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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4424 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>

                                                       Calendar No. 624
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4424

     To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land 
 managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with 
   an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western 
  United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of 
cultural burning by Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 23, 2024

Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

                           November 21, 2024

               Reported by Mr. Manchin, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
     To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land 
 managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with 
   an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western 
  United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of 
cultural burning by Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National 
Prescribed Fire Act of 2024''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows:</DELETED>

<DELETED>Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
<DELETED>Sec. 2. Findings.
<DELETED>Sec. 3. Definitions.
                     <DELETED>TITLE I--USE OF FUNDS

<DELETED>Sec. 101. Prescribed fire accounts.
<DELETED>Sec. 102. Policies and practices.
<DELETED>Sec. 103. Collaborative prescribed fire program.
      <DELETED>TITLE II--FACILITATING IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTREACH

<DELETED>Sec. 201. Cooperative agreements and contracts.
<DELETED>Sec. 202. Human resources.
<DELETED>Sec. 203. Liability of certified prescribed fire managers.
<DELETED>Sec. 204. Prescribed fire claims fund study.
<DELETED>Sec. 205. Environmental review.
<DELETED>Sec. 206. Prescribed fire education program.
                     <DELETED>TITLE III--REPORTING

<DELETED>Sec. 301. Annual reports to the National Fire Planning and 
                            Operations Database.
<DELETED>Sec. 302. Annual implementation report.

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in 2018, the Forest Service Fire Modeling 
        Institute determined that 63,070,000 acres of National Forest 
        System land and 171,200,000 acres of other forest land were at 
        high or very high risk of experiencing a wildfire that would be 
        difficult to suppress;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) according to the National Interagency 
        Coordination Center, between 2010 and 2019, in the United 
        States, on average--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) 64,000 wildfires burned 6,847,000 
                acres annually; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) 100,000 prescribed fires burned only 
                3,672,000 acres annually;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) indigenous communities have used cultural 
        burning to manage landscapes since time immemorial;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) according to the National Interagency 
        Coordination Center, the annual cost of suppressing wildfires 
        in a State with an active prescribed burning program is less 
        than 1 percent of the annual cost of suppressing wildfires in a 
        State without an active prescribed burning program, despite 
        each State having the same number of wildfires;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) according to a 2021 Environmental Protection 
        Agency report assessing the air quality and health impacts of 
        prescribed fire compared to wildfire, smoke impacts from 
        prescribed fire were found to be smaller in magnitude and 
        shorter in duration;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) according to a 2019 study conducted by 
        Stanford University, smoke from prescribed fires exposes 
        children to fewer negative health effects than the detrimental 
        smoke generated by wildfires;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) according to a 2015 study published in 
        Ecology, trees that have not been burnt by a low-intensity fire 
        are unusually prone to bark beetle attacks, and between 2000 
        and 2010, bark beetles killed the majority of trees on 
        32,000,000 acres of the 193,000,000 acres of National Forest 
        System land;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) as of March 1, 2023, there were--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) 38 prescribed fire councils in 34 
                States; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) 113 prescribed burn associations in 19 
                States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) according to the 2021 National Prescribed Fire 
        Use Survey Report--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) 41 States regulate prescribed fires by 
                issuing burn permits;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) 23 States offer prescribed burn 
                manager certification courses to facilitate responsible 
                burning on private land;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) only 5 States (Vermont, Massachusetts, 
                Missouri, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) lack laws to 
                reduce liability associated with the responsible use of 
                prescribed fire; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) only 8 States (Florida, Montana, 
                Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, Georgia, South Carolina, 
                and Washington) have laws that use a standard of gross 
                negligence for determining liabilities for the 
                responsible use of prescribed fire; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) as of September 30, 2019, 31 States have a 
        formal process to track the number of acres treated for 
        forestry purposes using prescribed fire.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' 
        means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) public lands (as defined in section 
                103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
                1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702));</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) units of the National Park 
                System;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) units of the National Wildlife Refuge 
                System;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) land held in trust by the United 
                States for the benefit of Indian Tribes or members of 
                an Indian Tribe; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) National Forest System land.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Landscape-scale prescribed fire plan.--The 
        term ``landscape-scale prescribed fire plan'' means a decision 
        document prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
        Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) covers a unit of the National Forest 
                System, a Bureau of Land Management district, or a 
                subunit thereof;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) analyzes the site-specific 
                environmental consequences of prescribed fire on the 
                land described in subparagraph (A); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) obviates the need for subsequent 
                decisions pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
                Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to 
                the unit, district, or subunit described in 
                subparagraph (A).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) National forest system.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--The term ``National 
                Forest System'' has the meaning given the term in 
                section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
                Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 
                1609(a)).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Exclusion.--The term ``National Forest 
                System'' does not include the national grasslands and 
                land utilization projects administered under title III 
                of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et 
                seq.).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Prescribed fire.--The term ``prescribed fire'' 
        means a fire deliberately ignited to burn wildland fuels in a 
        natural or modified state--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) under specified environmental 
                conditions that are intended to allow the fire to be 
                confined to a predetermined area and produce the 
                fireline intensity and rate of spread required to 
                attain planned resource management 
                objectives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) that does not include pile burning; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) in accordance with applicable law, 
                including applicable regulations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Secretary; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Secretary of 
                Agriculture.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior.</DELETED>

