SB 1260: Fire prevention and protection: prescribed burns.
- Session Year: 2017-2018
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2018-09-21
(1)Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection and exempts a local agency, as defined, from that requirement if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, specified state standards. Existing law authorizes a local agency, at its discretion, to exclude from specified requirements governing fire risk reduction an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a specified finding supported by substantial evidence that those requirements are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
This bill would eliminate the above-described exemption and exclusion and would require the local agency to transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. By imposing a new duty on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires the draft element of, or draft amendment to, the safety element of a county or citys general plan to be submitted to the state board and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. Existing law requires the state board to review and recommend changes to the safety element, as provided. Existing law requires the board of supervisors or the city council to consider the recommendations made by the state board.
This bill would authorize the state board to request a consultation with the board of supervisors or city council if the local agency decides not to adopt the boards recommendations, as provided. Because the bill would require local officials to consult with the board, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires, before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency to refer the proposed action to specified entities.
This bill would also require the planning agency to refer the proposed action to the state board and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the referral of the proposed action, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in the areas described above, or consistent with local ordinances, as provided. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The act also requires the local agency to make a finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access, as provided.
This bill would delete this provision.
(4)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law provides that an agreement shall not be entered into unless the director makes a specified determination. Existing law authorizes private burning of lands under specified circumstances, as described in (6). Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would instead provide that the director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts with any person, as described, to conduct prescribed burning operations, as provided. The bill would delete the requirement that the director make a specified determination before entering into the agreement. This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director or with a permit authorizing the private burning of lands under specified circumstances shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns, as provided.
Existing law requires any contract entered into pursuant to the above provisions to clearly state the obligations of each party, specify the value assigned, as provided, and specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided. Existing law provides that in certain situations, the amount of moneys due to the state shall become a lien upon the property and that any money recovered shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement.
This bill would delete these provisions.
Existing law requires a prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction agreement to designate an officer of the department as the fire boss, as provided.
This bill would also authorize the department to designate a burn boss.
Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, and with the approval of the Director of Finance, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided. Existing law prohibits an agreement from being entered into unless the director determines that it will enable the prescribed burning operation to be conducted at a cost equal to, or less than, the cost that would otherwise be incurred by the state.
This bill would delete the above prohibition as well as the requirement that the Department of Finance approve the agreement.
Existing law authorizes the department to purchase 3rd-party liability policy of insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that if the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract.
This bill would also give the department the option, if it elects not to purchase insurance, to provide a maximum of liability for the department or provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person contracting with the department, as provided.
The bill would require the agreements described above to provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
Existing law provides that any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted by the department pursuant to a contract shall not be governed by a specified provision of law that prohibits the department from collecting costs from a party to the contract, as specified.
This bill would provide that this provision does not apply when the department is applying for federal assistance.
(5)Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes the air pollution control officer of any district in a county with a population of 6,000,000 or less, upon authorization of the district board, to authorize, by permit, open outdoor fires for disposing of specified wastes in a mechanized burner under certain conditions.
This bill would allow these fires to be authorized, as provided above, in any county, regardless of population. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
(6)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards. Existing law provides that the issuance of a permit by the department does not relieve the permit holder from the duty of exercising due diligence to avoid damage to property of others in conducting the burning, as provided.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard, as provided. This bill would authorize a person, until January 1, 2039, with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above, and would authorize the department, in specified situations, to appoint a burn boss. The bill would provide that compliance with a permit issued pursuant these provisions would constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, among other things.
(7)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The bill would require the department to certify these individuals to a common standard.
(8)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety.
(9)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wildlands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish regulations establishing standards to be used by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection in determining the states share of the cost. Existing law authorizes the director to accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director to enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wildlands and federal lands, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
(10)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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection and exempts a local agency, as defined, from that requirement if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, specified state standards. Existing law authorizes a local agency, at its discretion, to exclude from specified requirements governing fire risk reduction an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a specified finding supported by substantial evidence that those requirements are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
This bill would eliminate the above-described exemption and exclusion and would require the local agency to transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. By imposing a new duty on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires the draft element of, or draft amendment to, the safety element of a county or citys general plan to be submitted to the state board and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. Existing law requires the state board to review and recommend changes to the safety element, as provided. Existing law requires the board of supervisors or the city council to consider the recommendations made by the state board.
This bill would authorize the state board to request a consultation with the board of supervisors or city council if the local agency decides not to adopt the boards recommendations, as provided. Because the bill would require local officials to consult with the board, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires, before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency to refer the proposed action to specified entities.
This bill would also require the planning agency to refer the proposed action to the state board and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the referral of the proposed action, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in the areas described above, or consistent with local ordinances, as provided. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The act also requires the local agency to make a finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access, as provided.
This bill would delete this provision.
(4)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law provides that an agreement shall not be entered into unless the director makes a specified determination. Existing law authorizes private burning of lands under specified circumstances, as described in (6). Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would instead provide that the director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts with any person, as described, to conduct prescribed burning operations, as provided. The bill would delete the requirement that the director make a specified determination before entering into the agreement. This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director or with a permit authorizing the private burning of lands under specified circumstances shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns, as provided.
Existing law requires any contract entered into pursuant to the above provisions to clearly state the obligations of each party, specify the value assigned, as provided, and specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided. Existing law provides that in certain situations, the amount of moneys due to the state shall become a lien upon the property and that any money recovered shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement.
This bill would delete these provisions.
Existing law requires a prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction agreement to designate an officer of the department as the fire boss, as provided.
This bill would also authorize the department to designate a burn boss.
Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, and with the approval of the Director of Finance, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided. Existing law prohibits an agreement from being entered into unless the director determines that it will enable the prescribed burning operation to be conducted at a cost equal to, or less than, the cost that would otherwise be incurred by the state.
This bill would delete the above prohibition as well as the requirement that the Department of Finance approve the agreement.
Existing law authorizes the department to purchase 3rd-party liability policy of insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that if the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract.
This bill would also give the department the option, if it elects not to purchase insurance, to provide a maximum of liability for the department or provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person contracting with the department, as provided.
The bill would require the agreements described above to provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
Existing law provides that any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted by the department pursuant to a contract shall not be governed by a specified provision of law that prohibits the department from collecting costs from a party to the contract, as specified.
This bill would provide that this provision does not apply when the department is applying for federal assistance.
(5)Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes the air pollution control officer of any district in a county with a population of 6,000,000 or less, upon authorization of the district board, to authorize, by permit, open outdoor fires for disposing of specified wastes in a mechanized burner under certain conditions.
This bill would allow these fires to be authorized, as provided above, in any county, regardless of population. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
(6)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards. Existing law provides that the issuance of a permit by the department does not relieve the permit holder from the duty of exercising due diligence to avoid damage to property of others in conducting the burning, as provided.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard, as provided. This bill would authorize a person, until January 1, 2039, with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above, and would authorize the department, in specified situations, to appoint a burn boss. The bill would provide that compliance with a permit issued pursuant these provisions would constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, among other things.
(7)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The bill would require the department to certify these individuals to a common standard.
(8)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety.
(9)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wildlands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish regulations establishing standards to be used by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection in determining the states share of the cost. Existing law authorizes the director to accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director to enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wildlands and federal lands, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
(10)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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction, as provided in connection with a state program for fire prevention. jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection and exempts a local agency, as defined, from that requirement if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, specified state standards. Existing law authorizes a local agency, at its discretion, to exclude from specified requirements governing fire risk reduction an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a specified finding supported by substantial evidence that those requirements are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
This bill would eliminate the above-described exemption and exclusion and would require the local agency to transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. By imposing a new duty on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires the draft element of of, or draft amendment to to, the safety element of a county or citys general plan to be submitted to the state board and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county county, as provided. Existing law requires the state board to review and recommend changes to the safety element, as provided. Existing law requires the board of supervisors or the city council to consider the recommendations made by the state board.
This bill would authorize the state board to request a consultation with the board of supervisors or city council if the local agency decides not to adopt the boards recommendations, as provided. Because the bill would require local officials to consult with the board, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires, before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency to refer the proposed action to specified entities.
This bill would also require the planning agency to refer the proposed action to the state board and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the referral of the proposed action, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in the areas described above. above, or consistent with local ordinances, as provided. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The act also requires the local agency to make a finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access, as provided.
This bill would delete this provision.
(4)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law provides that an agreement shall not be entered into unless the director makes a specified determination. Existing law authorizes private burning of lands under specified circumstances, as described in paragraph (5). (6). Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would instead provide that the director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts with any person, as described, to conduct prescribed burning operations, as provided. The bill would delete the requirement that the director make a specified determination before entering into the agreement. This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director or with a permit authorizing the private burning of lands under specified circumstances shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns, as provided.
Existing law requires any contract entered into pursuant to the above provisions to clearly state the obligations of each party, specify the value assigned, as provided, and specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided. Existing law provides that in certain situations, the amount of moneys due to the state shall become a lien upon the property and that any money recovered shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement. Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
Existing law requires a prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction agreement to designate an officer of the department as the fire boss, as provided.
This bill would also authorize the department to designate a burn boss.
Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, and with the approval of the Director of Finance, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided. Existing law prohibits an agreement from being entered into unless the director determines that it will enable the prescribed burning operation to be conducted at a cost equal to, or less than, the cost that would otherwise be incurred by the state.
This bill would delete the above prohibition as well as the requirement that the Department of Finance approve the agreement.
Existing law authorizes the department to purchase 3rd-party liability policy of insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that if the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract.
This bill would also give the department the option, if it elects not to purchase insurance, to determine proportionate share of liability, as provided. provide a maximum of liability for the department or provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person contracting with the department, as provided.
The bill would require the agreements described above to provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
Existing law provides that any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted by the department pursuant to a contract shall not be governed by a specified provision of law that prohibits the department from collecting costs from a party to the contract, as specified.
This bill would provide that this provision does not apply when the department is applying for federal assistance.
(5)Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes the air pollution control officer of any district in a county with a population of 6,000,000 or less, upon authorization of the district board, to authorize, by permit, open outdoor fires for disposing of specified wastes in a mechanized burner under certain conditions.
This bill would allow these fires to be authorized, as provided above, in any county, regardless of population. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
(5)(6)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards. Existing law provides that the issuance of a permit by the department does not relieve the permit holder from the duty of exercising due diligence to avoid damage to property of others in conducting the burning, as provided.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard, as provided. This bill would authorize a person, until January 1, 2039, with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above, and would authorize the department, in specified situations, to appoint a burn boss. The bill would provide that compliance with a permit issued pursuant these provisions would constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, among other things.
(6)(7)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The bill would require the department to certify these individuals to a common standard.
(7)(8)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety.
(8)(9)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wildlands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish regulations establishing standards to be used by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection in determining the states share of the cost. Existing law authorizes the director to accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director to enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wildlands and federal lands, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
(9)(10)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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction, as provided in connection with a state program for fire prevention.
This bill would require the local agency to transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. By imposing a new duty on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires the draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or citys general plan to be submitted to the state board and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county as provided. Existing law requires the state board to review and recommend changes to the safety element, as provided. Existing law requires the board of supervisors or the city council to consider the recommendations made by the board.
This bill would authorize the state board to request consultation with the board of supervisors or city council if the local agency decides not to adopt the boards recommendations, as provided. Because the bill would require local officials to consult with the board, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires, before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency to refer the proposed action to specified entities.
This bill would also require the planning agency to refer the proposed action to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection state board and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the referral of the proposed action, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in the areas described above. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The act also requires the local agency to make a finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access, as provided.
This bill would delete this provision.
(4)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law authorizes private burning of lands under specified circumstances, as described in paragraph (5). Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director or with a permit authorizing the private burning of lands under specified circumstances shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state, burns, as provided.
Existing law requires any contract entered into pursuant to the above provisions to clearly state the obligations of each party, specify the value assigned, as provided, and specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided. Existing law provides that in certain situations, the amount of moneys due to the state shall become a lien upon the property and that any money recovered shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement. Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the department to purchase 3rd-party liability policy of insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that if the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract.
This bill would also give the department the option, if it elects not to purchase insurance, to determine proportionate share of liability, as provided.
The bill would require the agreements described above to provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
(5)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard. hazard, as provided. This bill would authorize a person, until January 1, 2039, with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above, and would authorize the department, in specified situations, to appoint a burn boss.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, among other things.
(6)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The bill would require the department to certify these individuals to a common standard.
(7)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. The bill would authorize the department to establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for these purposes.
(8)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wildlands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish regulations establishing standards to be used by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection in determining the states share of the cost. Existing law authorizes the director to accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director to enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wildlands and federal lands, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
(9)This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.(10)(9)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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction, as provided in connection with a state program for fire prevention.
This bill would require the local agency to transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. By imposing a new duty on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires, before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency to refer the proposed action to specified entities.
This bill would also require the planning agency to refer the proposed action to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the referral of the proposed action, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in the areas described above. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The act also requires the local agency to make a finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access, as provided.
This bill would delete this provision.
(4)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state, as provided.
Existing law requires any contract entered into pursuant to the above provisions to clearly state the obligations of each party, specify the value assigned, as provided, and specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided. Existing law provides that in certain situations, the amount of moneys due to the state shall become a lien upon the property and that any money recovered shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement. Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the department to purchase 3rd-party liability policy of insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that if the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract.
This bill would also give the department the option, if it elects not to purchase insurance, to determine proportionate share of liability, as provided.
The bill would require the agreements described above to provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
(5)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard. This bill would authorize a person, until January 1, 2039, with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above, and would authorize the department, in specified situations, to appoint a burn boss.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, among other things.
(6)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The bill would require the department to certify these individuals to a common standard.
(7)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. The bill would authorize the department to establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for these purposes.
(8)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wildlands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish regulations establishing standards to be used by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection in determining the states share of the cost. Existing law authorizes the director to accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director to enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wild lands wildlands and federal lands, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
(9)This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(10)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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction, as provided in connection with a state program for fire prevention.
This bill would require the local agency to transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. By imposing a new duty on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires, before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency to refer the proposed action to specified entities.
This bill would also require the planning agency to refer the proposed action to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the referral of the proposed action, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in the areas described above. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The act also requires the local agency to make a finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access, as provided.
This bill would delete this provision.
(4)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state, as provided.
Existing law requires any contract entered into pursuant to the above provisions to clearly state the obligations of each party, specify the value assigned, as provided, and specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided. Existing law provides that in certain situations, the amount of moneys due to the state shall become a lien upon the property and that any money recovered shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement. Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the department to purchase 3rd-party liability policy of insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that if the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract.
This bill would also give the department the option, if it elects not to purchase insurance, to determine proportionate share of liability, as provided.
The bill would require the agreements described above to provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
(5)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard. This bill would authorize a person, until January 1, 2039, with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above, and would authorize the department, in specified situations, to appoint a burn boss.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, among other things.
(6)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The bill would require the department to certify these individuals to a common standard.
(7)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. The bill would authorize the department to establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for these purposes.
(8)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wildlands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish regulations establishing standards to be used by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection in determining the states share of the cost. Existing law authorizes the director to accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director to enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wild lands and federal lands, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
(9)This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(10)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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction, as provided in connection with a state program for fire prevention.
This bill would require the local agency to transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. By imposing a new duty on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires the draft element of, or draft amendment to, the safety element of a county or citys general plan to be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory within the city or county at least 90 days prior to specified events. Existing law requires, before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency to refer the proposed action to specified entities.
This bill would instead require the draft element of, or draft amendment to, the safety element be submitted to the above-described entities 180 days prior to the specified events. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the submittal of a safety element, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.This bill would also require the planning agency to refer the proposed action to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, as provided. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the referral of the proposed action, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in the areas described above. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The act also requires the local agency to make a finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access, as provided.
This bill would delete this provision.
(4)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director shall constitute prima facia facie evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state, as provided.
Existing law requires any contract entered into pursuant to the above provisions to clearly state the obligations of each party, specify the value assigned, as provided, and specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided. Existing law provides that in certain situations, the amount of moneys due to the state shall become a lien upon the property and that any money recovered shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement. Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the department to purchase 3rd-party liability policy of insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that if the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract.
This bill would also give the department the option, if it elects not to purchase insurance, to determine proportionate share of liability, as provided.
The bill would require the agreements described above to provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
(5)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard. This bill would authorize a person, until January 1, 2039, with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above, and would authorize the department, in specified situations, to appoint a burn boss.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. burns, among other things.
(6)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The bill would require the department to certify these individuals to a common standard.
(7)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. The bill would authorize the department to establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for these purposes.
(8)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wild lands wildlands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish regulations establishing standards to be used by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection in determining the states share of the cost. Existing law authorizes the director to accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director to enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wild lands and federal lands, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
(9)This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(10)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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction, as provided in connection with a state program for fire prevention.
This bill would require the local agency to transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. By imposing a new duty on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(1)(2)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires the draft element of, or draft amendment to, the safety element of a county or citys general plan to be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory within the city or county at least 90 days prior to specified events.
This bill would instead require the draft element of, or draft amendment to, the safety element be submitted to the above-described entities 180 days prior to the specified events. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the submittal of a safety element, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)(3)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas. the areas described above. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The act also requires the local agency to make a finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access, as provided.
This bill would delete this provision.
(3)(4)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director shall constitute prima facia evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the departments State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections Vegetation Management Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state, as provided.
Existing law requires any contract entered into pursuant to the above provisions to clearly state the obligations of each party, specify the value assigned, as provided, and specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided. Existing law provides that in certain situations, the amount of moneys due to the state shall become a lien upon the property and that any money recovered shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement. Existing law authorizes the director, in certain circumstances, to enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for a burning operation, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the department to purchase 3rd-party liability policy of insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that if the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract.
This bill would also give the department the option, if it elects not to purchase insurance, to determine proportionate share of liability, as provided.
(4)(5)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard. This bill would authorize a person, until January 1, 2039, with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above. above, and would authorize the department, in specified situations, to appoint a burn boss.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns.
(5)(6)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The bill would require the department to certify these individuals to a common standard.
(6)(7)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. The bill would authorize the department to establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for these purposes.
(7)(8)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wild lands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish regulations establishing standards to be used by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection in determining the states share of the cost. Existing law authorizes the director to accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director to enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wild lands and federal lands, as provided.
This bill would delete the cost-share restriction on wild lands under federal jurisdiction.This bill would delete these provisions.
(8)(9)This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(9)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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.(10)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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law requires each planning agency to prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt, a comprehensive, long-term general plan, including a safety element, for the physical development of the county or city, as provided. Existing law requires the draft element of, or draft amendment to, the safety element of a county or citys general plan to be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory within the city or county at least 90 days prior to specified events.
This bill would instead require the draft element of, or draft amendment to, the safety element be submitted to the above-described entities 180 days prior to the specified events. By requiring a higher level of service from a local agency with respect to the submittal of a safety element, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency, and sets forth procedures governing the local agencys processing, approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, existing law requires the local agency to make specified findings, including that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole are consistent with any regulations adopted by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas or mountainous, forest, brush, and grass-covered lands, as specified.
This bill would instead require a finding that the subdivision is consistent with any regulations adopted by the board relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas. The bill would require the local agency, upon approval of the tentative map in specified situations, to transmit a copy of the findings and maps to the board, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts, with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for specified purposes. Existing law provides that a person who allows a fire upon his or her property to escape to the public or private property of another, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
This bill would provide that compliance with the provisions of law relating to prescribed burning-operation agreements with the director shall constitute prima facia evidence of due diligence with respect to the above provision relating to fire liability. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, as provided. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, the departments Vegetation Management Program Environmental Impact Report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed burns in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state, as provided.
(4)Existing law authorizes a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes. Existing law authorizes various public agencies to use fire to abate fire hazards.
This bill would provide that a person, firm, corporation, or a group or combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest land, woodland, grassland, shrubland, or any combination thereof, within a state responsibility area authorized by the department to utilize prescribed burning operations for specified public purposes is also authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard. This bill would authorize a person with a valid fire boss certificate, as provided, to apply for the prescribed burning permit on behalf of the person or entities described above.
The bill would require the department and the State Air Resources Board to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns.
(5)Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to establish a program of fire prevention training for fire prevention inspectors employed by local fire protection agencies.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2021, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for fire bosses, as provided.
(6)Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things, including, but not limited to, providing fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus.
This bill would require the department, by working with specified entities, to enhance the departments education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. The bill would authorize the department to establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for these purposes.
(7)Existing law authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation, prescribed burning operations, or other hazardous fuel reduction efforts conducted on wild lands other than wildlands under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
This bill would delete the cost-share restriction on wild lands under federal jurisdiction.
(8)This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(9)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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a major disaster declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that a prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide nonregulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.(a)A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178.
(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(c)The local agency shall transmit a copy of an ordinance adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption.
(d)Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the director.
(e)The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.
(f)Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g)A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.
SEC. 3.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones. These methods and strategies shall reflect accepted best practices in the most recent guidance document entitled Fire Hazard Planning, General Plan Technical Advice Series, as identified in Section 65040.21.
(3)(A)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(B)If the board of supervisors or city council proposes not to adopt the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections recommendations concerning its draft element or draft amendment, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, within 15 days of receipt of the board of supervisors or city councils written response, may request in writing a consultation with the board of supervisors or city council to discuss the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections recommendations and the board of supervisors or city councils response. The consultation may be conducted in person, electronically, or telephonically. If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection requests a consultation pursuant to this subparagraph, the board of supervisors or city council shall not approve the draft element or draft amendment until after consulting with the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. The consultation shall occur no later than 30 days after the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections request.
(4)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 4.Section 65352 of the Government Code is amended to read:65352.(a) Before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer the proposed action to all of the following entities:
(1)A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(2)An elementary, high school, or unified school district within the area covered by the proposed action.
(3)The local agency formation commission.
(4)An areawide planning agency whose operations may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(5)A federal agency, if its operations or lands within its jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(6)(A)The branches of the United States Armed Forces that have provided the Office of Planning and Research with a California mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65944, if the proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or lies within special use airspace, or beneath a low-level flight path, as defined in Section 21098 of the Public Resources Code, and if the United States Department of Defense provides electronic maps of low-level flight paths, special use airspace, and military installations at a scale and in an electronic format that is acceptable to the Office of Planning and Research.
(B)Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning and Research that the information provided by the United States Department of Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties, and cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30 days of receiving this notice from the office.
(7)A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections, that serves water to customers within the area covered by the proposal. The public water system shall have at least 45 days to comment on the proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision (b), and to provide the planning agency with the information set forth in Section 65352.5.
(8)Any groundwater sustainability agency that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code or local agency that otherwise manages groundwater pursuant to other provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(9)The State Water Resources Control Board, if it has adopted an interim plan pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code that includes territory within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(10)The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a proposed action within the boundaries of the district.
(11)A California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission and that has traditional lands located within the citys or countys jurisdiction.
(12)The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.
(13)(A)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, if the proposed action includes either of the following:
(i)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any county that contains a state responsibility area.
(ii)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(B)A referral made pursuant to this paragraph shall be made no later than the date on which the county or city sends notice of preparation pursuant to Section 21080.4 of the Public Resources Code, if any, for the project.
(b)An entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment of a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from the date the referring agency mails it or delivers it to comment unless a longer period is specified by the planning agency.
(c)(1)This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure to refer a proposed action to the entities specified in this section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.
(2)To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 65919), the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.
SEC. 5.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the subdivision is consistent with regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code or consistent with local ordinances certified by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection as meeting or exceeding the state regulations.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(b)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in subdivision (a) and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(c)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(d)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 6.Section 41812 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:41812.(a)The air pollution control officer of any district, upon authorization of the district board, may authorize, by permit, open outdoor fires for the purpose of disposing of agricultural wastes, or wood waste from trees, vines, bushes, or other wood debris free of nonwood materials, in a mechanized burner so that no air contaminant is discharged into the atmosphere for a period or periods aggregating more than 30 minutes in any eight-hour period that is either of the following:
(1)As dark or darker in shade as that designated as No. 1 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the former United States Bureau of Mines.
(2)So opaque that it obscures observers view to a degree equal to or greater than does smoke described in paragraph (1).
(b)In authorizing the operation of a mechanized burner, the air pollution control officer may make the permit subject to whatever conditions the officer determines are reasonably necessary to ensure conformance with the standards prescribed in this section.
SEC. 7.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Cooperative Extension, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety.
