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HR 10109

Wildfire Event Contract Prohibition Act

119th Congress Introduced by Michael Baumgartner

Prohibits listing or trading any contract or data tied to wildfire events on registered futures or prediction markets.

Introduced in House
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HR 10109

Overview

  • Bill: HR 10109, the Wildfire Event Contract Prohibition Act
  • Session: 119th Congress, 2nd Session
  • Introduced: August 17, 2026 by Rep. Michael Baumgartner
  • Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and, in addition, to the Committee on the Judiciary (timeline determinations to be set by the Speaker)
  • Purpose: Amend the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit wildfire event contracts (and related indices/data) from being listed or traded on registered futures/prediction markets.

What the bill does

  • Prohibition on wildfire event contracts

    • Adds a new prohibition to Section 5c(c)(5) of the Commodity Exchange Act.
    • New subsection (D) states that, notwithstanding any other provision, no agreement, contract, transaction, or swap involving a wildfire event or any related index, measure, value, data, occurrence, or contingency may be listed or traded on or through a registered entity.
    • The covered wildfire event includes ignition, occurrence, location, duration, intensity, size, spread, containment, evacuations, injuries or deaths, and property damage resulting from a wildfire.

  • Sense of Congress

    • It is the sense of Congress that wildfire event contracts create perverse incentives (profiting from ignition, spread, duration, and damage) and could undermine emergency-response decisions.
    • Such contracts could enable exploitation of material nonpublic wildfire information and undermine public confidence.
    • Federal markets should not facilitate gambling on destruction of homes, businesses, natural resources, or communities.
    • The bill does not preempt state gambling or gaming laws.

  • Review of existing authorities

    • Requires a review within 180 days of enactment by the Attorney General, in consultation with the CFTC Chair, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and other appropriate federal agency heads.
    • The review assesses federal criminal and civil authorities related to influencing, exploiting, or profiting from wildfire events via event contracts or wagers.

Key provisions and details

  • Specific prohibition text targets:
    • Any contract or swap involving a wildfire event or related data/occurrence, to be listed or cleared on a registered entity (e.g., a futures or prediction market).
  • Scope of covered events:
    • Wildfire ignition, occurrence, location, duration, intensity, size, spread, containment, evacuations, injuries/deaths, and property damage.

  • Enforcement and investigations:

    • The bill directs a broad review of potential federal authorities related to:
    • Individuals who intentionally cause fires or conspire to do so for gambling or profit.
    • Trading on material nonpublic wildfire information (ignition indicators, fire behavior, incident response, evacuations, containment).
    • Applicability of conspiracy, aiding-and-abetting, fraud, market manipulation, money laundering, forfeiture, and illegal gambling laws.
    • Jurisdiction over offshore or cross-border prediction markets and digital assets.
    • Coordination barriers among Justice, CFTC, land-management agencies, law enforcement, and incident-management personnel.
    • Whether additional legislation (enhanced penalties, forfeiture, reporting, information-sharing) is needed to deter and prosecute conduct.

  • Reporting requirement:

    • The Attorney General must deliver a report within 30 days after completing the review, detailing findings and legislative recommendations to specified House and Senate committees.

Who would be affected

  • Market participants in prediction/futures markets that list or trade wildfire-related contracts or any related data indices.
  • Registered entities (markets) that might be prohibited from listing such contracts.
  • Federal agencies:
    • Department of Justice
    • Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
    • Departments of Agriculture and Interior
  • State and local authorities indirectly, through changes in federal enforcement and potential preemption/suppression of wildfire gambling/hedging activities.
  • Potentially affected individuals engaging in illegal activities related to manipulating wildfire events for financial gain (as contemplated by the review provisions).

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Enactment timeline:
    • Requires a review to be completed within 180 days after enactment.
    • The Attorney General, in coordination with relevant agencies, conducts the review and then provides a report within 30 days after completing the review.
  • Legislative path:
    • Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on the Judiciary for consideration of provisions within their jurisdictions; specific scheduling and action depend on the Speaker.
  • Relationship to state law:
    • The bill preserves the existence of state gambling laws and clarifies that the act does not preempt state prohibitions or regulations on gambling or gaming.

Why this bill matters

  • Addresses concerns that financial instruments tied to wildfire outcomes could create perverse incentives, undermine emergency response decisions, or enable exploitation of sensitive information.
  • Seeks to maintain public confidence in disaster response and to prevent gambling-style activities on catastrophic events.
  • Establishes a framework for evaluating and strengthening federal enforcement and interagency coordination to deter, detect, and prosecute improper conduct related to wildfire event trading.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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