The statutes of this state limiting the time for bringing either civil or criminal actions shall not apply to any action brought by the state for trespass upon any of its lands, or for violating any of the terms of the permit under which timber is removed from state lands, or for failure to pay the state for all the timber removed under any such permit, or to any criminal prosecution instituted under this chapter. Any civil action brought under this chapter may, at the election of the attorney general, be brought in any county in this state.