To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a periodic wildfire assessment, and for other purposes.

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3532 To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a periodic wildfire assessment, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. O’HALLERAN (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, and Mr. PANETTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a periodic wildfire assessment, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. WILDFIRE PREPARATION, RESPONSE, AND RE- 3 COVERY ASSESSMENT. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 5 (1) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 6 Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 7 Service and in consultation with the Secretary of the 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3532.IH H3532 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3532 IH Interior, shall, not less than once every 5 years, 1 complete a wildfire assessment that includes the 2 analysis described in paragraph (2). 3 (2) CONTENTS OF ANALYSIS.—The assessment 4 required under paragraph (1), shall, to the max- 5 imum extent practicable, with respect to the pre- 6 ceding 5 years, include an analysis of— 7 (A) the direct costs of wildfire response, 8 preparation, and recovery, including— 9 (i) wildfire mitigation activities; 10 (ii) wildlife suppression activities; 11 (iii) insured private property losses 12 due to wildfire; 13 (iv) uninsured private property losses 14 due to wildfire; 15 (v) damage due to wildfire and the 16 necessary repairs related to utility infra- 17 structure, including shutoffs; 18 (vi) damage and loss of timber and 19 other agricultural resources due to wildfire; 20 (vii) damage due to wildfire and the 21 necessary restoration of archeological sites; 22 (viii) evacuations and emergency shel- 23 ters; 24 (ix) labor; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3532.IH H3532 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3532 IH (x) human health, including death, in- 1 jury, and illness; 2 (xi) necessary infrastructure and sta- 3 bilization repairs; 4 (xii) damage due to wildfire and the 5 necessary rehabilitation of ecosystem serv- 6 ices, including watershed impairment, 7 vegetation, and soil impacts; and 8 (xiii) damage due to wildfire and the 9 necessary restoration to wildlife habitat; 10 (B) the indirect costs of wildfire response, 11 preparation, and recovery, including— 12 (i) diminished tax revenue; 13 (ii) lost business revenue, including 14 supply chain impacts; and 15 (iii) property devaluation and housing 16 market impacts; 17 (C) whether the costs described in sub- 18 paragraphs (A) and (B) have been or will be 19 paid by— 20 (i) the Federal government; 21 (ii) State or territory governments; or 22 (iii) county or local governments; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3532.IH H3532 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3532 IH (D) a comparison between the analysis 1 under such assessment and the analysis under 2 the preceding assessment (as applicable); and 3 (E) any challenges to ascertaining the 4 costs described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and 5 (C), including unavailable data. 6 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 years 7 after the date of the enactment of this section, and once 8 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture, act- 9 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall submit 10 to the President, the Committee on Agriculture of the 11 House of Representatives, and the Committee on Agri- 12 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate the most 13 recently completed assessment required under subsection 14 (a)(1). 15 (c) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out an assessment 16 required under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of Agri- 17 culture may collaborate with relevant Federal agencies, 18 State and local governments, research institutions, utility 19 companies and cooperatives, and non-profit organizations. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3532.IH H3532 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS