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Committee advances prescribed-fire bill that creates claims fund, reciprocity and securitization language
Summary
Senate Bill 007 would create a prescribed-fire claims cash fund to reimburse limited damages from properly conducted burns, allow certification reciprocity for burners trained in other states and clarify securitization authority for utilities; committee sent the bill to appropriations 10–3.
The Energy & Environment Committee voted May 20 to advance Senate Bill 007 to the appropriations committee after testimony from firefighting, conservation and state fire officials describing the measure as a tool to reduce liability barriers that currently deter prescribed burns.
Representative Melissa Weinberg, the bill sponsor, described prescribed fire as “one of the most effective tools we have to reduce hazardous fuel loads, restore forest health and protect lives and property,” and said the measure creates “a prescribed fire claims cash fund, which allows limited reimbursement for damages in cases where burns were conducted properly and within state regulations.” She also said the bill expands certification access by including reciprocity…
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