Moratorium. –

Between July 1, 2025, and the date upon which the carbon sequestration programs study commission submits its report pursuant to RSA 79:36, no owner of standing timber in New Hampshire on a parcel of more than 500 acres shall enter into, or exercise any unexercised right pursuant to, any agreement or other arrangement to commit any part of such timber or its annual growth to the sequestration of carbon emissions through enrollment or registration with a carbon credit offset program or otherwise. Any such exercise, agreement, or other arrangement shall be void. Any subdivision of an owner's land of 500 acres or less after the effective date of this act shall be subject to the prohibitions in this paragraph. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair any such owner's existing, legally binding commitment of such timber or annual growth to the sequestration of carbon emissions. If an owner reports, enrolls, registers, or otherwise commits any annual growth to or with a carbon credit offset program the owner shall report such report, enrollment, registration, or other commitment to the department of revenue administration and the tax assessor of the town or city in which the annual growth took place and shall provide documentation establishing that such commitment of annual growth is not subject to the prohibitions in this paragraph. In the application of this paragraph, the owner shall have the burden of establishing that such timber or annual growth is the subject of such a legally binding commitment as of the effective date of this section.