Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act
What changed between versions
New Section 2 defines 'covered agency' to include Federal land management agencies, NRCS, EPA, FEMA, US Fire Administration, States, Indian Tribes, and local governments. Previously the bill only listed some of these entities inline without a formal definition.
New defined term 'covered authority' lists six specific statutes (Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, good neighbor authority under the 2014 Farm Bill, Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004, collaborative forest landscape restoration program, and a catch-all for other authorities determined by the Comptroller General).
The study in subsection (a)(3) now covers activities under any 'covered authority' rather than only subsection (e) of section 103 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, significantly broadening what the GAO must examine.
A new sub-paragraph (a)(2)(B) requires the study to assess whether changes would 'enable better community protection and prevent the loss of structures due to wildfire,' adding a community/property protection objective that was not in the original text.
Report recipients expanded from two committees (House Natural Resources, Senate Energy and Natural Resources) to four committees (adding House Agriculture and Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry), reflecting the broader scope of programs now under study.
