Amendments for Wildfire Management
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Bill Summary - 25LSO-0663 Bill No.: SF0152 Effective: Immediately LSO No.: 25LSO-0663 Enrolled Act No.: SEA No. 0062 Chapter No.: 129 Prime Sponsor: Barlow Catch Title: Wildfire management-amendments. Has Report: Yes Subject: Wildfire management. Summary/Major Elements: Amends the duties of the State Forester to include maintaining wildland and forestry fire control programs. Provides appropriations to restore funds expended by the state to suppress wildfires that occurred in 2024. Authorizes the Governor to borrow up to thirty million dollars ($30,000,000.00) from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account as necessary to meet funding requirements to fight wildfires in the event the reserves have been exhausted. Appropriates two million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($2,750,000.00) to and authorizes one (1) full-time and four (4) part-time positions for, the Office of State Lands and Investments for contract and direct fire response. Appropriates forty‑nine million four hundred seventy‑nine thousand five hundred sixty‑four dollars ($49,479,564.00) to the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Income Account to provide grants to various special districts and the Game and Fish Commission for restoring grass, hay and other vegetation, prevent invasive vegetation and restore habitats on state and private lands destroyed by wildfires. Comments: Requires the Governor to report to the Joint Appropriations Committee, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives upon borrowing from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account as authorized to fight wildfires. The Governor exercised line‑item vetoes in this act. Originally, the enrolled act: Authorized the State Loan and Investment Board to make loans totaling up to one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000.00) from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account for wildfire mitigation and restoration. Reverted funds related to providing energy related matching funds. Repealed language that but for the line‑item veto would have been redundant borrowing authority. Required the Office of State Lands and Investments to report on revenues and expenditures in relation to loans authorized for wildfire restoration not later than October 15 of each year the loan program is in operation to the Joint Appropriations Committee and the Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Interim Committee. The above summary is not an official publication of the Wyoming Legislature and is not an official statement of legislative intent. While the Legislative Service Office endeavored to provide accurate information in this summary, it should not be relied upon as a comprehensive abstract of the bill.
Public statements
Last checked Aug 5, 8:21 AM
R · S23
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker argues that the bill merges two previous files with some discrepancies in funding sources and amounts, suggesting concurrence now to allow for later technical corrections via a ballpoint pen amendment.
R · H29
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes creating a new task force, believing existing assets are sufficient to conduct necessary after-action reviews of fire incidents.
R · H32
Why they voted this way
The speaker supports the amendment because it allows time for discussion during the summer while retaining the option to establish a task force later if needed.
R · H47
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because he believes collaborative task forces produce better processes and input than relying on a single committee.
R · H56
Why they voted this way
The speaker opposes removing the task force because she believes it is essential for taking a holistic approach and gathering diverse perspectives after widespread fire damage.
R · H03
Why they voted this way
The speaker notes that while she struggles with the amendment, the bill also addresses critical issues regarding state Forester duties and budget requests beyond just the task force.
D · H33
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because he believes a task force is needed to address poor forest health and inevitable large fires.
R · H22
Why they voted this way
The speaker supports keeping the task force because having members with firefighting expertise on it would be beneficial for addressing the state's fire situation.
R · H54
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because he believes standing committees are better suited as subject matter experts to address gaps in state government roles regarding wildfires.
D · H14
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes removing the task force because a recent survey identified statewide resource gaps that require experts to solve through policy changes.
R · H37
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because it improperly inserts a budget position into this bill, which he views as unconstitutional and unprecedented. He argues that funding new programs by defunding other sections of the passed budget is bad strategy and changes the original intent of the legislation.
D · H16
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because he believes turning this legislation into a supplemental budget bill sets a bad precedent and creates constitutional issues regarding line-item veto authority. He argues that making every bill a budget bill wastes time and gives the governor excessive power to strike specific funding items.
R · H40
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because adding these items muddies up the original bill's intent, believing it should have been a separate budget item.
R · H38
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment because they believe firefighters need these specific resources.
R · H31
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment because they believe it aligns with fire mitigation goals, specifically regarding grants for noxious weeds and helicopter support.
R · H04
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment to provide necessary air support and funding for noxious weeds, citing recent severe fires in their community.
If a lawmaker is not listed, we couldn't find a published reason.
Wyoming roll calls
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Official activity
Changes
9 stored
The amendment removes specific sections related to a task force and state forester, renumbers remaining sections, and deletes certain lines from the bill.
The amendment authorizes the state to make loans from a reserve account for wildfire and disaster recovery, sets limits on loan amounts and timing, and adjusts how funds revert to the budget reserve account.
The amendment changes how wildfire management funds are allocated and adds new provisions for grants and employee positions.
This amendment changes the wording in two places from 'He' to 'The state forester'.
The amendment changes the number of committee members and reduces funding from $40 million to $30 million.
The amendment reduces certain appropriations in the bill by one dollar for every dollar appropriated from specific sources for wildfire management purposes.
The amendment changes the number of representatives and senators involved in wildfire management, updates their regional representation requirements, alters committee composition, and increases financial thresholds.
The amendment changes the date for a certain action to November 15th and increases funding from $30 million to $40 million.
The amendment changes the number of representatives and senators involved in wildfire management from two to four each, specifies that these individuals must represent different regions of the state, and increases a funding amount from $25,000 to $40,000.