                <DELETED>TITLE I--USE OF FUNDS</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 101. PRESCRIBED FIRE ACCOUNTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Definition of Secretary Concerned.--In this section, 
the term ``Secretary concerned'' means--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
        an account established by this section for the Department of 
        Agriculture; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the Secretary, with respect to an account 
        established by this section for the Department of the 
        Interior.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Establishment of Accounts.--There are established in 
the Treasury of the United States the following accounts:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) The Prescribed Fire account for the Department 
        of Agriculture.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) The Prescribed Fire account for the Department 
        of the Interior.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
to be appropriated to the accounts established by subsection (b) a 
total of $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year 
thereafter.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Presidential Budget Requests.--For fiscal year 2024 
and each fiscal year thereafter, each Secretary concerned shall submit, 
in the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support 
of the budget of the relevant Department for each fiscal year (as 
submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of 
title 31, United States Code)--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) a request for amounts in the Wildland Fire 
        Management appropriation account of the Secretary concerned to 
        carry out the activities described in subsection (e); 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) an accounting of costs with respect to 
        prescribed fire, by region of the National Forest System or the 
        Department of the Interior, as applicable, for the previous 3 
        years, including--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the amount spent on prescribed 
                fire;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the number of acres treated with 
                prescribed fire; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the number of personnel dedicated to 
                carrying out prescribed fire.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Use of Funds.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Mandatory activities.--The Secretary concerned 
        shall use amounts in the accounts established by subsection 
        (b)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) to develop, in coordination with 
                State, local, and Tribal governments, a prescribed fire 
                operational strategy for each region of the National 
                Forest System or the Department of the Interior, as 
                applicable, specifically for using funding provided 
                through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
                (Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 429) and other additional 
                sources of funding, that describes--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the fire deficit by 
                        region;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) staffing and funding 
                        needs;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) plans to apply prescribed 
                        fire; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) regional targets to 
                        demonstrate an increase in prescribed fire with 
                        respect to--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) existing programs; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) activities carried 
                                out using additional funding 
                                sources;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) with respect to prescribed fires--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) to carry out necessary 
                        environmental reviews;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) to conduct outreach to the 
                        public, Indian Tribes and beneficiaries, and 
                        adjacent landowners;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) to conduct any required pre-
                        ignition cultural and environmental surveys; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) to implement prescribed fires 
                        on Federal land;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) to hire additional, dedicated 
                personnel and procure additional equipment, including 
                unmanned aerial systems equipped with an aerial 
                ignition system, to implement a greater number of 
                prescribed fires;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) to fund an increase in staffing 
                (including in-person and hybrid staff) in order to 
                provide training for the implementation of prescribed 
                fire and management of smoke;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) to conduct post-prescribed fire 
                activities, such as--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) reseeding to prevent the 
                        spread of invasive species; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) recurring application of fire 
                        to maintain desired conditions;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) to conduct monitoring for safety and 
                fire effects on ecosystem resilience and risk 
                mitigation; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) to use key performance indicators, 
                including--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the annual number of acres of 
                        National Forest System land or public lands, as 
                        applicable, where completed treatment 
                        effectively mitigates wildfire risk or 
                        maintains or restores ecological integrity with 
                        respect to--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) land in the wildland-
                                urban interface; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) land not in the 
                                wildland-urban interface;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the number of acres in a 
                        desired condition as a result of fire 
                        management objectives, as determined by the 
                        Secretary concerned;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) the number of acres treated 
                        with prescribed fire and the quantity of 
                        emissions from prescribed fires;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) the number of acres where 
                        treatment results in changes in fire regime 
                        condition class; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) the number of burns conducted 
                        by Indian Tribes or Indigenous-led 
                        organizations or pursuant to an agreement with 
                        an Indian Tribe or Indigenous-led 
                        organization.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Joint coordination.--The Secretaries shall 
        coordinate to jointly develop a common data management and 
        analysis system for planning and post-treatment 
        accountability.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Authorized activities.--The Secretary 
        concerned may--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) assist State, Tribal, local 
                government, or private prescribed fire programs--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) to establish a training or 
                        certification program for teams comprised of 
                        citizens or local fire services to conduct 
                        prescribed fires on private land, consistent 
                        with any standards developed by the National 
                        Wildfire Coordinating Group or State prescribed 
                        fire standards;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) to enable additional fire 
                        managers and apparatus, whether provided by the 
                        local resources of an agency, private 
                        contractors, nongovernmental organizations, 
                        Indian Tribes, local fire services, or 
                        qualified individuals, to assist in 
                        implementing a prescribed fire;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) in funding the completion of 
                        the claims funds study under section 204; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) to finance the implementation 
                        of a prescribed fire on State, Tribal, or 
                        private land and any post-prescribed fire 
                        activities as are determined to be necessary by 
                        the Secretary concerned;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) provide technical or financial 
                assistance to a prescribed fire council or prescribed 
                burn association for the establishment or operation of 
                the council or association; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) provide funding for the collaborative 
                prescribed fire program established under section 
                103.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Prioritization of Funding.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary concerned shall coordinate with Federal, State, and 
        local agencies, Indian Tribes, and nongovernmental 
        organizations, including through the Wildland Fire Leadership 
        Council, to establish prioritization criteria for expending 
        funds under this section for each activity described in 
        subsection (e).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Requirement.--In establishing criteria under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall give priority to a 
        project that is--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) implemented across a large contiguous 
                area;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) cross-boundary in nature;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) in an area that is--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) threatening to, or located in, 
                        the wildland-urban interface and identified as 
                        a priority area in a statewide forest resource 
                        assessment or Community Wildfire Protection 
                        Plan; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) identified as important to 
                        the protection of a Tribal trust resource or 
                        the reserved or treaty rights of an Indian 
                        Tribe;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) on acres at high or very high risk of 
                experiencing a wildfire that would be difficult to 
                suppress;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) in an area that is designated as 
                critical habitat and in need of ecological restoration 
                or enhancement that can be achieved with the aid of 
                prescribed fire; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) supportive of potential operational 
                delineations or a strategic response zone.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 102. POLICIES AND PRACTICES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Beginning with the first fiscal year that begins after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and for each of the 9 fiscal years 
thereafter, the Secretaries shall conduct prescribed fires on Federal 
land such that the total number and combined size of all prescribed 
fires on Federal land is 10 percent greater than the total number and 
combined size of all prescribed fires on Federal land in the preceding 
fiscal year.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 103. COLLABORATIVE PRESCRIBED FIRE PROGRAM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish within the 
Department of the Interior a collaborative prescribed fire program 
(referred to in this section as the ``program'') to provide financial 
assistance to eligible entities, including units of Federal land 
management agencies within the Department of Agriculture and the 
Department of the Interior, Indian Tribes, State or local governments, 
nongovernmental organizations, and prescribed fire councils, for the 
implementation of proposals to conduct prescribed fires in priority 
landscapes in accordance with applicable existing policies.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Proposal Criteria.--To be eligible for selection for 
the program, a proposal shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) identify and prioritize planned prescribed 
        fires for a 6-year period within a landscape;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) establish annual accomplishment targets for 
        prescribed fires under the proposal;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) be developed through a collaborative 
        process;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) be implemented across multiple 
        jurisdictions;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) provide an estimate of--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the amount of annual Federal financial 
                assistance necessary to implement the proposal; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the amount of non-Federal funds that 
                would be leveraged to implement the proposal;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) describe benefits to sensitive wildlife, 
        invertebrate, and plant species of concern; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) describe any established record of successful 
        collaborative planning or use of prescribed fire by the entity 
        submitting the proposal.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Selection Criteria.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Secretary shall select proposals for financial 
assistance under the program that, as determined by the Secretary, 
would likely treat the most strategic acres at high or very high risk 
of experiencing a wildfire that would threaten critical values and be 
difficult to suppress.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Limitations.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Number of projects.--The Secretary may not 
        provide more than $20,000,000 in total funding under the 
        program in any fiscal year.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Project funding.--The Secretary may not 
        provide more than $1,000,000 to any 1 project under the program 
        in any fiscal year.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Project performance.--The Secretary shall 
        cease funding any proposal that, for 3 consecutive years, fails 
        to meet the annual accomplishment targets that were established 
        under subsection (b)(2).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Experiential Training Exchanges.--Not less frequently 
than once every 3 years, a recipient of financial assistance under the 
program shall provide to local entities and non-local entities an 
experiential, group training event, such as Prescribed Fire Training 
Exchange, relating to prescribed fires.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Reporting.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Project reporting.--A recipient of financial 
        assistance under the program shall annually submit to the 
        Secretary a report summarizing, at a minimum--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the number of acres mitigated with 
                prescribed fire by the recipient under the 
                program;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the amount of Federal and non-Federal 
                funds used by the recipient under the program; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the status and progress of any 
                collaborative relationships associated with the 
                project.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Program reporting.--Not later than 2 years 
        after the first fiscal year in which funding is made available 
        to carry out prescribed fires under the program, and every 2 
        years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
        on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 
        on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report 
        on the program.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2024 through 2033, to remain available until 
expended.</DELETED>

