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SENATE BILL 33
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Elizabeth "Liz" Stefanics and Harlan Vincent and Kristina Ortez
and Anita Gonzales
AN ACT
RELATING TO FOREST CONSERVATION; ENACTING THE WILDFIRE PREPARED
ACT; AMENDING AND RECOMPILING A SECTION OF THE NMSA 1978 TO BE
A SECTION OF THE WILDFIRE PREPARED ACT; ADDING MEMBERS AND
DUTIES TO THE FIRE PLANNING TASK FORCE; CREATING THE WILDFIRE
PREPARED PROGRAM; CREATING THE WILDFIRE PREPARED FUND;
RECONCILING CONFLICTING ENACTMENTS OF THE SAME SECTION OF LAW
BY REPEALING LAWS 2003, CHAPTER 115, SECTION 1; MAKING AN
APPROPRIATION; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
cited as the "Wildfire Prepared Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
Wildfire Prepared Act:
A. "assessment" means an assessment of a structure
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or property for compliance with wildfire preparedness
standards;
B. "buffer" means an area treated to reduce
wildfire fuel in order to act as a barrier between properties
to limit and halt the spread of wildfire and provide a safe
zone for firefighters to engage with wildfires;
C. "certification" means a certificate provided
pursuant to the wildfire prepared program indicating that a
structure or property meets wildfire preparedness standards;
D. "department" means the energy, minerals and
natural resources department;
E. "division" means the forestry division of the
energy, minerals and natural resources department;
F. "eligible property owner" means a person owning
a primary residence in New Mexico who meets all requirements
developed by the task force to be eligible for a wildfire
prepared program grant;
G. "high-risk area" means an area identified by the
task force as having a high probability of wildfire that is
likely to spread to structures or property;
H. "noncombustible" means made from material of
which no part will ignite and burn when subjected to fire;
I. "primary residence" means a dwelling structure
designed for long-term habitation in which the owner resides
for a majority of the year and its property;
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J. "property" means the land adjacent to a
structure;
K. "qualified entity" means a political subdivision
of the state or an entity contracted with for the hardening of
structures to be wildfire prepared;
L. "structure" means a constructed object,
including primary residences or commercial buildings and
outbuildings such as barns and sheds;
M. "task force" means the fire planning task force;
N. "wildfire" means a fire originating from an
unplanned ignition, such as lightning, volcanoes, an
unauthorized or accidental human-caused fire or a prescribed
fire that is declared a wildfire;
O. "wildfire prepared" means being resistant to
wildfire through actions to harden and make noncombustible
structures and property to reduce the risk of structure
ignition and building-to-building fire spread, including the
use of noncombustible and ignition-proof building materials and
landscaping property to reduce hazardous fuels; and
P. "wildfire preparedness standards" means the
standards developed by the task force for structures and
property to be wildfire prepared.
SECTION 3. Section 68-2-34 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,
Chapter 115, Section 1 and Laws 2003, Chapter 303, Section 1)
is recompiled as a section of the Wildfire Prepared Act and is
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amended to read:
"FIRE PLANNING TASK FORCE--DUTIES--WILDFIRE PREPARED
PROGRAM--STANDARDS--REQUIREMENTS .--
A. The "fire planning task force" is created. The
task force shall consist of [twelve members as follows ]:
(1) the state fire marshal;
(2) the director of the local government
division of the department of finance and administration;
(3) a representative of the commissioner of
public lands;
(4) a representative of the federal bureau of
land management on behalf of the United States department of
the interior, appointed by the governor after consulting with
the department of the interior;
(5) a representative of the United States
forest service [appointed by the governor, after consulting
with the forest service ];
(6) a member of a local fire department,
appointed by the governor;
(7) a member of a volunteer fire department,
appointed by the state forester ;
(8) a representative of the New Mexico
association of counties;
(9) a representative of the New Mexico
municipal league;
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(10) [the director] a representative of the
construction industries division of the regulation and
licensing department;
(11) [the state forester; and ] a
representative of the division ;
(12) a representative of an Indian nation,
tribe or pueblo, appointed by the governor;
(13) a representative of the office of
superintendent of insurance;
(14) a representative of the homeland security
and emergency management department;
(15) a member with expertise in wildfire
science and structures, appointed by the state forester; and
(16) a representative of a state-based
property insurance carrier trade association, appointed by the
state forester, after consulting with the office of
superintendent of insurance .
