Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act in plain language
1: Short title
This section says the Act may be called the "Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act." This is just the Act's official short name and does not create any requirement on its own.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act .
2: Study on wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries
This section would require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study covering three topics. First, the study must identify existing federal programs, rules, and legal authorities that either allow or block wildfire mitigation work when that work needs to cross the boundary between federal land and non-federal land. Second, for any program, rule, or authority identified in the first topic, the study must determine whether changing it would give increased capacity or increased access to funding to mitigate wildfires to each of the following: federal land management agencies (using the definition of that term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, 16 U.S.C. 6801), the Secretary of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Secretary of Homeland Security acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Fire Administration, states, local governments, and tribal governments. Third, the study must examine the activities carried out under subsection (e) of section 103 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6513), and within that third topic must also cover how to improve how well those activities mitigate wildfire, and whether that existing subsection has actually increased federal land management agencies' and states' access to funding for wildfire mitigation. Not later than 2 years after this Act is enacted, the Comptroller General would have to submit a report to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. That report must contain the results of the study and recommendations to simplify cross-boundary wildfire mitigation between federal land management agencies and state, local, and tribal governments.
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2. Study on wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries (a) Study required The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on— (1) the existing Federal programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation from being completed across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land; (2) whether changes to any program, rule, or authority identified pursuant to paragraph (1) would allow Federal land management agencies (as defined in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act ( 16 U.S.C. 6801 )), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Fire Administration, States, local governments, and Tribal governments increased capacity or access to funding to mitigate wildfires; and (3) the activities carried out pursuant to subsection (e) of section 103 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6513 ), including— (A) how to improve the efficacy of such activities with respect to mitigating wildfire; and (B) whether the enactment of such subsection has increased the access of Federal land management agencies and States to funding to mitigate wildfires. (b) Report Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that contains— (1) the results of the study required under subsection (a); and (2) recommendations to simplify cross-boundary wildfire mitigation between Federal land management agencies and State, local, and Tribal governments.