Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act
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The bill would direct the Government Accountability Office to study federal programs and rules that help or hinder wildfire mitigation across boundaries between federal and non-federal land, and to recommend ways to simplify cross-boundary cooperation.
It would not change any wildfire program itself, but the resulting report could shape future legislation on how federal, state, local, and tribal governments coordinate wildfire prevention work near shared land boundaries.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the Comptroller General to study existing federal programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries. The study would examine whether changes could give federal land management agencies, the Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Fire Administration, states, localities, and tribal governments greater capacity or funding access to mitigate wildfires. It would also review activities carried out under a specific provision of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. Within two years of enactment, the Comptroller General would have to report the study's results and recommendations for simplifying cross-boundary wildfire mitigation to four congressional committees. The bill does not itself create new wildfire programs, funding, or authorities — it only requires the study and report.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the Comptroller General to study federal programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit cross-boundary wildfire mitigation
- 2Would require examining whether changes could give agencies and state, local, and tribal governments more capacity or funding access for wildfire mitigation
- 3Would require review of activities under a subsection of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 and their effect on funding access
- 4Would require a report within two years to four congressional committees with study results and recommendations
Who would be affected
The Government Accountability Office, which would conduct the study; federal land management agencies, the Forest Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. Fire Administration; and state, local, and tribal governments involved in wildfire mitigation near federal land boundaries.
Why it matters
The study and recommendations could inform future legislation on coordinating wildfire prevention across jurisdictional lines, a recurring obstacle when fires cross from federal to private or state land. Because the bill only requires research and reporting, its practical effects depend entirely on what Congress does with the findings afterward.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Comptroller General's report on the wildfire mitigation study is due
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that implementing the Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act (S. 2033) would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026–2031 period, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
CBO estimates that S. 2033 would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the deficit in any scoring window through 2036. The bill would direct the Comptroller General to report to Congress on legal and programmatic barriers to wildfire mitigation across federal and nonfederal land boundaries; CBO estimates this would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026–2031 period, but any spending would depend on future appropriations. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
The Comptroller General would conduct the study and, within two years of enactment, submit a report to the House Committees on Natural Resources and Agriculture and the Senate Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The report would include study results and recommendations for simplifying cross-boundary wildfire mitigation coordination. No funding, rulemaking, or new agency authority is established; the bill's only mechanism is the study-and-report process itself.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Held at the desk.
Official CRS summary
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This bill directs the Government Accountability Office to study wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries and make recommendations to simplify cross-boundary wildfire mitigation between federal land management agencies and state, local, and Indian tribal governments.
Legislative subjects
Congressional oversight; Fires; Forests, forestry, trees; Government studies and investigations; Public Lands and Natural Resources