B. The chair of the task force shall be elected by
the task force. The task force shall meet at the call of the
chair.
C. The public members of the task force shall
receive per diem and mileage pursuant to the Per Diem and
Mileage Act.
D. The [forestry] division [of the energy, minerals
and natural resources department ], with assistance from the
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department of finance and administration, shall provide staff
for the task force.
E. The task force shall:
(1) identify [those] high-risk areas within
the state [that, because of the interface between forests and
urban buildings, are the most vulnerable to danger from forest
fires];
(2) develop standards for building codes,
defensible space requirements and ordinances that will reduce
the threat of [forest fires ] wildfires. In developing the
standards, the task force shall:
(a) recognize the distinction between
altering existing situations and establishing standards for new
construction;
(b) consider the benefits of thinning
overgrown forests, conducting controlled burns, clearing spaces
around homes and other structures, using [noncombustible
roofing materials and double-pane windows ] wildfire-resistant,
noncombustible and ignition-resistant building materials,
national standards for defensible space requirements, including
making the five-foot zone closest to and surrounding structures
noncombustible, and taking other fire suppression or prevention
measures;
(c) consider the impact of fire
mitigation measures on wildlife; and
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(d) solicit comments from affected
landowners, land users and local governments;
(3) work with communities in the affected
areas in adopting and implementing the building codes and
ordinances;
(4) develop wildfire preparedness standards
for certification that are consistent with and no less
stringent than the most recent standards developed by a
nationally recognized wildfire prepared standard-setting
organization, such as the insurance institute for business and
home safety;
(5) develop by June 30 of each year guidelines
and requirements for eligibility for grants consistent with the
provisions of and provided through the wildfire prepared
program pursuant to Section 4 of the Wildfire Prepared Act ; and
[(4)] (6) report its progress and any
recommendations for legislation to the governor and the
legislature by December 15 of each year."
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] WILDFIRE PREPARED PROGRAM.--
A. The "wildfire prepared program" is created in
the department to make structures and properties in New Mexico
wildfire prepared. The department shall provide technical
assistance and training, conduct assessments, provide
certification and award grants to:
(1) political subdivisions of the state to:
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(a) make changes to structures and
properties to make them wildfire prepared;
(b) conduct hazardous fuels reduction to
provide buffers for structures and properties in high-risk
areas; and
(c) establish community-based programs
to conduct assessments and provide certification; or
(2) qualified entities to assist eligible
property owners with making the necessary changes to their
primary residences for the sole purpose of making the primary
residences wildfire prepared.
B. At least fifty percent of the grant money
awarded pursuant to this section shall be made to qualified
entities for the purpose of assisting eligible property owners
with making the necessary changes to their primary residences
to make them wildfire prepared.
C. Grants awarded pursuant to the wildfire prepared
program shall be consistent with the guidelines and
requirements developed by the task force.
SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] WILDFIRE PREPARED FUND.--
A. The "wildfire prepared fund" is created as a
nonreverting fund in the state treasury to provide funding for
the wildfire prepared program. The fund consists of
distributions, appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and
income from investment of the fund.
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B. The department shall administer the fund. Money
in the fund is appropriated to the department to administer,
staff and carry out the provisions of the Wildfire Prepared
Act.
C. Expenditures from the fund shall be by warrant
of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to
vouchers signed by the secretary of energy, minerals and
natural resources or the secretary's authorized representative.
SECTION 6. APPROPRIATION.--Twenty million dollars
($20,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the
wildfire prepared fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2025 and
subsequent fiscal years for the purposes of the fund and the
hiring and training of four full-time employees in the forestry
division of the energy, minerals and natural resources
department to administer the wildfire prepared program. Any
unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a
fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.
SECTION 7. REPEAL.--Laws 2003, Chapter 115, Section 1 is
repealed.
SECTION 8. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public
peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.
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