 <DELETED>TITLE II--FACILITATING IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTREACH</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 201. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Definition of Eligible Entity.--In this section, the 
term ``eligible entity'' means--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) a State;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) an Indian Tribe;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) a county or municipal government;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) a fire district;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) a nongovernmental organization; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) a private entity.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Authorization.--The Secretaries may enter into a 
cooperative agreement or contract with an eligible entity to authorize 
the eligible entity to coordinate, plan, or conduct a prescribed fire 
on Federal land.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Subcontracts.--A State, Indian Tribe, or county that 
enters into a cooperative agreement or contract under subsection (b) 
may enter into a subcontract, in accordance with applicable contracting 
procedures of the State, Indian Tribe, or county, to conduct a 
prescribed fire on Federal land pursuant to that cooperative agreement 
or contract.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Agent of Secretary.--A cooperative agreement or 
contract entered into under subsection (b) may authorize the eligible 
entity to serve as the agent for the Secretary or the Secretary of 
Agriculture in coordinating, planning, or conducting a prescribed 
fire--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) on Federal land; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) across an area that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) includes adjacent landowners; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) includes Federal land.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Applicable Law.--A prescribed fire conducted under 
this section shall be carried out on a project-to-project basis under 
existing authorities of the applicable agency responsible for the 
management of the Federal land.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Preservation of Decision Authority.--No project 
authorized under this section may be undertaken without the prior 
written approval of the Secretary or the Secretary of 
Agriculture.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (g) Long-Term Contracts.--A cooperative agreement or 
contract with an eligible entity under subsection (b) may authorize the 
eligible entity to conduct a series of prescribed fires on Federal land 
for a period of not longer than 10 years.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 202. HUMAN RESOURCES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Prescribed Fire Workforce.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of 
        Congress that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in order to develop a prescribed fire 
                workforce, training in prescribed fire should be 
                developed with an emphasis on ecological outcomes and 
                wildfire risk reduction and outside of the parameters 
                of suppression-oriented training;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Secretaries should hire additional 
                employees and provide or support training and 
                development activities, including through partnerships 
                with educational institutions, nongovernmental 
                organizations, States, and Tribal entities, to increase 
                the number of skilled and qualified practitioners 
                dedicated to prescribed fire with smoke management 
                skills;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) qualifications or certifications in 
                prescribed fire should be broad to support an all-
                hands, all-lands approach to burning that is respectful 
                of diverse cultural traditions and other experiential 
                learning; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) training in prescribed fire may be 
                regionally focused and should include topics of--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) cultural fire history and 
                        traditions, which should be provided by or with 
                        the consent of Indian Tribes or Indigenous-led 
                        organizations;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) fire ecology; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) smoke management.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Overtime payments.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Purpose.--The purpose of the amendment 
                made by subparagraph (B) is to allow the Secretaries to 
                use additional new budget authority for wildfire 
                suppression for the cost of overtime payments to 
                employees implementing a prescribed fire.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Amendment.--Section 
                251(b)(2)(F)(ii)(II) of the Balanced Budget and 
                Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 
                901(b)(2)(F)(ii)(II)) is amended--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in item (bb), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) in item (cc), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) by adding at the end the 
                        following:</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    ``(dd) overtime 
                                        payments to employees 
                                        (including individuals employed 
                                        in carrying out a contract 
                                        between an Indian Tribe and the 
                                        Department of Agriculture or 
                                        the Department of the Interior) 
                                        implementing a prescribed fire 
                                        (as defined in section 3 of the 
                                        National Prescribed Fire Act of 
                                        2024).''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Increasing workforce retention.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Purpose.--The purpose of this 
                paragraph is to require the Secretaries to carry out 
                activities to retain sufficient workforce to implement 
                prescribed fires and to remain competitive with other 
                non-Federal firefighting programs.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Hazard pay.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) In general.--Each Federal 
                        employee in any classification series carrying 
                        out work completed during prescribed fire, as 
                        identified by the Secretaries, shall be 
                        entitled to be paid the appropriate 
                        differential under subsection (d) of section 
                        5545 of title 5, United States Code, as if such 
                        employee was covered by such 
                        subsection.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) Regulations.--The Director of 
                        the Office of Personnel Management may 
                        prescribe regulations to carry out this 
                        subparagraph.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Other benefits.--The Secretaries shall 
                implement measures to promote retention among Federal 
                wildland firefighters of any classification series 
                carrying out work related to wildland fire and 
                prescribed fire, such as portal-to-portal pay, 
                quarterly bonuses, or other benefits.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) Incentive payments for fuels 
                assignments.--To attract and retain a skilled fuels 
                workforce, the Secretaries shall implement pay 
                incentives that account for and offset the more 
                competitive pay options offered through wildfire 
                suppression assignments, including such options as 
                bonus pay, per diem payments, or grading-up fuels 
                positions.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Dedicated prescribed fire task forces.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--The Secretaries shall--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) not later than 180 days after 
                        the date of enactment of this Act, establish at 
                        least 1 multiparty task force of Federal 
                        employees and non-Federal entities within each 
                        Geographic Area Coordination Center to plan, 
                        lead, and support prescribed fire across 
                        ownership boundaries that are priorities at the 
                        landscape, region, State, or Federal level; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) support each task force 
                        established under clause (i) by assigning a 
                        dedicated Federal employee--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) to aid necessary 
                                administrative functions relating to 
                                partnership agreements; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) to coordinate 
                                prescribed fire across ownership 
                                boundaries.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Term of employment for federal task 
                force members.--Federal employees assigned under 
                subparagraph (A) may be hired as permanent, full-time 
                employees using direct hiring authority by the 
                Secretaries.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Cooperative agreements.--The 
                Secretaries may enter into 1 or more cooperative 
                agreements to carry out this paragraph.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Conversion of seasonal firefighters to 
        permanent employees.--The Secretaries may noncompetitively 
        convert a Federal seasonal employee to a Federal permanent 
        employee if--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the listed job duties of the employee 
                include wildland firefighting;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the employee received a rating of at 
                least ``Fully Successful'' in each of the performance 
                appraisals of the employee for the 5 most recent 
                seasons of Federal employment of the employee; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the job duties and performance 
                standards of the position into which the permanent 
                employee converts emphasize implementing prescribed 
                fires.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Employment of formerly incarcerated 
        individuals.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--The Secretaries, in 
                consultation with the Attorney General and State 
                departments of corrections, shall seek to provide 
                career pathways, training, and wraparound support 
                services, including through partnerships with the Corps 
                Network, to individuals described in subparagraph (B) 
                to work as prescribed fire practitioners.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Individuals described.--An individual 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) is an individual that--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) has been convicted in any 
                        court of a criminal offense, other than arson, 
                        and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for 
                        that offense; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) during the term of 
                        imprisonment described in clause (i), served on 
                        a wildland firefighting crew or received other 
                        comparable training.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) Underrepresented employees.--To further 
        address the gender disparity in wildland firefighting, the 
        Secretaries shall support the development and participation of 
        women and nonbinary individuals pursuant to Executive Order 
        13988 (42 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating to preventing and 
        combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or 
        sexual orientation) in leadership opportunities, mentorship 
        networks, and training in prescribed fire, including the Fire 
        Leadership for Women course and Women-In-Fire Training Exchange 
        and other related opportunities--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) to develop strong leaders;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) to increase the number of women 
                overseeing prescribed fires; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) to enhance the longevity and success 
                of women in wildland fire management.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) Veterans crews.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--The Secretaries, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
                shall seek--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) to provide a career pathway to 
                        individuals described in subparagraph (B) to 
                        work as prescribed fire practitioners; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) to establish crews composed 
                        predominantly of veterans to conduct prescribed 
                        fires.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Individuals described.--An individual 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) is an individual who--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) served in the active military, 
                        naval, or air service; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) was discharged or released 
                        under conditions other than 
                        dishonorable.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) Inter-tribal organizations.--The Secretaries 
        may provide funding to Tribal, Indigenous-led, and inter-Tribal 
        organizations, including the Intertribal Timber Council, to 
        provide training and workforce development opportunities in 
        wildland fire.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Additional Training Centers.--Subject to the 
availability of appropriations, not later than 2 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture (and the Secretary of Defense in the case of a 
center located on a military installation), shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) establish, operate, and facilitate a 
        prescribed fire training program or center in each Geographic 
        Area Coordination Center region where such a program or center 
        does not exist on the date of enactment of this Act;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) support the establishment of an Indigenous-led 
        prescribed fire and cultural burning training center operated 
        by an Indian Tribe or partnership of Indian Tribes;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) establish a virtual prescribed fire training 
        center; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) establish and operate a training center for 
        managing wildfire for resource objectives.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Competencies for Firefighters.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Updates to required competencies for specific 
        firefighter positions.--The Secretaries, in coordination with 
        the Fire Executive Council, the National Association of State 
        Foresters, and the Intertribal Timber Council, shall task the 
        National Wildfire Coordinating Group to add a requirement for 
        an individual to obtain the necessary certification to serve 
        in--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the position of a single-resource 
                boss; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) any other positions determined to be 
                necessary by the Secretaries.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Additional experience.--The Secretaries shall 
        require significant additional experience, gained exclusively 
        during a prescribed fire, to obtain a certification described 
        in paragraph (1).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Indemnity of Federal and Tribal Employees.--Except in 
the case of gross negligence, a Federal employee, an employee 
contracted by an Indian Tribe, or an Indian Tribe as a contracting 
entity, acting pursuant to a contract under the Indian Self-
Determination Act (25 U.S.C. 5321 et seq.) overseeing a prescribed 
fire, if that prescribed fire escaped or caused loss or damage--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) shall not be subject to civil proceedings, 
        except in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, United 
        States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Indemnity of Other Cooperators.--Except in the case of 
gross negligence, an individual or entity involved in a prescribed fire 
on Federal land or under Federal authority, if that prescribed fire 
escaped or caused loss or damage--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) shall not be subject to civil proceedings, 
        except in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, United 
        States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Indemnity for Prescribed Fires.--Except in the case of 
gross negligence, an individual or entity involved in a prescribed fire 
on any land, if that prescribed fire escaped, caused harm or damage, or 
required suppression resources--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) shall not be liable for or subject to recovery 
        of Federal fire suppression costs and costs of investigation 
        incurred by Federal agencies; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) shall not be liable for monetary damages for 
        loss or damage to any natural resource or timber values on 
        Federal land.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (g) Enhancing Interoperability Between Federal and Non-
Federal Practitioners.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Qualification databases and dispatch 
        systems.--The Secretaries shall establish a collaborative 
        process to create mechanisms for non-Federal-agency fire 
        practitioners, including those without jurisdictional 
        authority, to be included in wildfire resource ordering and 
        reimbursement processes.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Partnership agreements.--The Secretaries 
        shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) develop partnership agreements for 
                prescribed fire with all relevant State, Federal, 
                Tribal, university, and nongovernmental entities that 
                choose to be included in resource ordering and 
                reimbursement processes under paragraph (1);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) create agreements and structures 
                necessary to include non-Federal-agency and other 
                nontraditional partners in direct work with Federal 
                agencies to address prescribed fires; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) treat any prescribed fire practitioner 
                meeting the National Wildfire Coordinating Group 
                standards as eligible to be included in statewide 
                participating agreements.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 203. LIABILITY OF CERTIFIED PRESCRIBED FIRE 
              MANAGERS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Definition of Covered Law.--In this section, the term 
``covered law'' means a State law that establishes the standard of care 
in a civil suit against a certified prescribed fire manager for an 
escaped prescribed fire to be ``gross negligence'', if the certified 
prescribed fire manager--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) obtained a permit for the prescribed 
        fire;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) conducted the prescribed fire consistent with 
        a written prescribed fire plan;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) was at the site of the prescribed fire for the 
        duration of the prescribed fire;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) ensured adequate personnel, equipment, and 
        firebreaks were in place during the prescribed fire, in 
        accordance with the written prescribed fire plan; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) complied with any applicable Federal, Tribal, 
        State, and local laws.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Memorandum of Agreement.--Subject to the availability 
of appropriations, in accordance with recommendation A3C of the special 
report of the Western Governors' National Forest and Rangeland 
Management Initiative, dated June 2017, the Secretary may enter into a 
memorandum of agreement with the National Governors' Association to 
host a conference, at which governors can meet to discuss the benefits 
