Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley, representing California’s 3rd congressional district, recently introduced HR 6861, the Supporting Affordable Fire Emergency Hardening through Optimized Mitigation Efforts (SAFE HOME) Act. Kiley said that Californians struggling to pay higher home insurance rates and harden their homes against fires would find relief under the new legislation he is sponsoring.
“The federal government needs to be more proactive in helping families dealing with the threat of wildfires,” said Kiley. “Preventing damage is preferable to simply putting out fires after the fact and certainly less expensive than rebuilding communities that have been destroyed. That’s why my bill is designed to help families strengthen home protections that prevent the damage in the first place.”
HR 6861 includes the following features:
- Creation of a 25% refundable tax credit for wildfire mitigation (home hardening).
- A credit cap of $25,000 a year.
- Inclusion of a phaseout starting at $200,000 that drops by 25% every $25,000 in income above $200,000. At $300,000 the credit is fully phased out.
- Inclusion of an inflation adjustment for any year after 2024 equal to the cost-of-living adjustment.
Click here to view Rep. Kiley’s remarks on the House floor. Click here to view the text of the bill.
Information submitted by Rep. Kevin Kiley