Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission Act of 2021

II Calendar No. 427 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2150 [Report No. 117–121] To prevent catastrophic wildland fires by establishing a commission to study and recommend wildland fire prevention, mitigation, suppression, man- agement, and rehabilitation policies for the Federal Government, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 21, 2021 Mr. ROMNEY (for himself and Mr. KELLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs JUNE 21, 2022 Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To prevent catastrophic wildland fires by establishing a com- mission to study and recommend wildland fire preven- tion, mitigation, suppression, management, and rehabili- tation policies for the Federal Government, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 2150 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildland Fire Mitiga- 2 tion and Management Commission Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 6 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 7 gress’’ means— 8 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 9 Resources of the Senate; 10 (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri- 11 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 12 (C) the Committee on Homeland Security 13 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 14 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 15 the Senate; 16 (E) the Committee on Natural Resources 17 of the House of Representatives; 18 (F) the Committee on Agriculture of the 19 House of Representatives; 20 (G) the Committee on Homeland Security 21 of the House of Representatives; 22 (H) the Committee on Appropriations of 23 the House of Representatives; and 24 (I) the Committee on Ways and Means of 25 the House of Representatives. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 2150 RS (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 1 means the commission established under section 2 3(a). 3 (3) HIGH-RISK INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.— 4 The term ‘‘high-risk Indian tribal government’’ 5 means an Indian tribal government, during not 6 fewer than 4 of the 5 years preceding the date of en- 7 actment of this Act— 8 (A) that received fire management assist- 9 ance under section 420 of the Robert T. Staf- 10 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 11 Act (42 U.S.C. 5187); or 12 (B) land of which included an area for 13 which the President declared a major disaster 14 for fire in accordance with section 401 of that 15 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 16 (4) HIGH-RISK STATE.—The term ‘‘high-risk 17 State’’ means a State that, during not fewer than 4 18 of the 5 years preceding the date of enactment of 19 this Act— 20 (A) received fire management assistance 21 under section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford 22 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 23 (42 U.S.C. 5187); or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 2150 RS (B) included an area for which the Presi- 1 dent declared a major disaster for fire in ac- 2 cordance with section 401 of that Act (42 3 U.S.C. 5170). 4 (5) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 5 ‘‘Indian tribal government’’ has the meaning given 6 the term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 7 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 8 U.S.C. 5122). 9 (6) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 10 means— 11 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; 12 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 13 (C) the Secretary of Homeland Security, 14 acting through the Administrator of the Federal 15 Emergency Management Agency. 16 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 17 ing given the term in section 102 of the Robert T. 18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 19 Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 20 (8) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 21 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 22 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res- 23 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 2150 RS SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall 3 jointly establish a commission to study and make rec- 4 ommendations to improve Federal policies relating to— 5 (1) the prevention, mitigation, suppression, and 6 management of wildland fires in the United States; 7 and 8 (2) the rehabilitation of land in the United 9 States devastated by wildland fires. 10 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 11 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 12 composed of— 13 (A) each of the Secretaries (or designees), 14 who shall jointly serve as the co-chairpersons of 15 the Commission; 16 (B) not greater than 8 representatives of 17 Federal departments or agencies, to be ap- 18 pointed by the Secretaries, including— 19 (i) not fewer than 1 representative 20 from each of— 21 (I) the Bureau of Land Manage- 22 ment; 23 (II) the National Park Service; 24 (III) the Bureau of Indian Af- 25 fairs; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 2150 RS (IV) the Forest Service; 1 (ii) a representative of or liaison to 2 the Mitigation Framework Leadership 3 Group of the Federal Emergency Manage- 4 ment Agency; 5 (iii) a representative to the National 6 Interagency Coordination Center, which is 7 part of the National Wildfire Coordination 8 Group; 9 (iv) a representative from 1 of the co- 10 ordinating agencies of the Recovery Sup- 11 port Function Leadership Group; and 12 (v) if the Secretaries determine it to 13 be appropriate, a representative of any 14 other Federal department or agency, such 15 as the Department of Energy, the Environ- 16 mental Protection Agency, or the Depart- 17 ment of Defense; and 18 (C) not greater than 17 non-Federal stake- 19 holders with expertise in wildland fire prepared- 20 ness, mitigation, suppression, or management, 21 who collectively have a combination of back- 22 grounds, experiences, and viewpoints and are 23 representative of rural, urban, and suburban 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 2150 RS areas, to be appointed by the Secretaries, in- 1 cluding— 2 (i) not fewer than 1 State hazard 3 mitigation officer of a high-risk State (or 4 a designee); 5 (ii) with preference given to represent- 6 atives from high-risk States and high-risk 7 Indian tribal governments, not fewer than 8 1 representative from each of— 9 (I) a State department of natural 10 resources, forestry, or agriculture or a 11 similar State agency; 12 (II) a State department of energy 13 or a similar State agency; 14 (III) a county government, with 15 preference given to counties at least a 16 portion of which is in the wildland- 17 urban interface; and 18 (IV) a municipal government, 19 with preference given to municipalities 20 at least a portion of which is in the 21 wildland-urban interface; 22 (iii) with preference given to rep- 23 resentatives from high-risk States and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 2150 RS high-risk Indian tribal governments, not 1 fewer than 1 representative from each of— 2 (I) the public utility industry; 3 (II) the property development in- 4 dustry; and 5 (III) Indian tribal governments; 6 and 7 (iv) any other appropriate non-Fed- 8 eral stakeholders, which may include the 9 private sector, with preference given to 10 non-Federal stakeholders from high-risk 11 States and high-risk Indian tribal govern- 12 ments. 