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Senate panel advances $20.7 million supplemental to repay wildfire‑suppression advances and pay incident costs
Summary
The Senate Finance Committee approved Assembly Bill 561, a roughly $20.7 million supplemental appropriation to the Nevada Division of Forestry to repay prior general‑fund advances and cover outstanding wildfire suppression bills; staff said reimbursements from federal and other sources are still rolling in.
The Senate Finance Committee voted to advance Assembly Bill 561, which seeks a supplemental appropriation in the amount of about $20,733,824 to the Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) to repay general‑fund advances and pay outstanding wildland‑fire suppression costs.
Casey (State Forester/Fire Warden) presented the request and said approximately $18.6 million would repay a general‑fund advance used earlier in the fiscal year and roughly $2.14 million would cover additional outstanding bills. The presenter reported NDF had invoiced about $37.9 million in reimbursements since October 2024 and had received about $23.1 million to date; roughly $16.1 million remained to be invoiced and the numbers change daily as invoices are processed.
Committee members asked about timing and whether returned reimbursements would flow back to the general fund or be used to pay outstanding NDF debts; Casey said reimbursements that arrive late in the fiscal year are sometimes swept to the general fund unless authority exists to use them for outstanding bills. The presenter also said staff had recently processed more than $7.2 million in payments, and a contractor, now staffed, is moving through older invoices.
LCB fiscal staff summarized the bill at work session and the committee moved the bill to a do‑pass recommendation. No public callers provided testimony during the hearing.
Votes at work session: Committee moved AB561 to do‑pass; motion carried.
