(a) There shall be established a fund designated as the Tree Fund, which shall be a sub-fund of the Local Road Construction and Maintenance Fund and separate from the General Fund of the District of Columbia. Monies deposited into the Tree Fund shall not revert to the General Fund of the District of Columbia at the end of any fiscal year or at any other time, but shall be continually available for the uses and purposes set forth in subsection (b) of this section pursuant to an act of Congress. Donations, fees and penalties collected pursuant to this chapter or any rules established to implement this chapter shall be deposited into the Tree Fund. All receipts shall be deposited as soon as practicable. The Director shall maintain the fund in coordination with the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia.

(b)(1) The Fund shall be used to:

(A) Plant trees on public space and on District-owned land, including parks and school property; and

(B) Provide income-contingent subsidies to assist District residents with costs related to the removal and replacement of hazardous trees.

(2) The Fund may be used:

(A) In coordination with the District Department of the Environment, to support tree planting on private land;

(B) To conduct survival checks of replacement trees planted on public or private land; and

(C) For any associated costs incurred by the District in administering this chapter.

(b-1) The Mayor shall ensure that trees planted pursuant to this section are checked for survival at appropriate intervals to evaluate canopy replacement and inform future planting decisions.

(c) The Chief Financial Officer shall submit to the Mayor and to the Council an annual statement of all receipts and disbursements for the Fund.

(d) Private voluntary donations to the Fund shall be tax deductible for purposes of District income and franchise taxes.

(June 12, 2003, D.C. Law 14-309, § 107, 50 DCR 888; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 21(a), 52 DCR 2638; Sept. 18, 2007, D.C. Law 17-20, § 6102, 54 DCR 7052; July 1, 2016, D.C. Law 21-133, § 2(d), 63 DCR 7134.)

This section is referenced in § 8-651.02.

D.C. Law 15-354, in subsec. (a), validated a previously made technical correction.

D.C. Law 17-20 rewrote subsec. (b), which had read as follows: “(b) The Fund shall be used to plant trees and for any associated costs incurred by the District in administering this chapter, and may include providing income contingent subsidies that assist District residents with the removal costs of hazardous trees in accordance with regulations provided for in § 8-651.03.”

Section 7012 of D.C. Law 21-160 repealed § 4(b) of D.C. Law 21-133. Therefore the changes made to this section by D.C. Law 21-133 have been given effect.

Applicability of D.C. Law 21-133: § 4(b) of D.C. Law 21-133 provided that the change made to this section by § 2(d) of D.C. Law 21-133 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 6102 of Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-74, July 25, 2007, 54 DCR 7549).

Short title: Section 6101 of D.C. Law 17-20 provided that subtitle K of title VI of the act may be cited as the “Hazardous Tree Removal Subsidies for Low-Income Homeowners Amendment Act of 2007”.