SEC. 8.The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:2.Department of Forestry Burning AgreementsSEC. 9.Section 4475 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.(a)The director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction that is consistent with this chapter and the regulations of the board with any person to conduct prescribed burning operations and joint prescribed burning operations that serve the public interest and are beneficial to the state. To be considered for the public interest and beneficial to the state, each prescribed burn shall be for any of the following purposes, or any combination of those purposes:
(1)Prevention of high-intensity wildland fires through reduction of the volume and continuity of wildland fuels.
(2)Watershed management.
(3)Range improvement.
(4)Vegetation management.
(5)Forest improvement.
(6)Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7)Air quality maintenance.
(b)For the purposes of this article and consistent with subdivision (c), person includes, but is not limited to, private or nongovernmental entities, Native American tribes, or local, state, and federal public agencies. For purposes of this article, person shall also include the plural when the department determines an agreement needs to contain two or more persons as defined in this section.
(c)The Legislature finds and declares that historically, the department conducted prescribed burns only utilizing its own personnel and therefore was liable for any damages resulting from the burn. However, to reach the statewide prescribed burn goals identified in the California Forest Carbon Plan: Managing our Forest Landscapes in a Changing Climate, to limit the threat of catastrophic wildfire, and to improve forest health, the department may have a smaller role on individual prescribed burns with a cooperator taking more control as authorized by the act adding this subdivision. This cooperator control may range from creating the burn plan to being the burn boss and conducting the burn.
SEC. 10.Section 4475.1 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 11.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 12.Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4476.An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:
(a)Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.
(b)Designate an officer of the department or a burn boss certified pursuant to Section 4477 as the burn boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.
(c)Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.
(d)Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers compensation.
(e)(1)Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement, the department shall, in the agreement, either (A) indemnify and hold harmless the person contracting with the department, (B) provide a maximum dollar amount of liability for the department, or (C) provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person contracting with the department.
(2)If the department chooses to use option (B) or (C) as allowed pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall determine the maximum amount of liability or proportionate share of liability for each prescribed burn conducted pursuant to this article using factors including, but not limited to, department involvement with the planning and conducting the prescribed burn, fire hazard severity, assets at risk from a wildfire without the prescribed burn being conducted, wildlife habitat, and watershed values. When using a proportionate share of liability as allowed in (C) pursuant to paragraph (1), the maximum percentage of liability for the person contracting with the department shall be 75 percent. This section does not preclude the department from purchasing an insurance policy to cover the maximum amount of state liability or state proportionate share of liability in the contract.
(f)Provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
SEC. 13.Section 4477 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 14.Section 4477 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4477.(a)On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum for, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for burn bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operation and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operation. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of burn bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
(b)In addition to the curriculum and certification program developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as burn bosses. The department shall certify these individuals to a common standard. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department use its discretion to ensure that burn bosses are thoroughly qualified to engage in prescribed burning operations prior to issuing certifications.
SEC. 15.Section 4478 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 16.Section 4479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4479.(a)Liability for any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be governed by subdivision (c) of Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b)This section shall not apply when the department is applying for federal assistance.
SEC. 17.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4480.In any area of the state where there are substantially more requests for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to this article than can be conducted directly by the department in a single fiscal year, the director may enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for planning the operation, preparing the site, and conducting the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction. The private consultant or contractor or other public agency, and the work assignments of its employees, shall be supervised by the burn boss when conducting prescribed burning operations, or designated officer as determined by the department when conducting other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 4476.
SEC. 18.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the boards Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve, in addition to any identified entities in the report, as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that additional consideration be provided for chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities that are being increasingly threatened by fire frequency in excess of their natural fire return patterns due to climate change and human-caused fires.
(2)Prescribed burning, mastication, herbicide application, mechanical thinning, or other vegetative treatments of chaparral or sage scrub shall occur only if the department finds that the activity will not cause type conversion away from the chaparral and coastal sage scrub currently on site.
(3)This subdivision shall be in addition to the requirements in the Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report.
SEC. 19.Section 4494 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4494.(a)Upon the conclusion of the examination provided for in Section 4493, the department may issue to the applicant a burning permit that shall specify the site preparation requirements and required precautions to be exercised prior to and during the burning. The issuance of a permit by the department does not relieve the permit holder from the duty of exercising due diligence to avoid damage to property of others in conducting the burning of vegetation as authorized by the permit.
(b)Compliance with a permit issued pursuant to this article shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.In coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, the department and the State Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, rapidly deployable air quality monitors. The program shall include adequate funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for local air pollution control and air quality management district participation and implementation costs.
SEC. 21.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a major disaster declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that a prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide nonregulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.(a)A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178.
(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(c)The local agency shall transmit a copy of an ordinance adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption.
(d)Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the director.
(e)The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.
(f)Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g)A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.
SEC. 3.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones. These methods and strategies shall reflect accepted best practices in the most recent guidance document entitled Fire Hazard Planning, General Plan Technical Advice Series, as identified in Section 65040.21.
(3)(A)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(B)If the board of supervisors or city council proposes not to adopt the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections recommendations concerning its draft element or draft amendment, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, within 15 days of receipt of the board of supervisors or city councils written response, may request in writing a consultation with the board of supervisors or city council to discuss the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections recommendations and the board of supervisors or city councils response. The consultation may be conducted in person, electronically, or telephonically. If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection requests a consultation pursuant to this subparagraph, the board of supervisors or city council shall not approve the draft element or draft amendment until after consulting with the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. The consultation shall occur no later than 30 days after the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections request.
(4)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 4.Section 65352 of the Government Code is amended to read:65352.(a) Before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer the proposed action to all of the following entities:
(1)A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(2)An elementary, high school, or unified school district within the area covered by the proposed action.
(3)The local agency formation commission.
(4)An areawide planning agency whose operations may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(5)A federal agency, if its operations or lands within its jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(6)(A)The branches of the United States Armed Forces that have provided the Office of Planning and Research with a California mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65944, if the proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or lies within special use airspace, or beneath a low-level flight path, as defined in Section 21098 of the Public Resources Code, and if the United States Department of Defense provides electronic maps of low-level flight paths, special use airspace, and military installations at a scale and in an electronic format that is acceptable to the Office of Planning and Research.
(B)Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning and Research that the information provided by the United States Department of Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties, and cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30 days of receiving this notice from the office.
(7)A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections, that serves water to customers within the area covered by the proposal. The public water system shall have at least 45 days to comment on the proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision (b), and to provide the planning agency with the information set forth in Section 65352.5.
(8)Any groundwater sustainability agency that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code or local agency that otherwise manages groundwater pursuant to other provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(9)The State Water Resources Control Board, if it has adopted an interim plan pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code that includes territory within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(10)The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a proposed action within the boundaries of the district.
(11)A California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission and that has traditional lands located within the citys or countys jurisdiction.
(12)The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.
(13)(A)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, if the proposed action includes either of the following:
(i)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any county that contains a state responsibility area.
(ii)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(B)A referral made pursuant to this paragraph shall be made no later than the date on which the county or city sends notice of preparation pursuant to Section 21080.4 of the Public Resources Code, if any, for the project.
(b)An entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment of a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from the date the referring agency mails it or delivers it to comment unless a longer period is specified by the planning agency.
(c)(1)This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure to refer a proposed action to the entities specified in this section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.
(2)To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 65919), the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.
SEC. 5.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the subdivision is consistent with regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code or consistent with local ordinances certified by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection as meeting or exceeding the state regulations.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(b)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in subdivision (a) and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(c)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(d)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 6.Section 41812 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:41812.(a)The air pollution control officer of any district, upon authorization of the district board, may authorize, by permit, open outdoor fires for the purpose of disposing of agricultural wastes, or wood waste from trees, vines, bushes, or other wood debris free of nonwood materials, in a mechanized burner so that no air contaminant is discharged into the atmosphere for a period or periods aggregating more than 30 minutes in any eight-hour period that is either of the following:
(1)As dark or darker in shade as that designated as No. 1 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the former United States Bureau of Mines.
(2)So opaque that it obscures observers view to a degree equal to or greater than does smoke described in paragraph (1).
(b)In authorizing the operation of a mechanized burner, the air pollution control officer may make the permit subject to whatever conditions the officer determines are reasonably necessary to ensure conformance with the standards prescribed in this section.
SEC. 7.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Cooperative Extension, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety.
SEC. 8.The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:2.Department of Forestry Burning AgreementsSEC. 9.Section 4475 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.(a)The director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction that is consistent with this chapter and the regulations of the board with any person to conduct prescribed burning operations and joint prescribed burning operations that serve the public interest and are beneficial to the state. To be considered for the public interest and beneficial to the state, each prescribed burn shall be for any of the following purposes, or any combination of those purposes:
(1)Prevention of high-intensity wildland fires through reduction of the volume and continuity of wildland fuels.
(2)Watershed management.
(3)Range improvement.
(4)Vegetation management.
(5)Forest improvement.
(6)Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7)Air quality maintenance.
(b)For the purposes of this article and consistent with subdivision (c), person includes, but is not limited to, private or nongovernmental entities, Native American tribes, or local, state, and federal public agencies. For purposes of this article, person shall also include the plural when the department determines an agreement needs to contain two or more persons as defined in this section.
(c)The Legislature finds and declares that historically, the department conducted prescribed burns only utilizing its own personnel and therefore was liable for any damages resulting from the burn. However, to reach the statewide prescribed burn goals identified in the California Forest Carbon Plan: Managing our Forest Landscapes in a Changing Climate, to limit the threat of catastrophic wildfire, and to improve forest health, the department may have a smaller role on individual prescribed burns with a cooperator taking more control as authorized by the act adding this subdivision. This cooperator control may range from creating the burn plan to being the burn boss and conducting the burn.
SEC. 10.Section 4475.1 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 11.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 12.Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4476.An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:
(a)Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.
(b)Designate an officer of the department or a burn boss certified pursuant to Section 4477 as the burn boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.
(c)Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.
(d)Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers compensation.
(e)(1)Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement, the department shall, in the agreement, either (A) indemnify and hold harmless the person contracting with the department, (B) provide a maximum dollar amount of liability for the department, or (C) provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person contracting with the department.
(2)If the department chooses to use option (B) or (C) as allowed pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall determine the maximum amount of liability or proportionate share of liability for each prescribed burn conducted pursuant to this article using factors including, but not limited to, department involvement with the planning and conducting the prescribed burn, fire hazard severity, assets at risk from a wildfire without the prescribed burn being conducted, wildlife habitat, and watershed values. When using a proportionate share of liability as allowed in (C) pursuant to paragraph (1), the maximum percentage of liability for the person contracting with the department shall be 75 percent. This section does not preclude the department from purchasing an insurance policy to cover the maximum amount of state liability or state proportionate share of liability in the contract.
(f)Provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
SEC. 13.Section 4477 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 14.Section 4477 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4477.(a)On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum for, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for burn bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operation and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operation. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of burn bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
(b)In addition to the curriculum and certification program developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as burn bosses. The department shall certify these individuals to a common standard. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department use its discretion to ensure that burn bosses are thoroughly qualified to engage in prescribed burning operations prior to issuing certifications.
SEC. 15.Section 4478 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 16.Section 4479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4479.(a)Liability for any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be governed by subdivision (c) of Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b)This section shall not apply when the department is applying for federal assistance.
SEC. 17.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4480.In any area of the state where there are substantially more requests for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to this article than can be conducted directly by the department in a single fiscal year, the director may enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for planning the operation, preparing the site, and conducting the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction. The private consultant or contractor or other public agency, and the work assignments of its employees, shall be supervised by the burn boss when conducting prescribed burning operations, or designated officer as determined by the department when conducting other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 4476.
SEC. 18.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the boards Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve, in addition to any identified entities in the report, as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that additional consideration be provided for chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities that are being increasingly threatened by fire frequency in excess of their natural fire return patterns due to climate change and human-caused fires.
(2)Prescribed burning, mastication, herbicide application, mechanical thinning, or other vegetative treatments of chaparral or sage scrub shall occur only if the department finds that the activity will not cause type conversion away from the chaparral and coastal sage scrub currently on site.
(3)This subdivision shall be in addition to the requirements in the Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report.
SEC. 19.Section 4494 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4494.(a)Upon the conclusion of the examination provided for in Section 4493, the department may issue to the applicant a burning permit that shall specify the site preparation requirements and required precautions to be exercised prior to and during the burning. The issuance of a permit by the department does not relieve the permit holder from the duty of exercising due diligence to avoid damage to property of others in conducting the burning of vegetation as authorized by the permit.
(b)Compliance with a permit issued pursuant to this article shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.In coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, the department and the State Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, rapidly deployable air quality monitors. The program shall include adequate funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for local air pollution control and air quality management district participation and implementation costs.
SEC. 21.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a major disaster declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that a prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide nonregulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.(a)A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178. The local agency shall transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. A local agency shall be exempt from these requirements if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, the standards imposed by this chapter.
(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, exclude from the requirements of Section 51182 an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.(c)(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(c)The local agency shall transmit a copy of an ordinance adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption.
(d)Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the director.
(e)The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.
(f)Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g)A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.
SEC. 3.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones. These methods and strategies shall reflect accepted best practices in the most recent guidance document entitled Fire Hazard Planning, General Plan Technical Advice Series, as identified in Section 65040.21.
(3)(A)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(B)If the board of supervisors or city council proposes not to adopt the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections recommendations concerning its draft element or draft amendment, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, within 15 days of receipt of the board of supervisors or city councils written response, may request in writing a consultation with the board of supervisors or city council to discuss the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections recommendations and the board of supervisors or city councils response. The consultation may be conducted in person, electronically, or telephonically. If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection requests a consultation pursuant to this subparagraph, the board of supervisors or city council shall not approve the draft element or draft amendment until after consulting with the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. The consultation shall occur no later than 30 days after the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections request.
(4)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 4.Section 65352 of the Government Code is amended to read:65352.(a) Before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer the proposed action to all of the following entities:
(1)A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(2)An elementary, high school, or unified school district within the area covered by the proposed action.
(3)The local agency formation commission.
(4)An areawide planning agency whose operations may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(5)A federal agency, if its operations or lands within its jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(6)(A)The branches of the United States Armed Forces that have provided the Office of Planning and Research with a California mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65944, if the proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or lies within special use airspace, or beneath a low-level flight path, as defined in Section 21098 of the Public Resources Code, and if the United States Department of Defense provides electronic maps of low-level flight paths, special use airspace, and military installations at a scale and in an electronic format that is acceptable to the Office of Planning and Research.
(B)Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning and Research that the information provided by the United States Department of Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties, and cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30 days of receiving this notice from the office.
(7)A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections, that serves water to customers within the area covered by the proposal. The public water system shall have at least 45 days to comment on the proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision (b), and to provide the planning agency with the information set forth in Section 65352.5.
(8)Any groundwater sustainability agency that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code or local agency that otherwise manages groundwater pursuant to other provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(9)The State Water Resources Control Board, if it has adopted an interim plan pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code that includes territory within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(10)The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a proposed action within the boundaries of the district.
(11)A California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission and that has traditional lands located within the citys or countys jurisdiction.
(12)The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.
(13)(A)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, if the proposed action includes either of the following:
(i)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any county that contains a state responsibility area.
(ii)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(B)A referral made pursuant to this paragraph shall be made no later than the date on which the county or city sends notice of preparation pursuant to Section 21080.4 of the Public Resources Code, if any, for the project.
(b)An entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment of a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from the date the referring agency mails it or delivers it to comment unless a longer period is specified by the planning agency.
(c)(1)This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure to refer a proposed action to the entities specified in this section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.
(2)To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 65919), the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.
SEC. 5.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the subdivision is consistent with regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code. Code or consistent with local ordinances certified by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection as meeting or exceeding the state regulations.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(b)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in subdivision (a) and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(c)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(d)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 6.Section 13008 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13008.(a)A person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.(b)Compliance with an agreement entered into pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code or a permit authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.SEC. 7.Section 13055 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13055.(a)A public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including, but not limited to, a fire protection district, city, city and county, or county fire department, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the United States Forest Service, or a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, may use fire to abate a fire hazard.(b)This section does not authorize a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code to use fire to abate a fire hazard during an active fire incident.SEC. 6.Section 41812 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:41812.(a)The air pollution control officer of any district in a county with a population of 6,000,000 or less, district, upon authorization of the district board, may authorize, by permit, open outdoor fires for the purpose of disposing of agricultural wastes, or wood waste from trees, vines, bushes, or other wood debris free of nonwood materials, in a mechanized burner such so that no air contaminant is discharged into the atmosphere for a period or periods aggregating more than 30 minutes in any eight-hour period which is: that is either of the following:
(a)(1)As dark or darker in shade as that designated as No. 1 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the former United States Bureau of Mines, or Mines.
(b)Of such opacity as to obscure an(2)So opaque that it obscures observers view to a degree equal to or greater than does smoke described in subdivision (a). paragraph (1).
In(b)In authorizing the operation of a mechanized burner, the air pollution control officer may make the permit subject to whatever conditions he the officer determines are reasonably necessary to assure ensure conformance with the standards prescribed in this section.
SEC. 8.SEC. 7.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Extension Services, University of California Cooperative Extension, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety.
SEC. 9.SEC. 8.The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:2.Department of Forestry Burning AgreementsSEC. 10.SEC. 9.Section 4475 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.(a)The director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction that is consistent with this chapter and the regulations of the board with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property, including the federal government, that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization any person to conduct prescribed burning operations and joint prescribed burning operations that serve the public interest and are beneficial to the state. To be considered for the public interest and beneficial to the state, each prescribed burn shall be for any of the following purposes, or any combination of those purposes:
(1)Prevention of high-intensity wildland fires through reduction of the volume and continuity of wildland fuels.
(2)Watershed management.
(3)Range improvement.
(4)Vegetation management.
(5)Forest improvement.
(6)Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7)Air quality maintenance.
(b)An agreement shall not be entered into pursuant to this section unless the director determines that the public benefits estimated to be derived from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to the agreement will be equal to or greater than the foreseeable damage that could result from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.(b)For the purposes of this article and consistent with subdivision (c), person includes, but is not limited to, private or nongovernmental entities, Native American tribes, or local, state, and federal public agencies. For purposes of this article, person shall also include the plural when the department determines an agreement needs to contain two or more persons as defined in this section.
(c)The Legislature finds and declares that historically, the department conducted prescribed burns only utilizing its own personnel and therefore was liable for any damages resulting from the burn. However, to reach the statewide prescribed burn goals identified in the California Forest Carbon Plan: Managing our Forest Landscapes in a Changing Climate, to limit the threat of catastrophic wildfire, and to improve forest health, the department may have a smaller role on individual prescribed burns with a cooperator taking more control as authorized by the act adding this subdivision. This cooperator control may range from creating the burn plan to being the burn boss and conducting the burn.
SEC. 11.SEC. 10.Section 4475.1 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 12.SEC. 11.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 13.SEC. 12.Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4476.An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:
(a)Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 4481, designate Designate an officer of the department or a burn boss certified pursuant to Section 4477 as the fire burn boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.
(c)Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.
(d)Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers compensation.
(e)(1)Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement, the department shall shall, in the agreement, either (1) agree to (A) indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement or (2) in the agreement,provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to potential liability arising out of performance of the agreement. department, (B) provide a maximum dollar amount of liability for the department, or (C) provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person contracting with the department.
(2)If the department chooses to use option (B) or (C) as allowed pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall determine the maximum amount of liability or proportionate share of liability for each prescribed burn conducted pursuant to this article using factors including, but not limited to, department involvement with the planning and conducting the prescribed burn, fire hazard severity, assets at risk from a wildfire without the prescribed burn being conducted, wildlife habitat, and watershed values. When using a proportionate share of liability as allowed in (C) pursuant to paragraph (1), the maximum percentage of liability for the person contracting with the department shall be 75 percent. This section does not preclude the department from purchasing an insurance policy to cover the maximum amount of state liability or state proportionate share of liability in the contract.
(f)Provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
SEC. 14.SEC. 13.Section 4477 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 15.SEC. 14.Section 4477 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4477.(a)On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum for, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire burn bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operation and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operation. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of fire burn bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
(b)In addition to the curriculum and certification program developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire burn bosses. The department shall certify these individuals to a common standard. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department use its discretion to ensure that fire burn bosses are thoroughly qualified to engage in prescribed burning operations prior to issuing certifications.
SEC. 16.SEC. 15.Section 4478 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 17.SEC. 16.Section 4479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4479.(a)Liability for any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be governed by subdivision (b) (c) of Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b)This section shall not apply when the department is applying for federal assistance.
SEC. 18.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 17.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4480.In any area of the state where there are substantially more requests for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to this article than can be conducted directly by the department in a single fiscal year, the director may, with the approval of the Director of Finance, may enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for planning the operation, preparing the site, and conducting the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction. The private consultant or contractor or other public agency, and the work assignments of its employees, shall be supervised by the fire burn boss when conducting prescribed burning operations, or designated officer of as determined by the department when conducting other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 4476. No agreement may be entered into pursuant to this section unless the director determines that it will enable the prescribed burning operation to be conducted at a cost equal to, or less than, the cost that would otherwise be incurred by the state.
SEC. 19.Section 4481 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4481.(a)A person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group may apply for a permit pursuant to Section 4492 on behalf of a person or entity listed in Section 4492.(b)The director may appoint a fire boss with valid fire boss certification, as described in subdivision (a), who is not an officer of the department, for purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 4476.(c)For purposes of this article, the terms burn boss and fire boss are interchangeable.(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2039, and as of that date is repealed.SEC. 20.Section 4482 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4482.The department shall cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities. To the extent feasible, the department shall also schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burning operations. These activities shall utilize the California Conservation Corps, local conservation corps, and California minimum-custody inmates. The department may consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burning operations. The departments funding for prescribed fires shall come from existing resources, and shall not diminish the departments fire suppression activities.SEC. 21.SEC. 18.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the boards Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve, in addition to any identified entities in the report, as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)It is the intent of the Legislature that additional consideration be provided for coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities.(c)It is the intent of the Legislature that this section alleviate the need for each prescribed fire project to independently comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21050)), and instead only require analysis and mitigation of those environmental impacts not analyzed or mitigated in the programmatic environmental document described in subdivision (a).(b)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that additional consideration be provided for chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities that are being increasingly threatened by fire frequency in excess of their natural fire return patterns due to climate change and human-caused fires.
(2)Prescribed burning, mastication, herbicide application, mechanical thinning, or other vegetative treatments of chaparral or sage scrub shall occur only if the department finds that the activity will not cause type conversion away from the chaparral and coastal sage scrub currently on site.
(3)This subdivision shall be in addition to the requirements in the Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report.
SEC. 19.Section 4494 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4494.(a)Upon the conclusion of the examination provided for in Section 4493, the department may issue to the applicant a burning permit that shall specify the site preparation requirements and required precautions to be exercised prior to and during the burning. The issuance of a permit by the department does not relieve the permit holder from the duty of exercising due diligence to avoid damage to property of others in conducting the burning of vegetation as authorized by the permit.
(b)Compliance with a permit issued pursuant to this article shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 22.SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.In coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, the department and the State Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, year-round rapidly deployable air quality monitors. The program shall include adequate funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for local air pollution control and air quality management district participation and implementation costs.
SEC. 23.SEC. 21.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a major disaster declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that a prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide nonregulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.(a)A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178. The local agency shall transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. A local agency shall be exempt from these requirements if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, the standards imposed by this chapter.
(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, exclude from the requirements of Section 51182 an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(c)A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(d)Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the director.
(e)The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.
(f)Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g)A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.
SEC. 3.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones.
(3)(A)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(B)If the board of supervisors or city council proposes not to adopt the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections recommendations concerning its draft element or draft amendment, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, within 15 days of receipt of the board of supervisors or city councils written response, may request in writing a consultation with the board of supervisors or city council to discuss the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections recommendations and the board of supervisors or city councils response. The consultation may be conducted in person, electronically, or telephonically. If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection requests a consultation pursuant to this subparagraph, the board of supervisors or city council shall not approve the draft element or draft amendment until after consulting with the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. The consultation shall occur no later than 30 days after the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections request.
(4)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 4.Section 65352 of the Government Code is amended to read:65352.(a) Before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer the proposed action to all of the following entities:
(1)A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(2)An elementary, high school, or unified school district within the area covered by the proposed action.
(3)The local agency formation commission.
(4)An areawide planning agency whose operations may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(5)A federal agency, if its operations or lands within its jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(6)(A)The branches of the United States Armed Forces that have provided the Office of Planning and Research with a California mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65944, if the proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or lies within special use airspace, or beneath a low-level flight path, as defined in Section 21098 of the Public Resources Code, and if the United States Department of Defense provides electronic maps of low-level flight paths, special use airspace, and military installations at a scale and in an electronic format that is acceptable to the Office of Planning and Research.