of addressing liability protection and possible incentives for States 
to enact a covered law.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Funding.--The Secretary may provide not more than 
$1,000,000 under the memorandum of agreement under subsection 
(b).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 204. PRESCRIBED FIRE CLAIMS FUND STUDY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Commissioning of Study.--Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination 
with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall 
complete a study of the feasibility, design, and effectiveness of a 
national prescribed fire claims fund (or similar mechanism) to increase 
the pace and scale of prescribed fire across all lands by multiple 
users and for multiple objectives.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Elements.--The study required under subsection (a) 
shall include an analysis of the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) The feasibility at the national level of a 
        claims fund or other mechanism to supplement, replace, or 
        backstop private insurance for prescribed fire and adverse 
        smoke impacts.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) The design and administration of such a 
        fund.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) The effectiveness of a national claims fund or 
        other mechanism to supplement, replace, or backstop private 
        market insurance for non-Federal or State government prescribed 
        fire practitioners.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) The eligibility requirements for submission of 
        claims to such a fund with an emphasis on equity and 
        inclusivity of all types of prescribed fire practitioners and 
        methods of practice.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5)(A) The role and influence of State liability 
        laws on prescribed fire practitioner liability;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (B) the impact of State liability laws on the 
        availability and affordability of insurance for prescribed 
        fire; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (C) how States may be incentivized to enact laws 
        clearly establishing and reducing practitioner liability for 
        civil suits and suppression and investigation cost 
        recovery.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 205. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Smoke Management Agencies.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Policy.--The Secretaries shall ensure that 
        policies, training, and programs of the Secretaries are 
        consistent with this subsection--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) to facilitate greater use of 
                prescribed fire; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) to address public health and safety, 
                including impacts from smoke from wildfires and 
                prescribed fires.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Expenditure of funds.--The Secretaries may 
        expend funding appropriated for hazardous fuel reduction to 
        mitigate the impacts of smoke from prescribed fire.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Coordination among federal, tribal, and state 
        air quality agencies and federal, tribal, and state land 
        management agencies.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, in cooperation with Federal and State land 
        management agencies, shall coordinate with State, Tribal, and 
        local air quality agencies that regulate smoke under the Clean 
        Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) to facilitate the use of 
        prescribed fire on Federal land and State, Tribal, and private 
        land, including by--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) streamlining the decisionmaking 
                process for approving the use of prescribed fire under 
                a State, Tribal, or local government smoke management 
                program; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B)(i) promoting basic smoke management 
                practices;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (ii) disseminating information about basic 
                smoke management practices; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (iii) educating landowners that use 
                prescribed fire about the importance of--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (I) using basic smoke management 
                        practices; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (II) including basic smoke 
                        management practices as a component of a 
                        prescribed fire plan.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Exceptional event demonstrations.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Requirement to seek exceptional event 
                demonstration.--Subject to subparagraph (C), the 
                appropriate State or Tribal air quality agency shall 
                develop and submit to the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency a demonstration in 
                accordance with section 50.14 of title 40, Code of 
                Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), if--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the Secretary, the Secretary 
                        of Agriculture, a State land management agency, 
                        or an Indian Tribe conducts a prescribed fire 
                        on Federal land, Tribally owned fee land, or 
                        State land, as applicable, in accordance with a 
                        State or Tribal smoke management program that 
                        incorporates basic smoke management practices; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the prescribed fire described 
                        in clause (i) contributes to an exceedance or 
                        other violation of a national ambient air 
                        quality standard under section 109 of the Clean 
                        Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409), as measured using a 
                        Federal reference monitor or an equivalent 
                        method.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Demonstration assistance.--For an 
                exceedance or other violation described in clause (ii) 
                of subparagraph (A), the Secretary or Secretary of 
                Agriculture, with the concurrence of the State or 
                Tribal air quality agency, shall assist with the 
                development of the demonstration under that 
                subparagraph.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Savings provision.--Subparagraph (A) 
                shall not apply if the exceedance or other violation 
                described in clause (ii) of that subparagraph is the 
                result of--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) a violation of a smoke 
                        management program;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) a failure to use basic smoke 
                        management practices; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) a violation of permit 
                        conditions relating to the protection of air 
                        quality and public health.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Exemption for large prescribed fires.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Federal land management agency 
                exemption.--Consistent with subsection (b) of section 
                118 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7418), a prescribed 
                fire conducted on Federal land by the Secretary or the 
                Secretary of Agriculture that burns more than 1,000 
                acres per day shall be deemed to be in the paramount 
                interest of the United States and shall be exempt from 
                requirements with respect to the control of pollution 
                from Federal facilities under that Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 
                et seq.) if the Secretary or the Secretary of 
                Agriculture determines that the prescribed fire--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) will be conducted in an area 
                        where the terrain or fuel load makes the area 
                        inaccessible or unsafe for firefighting 
                        personnel;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) is necessary to reduce 
                        hazardous fuels;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) will be conducted to 
                        minimize smoke impacts on populated areas 
                        through the use of basic smoke management 
                        practices; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) will be conducted under a 
                        smoke management program, if 
                        applicable.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) State exemption.--If the Secretary 
                concerned conducts a prescribed fire that is deemed to 
                be in the paramount interest of the United States under 
                subparagraph (A) on Federal land, a prescribed fire 
                conducted by a State land management agency on State or 
                private land that is contiguous to that Federal land 
                shall be exempt from any applicable national ambient 
                air quality standards under section 109 of the Clean 
                Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Tribal exemption.--Consistent with 
                subsection (b) of section 118 of the Clean Air Act (42 
                U.S.C. 7418), a prescribed fire conducted on Tribal 
                land by, or in accordance with an agreement with, an 
                Indian Tribe that burns more than 1,000 acres per day 
                shall be deemed to be in the paramount interest of the 
                United States and shall be exempt from requirements 
                with respect to the control of pollution from Federal 
                facilities under that Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) if 
                the Indian Tribe determines that the prescribed fire--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) will be conducted in an area 
                        where the terrain or fuel load makes the area 
                        inaccessible or unsafe for firefighting 
                        personnel;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) is necessary to reduce 
                        hazardous fuels;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) will be conducted to 
                        minimize smoke impacts on populated areas 
                        through the use of basic smoke management 
                        practices; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) will be conducted under a 
                        smoke management program, if 
                        applicable.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) Savings provision.--Consistent with 
                section 118(b) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
                7418(b))--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) an exemption granted under 
                        this paragraph shall apply to the applicable 
                        entity for a period of not more than 1 year; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) on a new determination of the 
                        Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, or an 
                        Indian Tribe under subparagraph (A) or (C), as 
                        applicable, additional exemptions under this 
                        paragraph may be granted for subsequent periods 
                        after the expiration of the exemption described 
                        in clause (i), each of which shall apply for a 
                        period of not more than 1 year.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) State and tribal standards.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Approval of state or tribal 
                standards.--Notwithstanding section 110 of the Clean 
                Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7410), when approving a State or 
                Tribal implementation plan under that section, the 
                Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
                may not approve any standards with respect to--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) preventing nuisance impacts 
                        that result from prescribed fires that 
                        incorporate basic smoke management practices; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) criteria pollutants that 
                        result from prescribed fires that are more 
                        stringent than what is required to meet the 
                        national ambient air quality standards for 
                        those pollutants under section 109 of that Act 
                        (42 U.S.C. 7409), as measured using a Federal 
                        reference monitor or an equivalent 
                        method.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) State and tribal enforcement.--A State 
                or an Indian Tribe may not enforce standards in a State 
                or Tribal implementation plan that was approved under 
                the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) before the 
                date of enactment of this Act with respect to--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) preventing nuisance impacts 
                        that result from prescribed fires that 
                        incorporate basic smoke management practices; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) criteria pollutants that 
                        result from prescribed fires that are more 
                        stringent than what is required to meet the 
                        national ambient air quality standards for 
                        those pollutants under section 109 of that Act 
                        (42 U.S.C. 7409), as measured using a Federal 
                        reference monitor or an equivalent 
                        method.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Amendment to anti-backsliding 
                provision.--If a State or Tribal implementation plan 
                under section 110 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7410) 
                is revised to include a smoke management program for 
                prescribed fires in that implementation plan, 
                subsection (l) of that section shall not apply with 
                respect to that revision.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) Evaluation.--The Secretary or the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, as applicable, shall conduct an evaluation to 
        facilitate learning new approaches for predicting and 
        preventing exceedances during subsequent prescribed fires if 
        the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) conducts a prescribed fire on Federal 
                land--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) for which a demonstration is 
                        developed and submitted under paragraph (4)(A); 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) that is subject to an 
                        exemption under paragraph (5)(A); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the prescribed fire described in 
                subparagraph (A) contributes to an exceedance of a 
                national ambient air quality standard under section 109 
                of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) Programs and research.--To address the public 
        health and safety risk of the expanded use of prescribed fire 
        under this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary, 
        in coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency and the Director of the Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention, shall conduct research to improve or 
        develop--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) wildland fire smoke prediction 
                models;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) smoke impact display tools for the 
                public and decisionmakers;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) appropriate, cost-effective, and 
                consistent mitigation strategies for communities 
                impacted adversely by smoke from prescribed 
                fire;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) consistent nationally and 
                scientifically supported messages regarding personal 
                protection equipment for the public; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) prescribed fire activity tracking and 
                emission inventory systems for planning and post-
                treatment accountability.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Development of Landscape-Scale Federal Prescribed Fire 
Plans.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Definition of secretary concerned.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``Secretary concerned'' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with 
                respect to a unit of the National Forest System; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Secretary, with respect to a 
                Bureau of Land Management district.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Inclusion of landscape-scale prescribed fire 
        plans.--The Secretary concerned shall, with respect to units of 
        the National Forest System and Bureau of Land Management 
        districts with existing prescribed fire programs--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) not later than 1 year after the date 
                of enactment of this Act, determine which of those 
                units or districts have landscape-scale prescribed fire 
                plans; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) not later than 2 years after the date 
                of enactment of this Act--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) determine whether each plan 
                        described in subparagraph (A) requires 
                        revision;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) establish a schedule for the 
                        revision of each plan described in subparagraph 
                        (A) that requires revision; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) develop landscape-scale 
                        prescribed fire plans for any units or 
                        districts that do not have landscape-scale fire 
                        plans.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Environmental compliance.--In carrying out 
        paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) comply with--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the National Environmental 
                        Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
                        seq.);</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the Endangered Species Act of 
                        1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) division A of subtitle III 
                        of title 54, United States Code; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) any other applicable laws; 
                        and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) consider the site-specific 
                environmental consequences of the landscape-scale 
                prescribed fire decisions under this 
                subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Collaborative development.--In carrying out 
        paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned shall collaborate with 
        diverse actors from academia, the Forest Service and Bureau of 
        Land Management research and development, nongovernmental 
        organizations, cultural fire practitioners, and other entities, 
        as determined appropriate by the Secretary concerned.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Consultation with indian tribes.--The 
        Secretary concerned shall engage in government-to-government 
        consultation with Indian Tribes in complying with this 
        subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
        Secretary concerned shall submit to Congress a report on the 
        progress of the Secretary concerned with respect to carrying 
        out this subsection.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 206. PRESCRIBED FIRE EDUCATION PROGRAM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 
through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the Office of Wildland Fire, shall carry out a 
national prescribed fire education program focused on fire ecology and 
prescribed fire planning and implementation.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Program Elements.--A prescribed fire education program 
authorized under subsection (a) may include--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) public service advertisements;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the use of social media;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) campaign and educational activities and 
        materials;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) commercial licensing;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) character images and appearances; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) awards and recognition.</DELETED>

