I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8557 
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 empha-
sis 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2024 
Ms. SCHRIER (for herself and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addi-
tion to the Committees on Agriculture, Oversight and Accountability, and 
the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of pre-
scribed 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 Indige-
nous practitioners, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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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. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
TITLE I—USE OF FUNDS 
Sec. 101. Prescribed fire accounts. 
Sec. 102. Policies and practices. 
Sec. 103. Collaborative prescribed fire program. 
TITLE II—FACILITATING IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTREACH 
Sec. 201. Cooperative agreements and contracts. 
Sec. 202. Human resources. 
Sec. 203. Liability of certified 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. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) in 2018, the Forest Service Fire Modeling 
Institute determined that 63,070,000 acres of Na-
tional 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 sup-
press; 
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(2) according to the National Interagency Co-
ordination Center, between 2010 and 2019, in the 
United States, on average— 
(A) 64,000 wildfires burned 6,847,000 
acres annually; and 
(B) 100,000 prescribed fires burned only 
3,672,000 acres annually; 
(3) indigenous communities have used cultural 
burning to manage landscapes since time immemo-
rial; 
(4) according to the National Interagency Co-
ordination Center, the annual cost of suppressing 
wildfires in a State with an active prescribed burn-
ing 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; 
(5) according to a 2021 Environmental Protec-
tion Agency report assessing the air quality and 
health impacts of prescribed fire compared to wild-
fire, smoke impacts from prescribed fire were found 
to be smaller in magnitude and shorter in duration; 
(6) according to a 2019 study conducted by 
Stanford University, smoke from prescribed fires ex-
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poses children to fewer negative health effects than 
the detrimental smoke generated by wildfires; 
(7) according to a 2015 study published in 
Ecology, trees that have not been burnt by a low-in-
tensity fire are unusually prone to bark beetle at-
tacks, 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; 
(8) as of March 1, 2023, there were— 
(A) 38 prescribed fire councils in 34 
States; and 
(B) 113 prescribed burn associations in 19 
States; 
(9) according to the 2021 National Prescribed 
Fire Use Survey Report— 
(A) 41 States regulate prescribed fires by 
issuing burn permits; 
(B) 23 States offer prescribed burn man-
ager certification courses to facilitate respon-
sible burning on private land; 
(C) only 5 States (Vermont, Massachu-
setts, Missouri, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) 
lack laws to reduce liability associated with the 
responsible use of prescribed fire; and 
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(D) only 8 States (Florida, Montana, Ne-
vada, Colorado, Michigan, Georgia, South Caro-
lina, and Washington) have laws that use a 
standard of gross negligence for determining li-
abilities for the responsible use of prescribed 
fire; and 
(10) as of September 30, 2019, 31 States have 
a formal process to track the number of acres treat-
ed for forestry purposes using prescribed fire. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 
means— 
(A) public lands (as defined in section 103 
of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 
(B) units of the National Park System; 
(C) units of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System; 
(D) land held in trust by the United States 
for the benefit of Indian Tribes or members of 
an Indian Tribe; and 
(E) National Forest System land. 
(2) 
LANDSCAPE-SCALE
PRESCRIBED
FIRE 
PLAN.—The term ‘‘landscape-scale prescribed fire 
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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 dis-
trict, or a subunit thereof; 
(B) analyzes the site-specific environmental 
consequences of prescribed fire on the land de-
scribed in subparagraph (A); and 
(C) obviates the need for subsequent deci-
sions pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
with respect to the unit, district, or subunit de-
scribed in subparagraph (A). 
(3) 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 admin-
istered under title III of the Bankhead-Jones 
Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.). 
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(4) 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 condi-
tions that are intended to allow the fire to be 
confined to a predetermined area and produce 
the fireline intensity and rate of spread re-
quired to attain planned resource management 
objectives; 
(B) that does not include pile burning; and 
(C) in accordance with applicable law, in-
cluding applicable regulations. 
(5) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 
means— 
(A) the Secretary; and 
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
TITLE I—USE OF FUNDS 
SEC. 101. PRESCRIBED FIRE ACCOUNTS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY CONCERNED.—In 
this section, the term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 
(1) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
an account established by this section for the De-
partment of Agriculture; and 
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(2) the Secretary, with respect to an account 
established by this section for the Department of the 
Interior. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.—There are es-
tablished in the Treasury of the United States the fol-
lowing accounts: 
(1) The Prescribed Fire account for the De-
partment of Agriculture. 