(B)Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning and Research that the information provided by the United States Department of Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties, and cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30 days of receiving this notice from the office.
(7)A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections, that serves water to customers within the area covered by the proposal. The public water system shall have at least 45 days to comment on the proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision (b), and to provide the planning agency with the information set forth in Section 65352.5.
(8)Any groundwater sustainability agency that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code or local agency that otherwise manages groundwater pursuant to other provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(9)The State Water Resources Control Board, if it has adopted an interim plan pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code that includes territory within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(10)The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a proposed action within the boundaries of the district.
(11)A California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission and that has traditional lands located within the citys or countys jurisdiction.
(12)The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.
(13)(A)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, if the proposed action includes either of the following:
(i)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any county that contains a state responsibility area.
(ii)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(B)A referral made pursuant to this paragraph shall be made no later than the date on which the county or city sends notice of preparation pursuant to Section 21080.4 of the Public Resources Code, if any, for the project.
(b)An entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment of a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from the date the referring agency mails it or delivers it to comment unless a longer period is specified by the planning agency.
(c)(1)This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure to refer a proposed action to the entities specified in this section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.
(2)To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 65919), the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.
SEC. 5.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following three findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the subdivision is consistent with applicable regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)(b)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in this subdivision (a) and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(b)(c)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(c)(d)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 6.Section 13008 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13008.(a)A person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
(b)Compliance with an agreement entered into pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code or a permit authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 7.Section 13055 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13055.(a)A public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including, but not limited to, a fire protection district, city, city and county, or county fire department, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the United States Forest Service, or a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, may use fire to abate a fire hazard.(b)This section does not authorize a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code to use fire to abate a fire hazard during an active fire incident.
SEC. 8.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. For purposes of this section, the department shall establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which may include a cost-share program with local government.
SEC. 9.The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:2.Department of Forestry Burning AgreementsSEC. 10.Section 4475 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.(a)The director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction that is consistent with this chapter and the regulations of the board with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property, including the federal government, that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for any of the following purposes, or any combination of those purposes:
(1)Prevention of high-intensity wildland fires through reduction of the volume and continuity of wildland fuels.
(2)Watershed management.
(3)Range improvement.
(4)Vegetation management.
(5)Forest improvement.
(6)Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7)Air quality maintenance.
(b)An agreement shall not be entered into pursuant to this section unless the director determines that the public benefits estimated to be derived from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to the agreement will be equal to or greater than the foreseeable damage that could result from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.
SEC. 11.Section 4475.1 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 12.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 13.Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4476.An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:
(a)Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 4481, designate an officer of the department as the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.
(c)Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.
(d)Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers compensation.
(e)Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall either (1) agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement or (2) in the agreement, provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to potential liability arising out of performance of the agreement.
(f)Provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
SEC. 14.Section 4477 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 15.Section 4477 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4477.(a)On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum for, or amend into in an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operation and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operation. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of fire bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
(b)In addition to the curriculum and certification program developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The department shall certify these individuals to a common standard. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department use its discretion to ensure that fire bosses are thoroughly qualified to engage in prescribed burning operations prior to issuing certifications.
SEC. 16.Section 4478 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 17.Section 4479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4479.Liability for any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be governed by subdivision (b) of Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 18.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 19.Section 4481 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4481.(a)A person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group may apply for a permit pursuant to Section 4492 on behalf of a person or entity listed in Section 4492.
(b)The director may appoint a fire boss with valid fire boss certification, as described in subdivision (a), who is not an officer of the department, for purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 4476.
(c)For purposes of this article, the terms burn boss and fire boss are interchangeable.
(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2039, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 20.Section 4482 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4482.The department shall cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities. To the extent feasible, the department shall also schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burning operations. These activities shall utilize the California Conservation Corps, local conservation corps, and California minimum-custody inmates. The department may consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burning operations. The departments funding for prescribed fires shall come from existing resources, and shall not diminish the departments fire suppression activities.
SEC. 21.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the boards Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve serve, in addition to any identified entities in the report, as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by the department or by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)The application of subdivision (a) shall be limited to prescribed fires that occur in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.(b)It is the intent of the Legislature that additional consideration be provided for coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature that this section alleviate the need for each prescribed fire project to independently comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21050)), and instead only require analysis and mitigation of those environmental impacts not analyzed or mitigated in the programmatic environmental document described in subdivision (a).
SEC. 22.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.In coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, the department and the State Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, year-round air quality monitors. The program shall include adequate funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for local air pollution control and air quality management district participation and implementation costs.
SEC. 23.The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute, pursuant to Section 21 of this act, is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 13 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique urgency in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions relating to their wildfire risk due to tree mortality issues affecting the regions.SEC. 24.SEC. 23.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a major disaster declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that a prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide nonregulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would fund the removal of dead trees that may cause a public safety concern from private homes in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones. This may be undertaken in conjunction with local governments, resource conservation districts, and fire safe councils. It is not the intent that this change the responsibility of homeowners to undertake defensible space measures as required by state law and many local ordinances. This incentive to homeowners should be accompanied with greater enforcement of defensible space requirements.SEC. 3.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to create a cost-share program, a revolving loan program, or a subordinate debt financing mechanism to help homeowners, especially those with limited incomes, who live in high fire hazard zones, state responsibility areas, or areas in which there is a high degree of tree mortality, to retrofit their homes to improve resistance to wildfire. Eligible improvements would include, but would not be limited to, retrofitting windows, vents, soffits, eaves, roofs, decks, and other structural components of a structure. These improvements would be cost effective in that not only would the structures become more fire resistant, but the states fire suppression costs may be reduced significantly, including the potential elimination of the need to put a fire engine in the driveway of the houses that have been retrofitted. It is the intent that retrofitting pursuant to this section would occur on all structures in the state, including those within homeowners associations.SEC. 4.SEC. 2.Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.(a)A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178. The local agency shall transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. A local agency shall be exempt from these requirements if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, the standards imposed by this chapter.
(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, exclude from the requirements of Section 51182 an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(c)A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(d)Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the director.
(e)The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.
(f)Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g)A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.
SEC. 5.SEC. 3.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones.
(3)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(4)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 6.SEC. 4.Section 65352 of the Government Code is amended to read:65352.(a) Before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer the proposed action to all of the following entities:
(1)A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(2)An elementary, high school, or unified school district within the area covered by the proposed action.
(3)The local agency formation commission.
(4)An areawide planning agency whose operations may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(5)A federal agency, if its operations or lands within its jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(6)(A)The branches of the United States Armed Forces that have provided the Office of Planning and Research with a California mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65944, if the proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or lies within special use airspace, or beneath a low-level flight path, as defined in Section 21098 of the Public Resources Code, and if the United States Department of Defense provides electronic maps of low-level flight paths, special use airspace, and military installations at a scale and in an electronic format that is acceptable to the Office of Planning and Research.
(B)Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning and Research that the information provided by the United States Department of Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties, and cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30 days of receiving this notice from the office.
(7)A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections, that serves water to customers within the area covered by the proposal. The public water system shall have at least 45 days to comment on the proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision (b), and to provide the planning agency with the information set forth in Section 65352.5.
(8)Any groundwater sustainability agency that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code or local agency that otherwise manages groundwater pursuant to other provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(9)The State Water Resources Control Board, if it has adopted an interim plan pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code that includes territory within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(10)The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a proposed action within the boundaries of the district.
(11)A California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission and that has traditional lands located within the citys or countys jurisdiction.
(12)The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.
(13)(A)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, if the proposed action includes either of the following:
(i)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any county that contains a state responsibility area.
(ii)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(B)A referral made pursuant to this paragraph shall be made no later than the date on which the county or city sends notice of preparation pursuant to Section 21080.4 of the Public Resources Code, if any, for the project.
(b)An entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment of a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from the date the referring agency mails it or delivers it to comment unless a longer period is specified by the planning agency.
(c)(1)This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure to refer a proposed action to the entities specified in this section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.
(2)To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 65919), the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.
SEC. 7.SEC. 5.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following three findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the subdivision is consistent with applicable regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in this subdivision and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(b)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(c)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 8.SEC. 6.Section 13008 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13008.(a)A person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
(b)Compliance with an agreement entered into pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 9.SEC. 7.Section 13055 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13055.A public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including, but not limited to, a fire protection district, city, city and county, or county fire department, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the United States Forest Service, or a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of the Public Resources Code, may use fire to abate a fire hazard.
SEC. 10.SEC. 8.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. For purposes of this section, the department shall establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which may include a cost-share program with local government.
SEC. 11.SEC. 9.The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:2.Department of Forestry Burning AgreementsSEC. 12.SEC. 10.Section 4475 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.(a)The director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction that is consistent with this chapter and the regulations of the board with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property, including the federal government, that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for any of the following purposes, or any combination of those purposes:
(1)Prevention of high-intensity wildland fires through reduction of the volume and continuity of wildland fuels.
(2)Watershed management.
(3)Range improvement.
(4)Vegetation management.
(5)Forest improvement.
(6)Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7)Air quality maintenance.
(b)An agreement shall not be entered into pursuant to this section unless the director determines that the public benefits estimated to be derived from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to the agreement will be equal to or greater than the foreseeable damage that could result from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.
SEC. 13.SEC. 11.Section 4475.1 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 14.SEC. 12.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 15.SEC. 13.Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4476.An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:
(a)Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 4481, designate an officer of the department as the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.
(c)Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.
(d)Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers compensation.
(e)Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall either (1) agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement or (2) in the agreement, provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to potential liability arising out of performance of the agreement.
(f)Provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
SEC. 16.SEC. 14.Section 4477 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 17.SEC. 15.Section 4477 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4477.(a)On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum for, or amend into in an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operation and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operation. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of fire bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
(b)In addition to the curriculum and certification program developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The department shall certify these individuals to a common standard. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department use its discretion to ensure that fire bosses are thoroughly qualified to engage in prescribed burning operations prior to issuing certifications.
SEC. 18.SEC. 16.Section 4478 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 19.SEC. 17.Section 4479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4479.Liability for any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be governed by subdivision (b) of Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 20.SEC. 18.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 21.SEC. 19.Section 4481 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4481.(a)A person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group may apply for a permit pursuant to Section 4492 on behalf of a person or entity listed in Section 4492.
(b)The director may appoint a fire boss with valid fire boss certification, as described in subdivision (a), who is not an officer of the department, for purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 4476.
(c)For purposes of this article, the terms burn boss and fire boss are interchangeable.
(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2039, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 22.SEC. 20.Section 4482 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4482.The department shall cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities. To the extent feasible, the department shall also schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burning operations. These activities shall utilize the California Conservation Corps, local conservation corps, and California minimum-custody inmates. The department may consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burning operations. The departments funding for prescribed fires shall come from existing resources, and shall not diminish the departments fire suppression activities.
SEC. 23.SEC. 21.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the boards Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by the department or by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)The application of subdivision (a) shall be limited to prescribed fires that occur in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature that this section alleviate the need for each prescribed fire project to independently comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21050)), and instead only require analysis and mitigation of those environmental impacts not analyzed or mitigated in the programmatic environmental document described in subdivision (a).
SEC. 24.SEC. 22.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.In coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, the department and the State Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, year-round air quality monitors. The program shall include adequate funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for local air pollution control and air quality management district participation and implementation costs.
SEC. 25.SEC. 23.The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute, pursuant to Section 23 21 of this act, is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 13 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique urgency in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions relating to their wildfire risk due to tree mortality issues affecting the regions.
SEC. 26.SEC. 24.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a major disaster declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that a prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide nonregulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would fund the removal of dead trees that may cause a public safety concern from private homes in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones. This may be undertaken in conjunction with local governments, resource conservation districts, and fire safe councils. It is not the intent that this change the responsibility of homeowners to undertake defensible space measures as required by state law and many local ordinances. This incentive to homeowners should be accompanied with greater enforcement of defensible space requirements.
SEC. 3.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to create a cost-share program, a revolving loan program, or a subordinate debt financing mechanism to help homeowners, especially those with limited incomes, who live in high fire hazard zones, state responsibility areas, or areas in which there is a high degree of tree mortality, to retrofit their homes to improve resistance to wildfire. Eligible improvements would include, but would not be limited to, retrofitting windows, vents, soffits, eaves, roofs, decks, and other structural components of a structure. These improvements would be cost effective in that not only would the structures become more fire resistant, but the states fire suppression costs may be reduced significantly, including the potential elimination of the need to put a fire engine in the driveway of the houses that have been retrofitted. It is the intent that retrofitting pursuant to this section would occur on all structures in the state, including those within homeowners associations.
SEC. 4.Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.(a)A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178. The local agency shall transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. A local agency shall be exempt from these requirements if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, the standards imposed by this chapter.
(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, exclude from the requirements of Section 51182 an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(c)A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(d)Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the director.
(e)The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.
(f)Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g)A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.
SEC. 5.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones.
(3)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(4)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 6.Section 65352 of the Government Code is amended to read:65352.(a) Before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer the proposed action to all of the following entities:
(1)A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(2)An elementary, high school, or unified school district within the area covered by the proposed action.
(3)The local agency formation commission.
(4)An areawide planning agency whose operations may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(5)A federal agency, if its operations or lands within its jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(6)(A)The branches of the United States Armed Forces that have provided the Office of Planning and Research with a California mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65944, if the proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or lies within special use airspace, or beneath a low-level flight path, as defined in Section 21098 of the Public Resources Code, and if the United States Department of Defense provides electronic maps of low-level flight paths, special use airspace, and military installations at a scale and in an electronic format that is acceptable to the Office of Planning and Research.
(B)Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning and Research that the information provided by the Department of Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties, and cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30 days of receiving this notice from the office.
(7)A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections, that serves water to customers within the area covered by the proposal. The public water system shall have at least 45 days to comment on the proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision (b), and to provide the planning agency with the information set forth in Section 65352.5.
(8)Any groundwater sustainability agency that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code or local agency that otherwise manages groundwater pursuant to other provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(9)The State Water Resources Control Board, if it has adopted an interim plan pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code that includes territory within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(10)The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a proposed action within the boundaries of the district.
(11)A California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission and that has traditional lands located within the citys or countys jurisdiction.
(12)The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.
(13)(A)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, if the proposed action includes either of the following:
(i)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any county that contains a state responsibility area.
(ii)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(B)A referral made pursuant to this paragraph shall be made no later than the date on which the county or city sends notice of preparation pursuant to Section 21080.4 of the Public Resources Code, if any, for the project.
(b)An entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment of a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from the date the referring agency mails it or delivers it to comment unless a longer period is specified by the planning agency.
(c)(1)This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure to refer a proposed action to the entities specified in this section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.
(2)To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 65919), the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.
SEC. 7.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following three findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the subdivision is consistent with applicable regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in this subdivision and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(b)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(c)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 8.Section 13008 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13008.(a)A person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
(b)Compliance with an agreement entered into pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 9.Section 13055 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13055.A public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including, but not limited to, a fire protection district, city, city and county, or county fire department, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the United States Forest Service, or a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of the Public Resources Code, may use fire to abate a fire hazard.
SEC. 10.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. For purposes of this section, the department shall establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which may include a cost-share program with local government.
SEC. 11.The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:2.Department of Forestry Burning AgreementsSEC. 12.Section 4475 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.(a)The director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction that is consistent with this chapter and the regulations of the board with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property, including the federal government, that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for any of the following purposes, or any combination of those purposes:
(1)Prevention of high-intensity wildland fires through reduction of the volume and continuity of wildland fuels.
(2)Watershed management.
(3)Range improvement.
(4)Vegetation management.
(5)Forest improvement.
(6)Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7)Air quality maintenance.
(b)An agreement shall not be entered into pursuant to this section unless the director determines that the public benefits estimated to be derived from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to the agreement will be equal to or greater than the foreseeable damage that could result from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.
SEC. 13.Section 4475.1 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 14.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 15.Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4476.An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:
(a)Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 4481, designate an officer of the department as the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.
(c)Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.
(d)Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers compensation.
(e)Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall either (1) agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement or (2) in the agreement, provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to potential liability arising out of performance of the agreement.
(f)Provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
SEC. 16.Section 4477 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 17.Section 4477 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4477.(a)On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum for, or amend into in an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operation and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operation. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of fire bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
(b)In addition to the curriculum and certification program developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The department shall certify these individuals to a common standard. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department use its discretion to ensure that fire bosses are thoroughly qualified to engage in prescribed burning operations prior to issuing certifications.
SEC. 18.Section 4478 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 19.Section 4479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4479.Liability for any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be governed by subdivision (b) of Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 20.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 21.Section 4481 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4481.(a)A person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group may apply for a permit pursuant to Section 4492 on behalf of a person or entity listed in Section 4492.
(b)The director may appoint a fire boss with valid fire boss certification, as described in subdivision (a), who is not an officer of the department, for purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 4476.
(c)For purposes of this article, the terms burn boss and fire boss are interchangeable.
(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2039, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 22.Section 4482 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4482.The department shall cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities. To the extent feasible, the department shall also schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burning operations. These activities shall utilize the California Conservation Corps, local conservation corps, and California minimum-custody inmates. The department may consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burning operations. The departments funding for prescribed fires shall come from existing resources, and shall not diminish the departments fire suppression activities.
SEC. 23.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the boards Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by the department or by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)The application of subdivision (a) shall be limited to prescribed fires that occur in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature that this section alleviate the need for each prescribed fire project to independently comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21050)), and instead only require analysis and mitigation of those environmental impacts not analyzed or mitigated in the programmatic environmental document described in subdivision (a).
SEC. 24.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.(a)In coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, the department and the State Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, year-round air quality monitors. The program shall include adequate funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for local air pollution control and air quality management district participation and implementation costs.
(b)The State Air Resources Board shall ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, local air pollution control and air quality management districts are engaged and invited to participate in the development of the program pursuant to this section and that the funding needs of these local districts to implement this program are addressed.SEC. 25.The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute, pursuant to Section 22 23 of this act, is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 13 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique urgency in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions relating to their wildfire risk due to tree mortality issues affecting the regions.
SEC. 26.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a Major Disaster Declaration. major disaster declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that a prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide non-regulatory nonregulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact Legislation legislation that would fund the removal of dead trees that may cause a public safety concern from private homes in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones. This may be undertaken in conjunction with local governments. governments, resource conservation districts, and fire safe councils. It is not the intent that this change the responsibility of homeowners to undertake defensible space measures as required by state law and many local ordinances. This incentive to homeowners should be accompanied with greater enforcement of defensible space requirements.
SEC. 3.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact Legislation legislation to create a cost-share program, a revolving loan program, or a subordinate debt financing mechanism to help homeowners, especially those with limited incomes, who live in high fire hazard zones, state responsibility areas, or areas in which there is a high degree of tree mortality, to retrofit their homes to improve resistance to wildfire. Eligible improvements would include, but would not be limited to, retrofitting windows, vents, soffits, eaves, roofs, decks, and other structural components of a structure. These improvements would be cost-effective cost effective in that not only would the structures become more fire-resistant, fire resistant, but the states fire suppression costs may be reduced significantly, including the potential elimination of the need to put a fire engine in the driveway of the houses that have been retrofitted. It is the intent that retrofitting pursuant to this section would occur on all structures in the state, including those within homeowners associations.
SEC. 4.Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.(a)A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178. The local agency shall transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. A local agency shall be exempt from these requirements if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, the standards imposed by this chapter.
(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, exclude from the requirements of Section 51182 an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(c)A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(d)Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the director.
(e)The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.
(f)Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g)A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.
SEC. 5.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 180 90 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)A county that contains state responsibility areas and a city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177 shall submit for review the safety element of its general plan to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county in accordance with the following dates, as specified, unless the local government submitted the element within five years prior to that date:(A)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the San Diego Association of Governments: December 31, 2010.(B)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Southern California Association of Governments: December 31, 2011.(C)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Association of Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2012.(D)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Council of Fresno County Governments, the Kern County Council of Governments, and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments: June 30, 2013.(E)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2014.(F)All other local governments: December 31, 2015.(3)(2)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones.
(4)(3)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(5)(4)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 6.Section 65352 of the Government Code is amended to read:65352.(a) Before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer the proposed action to all of the following entities:
(1)A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(2)An elementary, high school, or unified school district within the area covered by the proposed action.
(3)The local agency formation commission.
(4)An areawide planning agency whose operations may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(5)A federal agency, if its operations or lands within its jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.
(6)(A)The branches of the United States Armed Forces that have provided the Office of Planning and Research with a California mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65944, if the proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or lies within special use airspace, or beneath a low-level flight path, as defined in Section 21098 of the Public Resources Code, and if the United States Department of Defense provides electronic maps of low-level flight paths, special use airspace, and military installations at a scale and in an electronic format that is acceptable to the Office of Planning and Research.
(B)Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning and Research that the information provided by the Department of Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties, and cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30 days of receiving this notice from the office.
(7)A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections, that serves water to customers within the area covered by the proposal. The public water system shall have at least 45 days to comment on the proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision (b), and to provide the planning agency with the information set forth in Section 65352.5.
(8)Any groundwater sustainability agency that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code or local agency that otherwise manages groundwater pursuant to other provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(9)The State Water Resources Control Board, if it has adopted an interim plan pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code that includes territory within the planning area of the proposed general plan.
(10)The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a proposed action within the boundaries of the district.
(11)A California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission and that has traditional lands located within the citys or countys jurisdiction.
(12)The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.
(13)(A)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county, if the proposed action includes either of the following:
(i)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any county that contains a state responsibility area.
(ii)The adoption or amendment of the safety element of its general plan for any city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(B)A referral made pursuant to this paragraph shall be made no later than the date on which the county or city sends notice of preparation pursuant to Section 21080.4 of the Public Resources Code, if any, for the project.
(b)An entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment of a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from the date the referring agency mails it or delivers it to comment unless a longer period is specified by the planning agency.
(c)(1)This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure to refer a proposed action to the entities specified in this section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.
(2)To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 65919), the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.
SEC. 6.SEC. 7.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following three findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the subdivision is consistent with applicable regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in this subdivision and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(b)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(c)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 7.SEC. 8.Section 13008 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13008.(a)A person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
(b)Compliance with an agreement entered into pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 8.SEC. 9.Section 13055 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13055.A public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including, but not limited to, a fire protection district, city, city and county, or county fire department, the Department of Forestry, Forestry and Fire Protection, and the United States Forest Service, or a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of the Public Resources Code, may use fire to abate a fire hazard.
SEC. 9.SEC. 10.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. For purposes of this section, the department shall establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which may include a cost-share program with local government.
SEC. 10.SEC. 11.The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:2.Department of Forestry Burning AgreementsSEC. 11.SEC. 12.Section 4475 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.(a)The director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction that is consistent with this chapter and the regulations of the board with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property, including the federal government, that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for any of the following purposes, or any combination of those purposes:
(1)Prevention of high-intensity wildland fires through reduction of the volume and continuity of wildland fuels.
(2)Watershed management.
(3)Range improvement.
(4)Vegetation management.
(5)Forest improvement.
(6)Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7)Air quality maintenance.
(b)An agreement shall not be entered into pursuant to this section unless the director determines that the public benefits estimated to be derived from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to the agreement will be equal to or greater than the foreseeable damage that could result from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.
SEC. 12.SEC. 13.Section 4475.1 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 13.SEC. 14.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 14.SEC. 15.Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4476.An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:
(a)Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 4481, designate an officer of the department as the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.
(c)Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.
(d)Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers compensation.
(e)Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall either (1) agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement or (2) determine in the agreement, provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to potential liability arising out of performance of the agreement.
(f)Provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the departments request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.
SEC. 15.SEC. 16.Section 4477 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 16.SEC. 17.Section 4477 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4477.(a)On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum for, or amend into in an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operations operation and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operations. operation. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of fire bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
(b)In addition to the curriculum and certification program developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The department shall certify these individuals to a common standard. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department use its discretion to ensure that fire bosses are thoroughly qualified to engage in prescribed burning operations prior to issuing certifications.
SEC. 17.SEC. 18.Section 4478 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 18.SEC. 19.Section 4479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4479.Liability for any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be governed by subdivision (b) of Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 19.SEC. 20.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 20.SEC. 21.Section 4481 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4481.(a)A person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group may apply for a permit pursuant to Section 4492 on behalf of a person or entity listed in Section 4492.
(b)The director may appoint a fire boss with valid fire boss certification, as described in subdivision (a), who is not an officer of the department, for purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 4476.
(c)For purposes of this article, the terms burn boss and fire boss are interchangeable.
(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2039, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 21.SEC. 22.Section 4482 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4482.The department shall cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities. To the extent feasible, the department shall also schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burning operations. These activities shall utilize the California Conservation Corps, local conservation corps, and California minimum-custody inmates. The department may consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burning operations. The departments funding for prescribed fires shall come from existing resources, and shall not diminish the departments fire suppression activities.
