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Introduced on January 13, 2025 by Josh Harder
This bill makes it easier and faster for local fire departments to get paid back when they help fight wildfires with federal partners. It tells four federal departments to create one clear set of rules for how and when payments are made under “cost share” agreements, which are deals to split firefighting costs across federal, state, and local lines. The rules must match up with any existing cooperative fire protection agreements, so everyone’s paperwork lines up.
Under these rules, the federal side must reimburse a local fire department once it submits an invoice following the agreed steps. Congress also states that repayments should happen as soon as possible and no later than one year after the fire is put out. The departments have up to one year after the bill becomes law to set these standard procedures. The departments involved are Agriculture, Interior, Homeland Security, and Defense.