County staff brief supervisors on two federal bills: forest management reform and FEMA disaster funding changes

County lobbyist and government affairs staff briefed the Coconino County Board of Supervisors Oct. 21 on two federal bills that could affect wildfire mitigation and post‑disaster recovery.

Keith Bridle summarized the Fix Our Forests Act, which passed the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee on a bipartisan 18–5 vote. The bill would accelerate forest‑health and hazardous fuels projects by streamlining approvals, encourage cross‑jurisdictional coordination, and extend categorical NEPA exclusions for certain forest management projects from 3,000 to 10,000 acres in some contexts, enabling faster work on landscapes most at risk.

Separately, staff reviewed a House measure known as the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act (a FEMA reform bill) that seeks to simplify and speed FEMA public assistance after disasters. The measure would, among other changes, move parts of FEMA’s public assistance from a strictly reimbursement model toward more timely grants for counties, speed small‑project approvals and align procurement parity for states and counties to reduce administrative delays. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reported the bill by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. County staff and NACO are advocating for reforms to modernize FEMA’s funding and approval processes; Coconino supervisors will be represented at a NACO fly‑in next week to discuss FEMA reform and other national issues.

Supervisors and staff said both measures could be beneficial for Coconino County — increasing capacity to undertake forest treatments and improving cash flow and speed for post‑disaster repairs — and will be monitored as they move through Congress.