Committee approves committee substitute to expand state role in wildfire prevention, home hardening

The committee gave a unanimous due-pass recommendation to the committee substitute for Senate Bill 33, which expands the State Forester’s authority, enlarges the legislative fire planning task force and sets up a program for home hardening and neighborhood-scale mitigation, sponsors and witnesses said.

Senator Ezell, introducing the committee substitute, described the measure as a package of five core changes: add missing representatives to the long‑standing fire planning task force, develop uniform wildfire-ready standards for homes and structures, create an authority for home hardening assistance and training, enable local governments to build neighborhood mitigation capacity and use grants as incentives. The bill also carries an emergency clause and a $20,000,000 special-appropriation request in the executive recommendation, the sponsor said.

State Forester Laura McCarthy and Representative Harlan Vincent gave detailed testimony on the need to address home ignition zones, buffer zones and neighborhood-scale work. McCarthy told the committee that most of New Mexico’s highest-risk watersheds are on national forest lands and that the forestry division’s capacity is limited; she said staff are needed to deliver technical assistance and to run a successful statewide home-hardening program. McCarthy said the 20,000,000 proposal included mapping, planning and staffing and cautioned that without added positions some thinning staff would have to be reallocated to program delivery.

Insurance Superintendent (identified as Miss Kane) testified about insurer interest in uniform standards, naming the IBHS (Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety) standard as an example and saying some filings in other states using mitigation standards have produced premium reductions. Multiple fire chiefs, county commissioners, municipal league and Tribal representatives testified in favor. Mark Fisher, a Lincoln County commissioner, described local losses in the Ruidoso area and said mitigation and home hardening are essential to restoring insurability and encouraging rebuilding. Albuquerque Fire Rescue and the state fire marshal supported the bill on public-safety grounds.

Committee members probed the task force composition, raised questions about whether the governor should retain appointment authority for federal partners (U.S. Forest Service), and suggested adding utility representation. Senator Gazel voiced concern about a voting seat for a state-based insurance-trade representative and suggested that industry serve as a non‑voting advisor instead. Sponsors said those are matters for further drafting and for the finance committee to consider when the bill moves forward.

Senator Hamblin moved for a due pass and the committee voted to advance the committee substitute. Committee testimony emphasized that the proposal is intended as the beginning of a coordinated suite of bills addressing mitigation, insurance, and community resilience rather than a one-off fix.