(2) The Prescribed Fire account for the De-
partment of the Interior. 
(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. 
(d) PRESIDENTIAL BUDGET REQUESTS.—For fiscal 
year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, each Secretary 
concerned shall submit, in the budget justification mate-
rials 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)— 
(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 
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(2) an accounting of costs with respect to pre-
scribed fire, by region of the National Forest System 
or the Department of the Interior, as applicable, for 
the previous 3 years, including— 
(A) the amount spent on prescribed fire; 
(B) the number of acres treated with pre-
scribed fire; and 
(C) the number of personnel dedicated to 
carrying out prescribed fire. 
(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) MANDATORY
ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 
concerned shall use amounts in the accounts estab-
lished by subsection (b)— 
(A) to develop, in coordination with State, 
local, and Tribal governments, a prescribed fire 
operational strategy for each region of the Na-
tional Forest System or the Department of the 
Interior, as applicable, specifically for using 
funding provided through the Infrastructure In-
vestment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 
135 Stat. 429) and other additional sources of 
funding, that describes— 
(i) the fire deficit by region; 
(ii) staffing and funding needs; 
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(iii) plans to apply prescribed fire; 
and 
(iv) regional targets to demonstrate 
an increase in prescribed fire with respect 
to— 
(I) existing programs; and 
(II) activities carried out using 
additional funding sources; 
(B) with respect to prescribed fires— 
(i) to carry out necessary environ-
mental reviews; 
(ii) to conduct outreach to the public, 
Indian Tribes and beneficiaries, and adja-
cent landowners; 
(iii) to conduct any required pre-igni-
tion cultural and environmental surveys; 
and 
(iv) to implement prescribed fires on 
Federal land; 
(C) to hire additional, dedicated personnel 
and procure additional equipment, including un-
manned aerial systems equipped with an aerial 
ignition system, to implement a greater number 
of prescribed fires; 
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(D) to fund an increase in staffing (includ-
ing in-person and hybrid staff) in order to pro-
vide training for the implementation of pre-
scribed fire and management of smoke; 
(E) to conduct post-prescribed fire activi-
ties, such as— 
(i) reseeding to prevent the spread of 
invasive species; and 
(ii) recurring application of fire to 
maintain desired conditions; 
(F) to conduct monitoring for safety and 
fire effects on ecosystem resilience and risk 
mitigation; and 
(G) to use key performance indicators, in-
cluding— 
(i) the annual number of acres of Na-
tional Forest System land or public lands, 
as applicable, where completed treatment 
effectively mitigates wildfire risk or main-
tains or restores ecological integrity with 
respect to— 
(I) land in the wildland-urban 
interface; and 
(II) land not in the wildland- 
urban interface; 
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(ii) the number of acres in a desired 
condition as a result of fire management 
objectives, as determined by the Secretary 
concerned; 
(iii) the number of acres treated with 
prescribed fire and the quantity of emis-
sions from prescribed fires; 
(iv) the number of acres where treat-
ment results in changes in fire regime con-
dition class; and 
(v) the number of burns conducted by 
Indian Tribes or Indigenous-led organiza-
tions or pursuant to an agreement with an 
Indian Tribe or Indigenous-led organiza-
tion. 
(2) JOINT
COORDINATION.—The Secretaries 
shall coordinate to jointly develop a common data 
management and analysis system for planning and 
post-treatment accountability. 
(3) AUTHORIZED
ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 
concerned may— 
(A) assist State, Tribal, local government, 
or private prescribed fire programs— 
(i) to establish a training or certifi-
cation program for teams comprised of 
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citizens or local fire services to conduct 
prescribed fires on private land, consistent 
with any standards developed by the Na-
tional Wildfire Coordinating Group or 
State prescribed fire standards; 
(ii) to enable additional fire managers 
and apparatus, whether provided by the 
local resources of an agency, private con-
tractors, nongovernmental organizations, 
Indian Tribes, local fire services, or quali-
fied individuals, to assist in implementing 
a prescribed fire; 
(iii) in funding the completion of the 
claims funds study under section 204; or 
(iv) to finance the implementation of 
a prescribed fire on State, Tribal, or pri-
vate land and any post-prescribed fire ac-
tivities as are determined to be necessary 
by the Secretary concerned; 
(B) provide technical or financial assist-
ance to a prescribed fire council or prescribed 
burn association for the establishment or oper-
ation of the council or association; and 
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(C) provide funding for the collaborative 
prescribed fire program established under sec-
tion 103. 