SEC. 22.SEC. 23.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the boards Vegetation Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by the department or by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)The application of subdivision (a) shall be limited to prescribed fires that occur in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature that this section alleviate the need for each prescribed fire project to independently comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21050)), and instead only require analysis and mitigation of those environmental impacts not analyzed or mitigated in the programmatic environmental document described in subdivision (a).
SEC. 23.SEC. 24.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.(a)The In coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, the department and the State Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, year-round air quality monitors. The program shall include adequate funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for local air pollution control and air quality management district participation and implementation costs.
(b)The State Air Resources Board shall ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, local air pollution control and air quality management districts are engaged and invited to participate in the development of the program pursuant to this section and that the funding needs of these local districts to implement this program are addressed.
SEC. 24.SEC. 25.The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute, pursuant to Section 22 of this act, is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 13 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique urgency in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions relating to their wildfire risk due to tree mortality issues affecting the regions.
SEC. 25.SEC. 26.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a Major Disaster Declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that its a prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide non-regulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact Legislation that would fund the removal of dead trees that may cause a public safety concern from private homes in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones. This may be undertaken in conjunction with local governments. It is not the intent that this change the responsibility of homeowners to undertake defensible space measures as required by state law and many local ordinances. This incentive to homeowners should be accompanied with greater enforcement of defensible space requirements.
SEC. 3.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact Legislation to create a cost-share program, a revolving loan program, or a subordinate debt financing mechanism to help homeowners, especially those with limited incomes, who live in high fire hazard zones, state responsibility areas, or areas in which there is a high degree of tree mortality, to retrofit their homes to improve resistance to wildfire. Eligible improvements would include, but would not be limited to, retrofitting windows, vents, soffits, eaves, roofs, decks, and other structural components of a structure. These improvements would be cost-effective in that not only would the structures become more fire-resistant, but the states fire suppression costs may be reduced significantly, including the potential elimination of the need to put a fire engine in the driveway of the houses that have been retrofitted. It is the intent that retrofitting pursuant to this section would occur on all structures in the state, including those within homeowners associations.
SEC. 4.Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.(a)A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178. The local agency shall transmit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. A local agency shall be exempt from this requirement these requirements if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, the standards imposed by this chapter.
(b)A local agency may, at its discretion, exclude from the requirements of Section 51182 an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(c)A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.
(d)Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the director.
(e)The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.
(f)Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g)A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.
SEC. 4.SEC. 5.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 180 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)A county that contains state responsibility areas and a city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177 shall submit for review the safety element of its general plan to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county in accordance with the following dates, as specified, unless the local government submitted the element within five years prior to that date:
(A)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the San Diego Association of Governments: December 31, 2010.
(B)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Southern California Association of Governments: December 31, 2011.
(C)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Association of Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2012.
(D)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Council of Fresno County Governments, the Kern County Council of Governments, and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments: June 30, 2013.
(E)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2014.
(F)All other local governments: December 31, 2015.
(3)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones.
(4)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(5)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 5.SEC. 6.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following three findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the subdivision is consistent with applicable regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Section Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)A finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet or exceed the requirements of the regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access adopted pursuant to Section 4290 of the Public Resources Code and any applicable local ordinance.(4)(3)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in this subdivision and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(b)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Section Sections 4290 and 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(c)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 6.SEC. 7.Section 13008 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13008.(a)A person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control the fire, is liable to the owner of the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
(b)Compliance with an agreement entered into pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 7.SEC. 8.Section 13055 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13055.A public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including, but not limited to, a fire protection district, city, city and county, or county fire department, the Department of Forestry, and the United States Forest Service, or a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of the Public Resources Code, may use fire to abate a fire hazard.
SEC. 8.Section 13105.6 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:13105.6.On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum, or amend into in an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operations and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operations. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of fire bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.SEC. 9.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. For purposes of this section, the department shall establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which may include a cost-share program with local government.
SEC. 10.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.5.(a)The state may assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation and prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction conducted pursuant to this article on wildland. The states share of those costs shall bear the same ratio to the total costs of the operation as the public benefits bear to all public and private benefits to be derived from the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as estimated and determined by the director. The states share of the costs may exceed 90 percent of the total costs of the operation only if the director determines that no direct private economic benefits will accrue or will be utilized by a person that owns or controls any property under contract pursuant to Section 4475.(b)The board shall adopt regulations establishing standards to be used by the director in determining the states share of these costs and in determining whether, pursuant to Section 4475, the public benefits of a prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction will equal or exceed the foreseeable damage therefrom.(c)The determination of public and private benefits pursuant to this section shall reflect any substantial benefit to be derived from accomplishing any of the purposes specified in Section 4475 and the prevention of degradation of air quality.(d)All or part of these costs to be borne by the person contracting with the department may be met by the value of materials, services, or equipment furnished by that person directly, or furnished by that person pursuant to an agreement with a private consultant or contractor, or furnished by a combination of both means, that are determined by the department to be suitable for the preparation for, and the conduct of, the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction.(e)The director may accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work undertaken pursuant to this chapter. The director may waive the cost sharing requirements of this chapter if the funding source prohibits cost sharing requirements.SEC. 10.The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:2.Department of Forestry Burning Contracts AgreementsSEC. 11.Section 4475 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.(a)The director may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction that is consistent with this chapter and the regulations of the board with either the owner or any other person who has legal control of any property, any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management authority over any property property, including the federal government, that is included within any wildland, or any nonprofit organization for any of the following purposes, or any combination of those purposes:
(1)Prevention of high-intensity wildland fires through reduction of the volume and continuity of wildland fuels.
(2)Watershed management.
(3)Range improvement.
(4)Vegetation management.
(5)Forest improvement.
(6)Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7)Air quality maintenance.
(b)An agreement shall not be entered into pursuant to this section unless the director determines that the public benefits estimated to be derived from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to the agreement will be equal to or greater than the foreseeable damage that could result from the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.
SEC. 12.Section 4475.1 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.4475.1.The director, with the approval of the Director of General Services, may enter into a master agreement with federal land management agencies to conduct joint prescribed burning operations on wild lands and federal lands where these operations serve the public interest and are beneficial to the state. This master agreement shall be known as the Multiagency Agreement for Cooperative Use of Prescribed Fire and shall establish guidelines for the cooperative management of joint prescribed burning operations. The master agreement shall require the completion of a project agreement for each individual prescribed burn which shall include the following:(a)A list of all participants.(b)A joint prescribed burn plan.(c)A display of the project costs to be assumed by each participant.(d)A summary of the benefits to be received by each participant.(e)An apportionment of suppression cost to each participant in the event a wildfire escapes from the project.Project costs to be assumed by each agency or cooperator shall be based on the benefits received by each participant. The apportionment of suppression cost shall be based on the following:(1)The benefits received by each participant.(2)The amount at risk of each participant.(3)The cost to produce the desired benefits received by each participant.(4)The total acreage included by each participant.SEC. 13.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.4475.5.(a)The state may assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation and prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction conducted pursuant to this article on wild lands other than wild lands under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The states share of those costs shall bear the same ratio to the total costs of the operation as the public benefits bear to all public and private benefits to be derived from the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as estimated and determined by the director. The states share of the costs may exceed 90 percent of the total costs of the operation only if the director determines that no direct private economic benefits will accrue or will be utilized by a person that owns or controls any property under contract pursuant to Section 4475.(b)The board shall adopt regulations establishing standards to be used by the director in determining the states share of these costs and in determining whether, pursuant to Section 4475, the public benefits of a prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction will equal or exceed the foreseeable damage therefrom.(c)The determination of public and private benefits pursuant to this section shall reflect any substantial benefit to be derived from accomplishing any of the purposes specified in Section 4475 and the prevention of degradation of air quality.(d)All or part of these costs to be borne by the person contracting with the department may be met by the value of materials, services, or equipment furnished by that person directly, or furnished by that person pursuant to an agreement with a private consultant or contractor, or furnished by a combination of both means, that are determined by the department to be suitable for the preparation for, and the conduct of, the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction.(e)The director may accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work undertaken pursuant to this chapter. The director may waive the cost sharing requirements of this chapter if the funding source prohibits cost sharing requirements.SEC. 14.Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4476.Any contract which An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:
(a)Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wild land wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.
(b)Clearly state the obligation of each party to the contract to provide, maintain, and repair equipment and indicate the number of each type of equipment to be provided and the duration of its availability.(c)Designate(b)Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 4481, designate an officer of the department as the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.
(d)(c)Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.
(e)(d)Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wild land wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers compensation.
(f)Specify the value assigned to the materials, services, or equipment furnished by the person contracting with the department in lieu of payment of all or part of that persons share of the actual costs.(g)Specify the total costs of the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction and the pro rata share thereof for each party to the contract. Any person contracting with the department shall, prior to the commencement of any work by the department, place on deposit in an interest-bearing escrow or trust account with a California-licensed financial institution an amount equal to that persons pro rata share of the costs, less the value of materials, services, or equipment specified pursuant to subdivision (e). Interest earned on the account shall accrue to the depositor and may be separately disbursed from the principal amount upon request of the depositor. Disbursement of funds on deposit in the trust or escrow account shall be authorized by the depositor within 15 days after completion, to the depositors satisfaction, of all work specified in the contract to be done by the department.(h)(e)Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wild land wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. The premium shall be included as a cost prorated as provided in subdivision (g). A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the contract. agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, the department shall either (1) agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the contract agreement or (2) determine proportionate share of liability between the department and the person or public agency contracting with the department with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement.
SEC. 15.Section 4477 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.4477.If the amount of moneys due the state are not paid as provided in subdivision (e) of Section 4476, such amount shall become a lien upon the property.(a)Notice of the lien shall be recorded by the department in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the property is situated within one year.(b)An action to foreclose the lien shall be commenced by the Attorney General in the name of the people of the State of California within six months after the lien is filed and recorded.(c)When the property is sold, enough of the proceeds to satisfy the lien and the costs of the foreclosure shall be paid to the state and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the owner of the property.SEC. 16.Section 4477 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4477.(a)On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum for, or amend into in an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operations and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operations. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of fire bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
(b)In addition to the curriculum and certification program developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals in any agency or organization as fire bosses. The department shall certify these individuals to a common standard.
SEC. 17.Section 4478 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.4478.All moneys received by the department pursuant to this article shall be credited to the departments current support appropriation as a reimbursement.SEC. 18.Section 4479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4479.Liability for any costs incurred by the department in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted pursuant to a contract an agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be governed by subdivision (b) of Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 19.Section 4480 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.4480.In any area of the state where there are substantially more requests for prescribed burning operations or other hazardous fuel reduction pursuant to this article than can be conducted directly by the department in a single fiscal year, the director may, with the approval of the Director of Finance, enter into an agreement with private consultants or contractors or with other public agencies for furnishing all or a part of the states share of the responsibility for planning the operation, preparing the site, and conducting the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction. The private consultant or contractor or other public agency, and the work assignments of its employees, shall be supervised by the fire boss when conducting prescribed burning operations, or designated officer of the department when conducting other hazardous fuel reduction, as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 4476. No agreement may be entered into pursuant to this section unless the director determines that it will enable the prescribed burning operation to be conducted at a cost equal to, or less than, the cost that would otherwise be incurred by the state.SEC. 11.SEC. 20.Section 4481 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4481.(a)A person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group may apply for a permit pursuant to Section 4492 on behalf of a person or entity listed in Section 4492.
(b)The director may appoint a fire boss with valid fire boss certification, as described in subdivision (a), who is not an officer of the department, for purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 4476.
(b)(c)For the purposes of this article, the terms burn boss and fire boss are interchangeable.
(c)(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2039, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 12.SEC. 21.Section 4482 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4482.The department shall cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities. To the extent feasible, the department shall also schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burning operations. These activities shall utilize the California Conservation Corps, local conservation corps, and California minimum-custody inmates. The department may consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burning operations. The departments funding for prescribed fires shall come from existing resources, and shall not diminish the departments fire suppression activities.
SEC. 13.SEC. 22.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the departments boards Vegetation Management Treatment Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by the department or by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)The application of subdivision (a) shall be limited to prescribed fires that occur in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature that this section alleviate the need for each prescribed fire project to independently comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21050)), and instead only require analysis and mitigation of those environmental impacts not analyzed or mitigated in the programmatic environmental document described in subdivision (a).
SEC. 14.SEC. 23.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.(a)The department and the California State Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, year-round air quality monitors.
(b)The State Air Resources Board shall ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, local air pollution control and air quality management districts are engaged and invited to participate in the development of the program pursuant to this section and that the funding needs of these local districts to implement this program are addressed.
SEC. 15.SEC. 24.The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute, pursuant to Section 13 22 of this act, is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 13 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique urgency in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions relating to their wildfire risk due to tree mortality issues affecting the regions.
SEC. 16.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.SEC. 25.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed the ecosystems of Californias forest lands. In many parts of the state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as often as every five to 15 years. Some of these fires were naturally ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets, string, and shelter, and which limited the build-up of fuels in forest lands.
(b)For more than a century, states and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies that have resulted in high fuel accumulations and significant ecological impacts on forest lands. This has been reflected in the increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres burned at high intensity, increased numbers of large-scale catastrophic fires, significant carbon dioxide and other emissions, problematic and dangerous containment and suppression efforts, increased financial costs, and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of Californias fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire suppression policies has impacted tribal communities throughout the state, and continues to threaten cultural resources, practices, ceremonies, and cultural identity.
(c)The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of high fuel accumulations on forest lands. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days, caused at least hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage, destroyed significant habitats for a number of Californias rarest animals, blanketed large swaths of northern California and northern Nevada with thick smoke impacting 7 million people per day with poor air quality, threatened reservoirs, such as Hetch Hetchy, and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states of emergency in the Counties of Mariposa, San Francisco, and Tuolumne, and the President of the United States to make a Major Disaster Declaration. According to federal forest ecologists, the Rim Fires exponential growth was tied to a centurys worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire suppression and fire exclusion. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed and natural burns.
(d)Many states and the federal government have been taking measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of vegetative fuels on forest lands, thereby reducing the risk and severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states have laws that promote prescribed burning, and approximately one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.
(e)Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of increasing public education and awareness in support of ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning and other fuels treatment projects.
(f)In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of wildfires, prescribed burning of forest lands helps to prepare sites for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases, and to increase productivity. It is also an important tool for increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of Californias diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. Importantly, prescribed burning also supports public health by reducing emissions associated with more catastrophic wildfires.
(g)Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient fuel treatment option for forest lands. This is especially true in areas dominated by steep terrain or lack of vehicular access. In some circumstances, costs may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning or burning.
(h)While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke, this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality benefits that are significant to protecting public health.
(i)California needs to develop a training curriculum for firefighters to become proficient in prescribed fire and should use certified professionals as fire bosses even while the training curriculum is enhanced.
(j)Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the forests ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests ability to sequester carbon.
(k)Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and highly regulated. Despite the fact that prescribed fire is often the only option in portions of California, successful implementation of prescribed burning requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified crews, funding, public support, and compliance with various laws and regulations. These variables can make it difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning.
(l)To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective prescribed burning program that is developed collaboratively with federal agencies and crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public universities, public agencies, nonprofit entities, private landowners, and other relevant organizations. It is also a priority of the state that its prescribed burning program should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public, reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to encourage more responsible prescribed burning.
(m)Considerable expertise exists in universities, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and other entities that should be employed more widely and more strategically to provide non-regulatory information to property owners, homeowners, and local governments. This information could relate to defensible space around homes, restoring prescribed fires on a regularized basis to the landscape, information about smoke monitoring from prescribed fires, hardening residences to improve resistance to wildfires, evacuation routes, land management that improves fire resiliency or carbon sequestration, and activities or programs that improve public safety, among other things.
SEC. 2.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact Legislation that would fund the removal of dead trees that may cause a public safety concern from private homes in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones. This may be undertaken in conjunction with local governments. It is not the intent that this change the responsibility of homeowners to undertake defensible space measures as required by state law and many local ordinances. This incentive to homeowners should be accompanied with greater enforcement of defensible space requirements.
SEC. 3.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact Legislation to create a cost-share program, a revolving loan program, or a subordinate debt financing mechanism to help homeowners, especially those with limited incomes, who live in high fire hazard zones, state responsibility areas, or areas in which there is a high degree of tree mortality, to retrofit their homes to improve resistance to wildfire. Eligible improvements would include, but would not be limited to, retrofitting windows, vents, soffits, eaves, roofs, decks, and other structural components of a structure. These improvements would be cost-effective in that not only would the structures become more fire-resistant, but the states fire suppression costs may be reduced significantly, including the potential elimination of the need to put a fire engine in the driveway of the houses that have been retrofitted. It is the intent that retrofitting pursuant to this section would occur on all structures in the state, including those within homeowners associations.
SEC. 4.Section 65302.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65302.5.(a)At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies used for developing the safety element. The division may review drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the divisions findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment unless the divisions findings are not available within the above prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the city or county that the division will not review the safety element. If the divisions findings are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body may take the divisions findings into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings. All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body.
(b)(1)The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element of a county or a citys general plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 180 days prior to either of the following:
(A)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B)The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177.
(2)A county that contains state responsibility areas and a city or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 51177 shall submit for review the safety element of its general plan to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county in accordance with the following dates, as specified, unless the local government submitted the element within five years prior to that date:
(A)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the San Diego Association of Governments: December 31, 2010.
(B)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Southern California Association of Governments: December 31, 2011.
(C)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Association of Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2012.
(D)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Council of Fresno County Governments, the Kern County Council of Governments, and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments: June 30, 2013.
(E)Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2014.
(F)All other local governments: December 31, 2015.
(3)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and recommend changes to the planning agency within 60 days of its receipt regarding both of the following:
(A)Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated with wild land wildland fires.
(B)Methods and strategies for wild land wildland fire risk reduction and prevention within state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones.
(4)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city shall consider the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or the local agency, its reasons for not accepting the recommendations.
(5)If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protections or local agencys recommendations are not available within the time limits required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or city council shall take the recommendations into consideration the next time it considers amendments to the safety element.
SEC. 5.Section 66474.02 of the Government Code is amended to read:66474.02.(a)Before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall, except as provided in subdivision (b), make the following three findings:
(1)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision, and the subdivision as a whole, are subdivision is consistent with any applicable regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Sections 4290 and Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that structural fire protection and suppression services will be available for the subdivision through any of the following entities:
(A)A county, city, special district, political subdivision of the state, or another entity organized solely to provide fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a county or other public entity.
(B)The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by contract entered into pursuant to Section 4133, 4142, or 4144 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)A finding that, to the extent practicable, ingress and egress for the subdivision meet or exceed the requirements of the regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access adopted pursuant to Section 4290 of the Public Resources Code and any applicable local ordinance.
(4)Upon approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for an area located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as both are defined in Section 51177, a legislative body of a county shall transmit a copy of the findings required in this subdivision and accompanying maps to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(b)(1)Subdivision (a) does not apply to the approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would subdivide land identified in the open space element of the general plan for the managed production of resources, including, but not limited to, forest land, rangeland, agricultural land, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or fiber, if the subdivision is consistent with the open space purpose and if, for the subdivision of land that would result in parcels that are 40 acres or smaller in size, those parcels are subject to a binding and recorded restriction prohibiting the development of a habitable, industrial, or commercial building or structure. All other structures shall comply with defensible space requirements described in Section 51182 of this code or Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)Any later approval to remove a binding restriction placed as a condition of a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, that would allow the development of a building or structure for a parcel that has previously been exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision (a).
(c)This section does not supersede regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum requirements than those contained within this section.
SEC. 6.Section 13008 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13008.Any (a)A person who allows any a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control such the fire, is liable to the owner of such the property for the damages to the property caused by the fire.
(b)Compliance with Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code shall constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence.
SEC. 7.Section 13055 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:13055.Any A public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including including, but not limited to to, a fire protection district, city, city and county, or county fire department, the Department of Forestry, and the United States Forest Service, or a person authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491) of the Public Resources Code, may use fire to abate a fire hazard.
SEC. 8.Section 13105.6 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:13105.6.On or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, shall develop a curriculum, or amend into in an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses, who, pursuant to Section 4476 of the Public Resources Code, possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operations and to enter into the necessary contracts related to a prescribed burning operations. The curriculum shall provide for the initial certification as well as the continuing education of fire bosses. It is the intent of the Legislature that this curriculum become a regular part of the training of firefighters conducted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and all other appropriate accredited training providers.
SEC. 9.Section 4114.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4114.3.The department shall actively engage University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These public education efforts shall include, but are not limited to, educational activities regarding community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardened residences, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon-sequestration benefits in the wildland-urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. For purposes of this section, the department shall establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which may include a cost-share program with local government.
SEC. 10.Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4475.5.(a)The state may assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation and prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction conducted pursuant to this article on wild lands other than wild lands under the jurisdiction of the federal government wildland. The states share of those costs shall bear the same ratio to the total costs of the operation as the public benefits bear to all public and private benefits to be derived from the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction, as estimated and determined by the director. The states share of the costs may exceed 90 percent of the total costs of the operation only if the director determines that no direct private economic benefits will accrue or will be utilized by a person that owns or controls any property under contract pursuant to Section 4475.
(b)The board shall adopt regulations establishing standards to be used by the director in determining the states share of these costs and in determining whether, pursuant to Section 4475, the public benefits of a prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction will equal or exceed the foreseeable damage therefrom.
(c)The determination of public and private benefits pursuant to this section shall reflect any substantial benefit to be derived from accomplishing any of the purposes specified in Section 4475 and the prevention of degradation of air quality.
(d)All or part of these costs to be borne by the person contracting with the department may be met by the value of materials, services, or equipment furnished by that person directly, or furnished by that person pursuant to an agreement with a private consultant or contractor, or furnished by a combination of both means, that are determined by the department to be suitable for the preparation for, and the conduct of, the prescribed burning operation or other hazardous fuel reduction.
(e)The director may accept grants and donations of equipment, materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or facilitating the prescribed burning or other hazardous fuels reduction work undertaken pursuant to this chapter. The director may waive the cost sharing requirements of this chapter if the funding source prohibits cost sharing requirements.
SEC. 11.Section 4481 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4481.(a)A person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group may apply for a permit pursuant to Section 4492 on behalf of a person or entity listed in Section 4492.
(b)For the purposes of this article, the terms burn boss and fire boss are interchangeable.
(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2039, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 12.Section 4482 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4482.The department shall cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities. To the extent feasible, the department shall also schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burning operations. These activities shall utilize the California Conservation Corps, local conservation corps, and California minimum-custody inmates. The department may consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burning operations. The departments funding for prescribed fires shall come from existing resources, and shall not diminish the departments fire suppression activities.
SEC. 13.Section 4483 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:4483.(a)To the extent feasible, the departments Vegetation Management Environmental Impact Report, when certified, shall serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by the department or by a third party for a public purpose pursuant to Section 4491.
(b)The application of subdivision (a) shall be limited to prescribed fires that occur in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
(c)It is the intent of the Legislature that this section alleviate the need for each prescribed fire project to independently comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21050)), and instead only require analysis and mitigation of those environmental impacts not analyzed or mitigated in the programmatic environmental document described in subdivision (a).
SEC. 14.Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:4.Air Quality and Prescribed Burns Program4495.The department and the California Air Resources Board shall develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns. The program may include, but not be limited to, purchasing new, year-round air quality monitors.
SEC. 15.The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute, pursuant to Section 13 of this act, is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 13 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique urgency in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions relating to their wildfire risk due to tree mortality issues affecting the regions.