                <DELETED>TITLE III--REPORTING</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 301. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL FIRE PLANNING AND 
              OPERATIONS DATABASE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to ensure an 
accurate reporting of annual prescribed fire accomplishments in the 
United States.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Cost-Share.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Secretary may provide financial assistance to 
States to pay a portion of the costs associated with annually reporting 
prescribed fire accomplishments.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Eligibility for Funds.--If, by December 31 of each 
year, a State has not reported to the National Fire Planning and 
Operations Database, at a minimum, the number of acres mitigated using 
prescribed fire in the State, the State shall not be eligible to 
receive any amounts made available under this Act for the previous 
fiscal year.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 302. ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretaries shall each submit to 
Congress a report on the activities carried out under this 
Act.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National 
Prescribed Fire Act of 2024''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.

                         TITLE I--USE OF FUNDS

Sec. 101. Definition of prescribed fire.
Sec. 102. Prescribed fire funding.
Sec. 103. Policies and practices.
Sec. 104. Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program.

           TITLE II--FACILITATING IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTREACH

Sec. 201. Cooperative agreements and contracts.
Sec. 202. Human resources.
Sec. 203. Liability of prescribed fire managers.
Sec. 204. Prescribed fire claims fund study.
Sec. 205. Environmental review.
Sec. 206. Prescribed fire education program.

                          TITLE III--REPORTING

Sec. 301. Annual reports to the National Fire Planning and Operations 
                            Database.
Sec. 302. Annual implementation report.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Congressional committees.--The term ``congressional 
        committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, 
                and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Natural Resources, the 
                Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on 
                Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
                    (A) land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary; 
                and
                    (B) National Forest System land.
            (3) Landscape-scale prescribed fire plan.--The term 
        ``landscape-scale prescribed fire plan'' means a decision 
        document prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
        Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that--
                    (A) covers a unit of the National Forest System, a 
                Bureau of Land Management district, or a subunit 
                thereof;
                    (B) analyzes the site-specific environmental 
                consequences of prescribed fire on the land described 
                in subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) obviates the need for subsequent decisions 
                pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 
                1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to the unit, 
                district, or subunit described in subparagraph (A).
            (4) National forest system.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``National Forest 
                System'' has the meaning given the term in section 
                11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
                Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term ``National Forest System'' 
                does not include the national grasslands and land 
                utilization projects administered under title III of 
                the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et 
                seq.).
            (5) Prescribed fire.--The term ``prescribed fire'' means a 
        fire deliberately ignited to burn wildland fuels in a natural 
        or modified state--
                    (A) under specified environmental conditions that 
                are intended to allow the fire to be confined to a 
                predetermined area and produce the fireline intensity 
                and rate of spread required to attain planned resource 
                management objectives; and
                    (B) in accordance with applicable law, including 
                applicable regulations.
            (6) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
                    (A) the Secretary; and
                    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (8) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Secretary, in the case of land under the 
                jurisdiction of the Secretary; and
                    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, in the case of 
                land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 
                Agriculture.

                         TITLE I--USE OF FUNDS

SEC. 101. DEFINITION OF PRESCRIBED FIRE.

    (a) In General.--In this title, the term ``prescribed fire'' has 
the meaning given the term in section 2.
    (b) Exclusion.--In this title, the term ``prescribed fire'' does 
not include a fire that is ignited for the primary purpose of pile 
burning.

SEC. 102. PRESCRIBED FIRE FUNDING.

    (a) Funding Flexibility.--
            (1) Department of agriculture.--The Secretary of 
        Agriculture may use not more than 15 percent of funds 
        appropriated for each fiscal year for hazardous fuels 
        management in the National Forest System for activities 
        described in subsection (b).
            (2) Department of the interior.--The Secretary may use not 
        more than 15 percent of funds appropriated for each fiscal year 
        for hazardous fuels management and post-fire activities in the 
        account for wildland fire management of the Department of the 
        Interior for activities described in subsection (b).
    (b) Eligible Activities.--The activities referred to in subsection 
(a) are--
            (1) with respect to prescribed fires on Federal land, or on 
        non-Federal land if the Secretary concerned determines that 
        such activities would benefit resources on Federal land--
                    (A) entering into procurement contracts or 
                cooperative agreements for prescribed fire activities;
                    (B) issuing grants to a State, Tribal government, 
                local government, prescribed fire council, prescribed 
                burn association, or nonprofit organization for the 
                implementation of prescribed fires, including--
                            (i) carrying out necessary environmental 
                        reviews;
                            (ii) carrying out any site preparation 
                        necessary for implementing prescribed fires; 
                        and
                            (iii) conducting any required pre-ignition 
                        cultural and environmental surveys; and
                    (C) conducting outreach to the public, Indian 
                Tribes and beneficiaries, and adjacent landowners;
            (2) implementing prescribed fires on non-Federal land, if 
        the Secretary concerned determines that the prescribed fire 
        would benefit Federal land, including--
                    (A) carrying out necessary environmental reviews;
                    (B) carrying out any site preparation necessary for 
                implementing prescribed fires; and
                    (C) conducting any required pre-ignition cultural 
                and environmental surveys;
            (3) providing training for prescribed fire and basic smoke 
        management practices to Federal employees and cooperators;
            (4) conducting post-prescribed fire activities, such as 
        monitoring for hazard trees or reignitions and invasive species 
        management;
            (5) providing technical or financial assistance to a State, 
        Tribal government, local government, prescribed fire council, 
        prescribed burn association, or nonprofit organization for the 
        purpose of providing training for prescribed fire or basic 
        smoke management practices, consistent with any standards 
        developed by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group or State 
        prescribed fire standards;
            (6) completing the prescribed fire claims fund study under 
        section 204; and
            (7) providing funding for the applicable Collaborative 
        Prescribed Fire Program established under section 104.
    (c) Prioritization.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        concerned shall coordinate with the other Secretary concerned, 
        State and local government agencies, Indian Tribes, and 
        applicable nongovernmental organizations to establish 
        prioritization criteria for expending amounts pursuant to 
        subsection (a) for activities described in paragraphs (2), (5), 
        (6), and (7) of subsection (b).
            (2) Requirement.--In establishing criteria under paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary concerned shall give priority to a project 
        that is--
                    (A) implemented across a large contiguous area;
                    (B) cross-boundary in nature;
                    (C) in an area that is--
                            (i) within or adjacent to the wildland-
                        urban interface and identified as a priority 
                        area in a statewide forest action plan or 
                        Community Wildfire Protection Plan; or
                            (ii) identified as important to the 
                        protection of a Tribal trust resource or the 
                        reserved or treaty rights of an Indian Tribe;
                    (D) on land that is at high or very high risk of 
                experiencing a wildfire that would be difficult to 
                suppress;
                    (E) in an area that is designated as critical 
                habitat and in need of ecological restoration or 
                enhancement that can be achieved with the aid of 
                prescribed fire; or
                    (F) supportive of potential operational 
                delineations or strategic response zones.

SEC. 103. POLICIES AND PRACTICES.

    (a) Increasing Prescribed Fire.--Beginning with the first fiscal 
year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and for each 
of the 9 fiscal years thereafter, the Secretaries shall conduct 
prescribed fires on Federal land such that the total acreage of Federal 
land on which prescribed fires are conducted is 10 percent greater than 
the total acreage of all Federal land on which prescribed fires were 
conducted in the preceding fiscal year.
    (b) Operational Strategy.--The Secretary concerned shall develop, 
in coordination with State, local, and Tribal governments, a prescribed 
fire operational strategy for each region of the National Forest System 
or the Department of the Interior, as applicable, that describes--
            (1) the fire deficit by region; and
            (2) staffing and funding needs to address the fire deficit 
        under paragraph (1).

