Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR
Small
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/4/2025
SHORT TITLE Wildfire Suppression & Preparedness
Fun
d
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 191
ANALYST Davidson
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
EMNRD No fiscal impact
$111.2 to
$222.4
$111.2 to
$222.4
$222.4 to
$444.8
Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Is a companion to the General Appropriation Act.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources (EMNRD) Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Department of Finance Administration (DFA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 191
House Bill 191 (HB191) creates two wildfire-related permanent funds administered by the
Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD): the wildfire preparedness fund
and the wildfire suppression fund.
The wildfire preparedness fund will act as additional support for State Forestry Division’s (SFD)
duties by supplementing wildfire preparations, including pre-positioning of resources and forest
thinning work, for which the Legislature provides recurring funding for through the SFD budget.
Further, the wildfire preparedness fund will act as a repository for reimbursements,
appropriations, gifts, and revenue for preparedness work. The wildfire suppression fund will
provide support for costs associated with actively fighting wildfires, including vehicle rental and
repair and paying contract wildland fire fighters.
HB191 requires EMNRD to report to the Legislature annually on August 15 on the balances,
reimbursements, prior-year annual expenditures, and recommended appropriations for both
funds, in addition to the anticipated wildfire conditions for the next year. House Bill 191 – Page 2
The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) recommendation for the General Appropriation Act
includes $12 million for the wildfire preparedness fund from the general fund. Funding for the
wildfire suppression fund will come from wildfire suppression reimbursements from entities
such as tribal and local governments and cities and counties and from appropriations from the
general fund or the appropriations contingency fund.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $12 million related to this bill is a nonrecurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY26 shall not revert to the
general fund.
HB191 is a companion to an appropriation in the General Appropriation Act, the bill itself does
not have a major fiscal impact. The bill creates two new funds, but fund monitoring and
reporting are a part of normal staff duties for executive agency staff. Fund monitoring could
increase the workload for staff. Implementation of HB191’s reporting mechanisms could require
EMNRD to increase its staff by one to two personnel.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Expanded funding for wildfire suppression and preparedness, beyond the current recurring funds
existing in SFD’s budget, will enable for swifter response to wildfires like the Salt and South
Fork fires and enhance preparation for high fire risk areas like large parts of northern and
southern New Mexico.
Research done by Pew Charitable Trusts on state wildfire spending highlights several
recommendations for states with high wildfire risk to enact:
States should evaluate and strengthen current budgeting practices to account for growing
risk. By comparing actual spending versus expected spending, assessing the threat of
future fires, and implementing other tools, states can more accurately understand how
much to budget for wildfire management, including mitigation.
Pew also recommends that better tracking of spending on wildfire, specifically making spending
data more “accessible, transparent, and comprehensive,” would give policymakers and fellow
shareholders better information to more effectively allocate resources.
House Bill 191, endorsed by LFC, enables better tracking of spending on wildfires by requiring
EMNRD to report on the usage, reimbursement, and balance of both funds. The reporting will
give the state a more accurate picture of how to budget for wildfire suppression and mitigation.
Analysis from EMNRD expresses concerns about HB191 and its creation of two separate funds
instead of one fund to supplement wildfire suppression and preparedness costs. Specifically,
EMNRD analysis believes HB191 would have “significant impacts on wildfire operations,”
pointing to the bill creating additional administrative work to fund operations from either one of House Bill 191 – Page 3
the funds and the reporting requirements the bill would require.
EMNRD analysis notes suppression and preparedness efforts at times overlap, creating funding
gray areas unaccounted for in HB191 for. EMNRD points to an example of pre-positioning work
transitioning quickly to suppression work, and how the two fund option of HB191 has the
potential to complicate the funding of the work. EMNRD also notes the tracking of expenditures
from both funds has the potential to double the work of tracking while the agency is focusing on
wildfire response.
EMNRD analysis further notes wildfire operations are spread across the state to respond to
unique situations due to the geographic disparity between the northern and southern parts of the
state, and how wildfires and flooding can differently affect both:
It is not uncommon for southern New Mexico to have a high level of wildfire activity in
dry fuels while northern New Mexico is flooded with melting snow. If HB191 is enacted
and two funds are established, FD’s administrative staff will be operating out of both
funds at the same time.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
The LFC recommendation for the General Appropriation Act contains a $12 million transfer
from the general fund to the wildfire preparedness fund.
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