The bill establishes two new funds within the state treasury: the Wildfire Suppression Fund and the Wildfire Preparedness Fund. The Wildfire Suppression Fund is designed to provide stable funding for wildfire suppression efforts, including control, technology acquisition, and securing grants. The Wildfire Preparedness Fund aims to support wildfire prevention and preparedness activities, such as training personnel, public education, and resource prepositioning. Both funds will be administered by the energy, minerals, and natural resources department, which will also be responsible for reporting on fund balances and expenditures annually to the legislative finance committee.

Additionally, the bill amends the Forest Conservation Act to include new definitions related to wildfire management, such as "emergency stabilization," "fire suppression damage repair," and "wildfire disaster management." These definitions clarify the scope of activities and resources involved in wildfire response and recovery. The bill also specifies that reimbursements for wildfire expenditures will be deposited into the Wildfire Suppression Fund. The effective date for the provisions of this act is set for July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
introduced version: 68-2-7