Sec. 202. Human resources
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/bill/118/s/4424/is/section-202·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— in order to develop a prescribed fire workforce, training in prescribed fire should be developed with an emphasis on ecological outcomes and wildfire risk reduction and outside of the parameters of suppression-oriented training; the Secretaries should hire additional employees and provide or support training and development activities, including through partnerships with educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, States, and Tribal entities, to increase the number of skilled and qualified practitioners dedicated to prescribed fire with smoke management skills; qualifications or certifications in prescribed fire should be broad to support an all-hands, all-lands approach to burning that is respectful of diverse cultural traditions and other experiential learning; and training in prescribed fire may be regionally focused and should include topics of— cultural fire history and traditions, which should be provided by or with the consent of Indian Tribes or Indigenous-led organizations; fire ecology; and smoke management.
The purpose of the amendment made by subparagraph
(B)is to allow the Secretaries to use additional new budget authority for wildfire suppression for the cost of overtime payments to employees implementing a prescribed fire. Section 251(b)(2)(F)(ii)(II) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 ( 2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(F)(ii)(II) ) is amended— in item (bb), by striking and at the end; in item (cc), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: overtime payments to employees (including individuals employed in carrying out a contract between an Indian Tribe and the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior) implementing a prescribed fire (as defined in section 3 of the National Prescribed Fire Act of 2024 ). . The purpose of this paragraph is to require the Secretaries to carry out activities to retain sufficient workforce to implement prescribed fires and to remain competitive with other non-Federal firefighting programs. Each Federal employee in any classification series carrying out work completed during prescribed fire, as identified by the Secretaries, shall be entitled to be paid the appropriate differential under subsection
(d)of section 5545 of title 5, United States Code, as if such employee was covered by such subsection. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations to carry out this subparagraph. The Secretaries shall implement measures to promote retention among Federal wildland firefighters of any classification series carrying out work related to wildland fire and prescribed fire, such as portal-to-portal pay, quarterly bonuses, or other benefits. To attract and retain a skilled fuels workforce, the Secretaries shall implement pay incentives that account for and offset the more competitive pay options offered through wildfire suppression assignments, including such options as bonus pay, per diem payments, or grading-up fuels positions. The Secretaries shall— not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, establish at least 1 multiparty task force of Federal employees and non-Federal entities within each Geographic Area Coordination Center to plan, lead, and support prescribed fire across ownership boundaries that are priorities at the landscape, region, State, or Federal level; and support each task force established under clause
(i)by assigning a dedicated Federal employee— to aid necessary administrative functions relating to partnership agreements; and to coordinate prescribed fire across ownership boundaries. Federal employees assigned under subparagraph
(A)may be hired as permanent, full-time employees using direct hiring authority by the Secretaries. The Secretaries may enter into 1 or more cooperative agreements to carry out this paragraph. The Secretaries may noncompetitively convert a Federal seasonal employee to a Federal permanent employee if— the listed job duties of the employee include wildland firefighting; the employee received a rating of at least Fully Successful in each of the performance appraisals of the employee for the 5 most recent seasons of Federal employment of the employee; and the job duties and performance standards of the position into which the permanent employee converts emphasize implementing prescribed fires. The Secretaries, in consultation with the Attorney General and State departments of corrections, shall seek to provide career pathways, training, and wraparound support services, including through partnerships with the Corps Network, to individuals described in subparagraph
(B)to work as prescribed fire practitioners. An individual referred to in subparagraph
(A)is an individual that— has been convicted in any court of a criminal offense, other than arson, and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for that offense; and during the term of imprisonment described in clause (i), served on a wildland firefighting crew or received other comparable training. To further address the gender disparity in wildland firefighting, the Secretaries shall support the development and participation of women and nonbinary individuals pursuant to Executive Order 13988 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating to preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation) in leadership opportunities, mentorship networks, and training in prescribed fire, including the Fire Leadership for Women course and Women-In-Fire Training Exchange and other related opportunities— to develop strong leaders; to increase the number of women overseeing prescribed fires; and to enhance the longevity and success of women in wildland fire management. The Secretaries, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall seek— to provide a career pathway to individuals described in subparagraph
(B)to work as prescribed fire practitioners; and to establish crews composed predominantly of veterans to conduct prescribed fires. An individual referred to in subparagraph
(A)is an individual who— served in the active military, naval, or air service; and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. The Secretaries may provide funding to Tribal, Indigenous-led, and inter-Tribal organizations, including the Intertribal Timber Council, to provide training and workforce development opportunities in wildland fire. Subject to the availability of appropriations, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture (and the Secretary of Defense in the case of a center located on a military installation), shall— establish, operate, and facilitate a prescribed fire training program or center in each Geographic Area Coordination Center region where such a program or center does not exist on the date of enactment of this Act; support the establishment of an Indigenous-led prescribed fire and cultural burning training center operated by an Indian Tribe or partnership of Indian Tribes; establish a virtual prescribed fire training center; and establish and operate a training center for managing wildfire for resource objectives. The Secretaries, in coordination with the Fire Executive Council, the National Association of State Foresters, and the Intertribal Timber Council, shall task the National Wildfire Coordinating Group to add a requirement for an individual to obtain the necessary certification to serve in— the position of a single-resource boss; and any other positions determined to be necessary by the Secretaries. The Secretaries shall require significant additional experience, gained exclusively during a prescribed fire, to obtain a certification described in paragraph (1). Except in the case of gross negligence, a Federal employee, an employee contracted by an Indian Tribe, or an Indian Tribe as a contracting entity, acting pursuant to a contract under the Indian Self-Determination Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5321 et seq. ) overseeing a prescribed fire, if that prescribed fire escaped or caused loss or damage— shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; and shall not be subject to civil proceedings, except in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, United States Code. Except in the case of gross negligence, an individual or entity involved in a prescribed fire on Federal land or under Federal authority, if that prescribed fire escaped or caused loss or damage— shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; and shall not be subject to civil proceedings, except in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, United States Code. Except in the case of gross negligence, an individual or entity involved in a prescribed fire on any land, if that prescribed fire escaped, caused harm or damage, or required suppression resources— shall not be liable for or subject to recovery of Federal fire suppression costs and costs of investigation incurred by Federal agencies; and shall not be liable for monetary damages for loss or damage to any natural resource or timber values on Federal land. The Secretaries shall establish a collaborative process to create mechanisms for non-Federal-agency fire practitioners, including those without jurisdictional authority, to be included in wildfire resource ordering and reimbursement processes. The Secretaries shall— develop partnership agreements for prescribed fire with all relevant State, Federal, Tribal, university, and nongovernmental entities that choose to be included in resource ordering and reimbursement processes under paragraph (1); create agreements and structures necessary to include non-Federal-agency and other nontraditional partners in direct work with Federal agencies to address prescribed fires; and treat any prescribed fire practitioner meeting the National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards as eligible to be included in statewide participating agreements.
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