# 119-s-5045: Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026

119-s-5045, Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT] (R-UT); status passed_senate; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-09).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5045
- As of: 2026-10-09
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5045
- Congress: 119
- Title: Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026
- Status: passed_senate
- Introduced: 2026-07-21
- Sponsor: Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-09

## Summary

**Recognize prescribed fires as exceptional events and fund smoke protections for community buildings.** This bill would revise Clean Air Act rules to make it easier for States to qualify prescribed fires as "exceptional events" and would create a competitive grant program to reduce wildfire smoke exposure in schools and other public buildings. - Families and schools: Would fund competitive grants for assessment, prevention, control, or abatement of wildfire smoke in community buildings, including school buildings. Federal grants could cover up to 90 percent of project costs and no more than 25 percent of annual funding could go to recipients in any one State. - State, local, and Tribal authorities: Would require the EPA to propose regulatory revisions within 270 days and finalize them within 180 days after proposal. State petitions on exceptional events must be approved, disapproved, or partially approved within 1 year or are deemed approved. - Tribal and regional fire practices: Defines "prescribed fire" to include tribal cultural burning and directs the EPA to lead or collaborate on regional or multijurisdictional exceptional-event analyses when multiple agencies request them.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS), 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants to reduce wildfire smoke in schools: benefit, medium. If enacted, EPA would run competitive grants to cut wildfire smoke in community buildings, including schools. States, tribes, and eligible local entities would be able to apply. The federal share would be up to 90% of project costs, and EPA would be able to waive the local share for facilities in e…
- Quicker air-quality rulings on wildfires: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would change how EPA treats wildfire-related smoke in air rules. Prescribed fires, including tribal cultural burning, would be clearly eligible as “exceptional events.” EPA would need to propose rule changes within 270 days and finish them within 180 days after proposal. States…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-5526: Agricultural Act of 2026
- 119-s-4429: Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026
- 119-s-1892: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.

## Sources
- [119-s-5045 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5045)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-5526: Agricultural Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5526)
- [119-s-4429: Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4429)
- [119-s-1892: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1892)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5045 (as of 2026-10-09).