SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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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; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
"Wildfire Prepared Act".
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Wildfire
Prepared Act:
A. "assessment" means an assessment of a structure
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; SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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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 New Mexico
resident who owns a residence in New Mexico and 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. "property" means the land adjacent to a
structure;
J. "qualified entity" means a political
subdivision of the state or an entity contracted with for the
hardening of structures to be wildfire prepared;
K. "residence" means a dwelling structure designed
for long-term habitation and its property;
L. "structure" means a constructed object,
including residences or commercial buildings and outbuildings
such as barns and sheds;
M. "task force" means the fire planning task
force; SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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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 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:
(1) the state fire marshal;
(2) the director of the local government
division of the department of finance and administration;
(3) the commissioner of public lands; SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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(4) the state director of the federal bureau
of land management on behalf of the United States department
of the interior;
(5) the regional forester of the
United States 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) the director of the New Mexico
association of counties;
(9) the director of the New Mexico
municipal league;
(10) the director of the construction
industries division of the regulation and licensing
department;
(11) the state forester;
(12) the secretary of Indian affairs;
(13) the superintendent of insurance;
(14) the secretary of homeland security and
emergency management;
(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 SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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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 division, with assistance from the
department of finance and administration, shall provide staff
for the task force.
E. The task force shall:
(1) identify and map high-risk areas within
the state;
(2) develop standards for building codes,
defensible space requirements and ordinances that will reduce
the threat of 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 other fire suppression
measures, including thinning overgrown forests, conducting
controlled burns, clearing spaces around homes and other
structures, using wildfire-resistant, noncombustible and SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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ignition-resistant building materials and national standards
for defensible space requirements, including making the
five-foot zone closest to and surrounding structures
noncombustible;
(c) consider the impact of fire
mitigation measures on wildlife; and
(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
(6) report its progress and any
recommendations for legislation to the governor and the
legislature by December 15 of each year." SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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SECTION 4. WILDFIRE PREPARED PROGRAM--NO RIGHT OF
ACTION, GUARANTEE OF BENEFITS OR ENFORCEABLE INTEREST.--
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:
(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
residences for the sole purpose of making the 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 residences
to make them wildfire prepared.
C. Grants awarded pursuant to the wildfire SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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prepared program shall be consistent with the guidelines and
requirements developed by the task force.
D. Nothing in the Wildfire Prepared Act shall
create any additional right of action under the law, and the
provisions of that act do not guarantee any benefits and
shall not be construed to create an interest in property that
is enforceable under state law or that does not otherwise
exist.
SECTION 5. 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.
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. REPEAL.--Laws 2003, Chapter 115, Section 1
is repealed. SFC/SCONC/SB 33
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SECTION 7. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public
peace, health and safety that this act take effect
immediately.