Land assessment rates to cover costs of wildfire protection

H31: Cost of wildfire protection: Introduced in the House, amended in the Senate: signed by the Governor, effective 7-1-09
The Department of Lands is responsible for wild land fire protection on about six million acres of state and private forest lands. Funds trained crews and equipment ready for fire season are partially covered by forest landowner assessments. Current assessments are at the maximums established in code, but not keeping pace with inflationary and other cost increases. The dedicated Forest Protection Fund established for these fees is poised to go negative in FY2010.

This legislation will raise the assessment caps which will allow the State Board of Land
Commissioners to set assessments at rates that cover expected costs. In addition, this legislation
will establish a "Wildfire Equipment Replacement Fund" to be used for the replacement of capital wildfire equipment, such as fire trucks, to help defray the costs of replacing this equipment, over time