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 Stefanics/Vincen
t/Ortez/Gonzales
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 1/28/2025
SHORT TITLE Wildfire Prepared Act
BILL
NUMBER Senate Bill 33/ec
ANALYST Davidson
APPROPRIATION*
(dollars in thousands)
FY25 FY26
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
$20,000.0 Nonrecurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
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 Up to $600.0 Up to $600.0 $1,200.0 Recurring
Wildfire
Prepared Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Senate Bill 33
Senate Bill 33 (SB33) amends sections of the Forest Conservation Act, creates a section called
the Wildfire Prepared Act, adds members to the Fire Planning Task Force, updates the duties of
the Fire Planning Task Force, and creates the Wildfire Prepared Program within the Energy,
Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD).
SB33 appropriates $20 million from the general fund to the newly created wildfire prepared fund
(WPF), which will be housed within EMNRD. The bill also directs EMNRD to hire four new
personnel with the funds from the WPF.
Senate Bill 33/ec – Page 2
This bill contains an emergency clause and would become effective immediately on signature by
the governor.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $20 million contained in 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. SB33 directs EMNRD to hire personnel with WPF funds, with EMNRD
estimating the four personnel could cost up to $500 thousand per year. The bill explicitly states
the personnel will be funded with WPF funds, removing flexibility for EMNRD to fund the
personnel with a mixture of WPF and recurring funds.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Wildfires will be an ever-present part of the state’s future, and the state’s risk of wildfires only
continues as snowpacks decline, average precipitation drops, and average temperatures rise. New
Mexico already has a high risk of wildfire—higher than 82 percent of states in the United States.
Wildfire risk is based on likelihood, intensity, exposure, and susceptibility.
New Mexico is in the 86th percentile for risk to homes. In New Mexico, 46 percent of homes and
buildings are located in direct exposure areas, meaning they are adjacent to flammable vegetation
and indirect sources, such as embers and home-to-home ignition. The remaining homes are in
areas with minimum exposure (or not likely to be subjected to wildfire) or in indirect exposure
(close to indirect sources).
New Mexico’s high wildfire risk has adverse impacts on the insurance market, predominantly
affecting homeowners in areas of high wildfire risk. Analysis from EMNRD noted homeowners
working to recover from the 2022 Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon fire and the 2024 South Fork and
Salt fires are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain insurance.
EMNRD analysis points to efforts in California, another high wildfire risk state, and the
programs it has instituted to aid homeowners in supplying defensible space grants (preparing
areas near homes and buildings to be more fire resilient by clearing brush, thinning, and building
with fire resistant materials). EMNRD analysis noted Senate Bill 33 proposes to institute a
similar program like California’s with the Wildfire Prepared Program.
SB33 also tasks the Wildfire Prepared Program, in addition to providing technical assistance and
training and conducting assessments, with awarding grants with funds from the WPF. Using the
fund to both cover the recurring cost of administration and grants with no cap assigned to them
could potentially deplete the fund and then the use of general fund to continue funding the
Wildfire Prepared Program personnel.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Related to Senate Bill 81, which creates the Property Insurance Program Association Board to
administer a program to provide property insurance of last resort (as prt of the FAIR Plan).
Senate Bill 81 also has provisions contingent on passage of Senate Bill 33.
Senate Bill 33/ec – Page 3
Related to House Bill 175, which amends portions of the Forest and Watershed Restoration Act
to allow the forest land protection revolving fund to be used to create buffers of defensible space
around structures and properties in high-risk areas
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