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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10523 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10523
To establish and carry out a Federal Wildfire Relief Fund.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 19, 2024
Mr. Curtis introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 establish and carry out a Federal Wildfire Relief Fund.
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 ``Federal Wildfire Relief Act of
2024.''
SEC. 2. DECLARATION.
The President, acting through the Administration of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, shall be required to declare a wildfire as
a catastrophic wildfire, for relief to be available under this Act.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL WILDFIRE RELIEF FUND.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency shall establish and carry out a Federal Wildfire
Relief Fund, under which the Administrator shall ensure--
(1) The adjudication of claims for compensation for damage
by a qualifying wildfire under subsections (d), (e), and (f);
(2) Compensation is provided in accordance with subsections
(d), (e), and (f); and
(3) Review, periodically and after the occurrence of a
catastrophic wildfire, of the compliance of electric utilities
(as defined by section 3(4) of the Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602(4))) seeking to access the
Electricity Transmission Liability Shield.
(b) Claims for Qualifying Wildfires.--
(1) Authority of administrator.--The Administrator shall,
on behalf of the United States, investigate, consider,
ascertain, adjust, determine, grant, deny, or settle any claim
for money damages asserted by structure owners, insurers, and
covered utilities.
(2) Independent claims manager.--Upon a determination by
the Administrator that a particular wildfire qualifies as a
catastrophic wildfire, the Administrator may appoint an
independent claims manager to determine the appropriate
compensation for each claim arising from such catastrophic
wildfire and to distribute compensation.
(c) Covered Utility Compliance With a Federal Wildfire Mitigation
Plan or State Approved Wildfire Mitigation Plan.--To qualify for
compensation under this Act, the Administrator shall determine whether
a claimant meets the following requirements:
(1) Federal or state approved wildfire mitigation plans.--
The covered utility for which compensation is being sought was
in compliance with State approved wildfire mitigation plans or
a Federal wildfire mitigation plan established under subsection
(i).
(2) Adequate insurance.--The damaged structure for which
compensation is being sought was adequately insured for not
less than 50 percent of the value of the structure.
(d) Compensation of Structure Owners.--
(1) Verification process.--The Administrator shall
establish a process for the verification of structure damage,
insurance coverage, and other relevant information.
(2) Claim amount.--The amount of each claim shall not
exceed the amount of the total structure, less--
(A) the amount awarded to a structure owner for
such damages by a State wildfire recovery fund; and
(B) the amount awarded to a structure owner for
such damage by a private insurer or covered utility.
(3) Compensation limits.--Structure owners shall be
compensated up to 25 percent of their uninsured losses, subject
to a 50 percent maximum of their insured losses up to
$1,000,0000.
(4) Deadline for compensation.--Not later that 180 days
after the date on which a claim is submitted under this Act,
the Administrator shall determine and fix the amount of
compensation, if any, to be paid for the claim.
(5) Advance payments.--At the request of a claimant, the
Administrator may make 1 or more advance or partial payments
before the final settlement of a claim, subject to a
preliminary approval and a requirement that repayment shall be
required if the claim is rejected.
(e) Compensation of Insurers.--An insurer of any structure owner
receiving compensation under this section may receive compensation of
up to 10 percent of the insurer's losses on insured structures meeting
Federal or State approved wildfire mitigation plans under subsection
(c).
(f) Compensation of Covered Utilities.--
(1) Recovered.--A covered utility servicing any structure
receiving compensation under this section may receive
compensation from the Fund of such amount as the Administrator
determines for the losses incurred by the covered utility for
the payment of structure owner claims.
(2) Limitation to certain claimants.--Compensation
authorized under this subsection shall not exceed 10 percent of
the value of the covered utility's gross assets.
(g) Voluntary Participation.--
(1) In general.--Participation in and receipt of
compensation from the Fund shall be voluntary for structure
owners and covered utilities.
(2) Waiver of claims.--To receive compensation under this
section, structure owners or insurers shall be required to
waive claims against a covered utility in regards to damages
stemming from the unique catastrophic wildfire event.
(h) Limitation of Liability.--Subject to compliance with Federal
and State approved wildfire mitigation plans, liability for damages
relating to qualifying catastrophic wildfires shall be limited for
covered utility operators to no greater than 10 percent of the value of
the gross assets of the covered utility.
(i) Wildfire Mitigation Operating Procedures.--
(1) State approved operating plans.--Covered Utility
Wildfire Mitigation and Operating Procedures approved by the
state will be the standard in that state for access to the
Fund.
(A) Covered utilities may submit their approved
state plan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(B) Covered utilities that have significant or
prolonged periods of noncompliance with submitting
their state approved wildfire mitigation operating
procedure will be ineligible to access the liability
shield.
(2) Federal energy regulatory commission technical
conference.--
(A) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall
establish a process by which covered utilities can get
their utility wildfire mitigation operation plan
approved if their state does not already have a
mitigation plan.
(j) Federal Jurisdiction Over Claims Related to Compensation for
Qualifying Catastrophic Wildfires.--Claims sought outside of the
parameters of the Fund, such as covered claims available under State
law under which a State court would have jurisdiction shall be the
exclusive jurisdiction of a regionally appropriate Federal claims
court.
SEC. 4. OTHER FEDERAL WILDFIRE RELIEF FUND LIMITATIONS.
(a) Exclusion.--The Fund shall not compensate for claims requesting
compensation for personal injuries or wrongful deaths.
(b) Habitable Dwellings.--The Fund shall compensate only for the
loss or damage of physical dwelling or business structures that were
deemed suitable for habitation or use at the time of the fire.
(c) No Cap.--Compensation of damages via the Fund shall not be
subject to a cap for any particular qualifying catastrophic wildfire
related to repayment of a covered utility.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Catastrophic wildfire.--The term ``catastrophic
wildfire'' means a wildfire occurring on or after the effective
date of this Act that damages or destroys more than 500
residential or commercial structures or causes more than
$50,000,000 in damages, or as otherwise determined by the
Administrator.
(2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or if
a manager is appointed, the manager.
(3) Covered utility.--The term ``covered utility'' means
any electric utility or company that otherwise owns, operates,
or maintains electric transmission, distribution, generation,
or energy storage equipment.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
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