Pennsylvania House Bill HB1380

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 5/4/25
• Refer: 5/4/25

Caption

In Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, further providing for forests.

Summary

HB1380 amends Pennsylvania’s Conservation and Natural Resources Act to expand the annual reporting duties of the Chief Forest Fire Warden within the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The bill requires a yearly report, due by March 1, to specified Senate and House committee leaders, including the Environmental Resources and Energy committees and the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness committees. The report must cover wildfire activity, fire prevention actions, prescribed or controlled burns, statewide wildfire manpower, and equipment available for wildfire response. The bill is focused on improving legislative oversight and information-sharing about forest fire preparedness and response. It does not create a new program or change firefighting authority directly; instead, it adds detailed reporting requirements for the department and local forest fire wardens. The reporting categories were also broadened in amendment to include controlled burns information shared with the department, the number of firefighters organized by or located in a forest district, and an aggregated list of equipment used in carrying out forest fire duties.

Impact

HB1380 would amend Section 302(d) of the Conservation and Natural Resources Act and impose new annual reporting obligations on the Chief Forest Fire Warden and local forest fire wardens. The practical effect is to require DCNR to compile and submit more detailed wildfire, prescribed burn, staffing, and equipment data to legislative committees each year. This would affect the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, local forest fire districts/wardens, and the legislative committees receiving the reports, while leaving existing forest fire management powers intact.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad bipartisan support and little controversy. The House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee adopted an amendment and then reported the bill as amended, with both actions passing 26-0. That unanimous committee support indicates the bill was viewed favorably as a transparency and preparedness measure rather than a contentious policy change.

Contention

There is no recorded committee transcript showing substantive opposition, and the votes available were unanimous. The only notable point of discussion reflected in the amendment is the scope and specificity of the reporting requirements, particularly the inclusion of controlled burns, firefighter counts by forest district, and aggregated equipment inventories. Any concern would likely center on administrative burden or data collection logistics for DCNR and local forest fire wardens, but no explicit opposition is documented in the provided materials.