SEC. 104. COLLABORATIVE PRESCRIBED FIRE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary concerned, in coordination with the 
other Secretary concerned, shall establish a Collaborative Prescribed 
Fire Program (referred to in this section as a ``program'') to select 
and fund prescribed fire projects (each of which is referred to in this 
section as a ``project'') in accordance with--
            (1) the prioritization criteria established under section 
        102(c);
            (2) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
        seq.);
            (3) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
        U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
            (4) the applicable land use or land management plan; and
            (5) any other applicable law.
    (b) Eligibility Criteria.--To be eligible for nomination under 
subsection (c), a proposal for a project shall--
            (1) be consistent with a landscape restoration strategy--
                    (A) that is complete or substantially complete;
                    (B) that identifies and prioritizes prescribed fire 
                treatments for a 10-year period within a landscape that 
                is--
                            (i) at least 50,000 acres;
                            (ii) composed primarily of forested Federal 
                        land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 
                        concerned, but may also include other Federal, 
                        State, Tribal, or private land, if a treatment 
                        on that land would benefit the applicable 
                        Federal land;
                            (iii) in need of--
                                    (I) active ecosystem restoration; 
                                or
                                    (II) maintenance activities to 
                                retain previously treated land in a 
                                wildfire-resilient state;
                    (C) that incorporates the best available science 
                and scientific application tools to identify project 
                areas;
                    (D) that fully maintains, or contributes toward the 
                restoration of, the structure and composition of old 
                growth stands according to the pre-fire suppression old 
                growth conditions characteristic of the forest type--
                            (i) taking into account the contribution of 
                        the stand to landscape fire adaptation and 
                        watershed health; and
                            (ii) retaining the large trees contributing 
                        to old growth structure;
                    (E) under which would be carried out any forest 
                restoration treatments that reduce hazardous fuels 
                through the use of fire for ecological restoration and 
                maintenance and reestablishing natural fire regimes, 
                where appropriate, which--
                            (i) may include site preparation, if 
                        necessary to prepare the landscape for 
                        reestablishment of a natural fire regime; and
                            (ii) shall maximize the retention of large 
                        trees, as appropriate for the forest type, to 
                        the extent that the trees promote fire-
                        resilient stands; and
                    (F) under which--
                            (i) no permanent roads would be 
                        established; and
                            (ii) funding would be committed to 
                        decommission all temporary roads constructed to 
                        carry out the strategy;
            (2) be developed and implemented through a collaborative 
        process that--
                    (A) includes multiple interested persons 
                representing diverse interests; and
                    (B) is transparent and nonexclusive;
            (3) describe plans, as applicable--
                    (A) to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic 
                wildfire;
                    (B) to improve fish and wildlife habitat, including 
                for endangered, threatened, and sensitive species;
                    (C) to maintain or improve water quality and 
                watershed function;
                    (D) to prevent, remediate, or control invasions of 
                exotic species;
                    (E) to maintain, decommission, and rehabilitate 
                roads and trails;
                    (F) to report annually on performance, including 
                setting accomplishment targets for each year;
                    (G) to take into account any applicable community 
                wildfire protection plan; and
                    (H) to mitigate smoke impacts on nearby 
                communities;
            (4) include an analysis of any anticipated cost savings, 
        including savings resulting from--
                    (A) a reduced risk of wildfire damages, especially 
                to high-value resources; and
                    (B) a decrease in the unit costs of implementing 
                ecological restoration treatments over time;
            (5) include estimates of--
                    (A) the amount of annual Federal funding necessary 
                to implement the proposed project; and
                    (B) the amount of new non-Federal investment for 
                carrying out the proposed project that would be 
                leveraged;
            (6) describe the collaborative process described in 
        paragraph (2) through which the proposal was developed, 
        including a description of--
                    (A) participation by or consultation with State, 
                local, and Tribal governments; and
                    (B) any established record of successful 
                collaborative planning and implementation of prescribed 
                fire projects on National Forest System land and other 
                land included in the proposal by the collaborators;
            (7) propose to benefit local economies by providing local 
        employment or training opportunities through contracts, grants, 
        or agreements for planning, design, implementation, or 
        monitoring with--
                    (A) local private, nonprofit, or cooperative 
                entities;
                    (B) Youth Conservation Corps crews or related 
                partnerships with State, local, and nonprofit youth 
                groups;
                    (C) existing or proposed small or micro-businesses, 
                clusters, or incubators; or
                    (D) other entities that will hire or train local 
                individuals to complete those contracts, grants, or 
                agreements; and
            (8) be subject to any other requirements that the Secretary 
        concerned determines to be necessary for the efficient and 
        effective administration of the program.
    (c) Nomination Process.--
            (1) Submission.--A proposal for a project shall be 
        submitted to the appropriate Regional Forester, State Director, 
        or other similar official.
            (2) Nomination.--
                    (A) In general.--An official described in paragraph 
                (1) may nominate for selection by the Secretary 
                concerned any proposals received by the official under 
                that paragraph that meet the eligibility criteria 
                described in subsection (b).
                    (B) Concurrence.--In the case of a proposal for a 
                project that involves activities on the land of both of 
                the Secretaries concerned, a nomination under 
                subparagraph (A) shall include the concurrence of the 
                appropriate official for the applicable land that is 
                not under the jurisdiction of the official nominating 
                the proposal.
            (3) Other land.--In the case of a proposal for a project 
        that involves activities on land that is not under the 
        jurisdiction of either of the Secretaries concerned, a 
        nomination under subparagraph (A) shall include evidence that 
        the landowner intends to participate in, and provide 
        appropriate funding to carry out, the activities.
    (d) Selection Process.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary concerned, in consultation 
        with the other Secretary concerned, shall select for 
        implementation proposals for projects--
                    (A) that have been nominated under subsection 
                (c)(2);
                    (B) that meet the eligibility criteria described in 
                subsection (b); and
                    (C) in accordance with the prioritization criteria 
                established under section 102(c).
            (2) Criteria.--In selecting proposals under paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary concerned shall give special consideration to--
                    (A) the strength of the proposal, including the 
                landscape restoration strategy described in subsection 
                (b)(1) of the proposal;
                    (B) the strength of the ecological case of the 
                proposal and the proposed ecological restoration 
                strategies under the proposal;
                    (C) the strength of the collaborative process 
                described in subsection (b)(2) through which the 
                proposal was developed and the likelihood of successful 
                collaboration throughout implementation;
                    (D) the extent to which the proposal is likely to 
                achieve reductions in long-term wildfire risk and 
                increased protection of high-value resources;
                    (E) the extent to which an appropriate level of 
                non-Federal investment would be leveraged in carrying 
                out the proposed project; and
                    (F) ensuring geographic diversity of projects 
                implemented under this section.
            (3) Limitation.--The Secretary concerned may select not 
        more than--
                    (A) 20 proposals under paragraph (1) to be funded 
                during any fiscal year; and
                    (B) the number of proposals under paragraph (1) 
                that the Secretary concerned determines are likely to 
                receive adequate funding.
    (e) Reporting.--
            (1) Project reporting.--A recipient of financial assistance 
        to carry out a project under the program shall annually submit 
        to the Secretary concerned a report summarizing, at a minimum--
                    (A) the number of acres of land treated with 
                prescribed fire by the recipient under the program; and
                    (B) the amount of Federal and non-Federal funds 
                used by the recipient under the program.
            (2) Program report.--Not later than 5 years after the first 
        fiscal year in which funding is made available to carry out 
        projects under the program, and every 5 years thereafter, the 
        Secretary concerned shall submit to the congressional 
        committees a report on the program, including an assessment of 
        whether, and to what extent, the program is fulfilling the 
        purposes of this section.
    (f) Limitations.--
            (1) Total funding.--The Secretary concerned shall not 
        provide more than $20,000,000 in total funding for projects 
        under the program in any fiscal year.
            (2) Project size limitation.--The Secretary concerned shall 
        not provide more than $1,000,000 for any 1 project under the 
        program in any fiscal year.
            (3) Project sunset.--The Secretary concerned shall not 
        provide funding for a project under the program for a period of 
        more than 10 fiscal years.
            (4) Project cancellation.--The Secretary concerned shall 
        cease funding any project under the program that, for 3 
        consecutive years, fails to meet the annual accomplishment 
        targets set under subsection (b)(3)(F).
    (g) Funding.--Of the amounts made available under section 102(a), 
the Secretary concerned may use to carry out this section not more than 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034.

           TITLE II--FACILITATING IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTREACH

SEC. 201. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS.

    (a) Definition of Eligible Entity.--In this section, the term 
``eligible entity'' means--
            (1) a State;
            (2) an Indian Tribe;
            (3) a county or municipal government;
            (4) a fire district;
            (5) a nongovernmental organization; and
            (6) a private entity.
    (b) Authorization.--The Secretary concerned may enter into a 
cooperative agreement or contract with an eligible entity to authorize 
the eligible entity to coordinate, plan, or conduct a prescribed fire 
on Federal land in accordance with other applicable laws, regulations, 
and land management plans.
    (c) Subcontracts.--The Secretary concerned may authorize a State, 
an Indian Tribe, or a county that enters into a cooperative agreement 
or contract under subsection (b) to enter into a subcontract to conduct 
a prescribed fire on Federal land pursuant to that cooperative 
agreement or contract, subject to any other terms and conditions that 
the Secretary concerned determines to be appropriate.
    (d) Long-term Contracts.--A cooperative agreement or contract with 
an eligible entity under subsection (b) may authorize the eligible 
entity to conduct a series of prescribed fires on Federal land for a 
period of not longer than 10 years.