SEC. 16.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Sep 21, 2018 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 624, Statutes of 2018. |
| Sep 21, 2018 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep 12, 2018 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 5 p.m. |
| Aug 31, 2018 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug 31, 2018 | In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. |
| Aug 31, 2018 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug 27, 2018 | Action rescinded whereby the bill was re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2. |
| Aug 24, 2018 | Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2. |
| Aug 24, 2018 | Read third time and amended. |
| Aug 20, 2018 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 16, 2018 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 16). |
| Aug 8, 2018 | August 8 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. |
| Jul 2, 2018 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 28, 2018 | From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (June 27). |
| Jun 26, 2018 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV. |
| Jun 18, 2018 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. |
| Jun 18, 2018 | Assembly Rule 56 suspended. |
| Jun 11, 2018 | Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and L. GOV. |
| May 31, 2018 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
| May 30, 2018 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 34. Noes 0.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| May 29, 2018 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 25, 2018 | From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (May 25). |
| May 18, 2018 | Set for hearing May 25. |
| May 16, 2018 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| May 7, 2018 | May 7 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file. |
| Apr 27, 2018 | Set for hearing May 7. |
| Apr 25, 2018 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (April 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 20, 2018 | Set for hearing April 25. |
| Apr 18, 2018 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on GOV. & F. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 18). Re-referred to Com. on GOV. & F. |
| Apr 17, 2018 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on EQ. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 16). Re-referred to Com. on EQ. |
| Apr 9, 2018 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W. |
| Apr 6, 2018 | Set for hearing April 18 in EQ. pending receipt. |
| Mar 14, 2018 | Set for hearing April 16. |
| Mar 1, 2018 | Referred to Coms. on N.R. & W., EQ., and GOV. & F. |
| Feb 16, 2018 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 18. |
| Feb 15, 2018 | Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2018 | SB 1260 Jackson Senate Third Reading By AGUIAR-CURRY | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 31, 2018 | Unfinished Business SB1260 Jackson Concurrence | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 16, 2018 | Do pass. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jun 27, 2018 | Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Local Government |
Passed |
|
| Jun 25, 2018 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Local Government] | Assembly Standing Committee on Natural Resources |
Passed |
|
| May 30, 2018 | Senate 3rd Reading SB1260 Jackson | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 25, 2018 | Do pass as amended | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| May 7, 2018 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 25, 2018 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Governance and Finance |
Passed |
|
| Apr 18, 2018 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Governance and Finance] | Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality |
Passed |
|
| Apr 16, 2018 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Environmental Quality] | Senate Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Water |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| Aa Worms | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Aguadrone, Llc | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| All Fish Wear | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| American Cetacean Society | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| American Planning Association, California Chapter | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Big Sur Land Trust | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Board of Supervisors county of ventura | * Support | Jun 25, 2018 |
| California Air Pollution Control Officers Association | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| California Association Of Local Conservation Corps | * Support | Jun 25, 2018 |
| California Association Of Resource Conservation Districts | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| California Cattleman's Association | * Support | Aug 8, 2018 |
| California Forestry Association | * Support | Apr 16, 2018 |
| California Forestry Association | * For If Amend | Apr 16, 2018 |
| California Licensed Foresters Assoaciation | * Support | Jun 25, 2018 |
| California Licensed Foresters Association | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| California Municipal Utilities Association | * Support | Jun 27, 2018 |
| California Rural Counties | * Support | Jun 27, 2018 |
| California State Association Of Counties | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Fire Safe Council Of San Diego | ** Support | May 29, 2018 |
| Fire Safe Council Of San Diego County | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Little Hoover Commission | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Nature Conservacy | * Support | Apr 18, 2018 |
| Northern California Power Agency | * Support | Jun 25, 2018 |
| Pacific Forest Trust | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Resource Conservation Districts | ** Support | Apr 16, 2018 |
| San Diego Gas and Electric Company | * Support | Aug 8, 2018 |
| Save the Redwoods League | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Sierra Club California | * Support | Jun 27, 2018 |
| Sierra Forest Legacy | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Sonoma County Agricultural and Open Space District | * Support | Jun 27, 2018 |
| Sonoma County Water Agency | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Southern California Association Of Governments | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Southern California Edison | * Support | Jun 25, 2018 |
| Stand For The Redwoods | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| The Nature Conservancy | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| The Wildlands Conservancy | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Trust For Public Land, The | * Support | Apr 18, 2018 |
| Unknown. | ** Against | Apr 23, 2018 |
| Ventura County Board of Supervisors | ** Support | Aug 31, 2018 |
| Western United Dairymen | * Support | Aug 8, 2018 |
| Wild Lands Conservatory | * Support | Apr 16, 2018 |
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB |
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1260
:
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/16/18
AYES: Hertzberg, Allen, Hueso, Jackson, McGuire, Monning, Stern
NO VOTE RECORDED: Stone, Vidak
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/18/18
AYES: Wieckowski, Stone, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Skinner, Stern
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 6-1, 4/25/18
AYES: McGuire, Beall, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Lara, Moorlach
NOES: Nguyen
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/25/18
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Nielsen, Wiener
SENATE FLOOR: 36-0, 5/30/18
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Atkins, Bates, Beall, Bradford, Dodd, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Newman, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Skinner, Stern, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wiener, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Cannella, De León
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Not available
DIGEST:
This bill is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill that will promote long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. This bill authorizes federal, state, and local agencies to engage in collaborative forestry management, creates new opportunities for public and private land managers to mitigate wildfire risks, and enhances the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CalFire’s) role in identifying wildfire hazards as local governments plan for new housing and neighborhoods.
Assembly Amendments
move the liability provisions from the Health and Safety Code to the Public Resources Code, expand the flexibility of CalFire to establish proportionate liability in advance of prescribed burns including an option to purchase insurance, amend a provision regarding chaparral ecosystems that prohibits vegetation management that would result in the type conversion of chapparal into a different mixture of vegetation, and make various technical changes.
Existing law:
- Requires local agencies to designate very high hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction.
- Requires local agencies to transmit the safety element of a general plan to the CalFire within 90 days of adoption.
- Requires local agencies, prior to approval of a tentative map or a parcel map in very high hazard severity zones or state responsibility areas, to make specified findings regarding the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole. The findings must show consistency with any regulations adopted by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas.
- Imposes liability for fires that escape a landowner’s property in instances in which due diligence is not exercised.
- Authorizes the use of fire to abate fires in certain circumstances.
- Authorizes CalFire to engage in prescribed fire planning and burning but excludes lands under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
- Recognizes the adoption by CalFire of a vegetation management draft environmental impact statement that is intended to manage and direct the department’s statewide activities regarding vegetation management.
- Requires contracts pertaining to prescribed burns that are entered into with CalFire to contain specific terms, provides that there are circumstances in which a lien will be placed upon the landowner’s property, and related provisions.
- Authorizes CalFire to purchase third party liability insurance for prescribed burns and provides that if the CalFire does not purchase third party liability insurance that the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with CalFire.
This bill:
- Makes numerous findings related to fire, prescribed fire, wildfires, and forests.
- Requires a local agency to transmit a copy of its adopted ordnance designating very high fire hazard severity (VHFHS) zones to the Board.
- Removes exemptions from requirement that a local agency designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director of CalFire.
- Eliminates an obsolete schedule for cities and counties to update the safety elements of their general plans.
- Requires the Board may recommend changes to a planning agency's safety element for methods and strategies accepted as best practices in the most recent guidance document entitled "Fire Hazard Planning, General Plan Technical Advice Series."
- Requires a city or county that contains either State Responsibility Area (SRA) or VHFHS zones to notify the Board if it takes action to adopt or amend the safety element of its general plan.
- Requires, upon approving a tentative map or a parcel map for an area located in either the SRA or VHFHS zone, the local agency to transmit a copy of the minimum fire safety standards findings required and accompanying maps to the Board.
- Clarifies the finding made by a county may include that the subdivision is consistent with local ordinances certified by the Board.
- Authorizes the air pollution control officer of a county with a population of more than six million (Los Angeles County) to authorize, by permit, open outdoor fires for the purpose of disposing of agricultural wastes, or wood waste from trees, vines, bushes, or other wood debris free of non-wood materials, in a mechanized burner to limit air contaminants.
- Declares compliance with CalFire burning agreement is constituted prima facie evidence of due diligence.
- Authorizes a person with a CalFire burn permit to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
- Requires CalFire to actively engage the University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety.
- Renames CalFire burning contract as burning agreements, revises and simplifies requirements, and clarifies burning agreements can be executed with the federal government.
- Declares that historically, CalFire conducted prescribed burns only utilizing its own personnel and therefore was liable for any damages resulting from the burn. However, to reach the statewide prescribed burn goals identified in the "California Forest Carbon Plan: Managing our Forest Landscapes in a Changing Climate," to limit the threat of catastrophic wildfire, and to improve forest health, CalFire may have a smaller role on individual prescribed burns with a cooperator taking more control.
- Establishes a process where CalFire determines the maximum amount of liability for a prescribed burn conducted as part of a burning agreement. Establishes the maximum percentage of liability for the person contracting with CalFire of 75%.
- Requires, on or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal to develop a curriculum, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses for both CalFire and private prescribed fire users.
- Requires, to the extent feasible and only in portions of the state, the Board's vegetation treatment program programmatic environmental impact report, when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for persons conducting prescribed fires with a CalFire burn permit.
- Authorizes prescribed burning, mastication, herbicide application, mechanical thinning, or other vegetative treatments of chaparral or sage scrub to only occur if CalFire finds that the activity will not cause "type conversion" away from the chaparral and coastal sage scrub currently on site.
- Requires CalFire and the Air Resources Board (ARB), in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
- CalFire first-year costs of approximately $2.5 million GF for staff and resources to develop curriculum, issue increased numbers of burn permits, and perform increased training and public education. Ongoing annual costs of approximately $2 million GF.
- Cost pressures of $7 million for ARB, in coordination with local air districts, to develop and fund a program to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring . If the program is funded, ongoing costs of approximately $2.5 million annually for administration, replacement equipment, maintenance and travel (Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Fund, (GGRF).
The 2018-19 Budget provides $7 million, which may be allocated to ARB or local air districts for identified wildfire and prescribed fire emissions monitoring needs.
- Unknown potential reimbursable state-mandated local costs. By requiring additional duties on counties, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on counties, counties could claim reimbursement for those costs (GF). The magnitude of those costs is unknown.
AA Worms
Aguadrone, LLC
All Fish Wear
American Cetacean Society
American Planning Association, California Chapter
Big Sur Land Trust
California Air Pollution Control Officers Association
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
California Licensed Foresters Association
California State Association of Counties
Fire Safe Council of San Diego County
Little Hoover Commission
Pacific Forest Trust
Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council
Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments
Rural County Representatives of California
San Diego Gas and Electric
Save the Redwoods League
Sierra Forest Legacy
Sonoma County Water Agency
Southern California Association of Governments
Stand for the Redwoods
The Nature Conservancy
The Wildlands Conservancy
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/31/18)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, this bill contains several provisions designed to improve California’s capabilities regarding prescribed fire, assistance to landowners and homeowners, improved public outreach and education regarding fire prevention, and improved coordination between CalFire, CARB, and local air districts regarding smoke monitoring and public education during prescribed fires.
The author observed that in 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 44 people. Five of California’s most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history.
Unfortunately, the author continued, 2017 does not appear to be an abnormality. To the contrary, most of California’s largest wildfires have occurred within the past 30 years. Changing climate patterns have made our state more vulnerable to wildfire, with massive tree die-offs due to years of drought and widespread insect infestations, year-round fire weather conditions, and critical levels of fuels accumulation, all combining to create severe fire risks throughout the state. Indeed, the National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Outlook for 2018 is forecasting above normal large fire potential in California due to the persistence of dry fuels, frequent offshore winds, and generally unfavorable weather.
As the Little Hoover Commission concluded in its February 2018 report entitled “Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada,” California’s forests are reaching a breaking point. Poor management policies that interrupted natural forest lifecycles, combined with climate change, have left our forests vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
This bill reorients California’s forest management policies toward long-term forest health and fire resiliency by helping promote long-term forest health, increasing support to local entities with experience in forest management, prescribed fire, and public safety, and enhances CalFire’s role in identifying wildfire hazards in the planning process undertaken by local governments.
The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) believe that prescribed fire is an important tool to help mitigate and prevent the impacts of wildfire. Its member counties contain much of the California’s forested lands including more than 70% of the state’s national forest lands. They and the American Planning Association, California Chapter, have asked the author to consider changing the provision that gives CalFire 180 days (currently 90 days) to review the safety element of the general plan of local governments.
The California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (RCD) supports this bill and especially the provision that could enhance the work of RCDs around the state that help local landowners with fire prevention activities and education. There are many examples of local RCDs providing services to landowners and rural communities that should be expanded to help reduce the impacts and costs of wildfires. In one example, forest projects in Mariposa County halted the approach of a wildfire before it reached the town of Coulterville.
The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) describes this bill as addressing “a suite of fire preparedness actions.” PFT notes that a century of fire suppression combined with the removal of larger older trees, ill-conceived development patterns, and climate change have degraded and increased stresses on our forests. Prescribed fire that restores natural fire regimes, combined with actions to protect and restore forestland and shift management practices to promote diverse forests with older trees, can restore forest to more resilient conditions. PFT has suggested that the author consider an amendment that statutory fire protection standards be extended to areas considered “high” or “moderate” in addition to high hazard fire severity zones.
Sierra Forest Legacy, a coalition of 80 organizations focused on ecologically-based forest management, has followed the scientific research concerning fire’s role in California forests for more than two decades. After a century of fire suppression and an even longer period of excluding the natural role of fire, we are seeing regular fire events that are far outside the natural bounds of the natural evolutionary fire history of California.
The Nature Conservancy observes that the devastating wildlfires from 2017 should remind us all of the critical importance of fire prevention and protection including prescribed burns that reduce environmental impacts of wildfire, minimize susceptibility to wildfires, and reduce fuel loads on forest lands.
The Wildlands Conservancy, the state’s largest nonprofit landowner, works with youth at its preserve in southern Kern County to do fire training for young CalFire firefighters and its staff. It is broadly supportive of the provisions in this bill especially in light of the National Interagency Fire Center Predictive Outlook for 2018 that forecasts above normal large fire potential in California.
The Big Sur Land Trust, which experienced the 2016 Soberanes fire that burned 132,000 acres, believes that SB 1260 will help re-orient California’s forest management policies toward long-term forest health and fire resiliency. Similar points in support were made by Save the Redwoods League.
The Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council and the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County support the increased actions to engage in collaborative forestry projects that reduce the risk of wildfire in their respective regions.
8/31/18 13:57:03
**** END ****
SENATE THIRD READING
STR Bill Id:SB 1260
Author:(Jackson)
As Amended Ver:August 24, 2018
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 36-0
Committee | Votes | Ayes | Noes |
Natural Resources | 10-0 | Muratsuchi, Acosta, Chau, Eggman, Flora, Limón, McCarty, Melendez, Mark Stone, Reyes | |
Local Government | 9-0 | Aguiar-Curry, Waldron, Bloom, Caballero, Gabriel, Rubio, Gallagher, Rivas, Voepel | |
Appropriations | 15-0 | Gonzalez Fletcher, Bloom, Bonta, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Eggman, Fong, Friedman, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Nazarian, Obernolte, Quirk, Reyes |
SUMMARY: This bill is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill with the intent of promoting long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. It makes various changes related to local fire planning, prescribed fire requirements, and broader fire prevention efforts. Specifically, this bill:
- Makes numerous findings related to fire, prescribed fire, wildfires, and forests.
- Requires a local agency to transmit a copy of its adopted ordnance designating very high fire hazard severity (VHFHS) zones to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board).
- Removes exemptions from requirement that a local agency designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
- Eliminates an obsolete schedule for cities and counties to update the safety elements of their general plans.
- Requires the Board may recommend changes to a planning agency's safety element for methods and strategies accepted as best practices in the most recent guidance document entitled "Fire Hazard Planning, General Plan Technical Advice Series."
Requires a city or county that contains either State Responsibility Area (SRA) or VHFHS zones to notify the Board if it takes action to adopt or amend the safety element of its general plan.
- Requires, upon approving a tentative map or a parcel map for an area located in either the SRA or VHFHS zone, the local agency to transmit a copy of the minimum fire safety standards findings required and accompanying maps to the Board.
- Clarifies the finding made by a county may include that the subdivision is consistent with local ordinances certified by the Board.
- Authorizes the air pollution control officer of a county with a population of more than six million (Los Angeles County) to authorize, by permit, open outdoor fires for the purpose of disposing of agricultural wastes, or wood waste from trees, vines, bushes, or other wood debris free of non-wood materials, in a mechanized burner to limit air contaminants.
- Declares compliance with CAL FIRE burning agreement is constituted prima facie evidence of due diligence.
- Authorizes a person with a CAL FIRE burn permit to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
- Requires CAL FIRE to actively engage the University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety.
- Renames CAL FIRE burning contract as burning agreements, revises and simplifies requirements, and clarifies burning agreements can be executed with the federal government.
- Declares that historically, CAL FIRE conducted prescribed burns only utilizing its own personnel and therefore was liable for any damages resulting from the burn. However, to reach the statewide prescribed burn goals identified in the "California Forest Carbon Plan: Managing our Forest Landscapes in a Changing Climate," to limit the threat of catastrophic wildfire, and to improve forest health, CAL FIRE may have a smaller role on individual prescribed burns with a cooperator taking more control.
- Establishes a process where CAL FIRE determines the maximum amount of liability for a prescribed burn conducted as part of a burning agreement. Establishes the maximum percentage of liability for the person contracting with CAL FIRE of 75%.
- Requires, on or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to develop a curriculum, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses for both CAL FIRE and private prescribed fire users.
- Requires, to the extent feasible and only in portions of the state, the Board's vegetation treatment program programmatic environmental impact report (VTP PEIR), when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for persons conducting prescribed fires with a CAL FIRE burn permit.
- Authorizes prescribed burning, mastication, herbicide application, mechanical thinning, or other vegetative treatments of chaparral or sage scrub to only occur if CAL FIRE finds that the activity will not cause "type conversion" away from the chaparral and coastal sage scrub currently on site.
- Requires CAL FIRE and the Air Resources Board (ARB), in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) to classify all lands within the state for the purpose of determining areas in which the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires is primarily the responsibility of the state (known as the SRA).
- Requires the CAL FIRE to identify certain areas outside the SRA as VHFHS zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas.
- Requires a draft element of, or draft amendment to the safety element of, a city's or a county general plan to be submitted to the Board and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either the adoption of the safety element or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains SRA or a VHFHS zone.
- Requires the Board to review the draft or existing safety element and recommend changes regarding both of the following:
- Land use policy in SRA and VHFHS zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable fire risk; and,
- Methods and strategies for wildfire risk reduction and prevention.
- Requires local governments to consider recommendations made by the Board and communicate to the Board its reasons when not accepting the recommendations.
- Requires the Board to adopt regulations implementing minimum fire safety standards related to defensible space in the SRA, which apply to buildings, parcel maps, and other developments constructed or approved on or after January 1, 1991. Requires regulations to include all of the following:
- Road standards for fire equipment access;
- Standards for signs identifying streets, roads, and buildings;
- Minimum private water supply reserves for emergency fire use; and,
- Fuel breaks and greenbelts.
- Requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure on land that is covered with flammable material to maintain defensible space of 100 feet around the structure.
- Authorizes CAL FIRE to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction. Authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation and prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction on wild lands.
- Requires any contract entered into as part of CAL FIRE's burning contracts to do all of the following:
- Vest in the Director of CAL FIRE the final authority to determine the time the burn will happen;
- Clearly state the obligation of each party to the contract;
- Designate an officer of CAL FIRE to be the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula for the prescribed burn;
- Specify the duties and any required precaution for the person contracting with CAL FIRE;
- Specify the value of all materials, services, or equipment provided by the person contracting with CAL FIRE. Specify the total cost of the prescribed burn operation or other hazardous fuel reduction. Requires any person contracting with CAL FIRE to place a deposit for their cost share prior to commencement of any work; and,
- Authorize CAL FIRE to purchase third-party liability insurance to cover against loss resulting from a wild land fire sustained by any personal or public agency. Requires the policy to name the person CAL FIRE is contracting with. If CAL FIRE does not purchase third-party liability insurance they must then indemnify or hold harmless the person CAL FIRE is contracting with for any liability arising out of the prescribed burn contract.
- Authorizes a person, firm, or corporation to apply to CAL FIRE to utilize prescribed burning for a public purpose. Authorizes CAL FIRE to issue a burn permit. Requires the permit to specify the site preparation requirements and required precautions to be exercised prior to burning.
- Declares a person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control such fire, is liable for the damages to the other property caused by the fire.
- Authorizes any public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including a fire protection district, city, city and county, county, CAL FIRE, or the United States Forest Service to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
COMMENTS:
- Author's statement:
In 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 44 people. Five of California's most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history.
Unfortunately, 2017 does not appear to be an abnormality. To the contrary, most of California's largest wildfires have occurred within the past 30 years. Changing climate patterns have made our state more vulnerable to wildfire, with massive tree die-offs due to years of drought and widespread insect infestations, year-round fire weather conditions, and critical levels of fuels accumulation, all combining to create severe fire risks throughout the state. Indeed, the National Interagency Fire Center's Predictive Outlook for 2018 is forecasting above normal large fire potential in California due to the persistence of dry fuels, frequent offshore winds, and generally unfavorable weather.
As the Little Hoover Commission concluded in its February 2018 report entitled "Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada," California's forests are reaching a breaking point. Poor management policies that interrupted natural forest lifecycles, combined with climate change, have left our forests vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
SB 1260 is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill that will promote long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. This bill authorizes federal, state, and local agencies to engage in collaborative forestry management, creates new opportunities for public and private land managers to mitigate wildfire risks, and enhances CAL FIRE's role in identifying wildfire hazards as local governments plan for new housing and neighborhoods.
- Background. The 2017 fire season was devastating. Over 1.3 million acres burned in high-severity wildfires and over 10,000 structures were destroyed. Fire has always been present in California landscapes either occurring by lightning strikes or used by Native American tribes to preserve certain useful plants and prevent larger fires. Low-intensity fires have clear ecological benefits such as creating habitat and assisting in the regeneration of certain species of plants and trees. Low-intensity fire also reduces surface fuel, which decreases future wildfire intensity. However, after a century of fire exclusion, logging of older growth and more fire-resistant trees, and a significant five-year drought, the size and severity of California's fires has increased dramatically. Climate change has also contributed to wildfire risk by reducing humidity and precipitation and increasing temperatures.
California's forests have become overstocked and unhealthy. In the Stanislaus National Forest, a team of UC Berkeley researchers found a density of 400 trees per acre in 2013, compared with 60-90 trees per acre found in historical reports from 1911. In addition, the researchers found more undergrowth species, and a smaller average tree size than in 1911. From 2014 to 2017 over 129 million trees have died due to a combination of drought and bark beetles. New research by UC Berkeley states "these dead trees have created unprecedented levels of fuel, which could create dangerous wildfires in the near future that are beyond the predictive capacity of current fire models."
In 2016-17 California experienced a record level of precipitation, which caused an unprecedented growth in grasses and shrubs throughout California. During the summer of 2017 extended heat waves dried out the newly grown vegetation. In the fall and winter of 2017 high winds and low humidity created the conditions that led to major fires in Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Riverside, San Diego, Solano, Sonoma, Ventura, and Yuba counties. Between October and December wildfires caused the tragic loss of 44 lives, which is more than the last 10 years combined. Many places in California experienced the worst air quality on record, including for deadly particulate matter 2.5. These massive fires also created significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 2017 wildfires produced more GHG emissions than every car, truck, and big rig on the state's roads in one year. In 2018 there have also been record breaking wildfires.
Reports on forest health have also been released by the Public Policy Institute and the Little Hoover Commission. Both advocate for more active management of California's forests, including increased use of prescribed fire. Last year and this year, CAL FIRE received approximately a $200 million appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) for forest health and fire prevention, a significant increase from prior years. CAL FIRE is in the process of reviewing proposals for landscape level forest health projects and developing guidelines for a local assistance fire prevention program. Even with these additional resources and attention, high-severity wildfires are an increasing threat in California.
- Prescribed burns. Prescribed and managed burns (also known as prescribed fire or managed fire) are a type of vegetation management where low-intensity fires are either intentionally lit or allowed to burn in specified weather conditions and in a way that is consistent with a preapproved plan (known as a burn plan) to treat a specified area. The prescribed or managed burn eliminates hazardous surface fuels and achieves other important ecological outcomes. Prescribed and managed burns increase short-term air pollution and GHG emissions in order to mitigate the risk of larger fires with significantly higher air and GHG emissions in the future. For example, recent research has shown that had the land associated with the Rim Fire, a >250,000-acre fire in the Sierra Nevada in 2013, been intentionally managed for resource objectives, the impact could have been five times less. Furthermore, the GHG emissions from the Rim Fire were substantial, releasing an amount equivalent to the annual GHG emissions from 2.3 million vehicles or 3.2 coal-fired power plants.
For Fiscal Year 2016-17, CAL FIRE's goal was to complete 20,000 acres of prescribed burns. CAL FIRE was only able to reach 70% of that goal. CAL FIRE plans to meet the goal this year and ramp up to 60,000 acres per year by 2030. However, 60,000 acres is far short of what is truly needed to improve forest health. Private prescribed burns and prescribed burns done with partnerships between CAL FIRE and other groups, are also needed to dramatically increase the pace and scale of treated acres. Many barriers exist to doing more private and cooperative burns. They include a lack of experienced practitioners, ability to get permits, enough burn windows, and liability concerns.