13 (2) STATE LIMITATION.—Each member of the 14 Commission appointed under clauses (i) and (ii) of 15 paragraph (1)(C) shall represent a different State. 16 (3) DATE.—The appointments of the members 17 of the Commission shall be made not later than 60 18 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 19 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Commis- 21 sion shall be appointed for the life of the Commis- 22 sion. 23 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis- 24 sion— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 2150 RS (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com- 1 mission; and 2 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 3 the original appointment. 4 (d) MEETINGS.— 5 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 6 after the date on which all members of the Commis- 7 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 8 the first meeting of the Commission. 9 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Commission shall meet 10 not less frequently than once every 30 days. 11 (3) TYPE.—The Commission may hold meet- 12 ings, and a member of the Commission may partici- 13 pate in a meeting, remotely through teleconference, 14 video conference, or similar means. 15 (4) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 16 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 17 lesser number of members may hold hearings. 18 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 19 (a) REPORT ON RECOMMENDATIONS TO MITIGATE 20 AND MANAGE WILDLAND FIRES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 22 the date of the first meeting of the Commission, the 23 Commission shall submit to the appropriate commit- 24 tees of Congress a report describing recommenda- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 2150 RS tions to prevent, mitigate, suppress, and manage 1 wildland fires, including— 2 (A) policy recommendations, including rec- 3 ommendations— 4 (i) to maximize the protection of 5 human life, community water supplies, 6 homes, and other essential structures, 7 which may include recommendations to ex- 8 pand the use of initial attack strategies; 9 (ii) to facilitate efficient short- and 10 long-term forest management in residential 11 and nonresidential at-risk areas; 12 (iii) to manage the wildland-urban 13 interface; 14 (iv) to manage utility corridors; and 15 (v) to rehabilitate land devastated by 16 wildland fire; 17 (B) policy recommendations described in 18 subparagraph (A) with respect to any rec- 19 ommendations for categorical exclusions from 20 the requirement to prepare an environmental 21 impact statement or analysis under the Na- 22 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 23 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 2150 RS (C) policy recommendations for modern- 1 izing and expanding the use of technology, in- 2 cluding satellite technology, to prevent, miti- 3 gate, suppress, and manage wildland fires, in- 4 cluding any recommendations with respect to— 5 (i) the implementation of section 1114 6 of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, 7 Management, and Recreation Act (43 8 U.S.C. 1748b–1); or 9 (ii) improving early wildland fire de- 10 tection; 11 (D) an assessment of Federal spending on 12 wildland fire-related disaster management, in- 13 cluding— 14 (i) a description and assessment of 15 Federal grant programs for States and 16 units of local government for pre- and 17 post-wildland fire disaster mitigation and 18 recovery, including— 19 (I) the amount of funding pro- 20 vided under each program; 21 (II) the effectiveness of each pro- 22 gram with respect to long-term forest 23 management and maintenance; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 2150 RS (III) recommendations to im- 1 prove the effectiveness of each pro- 2 gram, including with respect to— 3 (aa) the conditions on the 4 use of funds received under the 5 program; and 6 (bb) the extent to which ad- 7 ditional funds are necessary for 8 the program; 9 (ii) an evaluation, including rec- 10 ommendations to improve the effectiveness 11 in mitigating wildland fires, of— 12 (I) the Building Resilient Infra- 13 structure and Communities program 14 under section 203 of the Robert T. 15 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 16 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 17 5133); 18 (II) the Pre-Disaster Mitigation 19 program under that section (42 20 U.S.C. 5133); 21 (III) the Hazard Mitigation 22 Grant Program under section 404 of 23 that Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 2150 RS (IV) Hazard Mitigation Grant 1 Program post-fire assistance under 2 sections 404 and 420 of that Act (42 3 U.S.C. 5170c, 5187); 4 (iii) an assessment of the definition of 5 ‘‘small impoverished community’’ under 6 section 203(a) of the Robert T. Stafford 7 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 8 Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(a)), specifically— 9 (I) the exclusion of the percent- 10 age of land owned by an entity other 11 than a State or unit of local govern- 12 ment; and 13 (II) any related economic impact 14 of that exclusion; and 15 (iv) recommendations for Federal 16 budgeting for wildland fires; 17 (E) any recommendations for matters 18 under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) spe- 19 cific to— 20 (i) forest type, vegetation type, or for- 21 est and vegetation type; or 22 (ii) State land, Tribal land, or private 23 land; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2150.RS S2150 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 14 •S 2150 RS (F)(i) a review of the national strategy de- 1 scribed in the report entitled ‘‘The National 2 Strategy: The Final Phase in the Development 3 of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Man- 4 agement Strategy’’ and dated April 2014; and 5 (ii) any recommendations for changes to 6 that national strategy to improve its effective- 7 ness. 8 (2) SPECIFIC POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.—To 9 the ma [Text truncated for display. 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