SB 1079: Forest resources: fire prevention grants: advance payments.

Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to provide grants to entities, including, but not limited to, private or nongovernmental entities, Native American tribes, or local, state, and federal public agencies, for the implementation and administration of projects and programs to improve forest health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Budget Act of 2017 appropriated moneys to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for purposes of, among other things, providing local assistance grants, grants to fire safe councils, and grants to qualified nonprofit organizations with a demonstrated ability to satisfactorily plan, implement, and complete a fire prevention project for these same purposes, as provided.

This bill would, until January 1, 2024, authorize the director to authorize advance payments to a nonprofit organization, a local agency, a special district, a private forest landowner, or a Native American tribe from the grant awards specified above. The bill would prohibit a single advance payment from exceeding 25% of the total grant award. The bill would place specified requirements on the grantee of the advance payment, including that the grantee file an accountability report with the department, as provided. The bill would require the department to provide a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2023, on the outcome of the departments use of the advance payments.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.