AN ACT Relating to the prevention of homelessness in wildfire areas; and adding a new section to chapter 43.30 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 43.30 RCW to read as follows:

Subject to appropriation, in order to prevent homelessness in any county located east of the crest of the Cascade mountain range that shares a common border with Canada and has a population of one hundred thousand or less, the department shall, to strengthen the local capacity for controlling risk to life and property that may result from wildfires, administer to these counties, funding for radio communication equipment; and fire protection service providers within these counties to provide residential wildfire risk reduction activities, including education and outreach, technical assistance, fuel mitigation and other residential risk reduction measures. For the purposes of this section, fire protection service providers include fire departments, fire districts, emergency management services, and regional fire protection service authorities. The department must prioritize funding to counties authorized in this section serving a disproportionately higher percentage of low-income residents, as defined in RCW 84.36.042, that are located in areas of higher wildfire risk, and whose fire protection service providers have a shortage of reliable equipment and resources.

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