(f) PRIORITIZATION OF FUNDING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Secretary concerned shall coordinate with Fed-
eral, 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). 
(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) threatening to, or located in, the 
wildland-urban interface and identified as 
a priority area in a statewide forest re-
source assessment or Community Wildfire 
Protection Plan; or 
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(ii) identified as important to the pro-
tection of a Tribal trust resource or the re-
served or treaty rights of an Indian Tribe; 
(D) on acres 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 de-
lineations or a strategic response zone. 
SEC. 102. POLICIES AND PRACTICES. 
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 pre-
scribed 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. 
SEC. 103. COLLABORATIVE PRESCRIBED FIRE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
within the Department of the Interior a collaborative pre-
scribed fire program (referred to in this section as the 
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‘‘program’’) to provide financial assistance to eligible enti-
ties, 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 coun-
cils, for the implementation of proposals to conduct pre-
scribed fires in priority landscapes in accordance with ap-
plicable existing policies. 
(b) PROPOSAL CRITERIA.—To be eligible for selection 
for the program, a proposal shall— 
(1) identify and prioritize planned prescribed 
fires for a 6-year period within a landscape; 
(2) establish annual accomplishment targets for 
prescribed fires under the proposal; 
(3) be developed through a collaborative proc-
ess; 
(4) be implemented across multiple jurisdic-
tions; 
(5) provide an estimate of— 
(A) the amount of annual Federal financial 
assistance necessary to implement the proposal; 
and 
(B) the amount of non-Federal funds that 
would be leveraged to implement the proposal; 
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(6) describe benefits to sensitive wildlife, inver-
tebrate, and plant species of concern; and 
(7) describe any established record of successful 
collaborative planning or use of prescribed fire by 
the entity submitting the proposal. 
(c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—Subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations, the Secretary shall select pro-
posals 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 dif-
ficult to suppress. 
(d) LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) NUMBER
OF
PROJECTS.—The Secretary 
may not provide more than $20,000,000 in total 
funding under the program in any fiscal year. 
(2) PROJECT
FUNDING.—The Secretary may 
not provide more than $1,000,000 to any 1 project 
under the program in any fiscal year. 
(3) PROJECT
PERFORMANCE.—The Secretary 
shall cease funding any proposal that, for 3 consecu-
tive years, fails to meet the annual accomplishment 
targets that were established under subsection 
(b)(2). 
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(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, relat-
ing to prescribed fires. 
(f) REPORTING.— 
(1) PROJECT
REPORTING.—A recipient of fi-
nancial assistance under the program shall annually 
submit to the Secretary a report summarizing, at a 
minimum— 
(A) the number of acres mitigated with 
prescribed fire by the recipient under the pro-
gram; 
(B) the amount of Federal and non-Fed-
eral funds used by the recipient under the pro-
gram; and 
(C) the status and progress of any collabo-
rative relationships associated with the project. 
(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 Sec-
retary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 
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on Natural Resources of the House of Representa-
tives a report on the program. 
(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. 
TITLE II—FACILITATING IMPLE-
MENTATION AND OUTREACH 
SEC. 201. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec-
tion, 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 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. 
(c) SUBCONTRACTS.—A State, Indian Tribe, or coun-
ty that enters into a cooperative agreement or contract 
under subsection (b) may enter into a subcontract, in ac-
cordance with applicable contracting procedures of the 
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State, Indian Tribe, or county, to conduct a prescribed 
fire on Federal land pursuant to that cooperative agree-
ment or contract. 
(d) AGENT OF SECRETARY.—A cooperative agree-
ment 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— 
(1) on Federal land; or 
(2) across an area that— 
(A) includes adjacent landowners; and 
(B) includes Federal land. 
(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. 
(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. 
(g) LONG-TERM CONTRACTS.—A cooperative agree-
ment or contract with an eligible entity under subsection 
(b) may authorize the eligible entity to conduct a series 
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of prescribed fires on Federal land for a period of not 
longer than 10 years. 
SEC. 202. HUMAN RESOURCES. 
