Fire Department Repayment Act of 2022

Fire Department Repayment Act of 2022

This bill requires standard operating procedures for reciprocal fire suppression cost share agreements.

The Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, Homeland Security, and Defense shall

• establish standard operating procedures relating to fire suppression cost share agreements established under the Reciprocal Fire Protection Act; and
• with respect to each agreement in operation on one year after enactment of this bill, review each agreement and modify it as necessary to comply with the standard operating procedures.

The standard operating procedures shall include a requirement that each fire suppression cost share agreement be aligned with each of the cooperative fire protection agreements applicable to the entity subject to such fire suppression cost share agreement.

The standard operating procedures shall also include

• a requirement that the departments, to the maximum extent practicable, complete reviews, including second-level reviews of a fire suppression cost share agreement, as soon as practicable after a wildfire related to the area covered by such cost share agreement is contained; and
• a requirement that in completing such reviews, the department concerned consults with state and local fire suppression organizations.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8035 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8035

  To require the standardization of reciprocal fire suppression cost 
               share agreements, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 13, 2022

    Mr. Harder of California (for himself and Ms. Herrera Beutler) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, 
Armed Services, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the standardization of reciprocal fire suppression cost 
               share agreements, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Fire Department Repayment Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN FIRE SUPPRESSION COST SHARE 
              AGREEMENTS.

    (a) Establishment of Standard Operating Procedures.--Not later than 
1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretaries 
shall--
            (1) establish standard operating procedures relating to 
        fire suppression cost share agreements established under the 
        Act of May 27, 1955 (42 U.S.C. 1856a) (commonly known as the 
        ``Reciprocal Fire Protection Act''); and
            (2) with respect to each fire suppression cost share 
        agreement in operation on such date--
                    (A) review each such agreement; and
                    (B) modify each agreement as necessary to comply 
                with the standard operating procedures required under 
                paragraph (1).
    (b) Alignment of Fire Suppression Cost Share Agreements With 
Cooperative Fire Protection Agreements.--The standard operating 
procedures required under subsection (a)(1) shall include a requirement 
that each fire suppression cost share agreement be aligned with each of 
the cooperative fire protection agreements applicable to the entity 
subject to such fire suppression cost share agreement.
    (c) Second-Level Review.--The standard operating procedures 
required under subsection (a)(1) shall include--
            (1) a requirement that the Secretaries, to the maximum 
        extent practicable, complete reviews, including second-level 
        reviews of a fire suppression cost share agreement, as soon as 
        practicable after a wildfire relating to the area covered by 
        such fire suppression cost share agreement is contained; and
            (2) a requirement that in completing such reviews, the 
        Secretaries consults with State and local fire suppression 
        organizations.
    (d) Secretaries Defined.--In this section, the term ``Secretaries'' 
means--
            (1) the Secretary of Agriculture;
            (2) the Secretary of the Interior;
            (3) the Secretary of Homeland Security; and
            (4) the Secretary of Defense.
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