Fire Department Repayment Act of 2023

Fire Department Repayment Act of 2023

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

The Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, Homeland Security, and Defense must establish standard operating procedures relating to payment timelines for fire suppression cost share agreements established under the Reciprocal Fire Protection Act. The departments must also review each agreement that is in operation within a year of this bill's enactment and modify an agreement as necessary to comply with the standard operating procedures.

The standard operating procedures must require that (1) 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, and (2) the federal paying entity reimburse a local fire department if the fire department submits an invoice in accordance with cost settlement procedures.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3396 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3396

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2023

Mr. Harder of California (for himself, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Stewart, and Mr. 
   LaMalfa) 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 
2023''.

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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