(a) PRESCRIBED FIRE WORKFORCE.— 
(1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that— 
(A) in order to develop a prescribed fire 
workforce, training in prescribed fire should be 
developed with an emphasis on ecological out-
comes and wildfire risk reduction and outside of 
the parameters of suppression-oriented training; 
(B) the Secretaries should hire additional 
employees and provide or support training and 
development activities, including through part-
nerships with educational institutions, non-
governmental organizations, States, and Tribal 
entities, to increase the number of skilled and 
qualified practitioners dedicated to prescribed 
fire with smoke management skills; 
(C) qualifications or certifications in pre-
scribed fire should be broad to support an all- 
hands, all-lands approach to burning that is re-
spectful of diverse cultural traditions and other 
experiential learning; and 
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(D) training in prescribed fire may be re-
gionally focused and should include topics of— 
(i) cultural fire history and traditions, 
which should be provided by or with the 
consent of Indian Tribes or Indigenous-led 
organizations; 
(ii) fire ecology; and 
(iii) smoke management. 
(2) OVERTIME PAYMENTS.— 
(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 imple-
menting a prescribed fire. 
(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— 
(i) in item (bb), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(ii) in item (cc), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(dd) overtime payments to employees (including in-
dividuals 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).’’. 
(3) INCREASING WORKFORCE RETENTION.— 
(A) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this para-
graph is to require the Secretaries to carry out 
activities to retain sufficient workforce to imple-
ment prescribed fires and to remain competitive 
with other non-Federal firefighting programs. 
(B) HAZARD PAY.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal em-
ployee in any classification series carrying 
out work completed during prescribed fire, 
as identified by the Secretaries, shall be 
entitled to be paid the appropriate dif-
ferential under subsection (d) of section 
5545 of title 5, United States Code, as if 
such employee was covered by such sub-
section. 
(ii) REGULATIONS.—The Director of 
the Office of Personnel Management may 
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prescribe regulations to carry out this sub-
paragraph. 
(C) OTHER
BENEFITS.—The Secretaries 
shall implement measures to promote retention 
among Federal wildland firefighters of any clas-
sification series carrying out work related to 
wildland fire and prescribed fire, such as portal- 
to-portal pay, quarterly bonuses, or other bene-
fits. 
(D) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR FUELS AS-
SIGNMENTS.—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. 
(4) 
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 
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to plan, lead, and support prescribed fire 
across ownership boundaries that are pri-
orities at the landscape, region, State, or 
Federal level; and 
(ii) support each task force estab-
lished under clause (i) by assigning a dedi-
cated Federal employee— 
(I) to aid necessary administra-
tive functions relating to partnership 
agreements; and 
(II) to coordinate prescribed fire 
across ownership boundaries. 
(B) TERM OF EMPLOYMENT FOR FEDERAL 
TASK FORCE MEMBERS.—Federal employees as-
signed under subparagraph (A) may be hired as 
permanent, full-time employees using direct hir-
ing authority by the Secretaries. 
(C) 
COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—The 
Secretaries may enter into 1 or more coopera-
tive agreements to carry out this paragraph. 
(5) CONVERSION OF SEASONAL FIREFIGHTERS 
TO PERMANENT EMPLOYEES.—The Secretaries may 
noncompetitively convert a Federal seasonal em-
ployee to a Federal permanent employee if— 
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(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 perform-
ance appraisals of the employee for the 5 most 
recent seasons of Federal employment of the 
employee; and 
(C) the job duties and performance stand-
ards of the position into which the permanent 
employee converts emphasize implementing pre-
scribed fires. 
(6) EMPLOYMENT
OF
FORMERLY
INCARCER-
ATED 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 wrap-
around support services, including through 
partnerships with the Corps Network, to indi-
viduals described in subparagraph (B) to work 
as prescribed fire practitioners. 
(B) INDIVIDUALS
DESCRIBED.—An indi-
vidual referred to in subparagraph (A) is an in-
dividual that— 
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(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 
(ii) during the term of imprisonment 
described in clause (i), served on a 
wildland firefighting crew or received other 
comparable training. 
(7) 
UNDERREPRESENTED
EMPLOYEES.—To 
further address the gender disparity in wildland fire-
fighting, the Secretaries shall support the develop-
ment and participation of women in leadership op-
portunities, mentorship networks, and training in 
prescribed fire, including the Fire Leadership for 
Women course and Women-In-Fire Training Ex-
change and other related opportunities— 
(A) to develop strong leaders; 
(B) to increase the number of women over-
seeing prescribed fires; and 
(C) to enhance the longevity and success of 
women in wildland fire management. 
