Title: Wildfire Prevention Act of 2017
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Wildfire Prevention Act of 2017
This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to provide hazard mitigation assistance in any area affected by a fire for which fire management assistance was provided under such Act, regardless of whether a major disaster is declared.
Recipients of hazard mitigation assistance may use such assistance to conduct the following activities to help reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in any area affected by a wildfire:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shall submit to specified congressional committees a report containing a summary of any projects carried out, and any funding provided to those projects, under this bill.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1183 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1183

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
            Assistance Act to improve mitigation assistance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2017

Mr. Ruiz (for himself, Mr. Polis, Mr. Cook, Mr. O'Halleran, Mr. Pocan, 
     Mr. Peters, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Garamendi, Mrs. 
 Napolitano, and Ms. Sinema) introduced the following bill; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
            Assistance Act to improve mitigation assistance.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wildfire Prevention Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Hazard Mitigation Assistance.--Whether or not a major 
disaster is declared, the President may provide hazard mitigation 
assistance in accordance with section 404 in any area affected by a 
fire for which assistance was provided under this section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 404(a) (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a))--
                    (A) by inserting before the first period ``, or any 
                area affected by a fire for which assistance was 
                provided under section 420''; and
                    (B) in the third sentence by inserting ``or event 
                under section 420'' after ``major disaster'' each place 
                it appears; and
            (2) in section 322(e)(1) (42 U.S.C. 5165(e)(1)), by 
        inserting ``or event under section 420'' after ``major 
        disaster'' each place it appears.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.

    Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(f) Use of Assistance.--Recipients of hazard mitigation 
assistance provided under this section and section 203 may use the 
assistance to conduct the following activities to help reduce the risk 
of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in any area affected by 
a wildfire, including--
            ``(1) reseeding ground cover with quick-growing or native 
        species;
            ``(2) mulching with straw or chipped wood;
            ``(3) constructing straw, rock, or log dams in small 
        tributaries to prevent flooding;
            ``(4) placing logs and other erosion barriers to catch 
        sediment on hill slopes;
            ``(5) installing debris traps to modify road and trail 
        drainage mechanisms;
            ``(6) modifying or removing culverts to allow drainage to 
        flow freely;
            ``(7) adding drainage dips and constructing emergency 
        spillways to keep roads and bridges from washing out during 
        floods;
            ``(8) planting grass to prevent the spread of noxious 
        weeds;
            ``(9) installing warning signs;
            ``(10) establishing defensible space measures; and
            ``(11) reducing hazardous fuels.''.

SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and 
annually thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the 
Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives a report containing a summary of any projects carried 
out, and any funding provided to those projects, under subsection (d) 
of section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) (as amended by section 1(a)(2)).
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