ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
Purpose:
Makes several modifications to the wildfire suppression funding procedures and alters the disposition of the funds administered by the state forester.
Background:
By statute, the State Land Commissioner (Commissioner) is required to also act as the State Forester. The State Forester is charged with, among other duties, preventing and suppressing wildfires on the 9.3 million acres of state trust land as well as 13 million acres of private land. For this purpose, the State Land Department (Department) maintains a small cadre of professional fire management specialists. The Department has also formed cooperative agreements with many local and rural fire departments, state and federal agencies and private companies to control wildfires.
The State Forester administers the fire suppression fund and the cooperative forestry fund. Monies in the fire suppression fund consist of state general fund appropriations and are used for wildfire suppression and related equipment and resources and for supporting other unplanned all risk activities such as floods, earthquakes and hazardous materials responses. The cooperative forestry fund consists generally of federal monies and is used to provide equipment, training and forestry services to local fire departments.
H.B. 2360 makes several modifications to the wildfire suppression funding procedures and alters the disposition of the funds administered by the state forester. According to the Department, these modifications are necessary to more clearly reflect the manner in which the Department’s Fire Management Division plans for periods extreme fire danger and conducts business in general.
There is no anticipated impact to the state general fund associated with this bill.
Provisions:
1. Allows the Governor to authorize the State Forester to incur liabilities for suppressing wildfires and responding to other unplanned all risk activities without declaring a wildfire emergency.
2. Removes the 90-day time limit after an emergency proclamation by the Governor within which the State Forester must report expenditures related to wildfires or other unplanned all risk emergencies to the Department of Administration.
3. Requires the State Forester to submit a report by December 31 of each year to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Governor detailing the uses of all monies authorized for expenditure from the fire suppression fund and any other monies authorized by the Governor to prepare for periods of extreme fire danger and position for fire suppression resources.
4. Clarifies that the cap on liabilities incurred for wildfire suppression or other unplanned all risk emergencies of $2 million is from the state general fund.
5. Allows the Governor to authorize an additional $1 million from the state general fund to prepare for periods of extreme fire danger rather than authorizing the monies during periods of extreme fire danger.
6. Requires, if nonreimbursable liabilities incurred exceed the balance of the fire suppression revolving fund, the consent of a majority of the state emergency council before State Forester may incur additional liabilities.
7. Allows the State Forester to require reimbursement from cities, counties and state and federal agencies for pre-suppression and unplanned all risk activities.
8. Alters the fire suppression fund to be administered as a revolving fund.
9. Shifts, from the end of the fiscal year to the end of the calendar year, the date by which unobligated monies exceeding $600,000 in the fire suppression revolving fund are transferred to the state general fund.
10. Exempts monies in the cooperative forestry fund from legislative appropriation and requires that deposits into the fund be made in accordance with budgetary requirements for state agencies.
11. Makes conforming changes.
12. Provides for a general effective date.
Amendments
Adopted by NRAE Committee
Makes a conforming change.
House Action Senate Action
NRA 1/24/01 DP 9-0-0-1 NRAE 3/22/01 DPA 7-0-1
APPROP 2/13/01 DP 15-0-0-1
3rd Read 3/6/01 DPA 56-2-2
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 22, 2001