SEC. 202. HUMAN RESOURCES.

    (a) Prescribed Fire Workforce.--
            (1) Increasing workforce retention.--
                    (A) Hazard pay.--
                            (i) In general.--Each Federal employee in 
                        any classification series, as identified by the 
                        Secretaries, shall be entitled to be paid the 
                        appropriate differential under subsection (d) 
                        of section 5545 of title 5, United States Code, 
                        as if such employee was covered by such 
                        subsection, when such employee carries out work 
                        directly related to the ignition, management, 
                        and control of a prescribed fire.
                            (ii) Regulations.--The Director of the 
                        Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe 
                        regulations to carry out this subparagraph.
                    (B) Incentive payments for fuels assignments.--The 
                Secretaries shall submit to the congressional 
                committees a joint report describing mechanisms to 
                attract and retain a skilled fuels workforce, including 
                pay incentives that would account for and offset the 
                more competitive pay options offered through wildfire 
                suppression assignments.
            (2) Dedicated prescribed fire task forces.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretaries shall--
                            (i) not later than 180 days after the date 
                        of enactment of this Act, establish at least 1 
                        multiparty task force of Federal employees and 
                        non-Federal entities within each Geographic 
                        Area Coordination Center to plan, lead, and 
                        support prescribed fire across ownership 
                        boundaries that are priorities at the 
                        landscape, region, State, or Federal level; and
                            (ii) support each task force established 
                        under clause (i) by assigning a dedicated 
                        Federal employee--
                                    (I) to aid necessary administrative 
                                functions relating to partnership 
                                agreements; and
                                    (II) to coordinate prescribed fire 
                                across ownership boundaries.
                    (B) Cooperative agreements.--The Secretaries may 
                enter into 1 or more cooperative agreements to carry 
                out this paragraph.
            (3) Conversion of seasonal firefighters to permanent 
        employees.--The Secretaries may noncompetitively convert a 
        Federal seasonal employee to a Federal permanent employee if--
                    (A) the listed job duties of the employee include 
                wildland firefighting;
                    (B) the employee received a rating of at least 
                ``Fully Successful'' in each of the performance 
                appraisals of the employee for the 3 most recent 
                seasons of Federal employment of the employee; and
                    (C) the job duties and performance standards of the 
                position into which the permanent employee converts 
                emphasize implementing prescribed fires.
            (4) Employment of formerly incarcerated individuals.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretaries, in consultation 
                with the Attorney General and State departments of 
                corrections, shall seek to provide career pathways, 
                training, and wraparound support services, including 
                through partnerships with the Corps Network, to 
                individuals described in subparagraph (B) to work as 
                prescribed fire practitioners.
                    (B) Individuals described.--An individual referred 
                to in subparagraph (A) is an individual that--
                            (i) has been convicted in any court of a 
                        criminal offense, other than arson or a violent 
                        crime (as defined by the Secretaries, in 
                        consultation with the Attorney General and 
                        State departments of corrections), and was 
                        sentenced to a term of imprisonment for that 
                        offense; and
                            (ii) during the term of imprisonment 
                        described in clause (i), served on a wildland 
                        firefighting crew or received other comparable 
                        training.
            (5) Underrepresented employees.--The Secretaries shall 
        support the development and participation of underrepresented 
        groups, as determined by the Secretaries, in the wildland fire 
        workforce, including by fostering leadership opportunities, 
        mentorship networks, and training.
            (6) Veterans crews.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretaries, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall seek--
                            (i) to provide a career pathway to 
                        individuals described in subparagraph (B) to 
                        work as prescribed fire practitioners; and
                            (ii) to establish crews composed 
                        predominantly of veterans to conduct prescribed 
                        fires.
                    (B) Individuals described.--An individual referred 
                to in subparagraph (A) is an individual who--
                            (i) served in the active military, naval, 
                        or air service; and
                            (ii) was discharged or released under 
                        conditions other than dishonorable.
    (b) Additional Training Centers.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
Agriculture (and the Secretary of Defense in the case of a center 
located on a military installation), shall--
            (1) establish, operate, and facilitate a prescribed fire 
        training program or center that offers training in prescribed 
        fire within each Geographic Area Coordination Center region 
        where such a program or center does not exist on the date of 
        enactment of this Act; and
            (2) support the establishment of an Indigenous-led 
        prescribed fire and cultural burning training center operated 
        by an Indian Tribe or partnership of Indian Tribes.
    (c) Competencies for Firefighters.--The Secretaries, in 
coordination with the Fire Executive Council, shall task the National 
Wildfire Coordinating Group with the duty to adjust training 
requirements to obtain a certification to serve in a supervisory role 
for a prescribed fire and any other positions determined to be 
necessary by the Secretaries--
            (1) in order to reduce the time required to obtain such a 
        certification; and
            (2) such that significant experience, gained exclusively 
        during a prescribed fire, is required to obtain such a 
        certification.
    (d) Enhancing Interoperability Between Federal and Non-Federal 
Practitioners.--
            (1) Qualification databases and dispatch systems.--The 
        Secretaries shall establish a collaborative process to create 
        mechanisms for non-Federal-agency fire practitioners to be 
        included in prescribed fire and wildfire resource ordering and 
        reimbursement processes.
            (2) Partnership agreements.--The Secretaries shall--
                    (A) develop partnership agreements for prescribed 
                fire with all relevant State, Federal, Tribal, 
                university, and nongovernmental entities that choose to 
                be included in resource ordering and reimbursement 
                processes under paragraph (1);
                    (B) create agreements and structures necessary to 
                include non-Federal-agency and other nontraditional 
                partners in direct work with Federal agencies to 
                address prescribed fires; and
                    (C) treat any prescribed fire practitioner meeting 
                the National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards as 
                eligible to be included in statewide participating 
                agreements.

SEC. 203. LIABILITY OF PRESCRIBED FIRE MANAGERS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered activity.--The term ``covered activity'' means 
        an activity carried out on Federal land directly related to a 
        wildland fire, prescribed fire, or prescribed fire with 
        cultural objectives in the course of executing a Federal 
        action.
            (2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means a 
        non-Federal entity engaged in a covered activity, if that non-
        Federal entity is acting--
                    (A) under the direct supervision of a Federal 
                employee; and
                    (B) within the scope of a contract or agreement in 
                carrying out that covered activity.
            (3) Covered law.--The term ``covered law'' means a State 
        law that establishes the standard of care in a civil suit 
        against a certified prescribed fire manager for an escaped 
        prescribed fire to be ``gross negligence'', if the certified 
        prescribed fire manager--
                    (A) obtained a permit for the prescribed fire;
                    (B) conducted the prescribed fire consistent with a 
                written prescribed fire plan;
                    (C) was at the site of the prescribed fire for the 
                duration of the prescribed fire;
                    (D) ensured adequate personnel, equipment, and 
                firebreaks were in place during the prescribed fire, in 
                accordance with the written prescribed fire plan; and
                    (E) complied with any applicable Federal, Tribal, 
                State, and local laws.
    (b) Memorandum of Agreement.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, the Secretary may enter into a memorandum of 
        agreement with the National Governors' Association to host a 
        conference, at which governors can meet to discuss the benefits 
        of addressing liability protection and possible incentives for 
        States to enact a covered law.
            (2) Funding.--The Secretary may provide not more than 
        $1,000,000 under the memorandum of agreement under paragraph 
        (1).
    (c) Indemnity of Federal and Tribal Employees.--The Secretaries, in 
coordination with the Attorney General, shall develop a voluntary 
training course for employees involved in covered activities 
describing--
            (1) liability protections afforded to those employees when 
        acting within the scope of their employment;
            (2) the limits on any liability protections under paragraph 
        (1); and
            (3) reimbursements available for qualified employees for 
        professional liability insurance under section 636 of division 
        A of Public Law 104-208 (5 U.S.C. prec. 5941 note).
    (d) Indemnity of Other Cooperators.--
            (1) In general.--Beginning on the date of enactment of this 
        Act, a covered entity shall be considered an employee of the 
        Federal Government for purposes of chapter 171 of title 28, 
        United States Code (commonly known as the ``Federal Tort Claims 
        Act''), while that covered entity is engaged in covered 
        activities.
            (2) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in consultation with 
        the Attorney General, shall issue guidance on the necessary 
        provisions and implementation requirements for contracts or 
        agreements that would extend liability protections to covered 
        entities under paragraph (1).
            (3) Reimbursement.--Beginning in the first fiscal year that 
        begins after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries 
        shall request, through annual appropriations, funds sufficient 
        to reimburse the Treasury for any claims paid in the prior 
        fiscal year pursuant to paragraph (1).
    (e) Effect.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or 
otherwise affect--
            (1) the application of any statutory or judicial immunity 
        to Federal employees;
            (2) the application of the chapter 171 of title 28, United 
        States Code (commonly known as the ``Federal Tort Claims Act'') 
        to Federal employees; or
            (3) the application of section 314 of Public Law 101-512 
        (25 U.S.C. 5321 note).