There are many places where prescribed fire is not used due to fear that it might escape and cause damage to life or property. Experts claim fire escapes are rare. According to the Little Hoover Commission, between 1996 and 2004, there were only 30 escaped fires or near misses on national forest lands. Another study looked at 16,626 prescribed fires occurring nationwide, which treated 1,971,823 acres. The study only found 14 escaped fires. Experts believe training and adhering to best practices are the best way to prevent escapes.
- Los Angeles County. The last set of amendments to this bill removed a prohibition for any air district to issue permits in a county with a population of more than 6 million for the purpose of disposing of agricultural waste or wood waste. This would only affect the County of Los Angeles in South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). The author intends this provision to allow mechanized burners such as curtain burners in the County of Los Angeles and to have no effect on SCAQMD's ability to permit open agricultural burning.
Analysis Prepared by: Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0004935
SENATE THIRD READING
STR Bill Id:SB 1260
Author:(Jackson)
As Amended Ver:July 2, 2018
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 36-0
Committee | Votes | Ayes | Noes |
Natural Resources | 10-0 | Muratsuchi, Acosta, Chau, Eggman, Flora, Limón, McCarty, Melendez, Mark Stone, Reyes | |
Local Government | 9-0 | Aguiar-Curry, Waldron, Bloom, Caballero, Gabriel, Rubio, Gallagher, Rivas, Voepel | |
Appropriations | 15-0 | Gonzalez Fletcher, Bloom, Bonta, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Eggman, Fong, Friedman, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Nazarian, Obernolte, Quirk, Reyes |
SUMMARY: This bill is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill with the intent of promoting long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. It makes various changes related to local fire planning, prescribed fire requirements, and broader fire prevention efforts.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) to classify all lands within the state for the purpose of determining areas in which the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires is primarily the responsibility of the state (known as the State Responsibility Area (SRA)).
- Requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to identify certain areas outside the SRA as very high fire hazard severity (VHFHS) zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas.
- Requires a draft element of, or draft amendment to the safety element of, a city's or a county general plan to be submitted to the Board and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either the adoption of the safety element or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains SRA or a VHFHS zone.
- Requires the Board to review the draft or existing safety element and recommend changes regarding both of the following:
- Land use policy in SRA and VHFHS zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable fire risk; and,
- Methods and strategies for wildfire risk reduction and prevention.
- Requires local governments to consider recommendations made by the Board and communicate to the Board its reasons when not accepting the recommendations.
- Requires the Board to adopt regulations implementing minimum fire safety standards related to defensible space in the SRA, which apply to buildings, parcel maps, and other developments constructed or approved on or after January 1, 1991. Requires regulations to include all of the following:
- Road standards for fire equipment access;
- Standards for signs identifying streets, roads, and buildings;
- Minimum private water supply reserves for emergency fire use; and,
- Fuel breaks and greenbelts.
- Requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure on land that is covered with flammable material to maintain defensible space of 100 feet around the structure.
- Authorizes CAL FIRE to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction. Authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation and prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction on wild lands.
- Requires any contract entered into as part of CAL FIRE's burning contracts to do all of the following:
- Vest in the Director of CAL FIRE the final authority to determine the time the burn will happen;
- Clearly state the obligation of each party to the contract;
- Designate an officer of CAL FIRE to be the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula for the prescribed burn;
- Specify the duties and any required precaution for the person contracting with CAL FIRE;
- Specify the value of all materials, services, or equipment provided by the person contracting with CAL FIRE. Specify the total cost of the prescribed burn operation or other hazardous fuel reduction. Requires any person contracting with CAL FIRE to place a deposit for their cost share prior to commencement of any work; and,
- Authorizes CAL FIRE to purchase third-party liability insurance to cover against loss resulting from a wild land fire sustained by any personal or public agency. Requires the policy to name the person CAL FIRE is contracting with. If CAL FIRE does not purchase third-party liability insurance they must then indemnify or hold harmless the person CAL FIRE is contracting with for any liability arising out of the prescribed burn contract.
- Authorizes a person, firm, or corporation to apply to CAL FIRE to utilize prescribed burning for a public purpose. Authorizes CAL FIRE to issue a burn permit. Requires the permit to specify the site preparation requirements and required precautions to be exercised prior to burning.
- Declares a person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control such fire, is liable for the damages to the other property caused by the fire.
- Authorizes any public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including a fire protection district, city, city and county, county, CAL FIRE, or the United States Forest Service to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
THIS BILL:
- Makes numerous findings related to fire, prescribed fire, wildfires, and forests.
- Requires a local agency to transmit a copy of its adopted ordnance designating VHFHS zones to the Board.
- Eliminates an obsolete schedule for cities and counties to update the safety elements of their general plans.
- Requires a city or county that contains either SRA or VHFHS zones to notify the Board if it takes action to adopt or amend the safety element of its general plan.
- Requires, upon approving a tentative map or a parcel map for an area located in either the SRA or VHFHS zone, the local agency to transmit a copy of the minimum fire safety standards findings required and accompanying maps to the Board.
- Declares compliance with CAL FIRE burning agreement is constituted prima facie evidence of due diligence.
- Authorizes a person with a CAL FIRE burn permit to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
- Requires CAL FIRE to actively engage the University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety.
- Renames CAL FIRE burning contract as burning agreements, revises and simplifies requirements, and clarifies burning agreements can be executed with the federal government.
- Requires, on or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to develop a curriculum, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses for both CAL FIRE and private prescribed fire users.
- Authorizes, until January 1, 2039, a person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group to apply for a CAL FIRE burn permit on behalf of a landowner.
- Requires CAL FIRE to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities.
- Requires, to the extent feasible and only in portions of the state, the Board's vegetation treatment program programmatic environmental impact report (VTP PEIR), when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for persons conducting prescribed fires with a CAL FIRE burn permit.
- Requires CAL FIRE and the Air Resources Board (ARB), in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
- CALFIRE first-year costs of approximately $2.5 million general fund (GF) for staff and resources to develop curriculum, issue increased numbers of burn permits, and perform increased training and public education. Ongoing annual costs of approximately $2 million GF.
- Cost pressures of $7 million for ARB, in coordination with local air districts, to develop and fund a program to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring. If the program is funded, ongoing costs of approximately $2.5 million annually for administration, replacement equipment, maintenance and travel (Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Fund, (GGRF).
The 2018-19 Budget provides $7 million, which may be allocated to ARB or local air districts for identified wildfire and prescribed fire emissions monitoring needs.
- Unknown potential reimbursable state-mandated local costs. By requiring additional duties on counties, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on counties, counties could claim reimbursement for those costs (GF). The magnitude of those costs is unknown.
COMMENTS:
- Author's statement:
In 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 44 people. Five of California's most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history.
Unfortunately, 2017 does not appear to be an abnormality. To the contrary, most of California's largest wildfires have occurred within the past 30 years. Changing climate patterns have made our state more vulnerable to wildfire, with massive tree die-offs due to years of drought and widespread insect infestations, year-round fire weather conditions, and critical levels of fuels accumulation, all combining to create severe fire risks throughout the state. Indeed, the National Interagency Fire Center's Predictive Outlook for 2018 is forecasting above normal large fire potential in California due to the persistence of dry fuels, frequent offshore winds, and generally unfavorable weather.
As the Little Hoover Commission concluded in its February 2018 report entitled "Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada," California's forests are reaching a breaking point. Poor management policies that interrupted natural forest lifecycles, combined with climate change, have left our forests vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
SB 1260 is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill that will promote long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. This bill authorizes federal, state, and local agencies to engage in collaborative forestry management, creates new opportunities for public and private land managers to mitigate wildfire risks, and enhances CAL FIRE's role in identifying wildfire hazards as local governments plan for new housing and neighborhoods.
- Background. The 2017 fire season was devastating. Over 1.3 million acres burned in high-severity wildfires and over 10,000 structures were destroyed. Fire has always been present in California landscapes either occurring by lightning strikes or used by Native American tribes to preserve certain useful plants and prevent larger fires. Low-intensity fires have clear ecological benefits such as creating habitat and assisting in the regeneration of certain species of plants and trees. Low-intensity fire also reduces surface fuel, which decreases future wildfire intensity. However, after a century of fire exclusion, logging of older growth and more fire-resistant trees, and a significant five-year drought, the size and severity of California's fires has increased dramatically. Climate change has also contributed to wildfire risk by reducing humidity and precipitation and increasing temperatures.
California's forests have become overstocked and unhealthy. In the Stanislaus National Forest, a team of UC Berkeley researchers found a density of 400 trees per acre in 2013, compared with 60-90 trees per acre found in historical reports from 1911. In addition, the researchers found more undergrowth species, and a smaller average tree size than in 1911. From 2014 to 2017 over 129 million trees have died due to a combination of drought and bark beetles. New research by UC Berkeley states "these dead trees have created unprecedented levels of fuel, which could create dangerous wildfires in the near future that are beyond the predictive capacity of current fire models."
In 2016-17 California experienced a record level of precipitation, which caused an unprecedented growth in grasses and shrubs throughout California. During the summer of 2017 extended heat waves dried out the newly grown vegetation. In the fall and winter of 2017 high winds and low humidity created the conditions that led to major fires in Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Riverside, San Diego, Solano, Sonoma, Ventura, and Yuba counties. Between October and December wildfires caused the tragic loss of 44 lives, which is more than the last 10 years combined. Many places in California experienced the worst air quality on record, including for deadly particulate matter 2.5. These massive fires also created significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 2017 wildfires produced more GHG emissions than every car, truck, and big rig on the state's roads in one year.
Reports on forest health have also been released by the Public Policy Institute and the Little Hoover Commission. Both advocate for more active management of California's forests, including increased use of prescribed fire. Last year, CAL FIRE received a $200 million appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) for forest health and fire prevention, a significant increase from the prior year. CAL FIRE is in the process of reviewing proposals for landscape level forest health projects and developing guidelines for a local assistance fire prevention program. Even with these additional resources and attention, high-severity wildfires are an increasing threat in California.
- Prescribed burns. Prescribed and managed burns (also known as prescribed fire or managed fire) are a type of vegetation management where low-intensity fires are either intentionally lit or allowed to burn in specified weather conditions and in a way that is consistent with a preapproved plan (known as a burn plan) to treat a specified area. The prescribed or managed burn eliminates hazardous surface fuels and achieves other important ecological outcomes. Prescribed and managed burns increase short-term air pollution and GHG emissions in order to mitigate the risk of larger fires with significantly higher air and GHG emissions in the future. For example, recent research has shown that had the land associated with the Rim Fire, a >250,000-acre fire in the Sierra Nevada in 2013, been intentionally managed for resource objectives, the impact could have been five times less. Furthermore, the GHG emissions from the Rim Fire were substantial, releasing an amount equivalent to the annual GHG emissions from 2.3 million vehicles or 3.2 coal-fired power plants.
For Fiscal Year 2016-17, CAL FIRE's goal was to complete 20,000 acres of prescribed burns. CAL FIRE was only able to reach 70% of that goal. CAL FIRE plans to meet the goal this year and ramp up to 60,000 acres per year by 2030. However, 60,000 acres is far short of what is truly needed to improve forest health. Private prescribed burns and prescribed burns done with partnerships between CAL FIRE and other groups, are also needed to dramatically increase the pace and scale of treated acres. Many barriers exist to doing more private and cooperative burns. They include a lack of experienced practitioners, ability to get permits, enough burn windows, and liability concerns.
There are many places where prescribed fire is not used due to fear that it might escape and cause damage to life or property. Experts claim fire escapes are rare. According to the Little Hoover Commission, between 1996 and 2004, there were only 30 escaped fires or near misses on national forest lands. Another study looked at 16,626 prescribed fires occurring nationwide, which treated 1,971,823 acres. The study only found 14 escaped fires. Experts believe training and adhering to best practices are the best way to prevent escapes.
Analysis Prepared by: Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0004198
Date of Hearing: August 8, 2018
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1260
Author:(Jackson) – As Amended Ver:July 2, 2018
Policy Committee: | Natural Resources | Vote: | 10 - 0 |
Local Government | 9 - 0 | ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill provides numerous changes related to local fire planning, prescribed fire burning, and other fire prevention efforts. Specifically, this bill:
- Requires a local agency to transmit a copy of its adopted ordnance designating very high fire hazard severity (VHFHS) zones to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board). Eliminates an obsolete schedule for cities and counties to update the safety elements of their general plans.
- Authorizes the Board, within 15 days of receipt of notification that its fire prevention recommendations will not be accepted by the local government, to request a consultation, prior to approval of the draft element or amendment, conducted in person, electronically, or by phone.
- Requires a city or county that contains either State Responsibility Area (SRA) or VHFHS zones to notify the Board if it takes action to adopt or amend the safety element of its general plan.
- Requires, the local agency to transmit a copy of the minimum fire safety standards findings and accompanying maps to the Board, upon approving a tentative map or a parcel map for an area located in either the SRA or VHFHS zone.
- Declares compliance with CALFIRE burning agreements and burn permits are constituted prima facie evidence of due diligence.
- Authorizes a person with a CALFIRE burn permit to use fire to abate a fire hazard. Prohibits a person with a burn permit from using fire to abate a fire hazard during an active fire incident.
- Requires CAL FIRE to actively engage the University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety.
- Renames CALFIRE burning contracts as burning agreements, revises and simplifies requirements, and clarifies burning agreements can be executed with the federal government.
- Requires, on or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to develop a curriculum, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses for both CALFIRE and private prescribed fire users.
- Authorizes, until January 1, 2039, a person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group to apply for a CAL FIRE burn permit on behalf of a landowner.
- Requires CAL FIRE to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities.
- Requires, to the extent feasible, the Board’s vegetation treatment program programmatic environmental impact report (VTP PEIR), when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by CALFIRE or by persons conducting prescribed fires with a CAL FIRE burn permit.
- Requires CALFIRE and the Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- CALFIRE first-year costs of approximately $2.5 million GF for staff and resources to develop curriculum, issue increased numbers of burn permits, and perform increased training and public education. Ongoing annual costs of approximately $2 million GF.
- Cost pressures of $7 million for ARB, in coordination with local air districts, to develop and fund a program to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring . If the program is funded, ongoing costs of approximately $2.5 million annually for administration, replacement equipment, maintenance and travel (Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Fund, (GGRF).
The 2018-19 Budget provides $7 million, which may be allocated to ARB or local air districts for identified wildfire and prescribed fire emissions monitoring needs.
- Unknown potential reimbursable state-mandated local costs. By requiring additional duties on counties, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on counties, counties could claim reimbursement for those costs (GF). The magnitude of those costs is unknown.
COMMENTS:
- Background. The 2017 fire season was devastating. Over 1.3 million acres burned in high-severity wildfires and over 10,000 structures were destroyed. Between October and December wildfires caused the tragic loss of 44 lives, which is more than the last 10 years combined. Many places in California experienced the worst air quality on record, including for deadly particulate matter 2.5. These massive fires also created significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 2017 wildfires produced more GHG emissions than every car, truck, and big rig on the state’s roads in one year.
The devastation continues. At the time of this writing, are approximately 400,000 acres burning in the state among numerous fires in various stages of containment.
- Purpose. According to the author:
SB 1260 is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill that will promote long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. This bill authorizes federal, state, and local agencies to engage in collaborative forestry management, creates new opportunities for public and private land managers to mitigate wildfire risks, and enhances CAL FIRE’s role in identifying wildfire hazards as local governments plan for new housing and neighborhoods.
- Executive Order. In May of this year, Governor Brown issued Executive Order (EO) B-52-18 to combat dangerous tree mortality, increase the ability of our forests to capture carbon and systematically improve forest management.
Key elements of the EO include:
- Doubling the land actively managed through vegetation thinning, controlled fires and reforestation from 250,000 acres to 500,000 acres.
- Launching new training and certification programs to help promote forest health through prescribed burning.
- Boosting education and outreach to landowners on the most effective ways to reduce vegetation and other forest-fire fuel sources on private lands.
- Streamlining permitting for landowner-initiated projects that improve forest health and reduce forest-fire fuels on their properties.
- Supporting the innovative use of forest products by the building industry.
- Expanding grants, training, and other incentives to improve watersheds.
This bill is consistent with the EO.
Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2018
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1260
Author:(Jackson) – As Amended Ver:June 18, 2018
SENATE VOTE: 36-0
SUBJECT: Fire prevention and protection: prescribed burns.
SUMMARY: Makes various changes related to local fire planning, prescribed fire requirements, and broader fire prevention efforts. Specifically, this bill:
- Makes numerous findings related to fire, prescribed fire, wildfires, and forests.
- Requires a local agency to transmit a copy of its adopted ordinance designating very high fire hazard severity (VHFHS) zones to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board).
- Eliminates an obsolete schedule for cities and counties to update the safety elements of their general plans.
- Requires a city or county that contains either State Responsibility Area (SRA) or VHFHS zones to notify the Board if it takes action to adopt or amend the safety element of its general plan.
- Requires, upon approving a tentative map or a parcel map for an area located in either the SRA or VHFHS zone, the local agency to transmit a copy of the minimum fire safety standards findings required and accompanying maps to the Board.
- Declares that compliance with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) burning agreement is constituted prima facie evidence of due diligence.
- Authorizes a person with a CAL FIRE burn permit to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
- Requires CAL FIRE to actively engage the University of California Extension Services,
fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. - Requires CAL FIRE to establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which may include a cost-share program with local governments.
- Renames CAL FIRE burning contracts as burning agreements, revises and simplifies requirements, and clarifies that burning agreements can be executed with the federal government.
- Requires, on or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to develop a curriculum, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses
for both CAL FIRE and private prescribed fire users. - Authorizes, until January 1, 2039, a person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group to apply for a CAL FIRE burn permit on behalf of a landowner.
- Requires CAL FIRE to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities, including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities.
- Requires, to the extent feasible and only in portions of the state, the Board’s vegetation treatment program (VTP) programmatic environmental impact report (PEIR), when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by CAL FIRE or by persons conducting prescribed fires with a CAL FIRE burn permit.
- Requires CAL FIRE and the Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires the Board to classify all lands within the state for the purpose of determining areas in which the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires is primarily the responsibility of the state (known as the SRA).
- Requires CAL FIRE to identify certain areas outside the SRA as VHFHS zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas.
- Requires a draft element of, or draft amendment to the safety element of, a city’s or a county general plan to be submitted to the Board and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either the adoption of the safety element or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains SRA or a VHFHS zone.
- Requires the Board to review the draft or existing safety element and recommend changes regarding both of the following:
- Land use policy in SRA and VHFHS zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable fire risk; and,
- Methods and strategies for wildfire risk reduction and prevention.
- Land use policy in SRA and VHFHS zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable fire risk; and,
- Requires local governments to consider recommendations made by the Board and communicate to the Board its reasons when not accepting the recommendations.
- Requires the Board to adopt regulations implementing minimum fire safety standards related to defensible space in the SRA, which apply to buildings, parcel maps, and other developments constructed or approved on or after January 1, 1991. Requires regulations to include all of the following:
- Road standards for fire equipment access;
- Standards for signs identifying streets, roads, and buildings;
- Minimum private water supply reserves for emergency fire use; and,
- Fuel breaks and greenbelts.
- Road standards for fire equipment access;
- Requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure on land that is covered with flammable material to maintain defensible space of 100 feet around the structure.
- Authorizes CAL FIRE to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction. Authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation and prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction on wild lands.
- Requires any contract entered into as part of CAL FIRE’s burning contracts to do all of the following:
- Vest in the Director of CAL FIRE the final authority to determine the time the burn will happen;
- Clearly state the obligation of each party to the contract;
- Designate an officer of CAL FIRE to be the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula for the prescribed burn;
- Specify the duties and any required precaution for the person contracting with CAL FIRE;
- Specify the value of all materials, services, or equipment provided by the person contracting with CAL FIRE, and the total cost of the prescribed burn operation or other hazardous fuel reduction. Requires any person contracting with CAL FIRE to place a deposit for their cost share prior to commencement of any work; and,
- Authorize CAL FIRE to purchase third-party liability insurance to cover against loss resulting from a wild land fire sustained by any personal or public agency. Require the policy to name the person CAL FIRE is contracting with. If CAL FIRE does not purchase third-party liability insurance, they must then indemnify or hold harmless the person CAL FIRE is contracting with for any liability arising out of the prescribed burn contract.
- Vest in the Director of CAL FIRE the final authority to determine the time the burn will happen;
- Authorizes a person, firm, or corporation to apply to CAL FIRE to utilize prescribed burning for a public purpose. Authorizes CAL FIRE to issue a burn permit. Requires the permit to specify the site preparation requirements and required precautions to be exercised prior to burning.
- Declares a person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence
to control such fire, is liable for the damages to the other property caused by the fire. - Authorizes any public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including a fire protection district, city, city and county, county, CAL FIRE, or the United States Forest Service to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill contains one-time costs of approximately $2 million (General Fund) and ongoing costs of under $2 million for staff and resources needed to implement the bill.
COMMENTS:
- Bill Summary and Author’s Statement. SB 1260 is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill, and is sponsored by the author. This bill authorizes federal, state, and local agencies to engage in collaborative forestry management, creates new opportunities for public and private land managers to mitigate wildfire risks, and enhances CAL FIRE’s role in identifying wildfire hazards as local governments plan for new housing and neighborhoods.
According to the author, "In 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 44 people. Five of California’s most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history.
"Unfortunately, 2017 does not appear to be an abnormality. To the contrary, most
of California’s largest wildfires have occurred within the past 30 years. Changing climate patterns have made our state more vulnerable to wildfire, with massive tree die-offs due to years of drought and widespread insect infestations, year-round fire weather conditions, and critical levels of fuels accumulation, all combining to create severe fire risks throughout the state. Indeed, the National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Outlook for 2018 is forecasting above normal large fire potential in California due to the persistence of dry fuels, frequent offshore winds, and generally unfavorable weather.
"As the Little Hoover Commission concluded in its February 2018 report entitled “Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada,” California’s forests are reaching a breaking point. Poor management policies that interrupted natural forest lifecycles, combined with climate change, have left our forests vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
"SB 1260 is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill that will promote long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. This bill authorizes federal, state, and local agencies to engage in collaborative forestry management, creates new opportunities for public and private land managers to mitigate wildfire risks, and enhances CAL FIRE’s role in identifying wildfire hazards as local governments plan for new housing and neighborhoods."
- Background. The 2017 fire season was devastating. Over 1.3 million acres burned in high-severity wildfires and over 10,000 structures were destroyed. Fire has always been present in California landscapes either occurring by lightning strikes or used by Native American tribes to preserve certain useful plants and prevent larger fires. Low-intensity fires have clear ecological benefits, such as creating habitat and assisting in the regeneration of certain species of plants and trees. Low-intensity fire also reduces surface fuel, which decreases future wildfire intensity. However, after a century of fire exclusion, logging of older growth and more fire-resistant trees, and a significant five-year drought, the size and severity of California’s fires has increased dramatically. Climate change has also contributed to wildfire risk by reducing humidity and precipitation and increasing temperatures.
California’s forests have become overstocked and unhealthy. In the Stanislaus National Forest, a team of UC Berkeley researchers found a density of 400 trees per acre in 2013, compared with 60-90 trees per acre found in historical reports from 1911. In addition, the researchers found more undergrowth species, and a smaller average tree size than in 1911. From 2014 to 2017 over 129 million trees have died due to a combination of drought and bark beetles. New research by UC Berkeley states “these dead trees have created unprecedented levels of fuel, which could create dangerous wildfires in the near future that are beyond the predictive capacity of current fire models.”
In 2016-17 California experienced a record level of precipitation, which caused an unprecedented growth in grasses and shrubs throughout California. During the summer of 2017 extended heat waves dried out the newly grown vegetation. In the fall and winter of 2017 high winds and low humidity created the conditions that led to major fires in Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Riverside, San Diego, Solano, Sonoma, Ventura, and Yuba counties. This included the Thomas fire, which was the largest wildfire in California history. Between October and December wildfires caused the tragic loss of 44 lives, which is more than the last 10 years combined. Many places in California experienced the worst air quality on record, including for deadly particulate matter 2.5. These massive fires also created significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 2017 wildfires produced more GHG emissions than every car, truck, and big rig on the state’s roads in one year.
Reports on forest health have also been released by the Public Policy Institute and the Little Hoover Commission. Both advocate for more active management of California’s forests, including increased use of prescribed fire. Last year, CAL FIRE received a $200 million appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) for forest health and fire prevention, a significant increase from the prior year. CAL FIRE is in the process of reviewing proposals for landscape level forest health projects and developing guidelines for a local assistance fire prevention program. Even with these additional resources and attention, high-severity wildfires are an increasing threat in California.
