADED AND LABELED IN-STATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
"Timber Grading Act".
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Timber Grading
Act:
A. "building inspector" means a person certified
by the construction industries division of the regulation and
licensing department and certified by one or more trade
bureaus to conduct inspections of permitted construction work
to ensure that all work performed by a contractor or
homeowner complies with applicable building codes;
B. "certificate" means the document provided to a
person after completion of a program that allows that person
to engage in timber grading and labeling as a grader;
C. "division" means the forestry division of the
energy, minerals and natural resources department;
D. "grader" means the owner of a sawmill or a
person employed by a sawmill who is certified to inspect,
grade and label structural timber at that sawmill; HB 553/a
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E. "label" means a document that provides
information on the grade of structural timber that was milled
in-state;
F. "program" means the structural timber grading
certificate program; and
G. "structural timber" means dimensional lumber,
structural beams and vigas milled in-state.
SECTION 3. DIVISION POWERS AND DUTIES--STRUCTURAL
TIMBER GRADING SYSTEM--STRUCTURAL TIMBER GRADING CERTIFICATE
PROGRAM--STRUCTURAL TIMBER GRADING CERTIFICATE.--
A. The division shall:
(1) create a structural timber grading
certificate program accessible to sawmill owners and the
employees of sawmills to provide training on structural
timber grading and labeling. The program may be provided by
a public post-secondary educational institution;
(2) develop a state-specific system to grade
and label structural timber based on the system used by the
American lumber standard committee;
(3) issue a structural timber grading
certificate to a person who completes the program; and
(4) promulgate rules to carry out the
provisions of the Timber Grading Act, including for the:
(a) awarding of certificates;
(b) training components of the program; HB 553/a
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(c) qualification of program
instructors; and
(d) grounds and processes for the
suspension or revocation of certificates.
B. The division may charge a fee not to exceed two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the issuance of a
certificate.
C. A certificate shall include the name of the
recipient and the date of issuance and shall expire after
five years.
D. The division may suspend or revoke a
certificate for good cause as provided by rule. The grader
shall be given notice of the reason for suspension or
revocation and given the opportunity for a hearing.
Procedures for the notice, hearing and final decision shall
be provided by rule in conformity with the Uniform Licensing
Act. A final agency decision may be appealed as provided in
Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.
SECTION 4. STRUCTURAL TIMBER GRADING LABEL--USE OF
STRUCTURAL TIMBER IN CONSTRUCTION.--
A. A grader shall prepare a label for structural
timber that has been graded and shall provide the label to
the purchaser of the structural timber. The label shall
include the following information:
(1) the name of the grader; HB 553/a
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(2) the name and location of the sawmill
where the timber was processed;
(3) the name of the timber species;
(4) the quantity and type of structural
timber that was graded and labeled;
(5) the location where the timber is to be
used;
(6) the date that the timber was cut and
processed;
(7) the date on which the timber was graded;
and
(8) the moisture content of the timber at
the time of grading.
B. A grader shall only grade and label structural
timber that the grader has processed at the sawmill the
grader owns or is employed by.
C. Structural timber that has been graded and
certified in-state may be used in all residential and
commercial buildings in the state.
D. The end user of structural timber that has been
graded and labeled in-state shall provide the label to the
building inspector in lieu of a grade stamp, and the label
shall be accepted as proof of grading. Timber that has been
graded and labeled in-state is equivalent to structural timber
grade stamped by an accredited lumber grading or inspection HB 553/a
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agency.