,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #afia ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #bc 7legislative day1 ,may #bb71 #bjai,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself and ,mr4 ,wyden7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to provide mandatory funding to the ,secretary of ,agriculture to carry out hazardous fuels reduction projects on ,national ,forest ,system land1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,wildfire ,resilient ,communities ,act4 #b4 ,funding for hazardous fuels reduction projects on ,national ,forest ,system land 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,at-risk community2 fire regime ,i2 fire regime ,,ii2 fire regime ,,iii ,the terms at-risk community1 fire regime ,i1 fire regime ,,ii1 and fire regime ,,iii have the meanings given those terms in section #aja of the ,healthy ,forests ,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feaa74 7#b7 ,hazardous fuels reduction project ,the term hazardous fuels reduction project means the removal or modification of flammable vegetation or woody debris through prescribed fire1 thinning1 brush removal1 mastication1 pruning1 slash treatment1 or a combination of those methods1 on the condition that the method is ecologically appropriate1 cost-effective1 and selected on a site-specific basis4 7#c7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 acting through the ,chief of the ,forest ,service4 7b7 ,hazardous fuels reduction projects 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall carry out hazardous fuels reduction projects on ,national ,forest ,system land4 7#b7 ,project priorities ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall prioritize hazardous fuels reduction projects that are-- 7,a7 conducted in areas that-- 7i7 are within or adjacent to-- 7,i7 at-risk communities2 or 7,,ii7 high-value watersheds2 7ii7 have very high wildfire hazard potential2 or 7iii7 are in fire regime ,i1 fire regime ,,ii1 or fire regime ,,iii2 or 7,b7 designed to integrate and simultaneously advance two or more of the goals established in the report of the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of the ,interior entitled ,the ,national ,strategy3 the ,final ,phase of the ,development of the ,national ,cohesive ,wildland ,fire ,management ,strategy and dated ,april #bjad-- 7i7 to create fire-adapted communities2 7ii7 to restore and maintain resilient landscapes2 and 7iii7 to achieve safe1 effective fire response4 7c7 ,funding 7#a7 ,in general ,on the first ,october #a following the date of enactment of this ,act1 out of any funds in the ,treasury not otherwise appropriated1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall transfer to the ,secretary to carry out this section #a1jjj1jjj1jjj1 to remain available until expended4 7#b7 ,receipt and acceptance ,the ,secretary shall be entitled to receive1 shall accept1 and shall use to carry out this section the funds transferred under paragraph 7#a71 without further appropriation4 7#c7 ,administrative and planning costs ,not more than #aj percent of funding made available under paragraph 7#a7 may be used for administrative and planning costs4 #c4 ,community planning assistance for at-risk communities 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,at-risk community2 community wildfire protection plan ,the terms at-risk community and community wildfire protection plan have the meanings given those terms in section #aja of the ,healthy ,forests ,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feaa74 7#b7 ,federal land ,the term ,federal land means the following3 7,a7 ,national ,forest ,system land reserved from the public domain4 7,b7 ,the following land administered by the ,secretary of the ,interior3 7i7 ,public lands 7as defined in section #ajc of the ,federal ,land ,policy and ,management ,act of #aigf 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #agjb774 7ii7 ,a unit of the ,national ,park ,system4 7iii7 ,a unit of the ,national ,wildlife ,refuge ,system4 7iv7 ,land held in trust for an ,indian ,tribe4 7#c7 ,hazardous fuels reduction project ,the term hazardous fuels reduction project means the removal or modification of flammable vegetation or woody debris through prescribed fire1 thinning1 brush removal1 mastication1 pruning1 slash treatment1 or a combination of those methods1 on the condition that the method is ecologically appropriate1 cost-effective1 and selected on a site-specific basis4 7#d7 ,indian ,tribe ,the term ,indian ,tribe has the meaning given the term ,indian tribe in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd74 7#e7 ,secretaries ,the term ,secretaries means the ,secretary of the ,interior and the ,secretary of ,agriculture4 7b7 ,development of map ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and periodically thereafter1 the ,secretaries shall develop and publish a map depicting at-risk communities1 including ,tribal at-risk communities4 7c7 ,planning and preparing at-,risk communities for wildfire ,subject to the availability of appropriations1 the ,secretaries shall provide financial and technical assistance to at-risk communities adjacent to ,federal land1 including through ,states1 to assist the at-risk communities in planning and preparing for wildfire1 including-- 7#a7 cosponsoring and supporting the expansion of-- 7,a7 the ,firewise ,,usa ,program2 7,b7 the ,ready1 ,set1 ,go program2 7,c7 the ,living with ,wildfire program2 or 7,d7 programs similar to the programs referred to in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c7 that are designed to advance fire-adapted communities2 7#b7 supporting the development1 updating1 and implementation of community wildfire protection plans2 7#c7 carrying out risk assessments and creating maps that depict wildfire risk1 investment scenarios1 and tradeoffs to assist in planning for response and suppression resource needs and implementing hazardous fuels reduction projects2 7#d7 sharing costs to create defensible space for a distance of not less than #ajj feet around a residence that was built before the date of enactment of this ,act2 and 7#e7 planning and implementing cross-boundary hazardous fuels reduction projects as identified in a community wildfire protection plan4 7d7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated #ajj1jjj1jjj to carry out this section for each fiscal year4 #d4 ,collaborative ,forest ,landscape ,restoration ,program 7a7 ,proposal selection process ,section #djjc7;d7 of the ,omnibus ,public ,land ,management ,act of #bjji 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #gcjc7;d77 is amended by striking paragraph 7#c7 and inserting the following3 7#c7 ,limitation ,the ,secretary may select not more than the number of proposals under paragraph 7#a7 that the ,secretary determines are likely to receive adequate funding4 4 7b7 ,permanent reauthorization ,section #djjc7;f77#f7 of the ,omnibus ,public ,land ,management ,act of #bjji 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #gcjc7;f77#f77 is amended by striking #hj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjai through #bjbc and inserting #ajj1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbj and each fiscal year thereafter4 #e4 ,county ,stewardship ,fund ,section #fjd of the ,healthy ,forests ,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feia;c7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7j7 as subsection 7k72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7i7 the following3 7j7 ,county ,stewardship ,fund 7#a7 ,in general ,there is established in the ,treasury of the ,united ,states a fund to be known as the ,county ,stewardship ,fund 7referred to in this section as the ,fund71 to be administered by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,deposits ,each fiscal year1 an amount equal to #be percent of the amounts collected as receipts under subsection 7e7 during the preceding fiscal year shall be deposited in the ,fund4 7#c7 ,availability ,amounts in the ,fund shall-- 7,a7 be used only for purposes described in paragraph 7#d72 and 7,b7 remain available until expended4 7#d7 ,purposes 7,a7 ,in general ,each fiscal year1 the ,chief or the ,director1 as applicable1 shall distribute from amounts in the ,fund to each county in which a contract under subsection 7b7 was carried out on ,federal land in the county during the preceding fiscal year a payment of an amount equal to #be percent of the receipts generated from that contract4 7,b7 ,use of funds ,a county receiving a payment under subparagraph 7,a7 may use the payment for any governmental purposes4 4