- Double-referral and Amendments. The Natural Resources Committee will hear the bill on Monday, June 25th, and is proposing the following amendments, which will be adopted in this Committee due to timing:
- Authorize the Board to require consultation with a board of supervisors or city council that does not adopt the board’s recommendations concerning its draft element or draft amendment;
- Declare, in addition to CAL FIRE agreements, CAL FIRE burn permits constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence;
- Clarify that persons using a CAL FIRE burn permit are not authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard during an active fire incident;
- Remove the requirement that CAL FIRE establish a local assistance grants program;
- Remove limitations on the Board’s VTP PEIR, and instead state it is the intent
of this bill that additional consideration be provided for coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities; and, - Other technical corrections.
- Double-Referral. This bill is double-referred to the Natural Resources Committee, where it was heard on June 25, 2018, and passed on a 10-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Big Sur Land Trust
California Air Pollution Control Officers Association
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
California Cattlemen’s Association
California Municipal Utilities Association
California State Association of Counties
The Nature Conservancy
Rural County Representatives of California
Save the Redwoods League
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Sonoma County Water Agency
Western United Dairymen
Wildlands Conservancy
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
Date of Hearing: June 25, 2018
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Al Muratsuchi, Acting Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1260
Author:(Jackson) – As Amended Ver:June 18, 2018
SENATE VOTE: 36-0
SUBJECT: Fire prevention and protection: prescribed burns
SUMMARY: This bill is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill with the intent of promoting long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. It makes various changes related to local fire planning, prescribed fire requirements, and broader fire prevention efforts.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) to classify all lands within the state for the purpose of determining areas in which the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires is primarily the responsibility of the state [known as the State Responsibility Area (SRA)].
- Requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to identify certain areas outside the SRA as very high fire hazard severity (VHFHS) zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas.
- Requires a draft element of, or draft amendment to the safety element of, a city’s or a county general plan to be submitted to the Board and to every local agency that provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least 90 days prior to either the adoption of the safety element or amendment to the safety element of its general plan for each county that contains SRA or a VHFHS zone.
- Requires the Board to review the draft or existing safety element and recommend changes regarding both of the following:
- Land use policy in SRA and VHFHS zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable fire risk; and,
- Methods and strategies for wildfire risk reduction and prevention.
- Land use policy in SRA and VHFHS zones that will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable fire risk; and,
- Requires local governments to consider recommendations made by the Board and communicate to the Board its reasons when not accepting the recommendations.
- Requires the Board to adopt regulations implementing minimum fire safety standards related to defensible space in the SRA, which apply to buildings, parcel maps, and other developments constructed or approved on or after January 1, 1991. Requires regulations to include all of the following:
- Road standards for fire equipment access;
- Standards for signs identifying streets, roads, and buildings;
- Minimum private water supply reserves for emergency fire use; and,
- Fuel breaks and greenbelts.
- Road standards for fire equipment access;
- Requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure on land that is covered with flammable material to maintain defensible space of 100 feet around the structure.
- Authorizes CAL FIRE to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction. Authorizes the state to assume a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation and prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction on wild lands.
- Requires any contract entered into as part of CAL FIRE’s burning contracts to do all of the following:
- Vest in the Director of CAL FIRE the final authority to determine the time the burn will happen;
- Clearly state the obligation of each party to the contract;
- Designate an officer of CAL FIRE to be the fire boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula for the prescribed burn;
- Specify the duties and any required precaution for the person contracting with CAL FIRE;
- Specify the value of all materials, services, or equipment provided by the person contracting with CAL FIRE. Specify the total cost of the prescribed burn operation or other hazardous fuel reduction. Requires any person contracting with CAL FIRE to place a deposit for their cost share prior to commencement of any work; and,
- Authorizes CAL FIRE to purchase third-party liability insurance to cover against loss resulting from a wild land fire sustained by any personal or public agency. Requires the policy to name the person CAL FIRE is contracting with. If CAL FIRE does not purchase third-party liability insurance they must then indemnify or hold harmless the person CAL FIRE is contracting with for any liability arising out of the prescribed burn contract.
- Vest in the Director of CAL FIRE the final authority to determine the time the burn will happen;
- Authorizes a person, firm, or corporation to apply to CAL FIRE to utilize prescribed burning for a public purpose. Authorizes CAL FIRE to issue a burn permit. Requires the permit to specify the site preparation requirements and required precautions to be exercised prior to burning.
- Declares a person who allows a fire burning upon his or her property to escape to the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, without exercising due diligence to control such fire, is liable for the damages to the other property caused by the fire.
- Authorizes any public agency authorized to engage in fire protection activities, including a fire protection district, city, city and county, county, CAL FIRE, or the United States Forest Service to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
THIS BILL:
- Makes numerous findings related to fire, prescribed fire, wildfires, and forests.
- Requires a local agency to transmit a copy of its adopted ordnance designating VHFHS zones to the Board.
- Eliminates an obsolete schedule for cities and counties to update the safety elements of their general plans.
- Requires a city or county that contains either SRA or VHFHS zones to notify the Board if it takes action to adopt or amend the safety element of its general plan.
- Requires, upon approving a tentative map or a parcel map for an area located in either the SRA or VHFHS zone, the local agency to transmit a copy of the minimum fire safety standards findings required and accompanying maps to the Board.
- Declares compliance with CAL FIRE burning agreement is constituted prima facie evidence of due diligence.
- Authorizes a person with a CAL FIRE burn permit to use fire to abate a fire hazard.
- Requires CAL FIRE to actively engage the University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and any other entity with demonstrated expertise to enhance its public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety.
- Requires CAL FIRE to establish a grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which may include a cost-share program with local governments.
- Renames CAL FIRE burning contract as burning agreements, revises and simplifies requirements, and clarifies burning agreements can be executed with the federal government.
- Requires, on or before January 1, 2021, the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to develop a curriculum, or amend into an existing curriculum, a certification program for fire bosses for both CAL FIRE and private prescribed fire users.
- Authorizes, until January 1, 2039, a person possessing a valid fire boss certification as approved by the California Incident Command Certification System or the National Wildlife Coordinating Group to apply for a CAL FIRE burn permit on behalf of a landowner.
- Requires CAL FIRE to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including, but not limited to, site preparation, and other preburn planning and activities.
- Requires, to the extent feasible and only in portions of the state, the Board’s vegetation treatment program programmatic environmental impact report (VTP PEIR), when certified, to serve as the programmatic environmental document for prescribed fires initiated by CAL FIRE or by persons conducting prescribed fires with a CAL FIRE burn permit.
- Requires CAL FIRE and the Air Resources Board, in coordination with local air pollution control and air quality management districts to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, one-time costs of approximately $2 million (General Fund) and ongoing costs of under $2 million for staff and resources needed to implement the bill.
COMMENTS:
- Author’s statement:
In 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 44 people. Five of California’s most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history.
Unfortunately, 2017 does not appear to be an abnormality. To the contrary, most of California’s largest wildfires have occurred within the past 30 years. Changing climate patterns have made our state more vulnerable to wildfire, with massive tree die-offs due to years of drought and widespread insect infestations, year-round fire weather conditions, and critical levels of fuels accumulation, all combining to create severe fire risks throughout the state. Indeed, the National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Outlook for 2018 is forecasting above normal large fire potential in California due to the persistence of dry fuels, frequent offshore winds, and generally unfavorable weather.
As the Little Hoover Commission concluded in its February 2018 report entitled “Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada,” California’s forests are reaching a breaking point. Poor management policies that interrupted natural forest lifecycles, combined with climate change, have left our forests vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
SB 1260 is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill that will promote long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. This bill authorizes federal, state, and local agencies to engage in collaborative forestry management, creates new opportunities for public and private land managers to mitigate wildfire risks, and enhances CAL FIRE’s role in identifying wildfire hazards as local governments plan for new housing and neighborhoods.
- Background. The 2017 fire season was devastating. Over 1.3 million acres burned in high-severity wildfires and over 10,000 structures were destroyed. Fire has always been present in California landscapes either occurring by lightning strikes or used by Native American tribes to preserve certain useful plants and prevent larger fires. Low-intensity fires have clear ecological benefits such as creating habitat and assisting in the regeneration of certain species of plants and trees. Low-intensity fire also reduces surface fuel, which decreases future wildfire intensity. However, after a century of fire exclusion, logging of older growth and more fire-resistant trees, and a significant five-year drought, the size and severity of California’s fires has increased dramatically. Climate change has also contributed to wildfire risk by reducing humidity and precipitation and increasing temperatures.
California’s forests have become overstocked and unhealthy. In the Stanislaus National Forest, a team of UC Berkeley researchers found a density of 400 trees per acre in 2013, compared with 60-90 trees per acre found in historical reports from 1911. In addition, the researchers found more undergrowth species, and a smaller average tree size than in 1911. From 2014 to 2017 over 129 million trees have died due to a combination of drought and bark beetles. New research by UC Berkeley states “these dead trees have created unprecedented levels of fuel, which could create dangerous wildfires in the near future that are beyond the predictive capacity of current fire models.”
In 2016-17 California experienced a record level of precipitation, which caused an unprecedented growth in grasses and shrubs throughout California. During the summer of 2017 extended heat waves dried out the newly grown vegetation. In the fall and winter of 2017 high winds and low humidity created the conditions that led to major fires in Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Riverside, San Diego, Solano, Sonoma, Ventura, and Yuba counties. This included the Thomas fire, which was the largest wildfire in California history. Between October and December wildfires caused the tragic loss of 44 lives, which is more than the last 10 years combined. Many places in California experienced the worst air quality on record, including for deadly particulate matter 2.5. These massive fires also created significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 2017 wildfires produced more GHG emissions than every car, truck, and big rig on the state’s roads in one year.
Reports on forest health have also been released by the Public Policy Institute and the Little Hoover Commission. Both advocate for more active management of California’s forests, including increased use of prescribed fire. Last year, CAL FIRE received a $200 million appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) for forest health and fire prevention, a significant increase from the prior year. CAL FIRE is in the process of reviewing proposals for landscape level forest health projects and developing guidelines for a local assistance fire prevention program. Even with these additional resources and attention, high-severity wildfires are an increasing threat in California.
- Prescribed burns. Prescribed and managed burns (also known as prescribed fire or managed fire) are a type of vegetation management where low-intensity fires are either intentionally lit or allowed to burn in specified weather conditions and in a way that is consistent with a preapproved plan (known as a burn plan) to treat a specified area. The prescribed or managed burn eliminates hazardous surface fuels and achieves other important ecological outcomes. Prescribed and managed burns increase short-term air pollution and GHG emissions in order to mitigate the risk of larger fires with significantly higher air and GHG emissions in the future. For example, recent research has shown that had the land associated with the Rim Fire, a >250,000-acre fire in the Sierra Nevada in 2013, been intentionally managed for resource objectives, the impact could have been five times less. Furthermore, the GHG emissions from the Rim Fire were substantial, releasing an amount equivalent to the annual GHG emissions from 2.3 million vehicles or 3.2 coal-fired power plants.
For Fiscal Year 2016-17, CAL FIRE’s goal was to complete 20,000 acres of prescribed burns. CAL FIRE was only able to reach 70% of that goal. CAL FIRE plans to meet the goal this year and ramp up to 60,000 acres per year by 2030. However, 60,000 acres is far short of what is truly needed to improve forest health. Private prescribed burns and prescribed burns done with partnerships between CAL FIRE and other groups, are also needed to dramatically increase the pace and scale of treated acres. Many barriers exist to doing more private and cooperative burns. They include a lack of experienced practitioners, ability to get permits, enough burn windows, and liability concerns.
There are many places where prescribed fire is not used due to fear that it might escape and cause damage to life or property. Experts claim fire escapes are rare. According to the Little Hoover Commission, between 1996 and 2004, there were only 30 escaped fires or near misses on national forest lands. Another study looked at 16,626 prescribed fires occurring nationwide, which treated 1,971,823 acres. The study only found 14 escaped fires. Experts believe training and adhering to best practices are the best way to prevent escapes.
- Executive Order. In May of this year, Governor Brown issued Executive Order (EO) B-52-18 to combat dangerous tree mortality, increase the ability of our forests to capture carbon and systematically improve forest management.
Key elements of the EO include:
- Doubling the land actively managed through vegetation thinning, controlled fires and reforestation from 250,000 acres to 500,000 acres;
- Launching new training and certification programs to help promote forest health through prescribed burning;
- Boosting education and outreach to landowners on the most effective ways to reduce vegetation and other forest-fire fuel sources on private lands;
- Streamlining permitting for landowner-initiated projects that improve forest health and reduce forest-fire fuels on their properties;
- Supporting the innovative use of forest products by the building industry; and,
- Expanding grants, training, and other incentives to improve watersheds.
The Governor's May budget revision also includes $96 million in new funding from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Proposition 68, Environmental License Plate Fund, and the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund to support actions called for in the EO. This $96 million comes in addition to $160 million proposed in January's Cap and Trade expenditure plan to support forest improvements and fire prevention. The May revision proposal appropriates funding for forest health initiatives, prescribed fire, fuel reduction work, and development of markets for wood products. In addition to the funding, a Forest Management Task Force will be convened to help implement the EO. The Forest Carbon Plan (FCP) was also recently released by the Forest Climate Action Team. The FCP lays out recommended actions to achieve healthy and resilient forests based on what we know today about our forests and how climate change will evolve in California. Recommendations include a call for significantly increasing the number of acres of forestland receiving fuels treatments and restoration. Many aspects and the intent of the bill are consistent with the Governor’s EO.
- VTP PEIR. The Vegetation Treatment Program (VTP) directs the management of the wildland landscape within CAL FIRE’s SRA, an area comprised of over 31 million acres of private land. The VTP is the main program that will be used to meet CAL FIRE’s 60,000 acres treatment goal. The VTP consists of a strategy that would implement vegetation treatment activities for the purpose of altering landscape fuels to reduce the size, number, or frequency of damaging fires and reduce losses to life, property, and natural resources. The process would generally involve the survey and monitoring of site conditions before, during, and after treatment to determine if objectives are being met and if program methods need to be revised. The VTP consists of specific vegetation treatment activities: prescribed fire, manual activities, mechanical activities, prescribed herbivory (beneficial grazing), and targeted ground application of herbicides. CAL FIRE has grouped the areas where vegetation treatment activities would occur by the following program treatment types: wildland-urban interface (WUI), fuel break, and ecological restoration.
In response to CAL FIRE’s desire to increase the pace and scale of fuels treatment, the Board has developed a Statewide Programmatic Environmental Impact Report titled “California Statewide Vegetation Treatment Program,” known as the VTP PEIR. The VTP PEIR will provide California Environmental Quality Act compliance for CAL FIRE and other public agencies’ vegetation management projects. This VTP PEIR is intended for vegetation management activities that lower the risk of catastrophic wildfires on nonfederal lands by managing vegetation to modify/reduce hazardous fuels. According to Chief Pimlott, “CAL FIRE, working in collaboration with other public, private and academic organizations, is looking forward to implementing even higher levels of prevention activities under the VTP PEIR across California to assist communities in reducing risks of wildfire impacts by being more defensible during suppression efforts.” The majority of the vegetation treatment conducted under the VTP PEIR will be prescribed fire. However, in some areas other methods will be chosen as the most appropriate method, and in some cases multiple methods of vegetation management, including prescribed fire, will be used to reduce the chance of a fire escape, reduce air impacts, and improve the effectiveness and durability of the treatment. This bill does many things to improve fire prevention efforts. However, its limitation of the VTP PEIR to only prescribed fire and only for portions of the state will interfere with CAL FIRE’s ability to meet its fuel treatment goals and could hamper the state’s ability to prevent wildfires.
- Amendments. The author and committee may wish to make the following amendments in the Assembly Local Government Committee:
- Authorize the Board to require consultation with a board of supervisors or city council that does not adopt the board’s recommendations concerning its draft element or draft amendment;
- Declare, in addition to CAL FIRE agreements, CAL FIRE burn permits constitute prima facie evidence of due diligence;
- Clarify that persons using a CAL FIRE burn permit are not authorized to use fire to abate a fire hazard during an active fire incident;
- Remove requirement that CAL FIRE establish a local assistance grants program;
- Remove limitations on the Board’s VTP PEIR, and instead state it is the intent of SB 1260 that additional consideration be provided for coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities; and,
- Other technical corrections.
- Related Legislation.
AB 1956 (Limón) establishes a local assistance grant program to improve fire prevention in California and ensures that fire prevention activities happen year round. The bill is now awaiting hearing in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.
AB 2091 (Grayson) renames the Board as the Board of Forestry and Fire Prevention and Protection. This bill requires the Board to develop a certified specialist for prescribed burning or accept a public agencies certification program if it is created. This bill requires, on or before January 1, 2020, CAL FIRE to develop and implement an insurance pool for prescribed burn managers. The bill is now awaiting hearing in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.
AB 2551 (Wood) requires CAL FIRE to establish, implement, and administer the Forest and Wildland Health Improvement and Fire Prevention Program (Program). The bill requires CAL FIRE to implement the Program to promote forest and wildland health, restoration, and resilience and improve fire prevention and preparedness throughout the state. The bill is now awaiting hearing in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.
AB 2911 (Friedman) requires the SFM to recommend updating building standards for site and structure fire risk reduction. This bill extends and clarifies the Board’s review process of local government’s safety elements to strengthen state and local collaboration on fire-risk reduction. This bill authorizes CAL FIRE to permit any property owner to construct a fire break if deemed necessary to protect life, property, and natural resources. The bill is now awaiting hearing in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.
- Double referral. This bill is also referred to the Assembly Local Government Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Planning Association
California Air Pollution Control Officers Association
California Cattlemen’s Association
California State Association of Counties
California Municipal Utilities Association
Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council
Rural County Representatives of California
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Southern California Edison
Western United Dairymen
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. /
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB |
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1260
:
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/16/18
AYES: Hertzberg, Allen, Hueso, Jackson, McGuire, Monning, Stern
NO VOTE RECORDED: Stone, Vidak
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/18/18
AYES: Wieckowski, Stone, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Skinner, Stern
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 6-1, 4/25/18
AYES: McGuire, Beall, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Lara, Moorlach
NOES: Nguyen
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/25/18
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Nielsen, Wiener
DIGEST:
This bill is an omnibus fire prevention and forestry management bill that will promote long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency. This bill authorizes federal, state, and local agencies to engage in collaborative forestry management, creates new opportunities for public and private land managers to mitigate wildfire risks, and enhances the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CalFire) role in identifying wildfire hazards as local governments plan for new housing and neighborhoods.
Existing law:
- Requires local agencies to designate very high hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction.
- Requires local agencies to transmit the safety element of a general plan to the CalFire within 90 days of adoption.
- Requires local agencies, prior to approval of a tentative map or a parcel map in very high hazard severity zones or state responsibility areas, to make specified findings regarding the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole. The findings must show consistency with any regulations adopted by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas.
- Imposes liability for fires that escape a landowner’s property in instances in which due diligence is not exercised.
- Authorizes the use of fire to abate fires in certain circumstances.
- Authorizes CalFire to engage in prescribed fire planning and burning but excludes lands under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
- Recognizes the adoption by CalFire of a vegetation management draft environmental impact statement that is intended to manage and direct the department’s statewide activities regarding vegetation management.
- Requires contracts pertaining to prescribed burns that are entered into with CalFire to contain specific terms, provides that there are circumstances in which a lien will be placed upon the landowner’s property, and related provisions.
- Authorizes CalFire to purchase third party liability insurance for prescribed burns and provides that if the CalFire does not purchase third party liability insurance that the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with CalFire.
This bill:
- Deletes the requirement that local government ordinances must make a finding that each lot in a subdivision complies with regulations of the Board which is redundant with regulations of the Board. It retains the provision that each subdivision must be in compliance, and clarifies that subdivisions must also comply with the defensible space provisions in section 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
- Requires local governments to notify CalFire when an amendment to the safety element of the general plan is made in counties that contain state responsibility areas or in cities that contain a very high hazard fire severity zone.
- Amends the liability provision for prescribed fires that escape to provide that a prima facie case of due diligence is established when a prescribed burn is in compliance with all provisions of law and the terms and conditions imposed by an agreement with CalFire.
- Includes a series of findings regarding the ecological importance of restoring appropriate prescribed fire to the California landscape, the public health consequences of emissions from wildfires and the importance of restoring prescribed fire as a component of the state’s overall climate goals for its forests.
- States legislative intent to develop a mechanism to help homeowners remove hazardous trees in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones.
- States legislative intent to create a program to help homeowners self-finance retrofits to their homes to improve resistance to wildfire.
- Requires local agencies to inform CalFire of the adoption of an ordinance that designates very high hazard severity zones within 30 days of adoption.
- Deletes the requirement that local government ordinances must make a finding that each lot in a subdivision complies with regulations of the Board which is redundant with regulations of the Board. It retains the provision that each subdivision must be in compliance, and clarifies that subdivisions must also comply with the defensible space provisions in Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
- Requires local governments to notify CalFire when an amendment to the safety element of the general plan is made in counties that contain a state responsibility area or cities that contain a very high fire hazard severity zone.
- Amends the liability provision for prescribed fires that escape to provide that a prima facie case of due diligence is established when a prescribed burn is in compliance with all provisions of law and the terms and conditions imposed by an agreement with CalFire.
- Allows the California Environmental Quality Act compliance for prescribed burns to tier from the CalFire Vegetation Management Program Environmental Report upon its certification in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
- Deletes obsolete provisions pertaining to prescribed fires.
- Authorizes CalFire to determine proportionate share of liability in instances in which CalFire does not purchase third party liability insurance.
- Authorizes those with valid fire boss certificates from qualified third party organizations to be appointed burn bosses in California until January 1, 2039.
- Directs CalFire to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including site preparation, preburn planning, and other activities.
- Provides CalFire shall schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burn activities, including the use of state and local conservation corps and minimum custody inmates.
- Authorizes CalFire to consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burn activities, and provides that the department’s prescribed burn activities shall not diminish CalFire’s fire suppression activities.
- Requires CalFire and the State Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, and to address the unmet needs of local air pollution control districts.
- Requires the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for burn bosses.
- Directs CalFire to actively engage the University of California Extension Service, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and others to enhance public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These activities could include community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardening of houses, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon sequestration benefits in the wildland urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. This bill directs CalFire to establish a grant program for these purposes, upon appropriation by the Legislature, and which may include a cost-share provision.
- Makes other technical changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, one-time costs of approximately $2 million (General Fund) and ongoing costs of under $2 million for staff and resources needed to implement this bill.
AA Worms
Aguadrone, LLC
All Fish Wear
American Cetacean Society
American Planning Association, California Chapter
Big Sur Land Trust
California Air Pollution Control Officers Association
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
California Licensed Foresters Association
California State Association of Counties
Fire Safe Council of San Diego
Little Hoover Commission
Nature Conservancy
Pacific Forest Trust
Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council
Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments
Rural County Representatives of California
San Diego Gas and Electric
Save the Redwoods League
Sierra Forest Legacy
Sonoma County Water Agency
Southern California Association of Governments
Stand for the Redwoods
The Wildlands Conservancy
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/24/18)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, this bill contains several provisions designed to improve California’s capabilities regarding prescribed fire, assistance to landowners and homeowners, improved public outreach and education regarding fire prevention, and improved coordination between CalFire, CARB, and local air districts regarding smoke monitoring and public education during prescribed fires.
The author observed that in 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 44 people. Five of California’s most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history.
Unfortunately, the author continued, 2017 does not appear to be an abnormality. To the contrary, most of California’s largest wildfires have occurred within the past 30 years. Changing climate patterns have made our state more vulnerable to wildfire, with massive tree die-offs due to years of drought and widespread insect infestations, year-round fire weather conditions, and critical levels of fuels accumulation, all combining to create severe fire risks throughout the state. Indeed, the National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Outlook for 2018 is forecasting above normal large fire potential in California due to the persistence of dry fuels, frequent offshore winds, and generally unfavorable weather.
As the Little Hoover Commission concluded in its February 2018 report entitled “Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada,” California’s forests are reaching a breaking point. Poor management policies that interrupted natural forest lifecycles, combined with climate change, have left our forests vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
This bill reorients California’s forest management policies toward long-term forest health and fire resiliency by helping promote long-term forest health, increasing support to local entities with experience in forest management, prescribed fire, and public safety, and enhances CalFire’s role in identifying wildfire hazards in the planning process undertaken by local governments.
The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) believe that prescribed fire is an important tool to help mitigate and prevent the impacts of wildfire. Its member counties contain much of the California’s forested lands including more than 70% of the state’s national forest lands. They and the American Planning Association, California Chapter, have asked the author to consider changing the provision that gives CalFire 180 days (currently 90 days) to review the safety element of the general plan of local governments.
