SB 504 — Wildfires: defensible space: grant programs: local governments.

Summary

Existing law requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish a statewide program to allow certain entities, including counties and other political subdivisions of the state, that have completed a specified training program, to support and augment the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in its defensible space and home hardening assessment and education efforts. Existing law requires the director to establish a common reporting platform that allows defensible space and home hardening assessment data, collected by the qualified entities, to be reported to the department. Existing law requires the department to establish a local assistance grant program for fire prevention and home hardening education activities and provides that local agencies, among others, are eligible for these grants. Existing law describes eligible activities under the local assistance grant program as including, among other activities, development and implementation of public education and outreach programs. This bill would authorize those public education and outreach programs to include new technologies and game elements to enhance and accelerate the education of property owners. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas of the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on specified criteria. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, the State Fire Marshal's moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal, and authorizes a local agency, at its discretion, to include additional areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones. This bill would require the department, when reviewing applications for the local assistance grant program, to give priority to any local governmental entity that is qualified to perform defensible space assessments in very high and high fire hazard severity zones and that reports that information using the common reporting platform, as provided. Existing law requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered lands, shrub-covered lands, grass-covered lands, or land that is covered with flammable material to maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side of the structure, with more intense fuel reductions between 5 and 30 feet around the structure and an ember-resistant zone required within 5 feet of the structure, based on regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Existing law requires fuels to be maintained and spaced in a condition so that a wildfire, burning under average weather conditions, would be unlikely to ignite the structure. Existing law provides that the requirement for an ember-resistant zone shall take effect for existing structures one year after the effective date for new structures. A violation of these requirements is a crime. Existing law requires the board to classify state responsibility areas, defined by reference to certain conditions of forest and vegetation cover and excluding municipal and federal areas, where preventing and suppressing fires is the state's financial responsibility. This bill would instead, without reference to weather conditions, require fuels to be maintained and spaced in a condition so that a wildfire would be unlikely to ignite the structure. The bill would require a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in the state responsibility area, regardless of location or forest and vegetation cover, to maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side. The bill would authorize regulations to alter the fuel reduction required between 5 and 30 feet to integrate the ember-resistant zone, and would provide that the requirement for the ember-resistant zone shall instead take effect for existing structures 3 years after the effective date for new structures, as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also make conforming changes with respect to a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains an occupied dwelling or occupied structure that is within a very high fire hazard severity zone designated by a local agency. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4124.5 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 675 to be operative only if this bill and SB 675 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 09/29/24 - Chaptered Current pdf September 29, 2024
• Enrolled 09/04/24 - Enrolled pdf September 04, 2024
• Amended 08/22/24 - Amended Assembly pdf August 22, 2024
• Amended 06/04/24 - Amended Assembly pdf June 04, 2024
• Amended 04/20/23 - Amended Senate pdf April 20, 2023
• Introduced 02/14/23 - Introduced pdf February 14, 2023
• SB504 View text html

Action History

1. September 29, 2024

   Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 982, Statutes of 2024.

2. September 29, 2024

   Approved by the Governor.

3. September 10, 2024

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

4. August 30, 2024

   Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 5747.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

5. August 29, 2024

   Ordered to special consent calendar.

6. August 28, 2024

   In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

7. August 28, 2024

   Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6695.) Ordered to the Senate.

8. August 22, 2024

   Ordered to third reading.

9. August 22, 2024

   Read third time and amended.

10. August 19, 2024

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

11. August 15, 2024

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (August 15).

12. August 07, 2024

    August 7 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

13. June 11, 2024

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (June 10). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

14. June 04, 2024

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.

15. May 11, 2023

    Referred to Com. on NAT. RES.

16. May 04, 2023

    In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

17. May 04, 2023

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 1004.) Ordered to the Assembly.

18. May 02, 2023

    Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.

19. May 01, 2023

    From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.

20. April 25, 2023

    Set for hearing May 1.

21. April 20, 2023

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

22. April 19, 2023

    From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0. Page 801.) (April 18).

23. April 10, 2023

    Set for hearing April 18.

24. February 22, 2023

    Referred to Com. on N.R. & W.

25. February 15, 2023

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 17.

26. February 14, 2023

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

• Dodd · Primary

Votes

Subjects