Bill Text: MI HB5198 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Natural resources; forests; agreements with other states and the federal government to provide assistance; allow for all hazard incidents. Amends secs. 51501 & 51514 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.51501 & 324.51514).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-20 - Assigned Pa 80'18 With Immediate Effect [HB5198 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2017-HB5198-Engrossed.html
HB-5198, As Passed Senate, March 7, 2018
SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 5198
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 51501 and 51514 (MCL 324.51501 and 324.51514),
section 51501 as amended by 2017 PA 60 and section 51514 as added
by 1995 PA 57.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 51501. As used in this part:
(a) "All hazard incident" means an incident, whether natural
or human-caused, that requires an organized response by a public,
private, or governmental entity to protect life, public health or
safety, or other values or to minimize any disruption of
governmental, social, or economic services. One or more kinds of
incident, such as fire, flood, mass casualty, search, rescue, or
evacuation, may occur simultaneously as part of an all hazard
incident.
(b) (a)
"Certified prescribed burn
manager" means an
individual who has successfully completed the certification program
of the department under section 51513 and possesses a valid
certification number.
(c) (b)
"Department" means the
department of natural
resources.
(d) (c)
"Domestic purposes"
refers to burning that is any of
the following:
(i) A fire within the curtilage of a dwelling where the
material being burned has been properly placed in a debris burner
constructed of metal or masonry, with a metal covering device with
openings no larger than 3/4 of an inch.
(ii) A campfire.
(iii) Any fire within a building.
(e) (d)
"Extinguished", in
reference to prescribed burning,
means that there is no longer any spreading flame.
(f) (e)
"Forest land", subject to
subdivision (f), means any
of the following:
(i) Timber land, potential timber-producing land, or cutover
or burned timber land.
(ii) Wetland.
(iii) Prairie or other land dominated by grasses or forbes.
(g) (f)
"Forest land" does not
include land devoted to
agriculture.
(h) (g)
"Flammable material"
means any substance that will
burn, including, but not limited to, refuse, debris, waste forest
material, brush, stumps, logs, rubbish, fallen timber, grass,
stubble, leaves, fallow land, slash, crops, or crop residue.
(i) (h)
"Prescribed burn" or
"prescribed burning" means the
burning, in compliance with a prescription and to meet planned fire
or land management objectives, of a continuous cover of fuels.
(j) (i)
"Prescription" means a
written plan establishing the
criteria necessary for starting, controlling, and extinguishing a
burn.
(k) (j)
"Primary public safety
answering point" means that
term as defined in section 102 of the emergency 9-1-1 service
enabling act, 1986 PA 32, MCL 484.1102.
(l) (k)
"Wetland" means land
characterized by the presence of
water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that
under normal circumstances does support, wetland vegetation or
aquatic life, and is commonly referred to as a bog, swamp, or
marsh.
Sec. 51514. The department may enter into agreements with
other
states, and territories
of the United States, the federal
government, Canada, or provinces of Canada to provide assistance
and to accept assistance in the control of forest fires and all
hazard incidents, including the training of personnel. Any employee
of the department assigned to fire control duties and all hazard
incidents or training programs outside this state shall be
considered the same as working inside this state for purposes of
compensation and any other employee benefits.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.
