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House committee reviews emergency-management draft that expands state forest-fire authority and tightens permit, reporting rules
Summary
The House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee examined Draft 3.2 of bill 26-0550, which designates the commissioner as state forest fire warden with authority to appoint special wardens and, in some circumstances, assume incident command; it also tightens reimbursement eligibility, recordkeeping and open-burning permit categories and raises contract concerns for private fire departments.
The House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee reviewed Draft 3.2 of bill 26-0550 on emergency management, focusing on new forest-fire provisions that shift authority and clarify permit and reimbursement procedures.
Tucker Anderson, Legislative Council, told the committee that Draft 3.2 (posted at 03:10 p.m.) removes earlier language linking emergency evacuation plans to individualized education programs and replaces it with a new section 7 designating the commissioner or designee as the state forest fire warden. "The commissioner is granted the authority to exercise the duties of town forest fire wardens," Anderson said, and may appoint special wardens, delegate state warden authority, and "take command and control of a forest fire...and act as the incident commander over all other fire officials" when resources or circumstances require.
The draft also designates the chief of the municipal fire department, fire district, or private fire department that has jurisdictional responsibility to respond to a municipality as the town forest fire warden, and requires municipalities covered by multiple districts to designate one chief and notify the commissioner. Anderson flagged that designation of private fire-department chiefs as mandatory wardens could create conflicts with existing contracts between municipalities and private departments. He said this raises a potential Contracts Clause concern under Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution and suggested municipalities may need to renegotiate contracts or add transitional language.
On reimbursement, the bill would require municipalities to pay suppression costs when a fire occurs on land not owned by the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), but make commissioner reimbursement contingent on funds being appropriated or otherwise available and on meeting minimum eligibility requirements. For fires on ANR land, Anderson summarized new eligibility steps: the town warden must request assistance from the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) Wildland Fire Team within one hour of discovery, submit a report within 24 hours after extinguishment, provide detailed cost documentation, and obtain commissioner approval before reimbursement.
The draft tightens recordkeeping and permit rules. It requires town wardens to notify FPR within 24 hours for fires on non‑ANR land, prepare jurisdictional reports documenting wardens' actions, number and causes of fires, area burned and damages, and to issue a written permit record within 12 hours of granting permission to kindle a fire. Anderson walked the panel through clarified definitions and a three-tier permit classification: category 1 covers small campfires meeting size and siting requirements (for example, fires 36 inches in diameter or less in certain contained settings); category 2 covers pile or uncontained fires; and category 3 covers broadcast burns and requires a plan with location, objectives and contingency measures.
Anderson also described technical and conforming corrections across statutory sections (including proposed amendments to 10 V.S.A. §§2603, 2642–2648 and addition of a subchapter in chapter 83 on a uniform fire prevention ticket). He noted that some recommendations came from FPR testimony, which the draft now reflects.
Members asked procedural and substantive questions, including whether a removed provision (section 3 concerning a 25‑foot matter) will be restored once cross‑jurisdictional review is completed. Anderson said he will make the technical corrections he noted, update the draft with two outstanding pieces the committee raised, and circulate the revised text; the committee expects to take the bill to the floor the following day.
No formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript of this meeting. The committee requested additional technical edits and clarification on contracting and charter issues before finalizing the vehicle for the floor.