SEC. 204. PRESCRIBED FIRE CLAIMS FUND STUDY.

    (a) Commissioning of Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination with the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall complete a study 
of the feasibility, design, and effectiveness of a national prescribed 
fire claims fund (or similar mechanism) to increase the pace and scale 
of prescribed fire across all lands by multiple users and for multiple 
objectives.
    (b) Elements.--The study required under subsection (a) shall 
include an analysis of the following:
            (1) The feasibility at the national level of a claims fund 
        or other mechanism to supplement, replace, or backstop private 
        insurance for prescribed fire and adverse smoke impacts.
            (2) The design and administration of such a fund.
            (3) The effectiveness of a national claims fund or other 
        mechanism to supplement, replace, or backstop private market 
        insurance for non-Federal or State government prescribed fire 
        practitioners.
            (4) The eligibility requirements for submission of claims 
        to such a fund with an emphasis on equity and inclusivity of 
        all types of prescribed fire practitioners and methods of 
        practice.
            (5)(A) The role and influence of State liability laws on 
        prescribed fire practitioner liability;
            (B) the impact of State liability laws on the availability 
        and affordability of insurance for prescribed fire; and
            (C) how States may be incentivized to enact laws clearly 
        establishing and reducing practitioner liability for civil 
        suits and suppression and investigation cost recovery.

SEC. 205. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.

    (a) Smoke Management Agencies.--
            (1) Policy.--The Secretaries shall ensure that policies, 
        training, and programs of the Secretaries are consistent with 
        this subsection--
                    (A) to facilitate greater use of prescribed fire; 
                and
                    (B) to address public health and safety, including 
                impacts from smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires.
            (2) Coordination among federal, tribal, and state air 
        quality agencies and federal, tribal, and state land management 
        agencies.--To facilitate the use of prescribed fire on Federal, 
        State, Tribal, and private land, the Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with Federal 
        and State land management agencies, shall coordinate with 
        State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies that regulate 
        smoke under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.)--
                    (A) to the maximum extent practicable, to provide 
                State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies with 
                guidance, data, imagery, or modeling to support the 
                development of exceptional event demonstrations in 
                accordance with sections 50.14 and 51.930 of title 40, 
                Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations);
                    (B) to develop archives and automated tools to 
                provide State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies 
                with the data, imagery, and modeling under subparagraph 
                (A);
                    (C) to develop decision support tools for State, 
                Tribal, and local air quality agencies to assist in 
                determining whether an exceptional event demonstration, 
                if the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
                Agency concurs with such demonstration, would have 
                regulatory significance;
                    (D) to provide technical assistance, best 
                practices, or templates to States, Indian Tribes, and 
                local governments for the use of the State, Indian 
                Tribe, or local government in approving the use of 
                prescribed fire under a State, Tribal, or local 
                government smoke management program;
                    (E)(i) to promote basic smoke management practices 
                and other best practices to protect the public from 
                wildland fire smoke;
                    (ii) to disseminate information about basic smoke 
                management practices;
                    (iii) to educate landowners that use prescribed 
                fire about the importance of--
                            (I) using basic smoke management practices; 
                        and
                            (II) including basic smoke management 
                        practices as a component of a prescribed fire 
                        plan; and
                    (iv) to share information with the public, in 
                coordination with other public health agencies, about 
                measures that individuals can take to protect 
                themselves from wildland fire smoke; and
                    (F) to develop guidance and tools to streamline the 
                demonstration of a clear causal relationship between 
                prescribed fire smoke and a related exceedance of a 
                national ambient air quality standard.
            (3) Exceptional event demonstrations.--
                    (A) In general.--The appropriate State or Tribal 
                air quality agency (including any local air quality 
                agency delegated authority by a State) may develop and 
                submit to the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency an exceptional event demonstration in 
                accordance with sections 50.14 and 51.930 of title 40, 
                Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), 
                for a prescribed fire.
                    (B) Approval.--The Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency shall concur with an 
                exceptional event demonstration submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) in accordance with the requirements of 
                sections 50.14 and 51.930 of title 40, Code of Federal 
                Regulations (or successor regulations), including that 
                the applicable prescribed fire was not reasonably 
                controllable or preventable and that the applicable 
                prescribed fire was a human activity unlikely to recur, 
                if the State or Tribal air quality agency demonstrates 
                in that exceptional event demonstration that, at a 
                minimum, the applicable prescribed fire was--
                            (i) conducted in accordance with a State or 
                        Tribal smoke management program or basic smoke 
                        management practices; and
                            (ii) consistent with a land or resource 
                        management plan with a stated objective to 
                        establish, restore, or maintain a sustainable 
                        and resilient ecosystem.
                    (C) Demonstration assistance for federal land.--For 
                any prescribed fire conducted on Federal land, the 
                Secretary concerned--
                            (i) shall assist with the development of an 
                        exceptional event demonstration under 
                        subparagraph (A) on request of a State or 
                        Tribal air quality agency; and
                            (ii) may develop and submit an exceptional 
                        event demonstration under subparagraph (A) with 
                        the concurrence of the applicable State or 
                        Tribal air quality agency.
            (4) Programs and research.--To address the public health 
        and safety risk of the expanded use of prescribed fire under 
        this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination with the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the 
        Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
        shall conduct research to improve or develop--
                    (A) wildland fire smoke prediction models;
                    (B) smoke impact display tools for the public and 
                decisionmakers;
                    (C) appropriate, cost-effective, and consistent 
                strategies to mitigate the impacts of smoke from 
                prescribed fire on nearby communities;
                    (D) consistent nationally and scientifically 
                supported messages regarding personal protection 
                equipment for the public; and
                    (E) prescribed fire activity tracking and emission 
                inventory systems for planning and post-treatment 
                accountability.
    (b) Development of Landscape-scale Federal Prescribed Fire Plans.--
            (1) Inclusion of landscape-scale prescribed fire plans.--
        The Secretary concerned shall, with respect to units of the 
        National Forest System and Bureau of Land Management districts 
        with existing prescribed fire programs--
                    (A) not later than 1 year after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, determine which of those units 
                or districts have landscape-scale prescribed fire 
                plans; and
                    (B) not later than 2 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act--
                            (i) determine whether each plan described 
                        in subparagraph (A) requires revision;
                            (ii) establish a schedule for the revision 
                        of each plan described in subparagraph (A) that 
                        requires revision; and
                            (iii) develop landscape-scale prescribed 
                        fire plans for any units or districts that do 
                        not have landscape-scale prescribed fire plans.
            (2) Environmental compliance.--In carrying out paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary concerned shall--
                    (A) comply with--
                            (i) the National Environmental Policy Act 
                        of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
                            (ii) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
                        U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
                            (iii) division A of subtitle III of title 
                        54, United States Code; and
                            (iv) any other applicable laws; and
                    (B) consider the site-specific environmental 
                consequences of the landscape-scale prescribed fire 
                decisions under this subsection.
            (3) Collaborative development.--In carrying out paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary concerned shall collaborate with diverse 
        actors from academia, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land 
        Management research and development, nongovernmental 
        organizations, cultural fire practitioners, and other entities, 
        as determined appropriate by the Secretary concerned.
            (4) Consultation with indian tribes.--The Secretary 
        concerned shall engage in government-to-government consultation 
        with Indian Tribes in complying with this subsection.
            (5) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
        concerned shall submit to Congress a report on the progress of 
        the Secretary concerned with respect to carrying out this 
        subsection.

SEC. 206. PRESCRIBED FIRE EDUCATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretaries shall carry out a national 
prescribed fire education program focused on fire ecology and 
prescribed fire planning and implementation.
    (b) Program Elements.--A prescribed fire education program 
authorized under subsection (a) may include--
            (1) public service advertisements;
            (2) the use of social media;
            (3) campaign and educational activities and materials;
            (4) commercial licensing;
            (5) character images and appearances; and
            (6) awards and recognition.

                          TITLE III--REPORTING

SEC. 301. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL FIRE PLANNING AND OPERATIONS 
              DATABASE.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to ensure an accurate 
reporting of annual prescribed fire accomplishments in the United 
States.
    (b) Cost-share.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Secretary may provide financial assistance to States to pay a portion 
of the costs associated with annually reporting prescribed fire 
accomplishments.
    (c) Eligibility for Funds.--If, by December 31 of each year, a 
State has not reported to the National Fire Planning and Operations 
Database (or a successor database), at a minimum, the number of acres 
on which uncharacteristic wildfire risk is effectively mitigated using 
prescribed fire in the State, the State shall not be eligible to 
receive any amounts made available under this Act for the previous 
fiscal year.

SEC. 302. ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the Secretaries shall each submit to the 
congressional committees a report on the activities carried out under 
this Act.
                                                       Calendar No. 624

118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 4424

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

     To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land 
 managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with 
   an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western 
  United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of 
cultural burning by Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           November 21, 2024

                       Reported with an amendment
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