Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Wildfire Response Improvement Act”.
Wildfire Response Improvement Act
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct a review of the criteria for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of certain mitigation projects, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Fire management assistance program policy
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall recommend such regulations or guidance as are necessary to make eligible assessments and emergency stabilization to protect public safety, including for the fire management assistance program under section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187), irrespective of the incident period for a declared fire.
Sec. 3 Changes to public assistance policy guide
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall amend the Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to include guidance on wildfire-specific recovery challenges, including debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the resulting toxicity of drinking water resources.
Sec. 4 Mitigation cost-effectiveness
In general— The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall conduct a review of the criteria for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of projects intended to mitigate the impacts of wildfire under sections 203 and 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133; 5170c), including—
the establishment of pre-calculated benefits criterion for common defensible space mitigation projects for wildfire mitigation;
the use of nature-based infrastructure in wildfire mitigation;
considerations for vegetation management for wildfire mitigation;
reducing the negative effects of wildfire smoke on public health; and
lessening the impact of wildfires on water infrastructure.
Updated criteria— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue such guidance as is necessary to—
update criteria for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of mitigation projects under sections 203 and 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133; 5170c) based on the results of the review conducted under subsection (a); and
prioritize projects under such sections based on the criteria updated under paragraph (1).
Sec. 5 Waiver of duplicate benefits
Section 1210(a) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254) is amended—
in paragraph (3) by striking “between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021” and inserting “during the period beginning on January 1, 2016, and ending on the date on which the provision contained in such amendment is struck pursuant to paragraph (4)”;
in paragraph (4) by striking “5” and inserting “10”;
by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
“(5) Prohibition on income threshold—In carrying out the amendment made by paragraph (1), no income threshold may be applied to limit the eligibility of a recipient from qualifying for a waiver under the amendment made by such paragraph.”