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Louisiana teachers worry about state constitution changes. Ohio experts support a $15 minimum wage for 1 million people. An Illinois mother seeks passage of a medical aid-in-dying bill. And Mississippi advocates push for restored voting rights for people with felony convictions.

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Biden says the U.S. won't arm Israel for a Rafah attack, drawing harsh criticism from Republicans. A judge denies former President Trump's request to modify a gag order. And new data outlines priorities for rural voters in ten battleground states.

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Some small towns in North Dakota worry they'll go to pot if marijuana is legalized, school vouchers are becoming a litmus test for Republicans, and Bennington, Vermont implements an innovative substance abuse recovery program.

Proposed Wildfire Funding Reform Could Impact Utah

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Monday, May 11, 2015   

SALT LAKE CITY – Treating major wildfires in Utah and elsewhere as natural disasters and spending more money on improving forest health are goals of proposed federal legislation.

The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act would update how the federal government funds suppression efforts.

As Congress considers the bill, Utah continues to live through what Jason Curry, public information officer with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, says is an era of extreme fire seasons.

"It's been a trend that's been continuing,” he points out. “Fire season in general has been longer, and fire intensity and fire behavior have been more extreme."

Officials in other states, including New Mexico and Nevada, say their worst wildfire seasons on record have happened in the past decade.

Meanwhile, U.S. Forest Service chief Tom Tidwell testified recently before a Senate committee. He said his agency's budget is decimated each year fighting massive wildfires, resulting in cutbacks to thinning, prescribed fires and other programs that help to reduce wildfire risk.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, a co-sponsor of the legislation, says it would create separate funding for fighting the biggest fires, which would free up money to pay for other Forest Service programs.

"This bill would fund those catastrophic fires as natural disasters by making any fire suppression spending above 70 percent of the 10 year average for fire suppression eligible to be funded other a separate disaster account," he explains.

Heinrich adds improvements to roads, bridges and trails at several national forests have gone undone because of the huge costs of battling the biggest blazes.






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