j_lc_2017a_2017-11-15t12:10:20z10 Hearing Summary

Date: 11/15/2017

Location: RM 271

01:14 PM -- Wildfire Matters Review Committee



Representative KC Becker, chair of the Wildfire Matters Review Committee, presented the bills forwarded to the Legislative Council Committee. The summary report prepared for the Legislative Council Committee, copies of the bills, and the committee's charge can be found in Attachment J. The bills are as follows:



Attachment J - Wildfire Matters Review merged files.pdf



Bill A – Extend Wildfire Matters Review Committee and Modify Charge. Under current law, the committee is repealed on July 1, 2018. The bill continues the committee until September 1, 2025, and repeals obsolete provisions related to the committee charge.



Bill B – Statutory Provisions Extinguish Unattended Fires. The bill changes the penalty for leaving a campfire unattended or failing to extinguish a fire from a class 2 petty offense, punishable by a fine of $50, to a class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by a minimum $50 fine and a maximum of six months in jail or a $750 fine or both. The bill also removes the requirement that counties post certain notices related to unattended campfires.



Joint Memorial A – Memorialize Congress to Fund Wildfire Response. The resolution requests that the U.S. Congress fund the costs for catastrophic wildfire response outside the normal budgets for federal forest management agencies.