To amend the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act to extend the time period for the submission of claims, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Luján (for himself and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill extends the deadline for victims of the 2022 Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico to file claims for compensation. The fire was caused by the U.S. Forest Service when prescribed burns escaped control, making the federal government liable for damages. The original law set claim deadlines tied to when regulations were issued, but this bill sets firm dates through December 31, 2027 for filing claims and December 31, 2028 for related processes.
Who Benefits and How
Individuals and businesses affected by the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire benefit from having more time to submit claims for damages they suffered. The extended deadlines give claimants who may have been unaware of the program or still assessing their losses additional years to seek compensation. FEMA's Office of Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Claims also benefits by gaining authority to convert temporary personnel who have worked there for 3 years into permanent federal employees, helping retain experienced staff.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The FEMA Administrator takes on responsibility for implementing the extended deadlines and managing the personnel conversion process. Federal taxpayers ultimately bear the cost of any additional claims that are filed during the extended period, as funds for this disaster relief program come from appropriated federal dollars.
Key Provisions
- Extends the deadline for submitting claims from the original 2-year window to December 31, 2027
- Extends related claim processing deadlines to December 31, 2028 (replacing the previous May 31, 2024 date)
- Allows FEMA to convert temporary personnel who have worked in the Claims Office for 3 years into career-conditional federal employees
- Provides a pathway for temporary workers to gain permanent civil service status through the competitive service system
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
This bill amends the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act to extend the time period for submitting claims and allows the Administrator of FEMA to appoint temporary personnel.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Personnel appointed by the Administrator after serving continuously for 3 years in the Office.
An employee who becomes a career-conditional employee unless they have already completed the service requirements for career tenure.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology