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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10523 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10523

       To establish and carry out a Federal Wildfire Relief Fund.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2024

  Mr. Curtis introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
       To establish and carry out a Federal Wildfire Relief Fund.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Wildfire Relief Act of 
2024.''

SEC. 2. DECLARATION.

    The President, acting through the Administration of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, shall be required to declare a wildfire as 
a catastrophic wildfire, for relief to be available under this Act.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL WILDFIRE RELIEF FUND.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency shall establish and carry out a Federal Wildfire 
Relief Fund, under which the Administrator shall ensure--
            (1) The adjudication of claims for compensation for damage 
        by a qualifying wildfire under subsections (d), (e), and (f);
            (2) Compensation is provided in accordance with subsections 
        (d), (e), and (f); and
            (3) Review, periodically and after the occurrence of a 
        catastrophic wildfire, of the compliance of electric utilities 
        (as defined by section 3(4) of the Public Utility Regulatory 
        Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602(4))) seeking to access the 
        Electricity Transmission Liability Shield.
    (b) Claims for Qualifying Wildfires.--
            (1) Authority of administrator.--The Administrator shall, 
        on behalf of the United States, investigate, consider, 
        ascertain, adjust, determine, grant, deny, or settle any claim 
        for money damages asserted by structure owners, insurers, and 
        covered utilities.
            (2)  Independent claims manager.--Upon a determination by 
        the Administrator that a particular wildfire qualifies as a 
        catastrophic wildfire, the Administrator may appoint an 
        independent claims manager to determine the appropriate 
        compensation for each claim arising from such catastrophic 
        wildfire and to distribute compensation.
    (c) Covered Utility Compliance With a Federal Wildfire Mitigation 
Plan or State Approved Wildfire Mitigation Plan.--To qualify for 
compensation under this Act, the Administrator shall determine whether 
a claimant meets the following requirements:
            (1) Federal or state approved wildfire mitigation plans.--
        The covered utility for which compensation is being sought was 
        in compliance with State approved wildfire mitigation plans or 
        a Federal wildfire mitigation plan established under subsection 
        (i).
            (2) Adequate insurance.--The damaged structure for which 
        compensation is being sought was adequately insured for not 
        less than 50 percent of the value of the structure.
    (d) Compensation of Structure Owners.--
            (1) Verification process.--The Administrator shall 
        establish a process for the verification of structure damage, 
        insurance coverage, and other relevant information.
            (2)  Claim amount.--The amount of each claim shall not 
        exceed the amount of the total structure, less--
                    (A) the amount awarded to a structure owner for 
                such damages by a State wildfire recovery fund; and
                    (B) the amount awarded to a structure owner for 
                such damage by a private insurer or covered utility.
            (3)  Compensation limits.--Structure owners shall be 
        compensated up to 25 percent of their uninsured losses, subject 
        to a 50 percent maximum of their insured losses up to 
        $1,000,0000.
            (4)  Deadline for compensation.--Not later that 180 days 
        after the date on which a claim is submitted under this Act, 
        the Administrator shall determine and fix the amount of 
        compensation, if any, to be paid for the claim.
            (5) Advance payments.--At the request of a claimant, the 
        Administrator may make 1 or more advance or partial payments 
        before the final settlement of a claim, subject to a 
        preliminary approval and a requirement that repayment shall be 
        required if the claim is rejected.
    (e) Compensation of Insurers.--An insurer of any structure owner 
receiving compensation under this section may receive compensation of 
up to 10 percent of the insurer's losses on insured structures meeting 
Federal or State approved wildfire mitigation plans under subsection 
(c).
    (f)  Compensation of Covered Utilities.--
            (1) Recovered.--A covered utility servicing any structure 
        receiving compensation under this section may receive 
        compensation from the Fund of such amount as the Administrator 
        determines for the losses incurred by the covered utility for 
        the payment of structure owner claims.
            (2)  Limitation to certain claimants.--Compensation 
        authorized under this subsection shall not exceed 10 percent of 
        the value of the covered utility's gross assets.
    (g) Voluntary Participation.--
            (1) In general.--Participation in and receipt of 
        compensation from the Fund shall be voluntary for structure 
        owners and covered utilities.
            (2) Waiver of claims.--To receive compensation under this 
        section, structure owners or insurers shall be required to 
        waive claims against a covered utility in regards to damages 
        stemming from the unique catastrophic wildfire event.
    (h) Limitation of Liability.--Subject to compliance with Federal 
and State approved wildfire mitigation plans, liability for damages 
relating to qualifying catastrophic wildfires shall be limited for 
covered utility operators to no greater than 10 percent of the value of 
the gross assets of the covered utility.
    (i) Wildfire Mitigation Operating Procedures.--
            (1) State approved operating plans.--Covered Utility 
        Wildfire Mitigation and Operating Procedures approved by the 
        state will be the standard in that state for access to the 
        Fund.
                    (A) Covered utilities may submit their approved 
                state plan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
                    (B) Covered utilities that have significant or 
                prolonged periods of noncompliance with submitting 
                their state approved wildfire mitigation operating 
                procedure will be ineligible to access the liability 
                shield.
            (2) Federal energy regulatory commission technical 
        conference.--
                    (A) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall 
                establish a process by which covered utilities can get 
                their utility wildfire mitigation operation plan 
                approved if their state does not already have a 
                mitigation plan.
    (j) Federal Jurisdiction Over Claims Related to Compensation for 
Qualifying Catastrophic Wildfires.--Claims sought outside of the 
parameters of the Fund, such as covered claims available under State 
law under which a State court would have jurisdiction shall be the 
exclusive jurisdiction of a regionally appropriate Federal claims 
court.

SEC. 4. OTHER FEDERAL WILDFIRE RELIEF FUND LIMITATIONS.

    (a) Exclusion.--The Fund shall not compensate for claims requesting 
compensation for personal injuries or wrongful deaths.
    (b) Habitable Dwellings.--The Fund shall compensate only for the 
loss or damage of physical dwelling or business structures that were 
deemed suitable for habitation or use at the time of the fire.
    (c) No Cap.--Compensation of damages via the Fund shall not be 
subject to a cap for any particular qualifying catastrophic wildfire 
related to repayment of a covered utility.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Catastrophic wildfire.--The term ``catastrophic 
        wildfire'' means a wildfire occurring on or after the effective 
        date of this Act that damages or destroys more than 500 
        residential or commercial structures or causes more than 
        $50,000,000 in damages, or as otherwise determined by the 
        Administrator.
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or if 
        a manager is appointed, the manager.
            (3) Covered utility.--The term ``covered utility'' means 
        any electric utility or company that otherwise owns, operates, 
        or maintains electric transmission, distribution, generation, 
        or energy storage equipment.
                                 <all>
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