[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1428 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1428

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act to provide for wildfire mitigation grants, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2013

 Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Crapo) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act to provide for wildfire mitigation grants, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Prepare, Ready, Equip, and Prevent 
Areas at Risk of Emergency Wildfires Act of 2013'' or the ``PREPARE Act 
of 2013''.

SEC. 2. WILDFIRE MITIGATION.

    Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 203 the following:

``SEC. 203A. WILDFIRE MITIGATION.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `Administrator' means the Administrator of 
        the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
            ``(2) the term `community wildfire protection plan' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests 
        Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511);
            ``(3) the term `local mitigation plan' means a mitigation 
        plan developed under section 322(b) that addresses wildfire 
        mitigation and preparedness; and
            ``(4) the term `State mitigation plan' means a mitigation 
        plan developed under section 322(c) that addresses wildfire 
        mitigation and preparedness.
    ``(b) Establishment of Wildfire Mitigation and Preparedness Grant 
Program.--The President, acting through the Administrator, shall 
establish a pilot program to make grants to States for wildfire 
mitigation and preparedness.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--A grant under this section may be used by a 
State--
            ``(1) to reduce the hazardous fuel load by reducing the use 
        of fuels that may contribute to catastrophic wildfires in high-
        risk areas;
            ``(2) to invest in personnel and organizations to improve 
        wildfire preparedness;
            ``(3) to invest in vehicles and other equipment to improve 
        wildfire preparedness;
            ``(4) to invest in air tankers or other airborne assets to 
        help contain, suppress, and monitor wildfires;
            ``(5) to prevent damage from runoff into waterways and 
        floods caused by erosion from wildfires; and
            ``(6) at the discretion of the Governor of a State, for any 
        other wildfire mitigation and preparedness activities on 
        Federal, State, or private land in the State, unless otherwise 
        prohibited by law.
    ``(d) Eligibility for Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Eligibility.--A State shall be eligible for 
                assistance under this section if the section 420 grant 
                ratio for such State is equal to or greater than 150 
                percent of the State population ratio.
                    ``(B) Ratios.--For purposes of subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) the section 420 grant ratio shall be 
                        equal to the quotient of--
                                    ``(I) the number of declarations 
                                for a grant under section 420 received 
                                by the State during the 10 years prior 
                                to the date on which an application for 
                                assistance is submitted under this 
                                section, divided by
                                    ``(II) the total number of 
                                declarations for a grant under section 
                                420 in the United States during the 10 
                                years prior to the date on which an 
                                application for assistance is submitted 
                                under this section; and
                            ``(ii) the State population ratio shall be 
                        equal to the quotient of--
                                    ``(I) the population of the State, 
                                based on the most recent data available 
                                from the Bureau of the Census on the 
                                date on which an application for 
                                assistance is submitted under this 
                                section, divided by
                                    ``(II) the population of the United 
                                States, based on the most recent data 
                                available from the Bureau of the Census 
                                on the date on which an application for 
                                assistance is submitted under this 
                                section.
            ``(2) Waiver.--The President may waive the requirement of 
        paragraph (1) if a State--
                    ``(A) files a petition for waiver of the 
                requirement of paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) demonstrates that significant environmental 
                changes or shifts in forest health put the State at an 
                elevated risk for catastrophic wildfires, as determined 
                by the President.
            ``(3) Local assistance.--The Governor of a State may award 
        funds received under this section, to be used solely for the 
        purposes set forth under subsection (c), to--
                    ``(A) any county or municipality in that State with 
                a community wildfire protection plan or a local 
                mitigation plan; or
                    ``(B) any other entity that is explicitly 
                referenced in and central to, in the determination of 
                the Governor, the design of a community wildfire 
                protection plan or a local mitigation plan.
    ``(e) Criteria for Assistance.--In determining whether to award a 
grant to a State under this section, the President shall--
            ``(1) give preference to--
                    ``(A) a State with a high level of need for 
                assistance based on the best scientific data available, 
                as determined by the President in consultation with the 
                Chief of the Forest Service;
                    ``(B) a State that provides matching non-Federal 
                funds, including funds from nongovernmental entities, 
                equal to not less than 100 percent of the amount of 
                Federal funds made available under this section; and
                    ``(C) a State that previously received a grant 
                under this section and efficiently and effectively used 
                the Federal funds for wildfire mitigation and 
                preparedness activities in the State, as determined by 
                the President; and
            ``(2) consider environmental conditions in a State, 
        including environmental changes, deteriorating forest health, 
        and overall wildfire risk.
    ``(f) Application for Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--To request a grant under this section, a 
        State shall submit an application to the President in such 
        form, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        President may reasonably require.
            ``(2) Contents.--In addition to any other requirements that 
        may be specified by the President, a State submitting an 
        application for a grant under this section shall demonstrate 
        that--
                    ``(A) the State has a publicly available State 
                mitigation plan;
                    ``(B) the State shall provide matching non-Federal 
                funds equal to not less than 50 percent of the amount 
                of Federal funds made available under this subsection; 
                and
                    ``(C) a county or municipality that may receive 
                funds from the grant has a community wildfire 
                protection plan or a local mitigation plan.
    ``(g) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of receipt of a 
grant under this section, a State shall submit to the Administrator a 
report, which shall be made publicly available, on the use of funds 
made available under the grant.
    ``(h) Funding for Assistance.--
            ``(1) Predisaster mitigation fund.--Subject to the 
        availability of funds in the National Predisaster Mitigation 
        Fund established under section 203(i), the President shall use 
        not less than $20,000,000 and not more than $30,000,000 from 
        unobligated amounts in the National Predisaster Mitigation Fund 
        for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2019 in carrying out this 
        section.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
        be construed to increase the amount of appropriations 
        authorized for the Department of Homeland Security in any given 
        fiscal year.''.
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