(8) VETERANS CREWS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs, shall seek— 
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(i) to provide a career pathway to in-
dividuals described in subparagraph (B) to 
work as prescribed fire practitioners; and 
(ii) to establish crews composed pre-
dominantly of veterans to conduct pre-
scribed fires. 
(B) INDIVIDUALS
DESCRIBED.—An indi-
vidual referred to in subparagraph (A) is an in-
dividual who— 
(i) served in the active military, naval, 
or air service; and 
(ii) was discharged or released under 
conditions other than dishonorable. 
(9) INTER-TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The Sec-
retaries 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. 
(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— 
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(1) establish, operate, and facilitate a pre-
scribed fire training program or center in each Geo-
graphic Area Coordination Center region where such 
a program or center does not exist on the date of 
enactment of this Act; 
(2) support the establishment of an Indigenous- 
led prescribed fire and cultural burning training cen-
ter operated by an Indian Tribe or partnership of 
Indian Tribes; 
(3) establish a virtual prescribed fire training 
center; and 
(4) establish and operate a training center for 
managing wildfire for resource objectives. 
(c) COMPETENCIES FOR FIREFIGHTERS.— 
(1) UPDATES
TO
REQUIRED
COMPETENCIES 
FOR SPECIFIC FIREFIGHTER POSITIONS.—The Sec-
retaries, 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 re-
quirement for an individual to obtain the necessary 
certification to serve in— 
(A) the position of a single-resource boss; 
and 
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(B) any other positions determined to be 
necessary by the Secretaries. 
(2) ADDITIONAL
EXPERIENCE.—The Secre-
taries shall require significant additional experience, 
gained exclusively during a prescribed fire, to obtain 
a certification described in paragraph (1). 
(d) INDEMNITY OF FEDERAL AND TRIBAL EMPLOY-
EES.—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— 
(1) shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; 
and 
(2) shall not be subject to civil proceedings, ex-
cept in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, 
United States Code. 
(e) INDEMNITY OF OTHER COOPERATORS.—Except 
in the case of gross negligence, an individual or entity in-
volved in a prescribed fire on Federal land or under Fed-
eral authority, if that prescribed fire escaped or caused 
loss or damage— 
(1) shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; 
and 
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(2) shall not be subject to civil proceedings, ex-
cept in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, 
United States Code. 
(f) INDEMNITY FOR PRESCRIBED FIRES.—Except in 
the case of gross negligence, an individual or entity in-
volved in a prescribed fire on any land, if that prescribed 
fire escaped, caused harm or damage, or required suppres-
sion resources— 
(1) shall not be liable for or subject to recovery 
of Federal fire suppression costs and costs of inves-
tigation incurred by Federal agencies; and 
(2) shall not be liable for monetary damages for 
loss or damage to any natural resource or timber 
values on Federal land. 
(g) ENHANCING INTEROPERABILITY BETWEEN FED-
ERAL AND NON-FEDERAL PRACTITIONERS.— 
(1) QUALIFICATION DATABASES AND DISPATCH 
SYSTEMS.—The Secretaries shall establish a collabo-
rative process to create mechanisms for non-Federal- 
agency fire practitioners, including those without ju-
risdictional authority, to be included in wildfire re-
source ordering and reimbursement processes. 
(2) PARTNERSHIP
AGREEMENTS.—The Secre-
taries shall— 
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(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 nec-
essary 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 CERTIFIED PRESCRIBED FIRE MAN-
AGERS. 
(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 pre-
scribed fire manager for an escaped prescribed fire to be 
‘‘gross negligence’’, if the certified prescribed fire man-
ager— 
(1) obtained a permit for the prescribed fire; 
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(2) conducted the prescribed fire consistent 
with a written prescribed fire plan; 
(3) was at the site of the prescribed fire for the 
duration of the prescribed fire; 
(4) ensured adequate personnel, equipment, and 
firebreaks were in place during the prescribed fire, 
in accordance with the written prescribed fire plan; 
and 
(5) complied with any applicable Federal, Trib-
al, State, and local laws. 
(b) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Subject to the 
availability of appropriations, in accordance with rec-
ommendation 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 Gov-
ernors’ Association to host a conference, at which gov-
ernors can meet to discuss the benefits of addressing li-
ability protection and possible incentives for States to 
enact a covered law. 
(c) FUNDING.—The Secretary may provide not more 
than $1,000,000 under the memorandum of agreement 
under subsection (b). 
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