“To amend section 5545 of title 5, United States Code, to provide hazard pay for carrying out prescribed burns, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section expresses the sense of Congress that the control and suppression of prescribed fires is an important part of fire preparedness and land management and that firefighters engaged in such suppression, as well as smokejumpers, should receive hazard pay.
This section adds a new subsection (e) to 5 U.S.C. §5545 to provide that, for purposes of hazard pay differentials under subsection (d)—which authorize premium pay of up to 25% of basic pay for federal employees performing duties involving unusual physical hardship or hazard—duties involving the ignition, control, or suppression of prescribed burns (i.e., intentional application of fire to vegetation or landscapes for land or resource management) and parachute jumps from aircraft by smokejumper firefighters (for training, proficiency, or operational purposes) qualify for differentials equal to those for fighting forest and range fires on the fireline. It further directs the Office of Personnel Management to issue implementing regulations within 90 days of enactment, applies the amendment to pay periods beginning after the earlier of regulation issuance or 90 days after enactment, and clarifies that it does not rescind or affect existing hazard pay determinations under subsection (d) except as necessary for compliance.