The California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (RCD) supports this bill and especially the provision that could enhance the work of RCDs around the state that help local landowners with fire prevention activities and education. There are many examples of local RCDs providing services to landowners and rural communities that should be expanded to help reduce the impacts and costs of wildfires. In one example, forest projects in Mariposa County halted the approach of a wildfire before it reached the town of Coulterville.
The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) describes this bill as addressing “a suite of fire preparedness actions.” PFT notes that a century of fire suppression combined with the removal of larger older trees, ill-conceived development patterns, and climate change have degraded and increased stresses on our forests. Prescribed fire that restores natural fire regimes, combined with actions to protect and restore forestland and shift management practices to promote diverse forests with older trees, can restore forest to more resilient conditions. PFT has suggested that the author consider an amendment that statutory fire protection standards be extended to areas considered “high” or “moderate” in addition to high hazard fire severity zones.
Sierra Forest Legacy, a coalition of 80 organizations focused on ecologically-based forest management, has followed the scientific research concerning fire’s role in California forests for more than two decades. After a century of fire suppression and an even longer period of excluding the natural role of fire, we are seeing regular fire events that are far outside the natural bounds of the natural evolutionary fire history of California.
The Nature Conservancy observes that the devastating wildlfires from 2017 should remind us all of the critical importance of fire prevention and protection including prescribed burns that reduce environmental impacts of wildfire, minimize susceptibility to wildfires, and reduce fuel loads on forest lands.
The Wildlands Conservancy, the state’s largest nonprofit landowner, works with youth at its preserve in southern Kern County to do fire training for young CalFire firefighters and its staff. It is broadly supportive of the provisions in this bill especially in light of the National Interagency Fire Center Predictive Outlook for 2018 that forecasts above normal large fire potential in California.
The Big Sur Land Trust, which experienced the 2016 Soberanes fire that burned 132,000 acres, believes that SB 1260 will help re-orient California’s forest management policies toward long-term forest health and fire resiliency. Similar points in support were made by Save the Redwoods League.
The Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council and the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County support the increased actions to engage in collaborative forestry projects that reduce the risk of wildfire in their respective regions.
5/29/18 19:11:19
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular Session
SB 1260 (Jackson) - Fire prevention and protection: prescribed burns
Version: May 16, 2018 | Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 7 - 0, E.Q. 7 - 0, GOV. & F. 6 - 1 |
Urgency: No | Mandate: Yes |
Hearing Date: May 25, 2018 | Consultant: Mike Peterson |
Bill Summary:
SB 1260 makes various changes to statute related to prescribe burns. Specifically, the bill allows CEQA compliance for prescribed burns under certain conditions, authorizes the CalFIRE to determine proportionate share of liability in specified instances, and authorizes those with valid fire boss certificates from qualified third party organizations to be appointed burn bosses in California.
*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********
The following information is revised to reflect amendments
adopted by the committee on May 25, 2018
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of approximately $2 million (General Fund) and ongoing costs of under $2 million for staff and resources needed to implement the bill.
Author Amendments:
Amendments remove a provision directing the Air resources Board to ensure that local air districts are as engaged as possible. There is a very similar provision in the preceding paragraph in the bill that directs the Ari resources Board to coordinate and work with local air pollution control and air quality management districts, which would ensure local engagement.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular Session
SB 1260 (Jackson) - Fire prevention and protection: prescribed burns
Version: April 9, 2018 | Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 7 - 0, E.Q. 7 - 0, GOV. & F. 6 - 1 |
Urgency: No | Mandate: Yes |
Hearing Date: May 7, 2018 | Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1260 makes various changes to statute related to prescribe burns. Specifically, the bill allows CEQA compliance for prescribed burns under certain conditions, authorizes the CalFIRE to determine proportionate share of liability in specified instances, and authorizes those with valid fire boss certificates from qualified third party organizations to be appointed burn bosses in California.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of $2.257 million (General Fund) and ongoing costs of $1.943 million for staff and resources needed to implement the bill. (See staff comments)
Background:
Existing federal law, the Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) and its implementing regulations, set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants, designates air basins that do not achieve NAAQS as nonattainment, allows only California to set vehicular emissions standards stricter than the federal government, and allows other states to adopt either the federal or California vehicular emissions standards.
State law establishes the Air Resources Board (ARB) as the air pollution control agency in California and requires the ARB, among other things, to control emissions from a wide array of mobile sources and implement the FCAA. It also establishes local air districts to, among other things, control emissions from stationary sources.
The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL-FIRE), among other things, provides fire protection and prevention, controls pests, and manages and protects forest and range health. Under current law, CAL-FIRE may enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.
Proposed Law:
This bill:
- Includes a series of findings regarding the ecological importance of restoring appropriate prescribed fire to the California landscape, the public health consequences of emissions from wildfires and the importance of restoring prescribed fire as a component of the state’s overall climate goals for its forests.
- States legislative intent to develop a mechanism to help homeowners remove hazardous trees in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones.
- States legislative intent to create a program to help homeowner’s self-finance retrofits to their homes to improve resistance to wildfire.
- Requires local agencies to inform CalFIRE of the adoption of an ordinance that designates very high hazard severity zones within 30 days of adoption.
- Deletes the requirement that local government ordinances must make a finding that each lot in a subdivision complies with regulations of the Board which is redundant with regulations of the Board. It retains the provision that each subdivision must be in compliance, and clarifies that subdivisions must also comply with the defensible space provisions in section 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
- Amends the liability provision for prescribed fires that escape to provide that a prima facie case of due diligence is established when a prescribed burn is in compliance with all provisions of law and the terms and conditions imposed by an agreement with CalFIRE.
- Allows CEQA compliance for prescribed burns to tier from the CalFIRE Vegetation Management Program Environmental Report upon its certification in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
- Deletes obsolete provisions pertaining to prescribed fires. Authorizes the department to determine proportionate share of liability in instances in which the department does not purchase 3rd party liability insurance.
- Authorizes those with valid fire boss certificates from qualified third party organizations to be appointed burn bosses in California until 1/1/39.
- Authorizes the department to determine proportionate share of liability in instances in which the department does not purchase 3rd party liability insurance.
- Directs CalFIRE to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including site preparation, preburn planning, and other activities. The bill provides the department shall schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burn activities, including the use of state and local conservation corps and minimum custody inmates. The bill authorizes CalFIRE to consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burn activities, and provides that the department’s prescribed burn activities shall not diminish the department’s fire suppression activities.
- Requires CalFIRE and the State Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, and to address the unmet needs of local air pollution control districts.
- Requires the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for burn bosses.
- Directs CalFIRE to actively engage the University of California Extension Service, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and others to enhance public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These activities could include community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardening of houses, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon sequestration benefits in the wildland urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. The bill directs the department to establish a grant program for these purposes, upon appropriation by the Legislature, and which may include a cost-share provision.
16) Makes other technical changes.
Related Legislation:
SB 1261 (Nielsen, 20180) clarifies that survivors of a pilot killed while flying aircraft owned by CalFIRE are available for death benefits. Pending hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Staff Comments: According to CalFIRE,
The Department would need 8.0 positions and $2.257 million in 2018-19 and $1.943 million ongoing for staff and resources to address the potential increase in workload associated with this bill. The increase in workload is due to the development of curriculum for fire boss certification and continuing education, anticipated increases in burn permits and prescribed fire projects Statewide from newly certified fire bosses, and the vast scope of entities requiring public education. The Department would also need $100,000 annually for media buys such as radio ads, billboards, and other public education messaging forums.
The following positions are requested:
- Forestry and Fire Protection Administrator would oversee further development of the Prescribed Fire Program by focusing on increasing the use of prescribed fires through cooperative planning, training, and public education.
- 3.0 Forester II (Supervisory) would focus on developing the Prescribed Fire Program to increase prescribed fires by improving the planning and coordination between State and federal agencies and private cooperators.
- 1.0 Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist) would coordinate and conduct statewide prescribed fire research to improve the science surrounding the use of prescribed fire. In addition, staff would work with the ARB to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, which would be used to further improve the science surrounding both prescribed and wildland fires.
- 1.0 Research Analyst I (Geographic Information Systems) would track and monitor prescribed fire activities Statewide and use GIS analysis to help identify cooperative prescribed fire opportunities.
- 1.0 Information Officer I (Specialist) would coordinate with University of California Extension Services, fire safe councils, and resource conservation districts to enhance public education regarding fire prevention and public safety.
- 1.0 Staff Services Analyst would support the Prescribed Fire Program and process and monitor the fire boss certification and continuing education program.
Additional costs associated with these positions are for the development of fire boss certification and continuing education curriculum, which would be contracted though California State University, Sacramento. The cost identified would be borne by the General Fund, for which CAL FIRE would need additional funding through an increased General Fund appropriation in the annual budget act to implement the provisions of this bill, should it be signed into law.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Mike McGuire, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular
Bill No: | SB 1260 | Hearing Date: | 4/25/18 |
Author: | Jackson | Tax Levy: | No |
Version: | 4/9/18 | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Favorini-Csorba | ||
Fire prevention and protection: prescribed burns
Revises state laws regarding prescribed burns and fire and land use decisions.
Background
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) provides wildland fire protection on non-federal lands outside cities. To meet this duty, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection designates the State Responsibility Area (SRA) every five years. Within SRA lands, the Director of CALFIRE designates fire hazard severity zones. SRA landowners must follow specified fire prevention practices. After the 1991 Oakland-Berkeley fire storm, the Legislature required the CALFIRE to designate very high fire hazard severity zones. Landowners in these areas must follow specified fire prevention practices (AB 337, Bates, 1992).
Planning and Zoning Law. Every county and city must adopt a general plan with seven mandatory elements: land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise, and safety. Most of cities’ and counties’ major land use decisions—subdivisions, zoning, public works projects, use permits—must be consistent with their general plans. Development decisions must carry out and not obstruct a general plan’s policies.
The Planning and Zoning Law says that the safety element’s purpose is to protect the community from unreasonable risks from geologic hazards, flooding, and wildland and urban fires. In 2012, the Legislature expanded the safety elements’ contents for fire risks on land classified as state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones (SB 1241, Kehoe, 2012). SB 1241 required safety elements to contain:
- Specified information about fire hazards.
- Based on that information, a set of comprehensive goals, policies, and objectives to protect against unreasonable fire risks.
- To carry out those goals, a set of feasible implementation measures.
Cities and counties must also submit a draft of their safety element to the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) and to local fire protection agencies at least 90 days before adopting it. The Board must review and recommend changes to the draft safety element within 60 days of receiving it. If the Board provides recommendations within this timeframe, local governments must consider its recommendations. If they don’t adopt the Board’s recommendations, local governments have to explain why they didn’t to the Board.
Subdivision approvals. The Subdivision Map Act regulates how local officials approve the conversion of larger parcels into marketable lots. Major subdivisions—more than four lots—require a discretionary tentative map and a ministerial final map. Minor subdivisions—four or fewer lots, called “lot splits”—usually require a single, discretionary parcel map. In some communities, minor subdivisions require a tentative parcel map and a final parcel map, similar to major subdivisions.
Prescribed burns. Current law authorizes the use of fire to abate fires in certain circumstances and sets forth liability requirements. CALFIRE can engage in prescribed fire planning and burning. A 2018 report by the Little Hoover Commission on the status of California’s forests recommended expanded use of prescribed burns as a tool for forest management and a way to reduce future catastrophic fires.
2017 fire season. In 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 46 people. Five of California’s most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history, and the Tubbs Fire, which destroyed 5,643 structures to make it by far the most destructive fire in California history. With the prospect of additional fires aggravated by climate change in the future, the author wants to comprehensively update the state’s fire prevention laws, including some aspects of local land use regulations and prescribed burning.
Proposed Law
Senate Bill 1260 makes numerous changes to laws governing fire prevention and land use; revises law regarding prescribed burns; and establishes new fire-related programs and indicates the Legislature’s intent to establish additional new programs.
Land use decisions. Under current law, cities and counties must adopt an ordinance establishing very high fire hazard severity zones within 120 days of receiving maps of the zones from CALFIRE. Local governments can include additional areas in the very high fire hazard severity zones, and may exempt some areas from complying with the required fire prevention standards in very high fire hazard severity zones, with findings supported by substantial evidence that the protections aren’t necessary for effective fire protection in the area. SB 1260 requires a city or county to send their ordinance to CALFIRE within 30 days of enacting it.
Current law requires a city council or county boards of supervisors to make three findings, supported by substantial evidence, before approving a tentative map or final map in the SRA or in an area designated very high fire hazard severity zone, including that:
- The design and location of each lot in the subdivision, and the subdivision as a whole, are consistent with the Board’s applicable regulations;
- A local agency or CALFIRE, under contract, will provide structural fire protection and suppression services to the subdivision; and
- Ingress and egress for the subdivision meets regulations regarding road standards for fire equipment access adopted by the Board.
SB 1260 clarifies these findings to specify that the subdivision must be consistent with the Board’s regulations, including the Board’s road standards and deletes the duplicative third finding regarding ingress and egress. SB 1260 also requires a city or county to send these findings to the Board upon approval of a subdivision map.
SB 1260 also requires cities and counties to transmit their draft safety elements to the Board 180 days prior to adoption, instead of 90 days before as in current law.
Prescribed burns. SB 1260 includes a series of findings regarding the ecological importance of restoring appropriate prescribed fire to the California landscape, the public health consequences of emissions from wildfires, and the importance of restoring prescribed fire as a component of the state’s overall climate goals for its forests.
Current law imposes liability for fires that escape a landowner’s property in instances in which due diligence is not exercised. SB 1260 amends the liability provision for prescribed fires that escape to provide that a prima facie case of due diligence is established when a prescribed burn is in compliance with all provisions of law and the terms and conditions imposed by an agreement with CALFIRE.
Current law authorizes CALFIRE to purchase 3rd party liability insurance for prescribed burns and provides that if CALFIRE does not purchase 3rd party liability insurance that the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with CALFIRE. SB 1260 authorizes the department to determine proportionate share of liability in instances in which the department does not purchase 3rd party liability insurance.
CALFIRE is currently developing a programmatic environmental impact report for its Vegetation Management Program, which is intended to manage and direct the department’s statewide activities regarding vegetation management and to ensure compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). SB 1260 allows CALFIRE to use this report, upon its certification, as the basis for CEQA compliance for prescribed burns in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
Current law requires contracts pertaining to prescribed burns that are entered into with CALFIRE to contain specific terms, provides that there are circumstances in which a lien will be placed upon the landowner’s property, and related provisions. SB 1260 repeals these provisions and other obsolete requirements.
SB 1260 also directs CALFIRE to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including site preparation, preburn planning, and other activities. The bill provides the department shall schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burn activities, including the use of state and local conservation corps and minimum custody inmates. The bill authorizes CALFIRE to consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burn activities, and provides that the department’s prescribed burn activities shall not diminish the department’s fire suppression activities.
SB 1260 requires the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for burn bosses. The bill authorizes those with valid fire boss certificates from qualified 3rd party organizations to be appointed burn bosses in California until 1/1/39.
New programs. SB 1260 requires CALFIRE and the State Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, and to address the unmet needs of local air pollution control districts.
SB 1260 also directs CALFIRE to actively engage the University of California Extension Service, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and others to enhance public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These activities could include community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardening of houses, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon sequestration benefits in the wildland urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. The bill directs CALFIRE, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish a grant program for these purposes. This grant program may include a requirement for cost-sharing.
SB 1260 states legislative intent to:
- Develop a mechanism to help homeowners remove hazardous trees in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones; and
- Create a program to help homeowners self-finance retrofits to their homes to improve resistance to wildfire.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill. The 2017 fire season represents the new normal in California: ever more destructive fires that are harder to put out once they start. SB 1260 reorients California’s forest management policies toward long-term forest health and fire resiliency by increasing the use of prescribed fire as a key preventative measure, thereby reducing the severity of fires, with the added benefits of healthier air quality and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. SB 1260 also enhances CALFIRE’s role in identifying wildfire hazards in the planning process undertaken by local governments, improving local land use decisions, and providing the state with additional information on local activities. The safety element is a core local planning document; with the accelerated review and comment period, local governments will have more time to review and adopt the Board’s recommendations.
2. Burn rate. Revising a general plan is a lengthy and expensive endeavor, often taking months or years for a comprehensive update and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. SB 1260 moves up the point in time when a local agency must send a draft of its safety element to the Board and local fire agencies to 180 days before adopting the final version, with the goal of ensuring that local agencies receive recommendations from the Board with enough time to adequately consider them. However, these three extra months may further lengthen the process and make it more costly for local governments. A fairer approach that spreads the burden might be to shorten the Board’s review period while also moving up the submission deadline for a draft element to a lesser degree than is proposed in the current bill. The Committee may wish to consider amending SB 1260 to provide for a 30 day review by the Board and submission by the local agency 120 days prior to adopting a final safety element.
3. What the future holds. SB 1260 contains intent language to develop a financing mechanism to help homeowners in very high fire hazard severity zones pay for improvements that improve the resistance of their homes to fire. Although a specific approach to financing is not selected, the bill refers to a subordinate debt mechanism. This may be analogous to the Property Assessed Clean Energy program that allows financing of energy efficiency upgrades. The author also indicates the intent to consider additional changes to the provisions affecting review of local government subdivision approvals.
4. Mandate. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local governments for the costs of new or expanded state mandated local programs. Because SB 1260 requires cities and counties to submit new information to the Board, Legislative Counsel says that it imposes a new state mandate. The measure states that if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill imposes a reimbursable mandate, reimbursement must be made pursuant to existing statutory provisions.
5. Incoming! On April 16th, the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee approved SB 1260 by a vote of 7 to 0, and on April 18th, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee approved it by a vote of 7 to 0. The Committee on Governance and Finance is hearing the measure as the committee of third reference.
Support and Opposition
(4/19/18)
Support: Big Sur Land Trust; California Association of Resource Conservation Districts; County of Ventura; Fire Safe Council of San Diego County; Little Hoover Commission; Nature Conservancy; Pacific Forest Trust; Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council; San Diego Gas and Electric; Save the Redwoods League; Sierra Forest Legacy; Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District; Sonoma County Water Agency; Southern California Association of Governments; Wildlands Conservancy
Opposition: Unknown.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular
Bill No: SB 1260
Author: | Jackson | ||
Version: | 4/9/2018 | Hearing Date: | 4/18/2018 |
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | David Ernest García | ||
SUBJECT: Fire prevention and protection: prescribed burns
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
- Sets, through the Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) and its implementing regulations, National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants, designates air basins that do not achieve NAAQS as nonattainment, allows only California to set vehicular emissions standards stricter than the federal government, and allows other states to adopt either the federal or California vehicular emissions standards. (42 U.S.C. §7401 et seq.)
Existing state law:
- Establishes the Air Resources Board (ARB) as the air pollution control agency in California and requires the ARB, among other things, to control emissions from a wide array of mobile sources and implement the FCAA. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §39500 et seq.)
- Establishes local air districts to, among other things, control emissions from stationary sources. (HSC §40000 et seq.)
- Establishes in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL-FIRE) to, among other things, provide fire protection and prevention, control pests, and manage and protect forest and range health. (Public Resources Code (PRC) §700 et seq.)
- Authorizes CAL-FIRE to enter into an agreement, including a grant agreement, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction, as specified. (PRC §4461 et seq.)
This bill is largely within the jurisdiction of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and relates to fire prevention and forestry management intended to promote long-term forest health and wildfire resiliency through the use and regulation of prescribed burns.
Within the jurisdiction of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, this bill:
- Requires CAL-FIRE and ARB to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, and to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, and requires ARB to ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, local air pollution control and air quality management districts are engaged and invited to participate in the development of the program.
Background
- Forest health and fire. The 2017 fire season was devastating, with over 1.3 million acres burned in high-severity wildfires and over 10,000 structures destroyed. Fire has always been present in California landscapes either occurring by lightning strikes or used by Native American tribes to preserve certain useful plants and prevent larger fires. Low-intensity fires have clear ecological benefits such as creating habitat and assisting in the regeneration of certain species of plants and trees. Low-intensity fire also reduces surface fuel (e.g., dried out brush), which decreases future wildfire intensity. However, after a century of fire exclusion, logging of older growth and more fire-resistant trees, and a significant five-year drought, the size and severity of California’s fires has increased dramatically. Climate change has also contributed to wildfire risk by reducing humidity and precipitation and increasing temperatures.
As such, California’s forests have become overstocked and unhealthy. In the Stanislaus National Forest, a team of UC Berkeley researchers found a density of 400 trees per acre in 2013, compared with 60-90 trees per acre found in historical reports from 1911. Additionally, the researchers found more undergrowth species, and a smaller average tree size than in 1911. From 2014 to 2017, over 129 million trees have died due to a combination of drought and bark beetles. New research by UC Berkeley states “these dead trees have created unprecedented levels of fuel, which could create dangerous wildfires in the near future that are beyond the predictive capacity of current fire models.”
In 2016-17, California experienced a record level of precipitation, which caused an unprecedented growth in grasses and shrubs throughout California. During the summer of 2017 extended heat waves dried out the newly grown vegetation. In the fall and winter of 2017 high winds and low humidity created the conditions that led to major fires in Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Riverside, San Diego, Solano, Sonoma, Ventura, and Yuba counties. This included the Thomas fire, which was the largest wildfire in California history. Between October and December wildfires caused the tragic loss of 44 lives, which is more than the last 10 years combined.
Many places in California experienced the worst air quality on record, including for deadly particulate matter (PM) 2.5. These massive fires also created significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 2017 wildfires produced more GHG emissions than every car, truck, and big rig on the state’s roads in one year. That being said, natural disasters that emit GHGs (such as wildfires) occurred before climate change, will continue to occur as the climate continues to change, and will persist even if mankind ultimately solves the problem of climate change.
While science can now conclusively attribute individual extreme events to climate change, it is important to distinguish that extreme events like the recent wildfires in California are a symptom of climate change, not the cause.
The overwhelming consensus of climate scientists is that climate change is anthropogenic, meaning human activity has caused the rising GHG concentrations in the atmosphere and, therefore, increasing average global temperatures and the extreme events climate change causes.
There are many efforts by the Administration and the Legislature to address the forest health and the wildfire crisis. Governor Brown said in his State of the State Address that he “will convene a task force composed of scientists and knowledgeable forest practitioners to review thoroughly the way our forests are managed and suggest ways to reduce the threat of devastating fires. They will also consider how California can increase resiliency and carbon storage capacity. Trees in California should absorb carbon dioxide, not generate huge amounts of black carbon and GHGs as they do today when forest fires rage across the land.”
Reports on forest health have also been released by the Public Policy Institute and the Little Hoover Commission. Both advocate for more active management of California’s forests, including increased use of prescribed fire. Last year, CAL-FIRE received $200 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF, where the revenues generated from the state’s cap-and-trade program are deposited) for forest health and fire prevention, a significant increase from the prior year. CAL-FIRE is in the process of reviewing proposals for landscape level forest health projects and developing guidelines for a local assistance fire prevention program. Even with these additional resources and attention, high-severity wildfires are an increasing threat in California. - Prescribed fire. Prescribed and managed burns is a type of vegetation management where low-intensity fires are either intentionally lit or allowed to burn in specified weather conditions and in a way that is consistent with a preapproved plan (known as a burn plan) to treat a specified area. The prescribed or managed fire eliminates hazardous surface fuels and achieves other important ecological outcomes. Prescribed and managed burning of forests increase short-term air pollution in order to mitigate the risk of larger fires with significantly higher air pollution emissions in the future. For example, recent research has shown that had the land associated with the Rim Fire, a 250,000+ acre fire in the Sierra Nevada in 2013, been intentionally managed for resource objectives, the impact could have been 5 times less.
For Fiscal Year 2016-17, CAL-FIRE’s goal was to complete 20,000 acres of prescribed burns, but was only able to reach 70% of that goal. CAL-FIRE plans to meet the goal this year and ramp up to 60,000 acres per year by 2030. However, 60,000 acres is far short of what is truly needed to improve forest health.
Private land burns done with partnerships between CAL-FIRE and other groups are needed to dramatically increase the pace and scale of treated acres. Many barriers exist to doing more private and cooperative burns. They include a lack of experienced practitioners, ability to get permits, enough burn windows, and liability concerns. - Air quality regulatory jurisdiction. State law assigns the ARB with primary responsibility for control of mobile-source air pollution, including adoption of rules for reducing vehicle emissions and the specification of vehicular fuel composition. Stationary sources of air pollution, such as factories and refineries, are under the jurisdiction of local air districts (e.g., South Coast Air Quality Management District, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District). ARB and the local air districts share jurisdiction over emissions of toxics from stationary sources.
- Air quality standards. The Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) passed in 1963 and has been revised many times thereafter. The FCAA and its implementing regulations are intended to protect public health and environmental quality by limiting and reducing pollution from various sources. Under the FCAA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) establishes National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that apply to outdoor air throughout the country.
In 1969 and 1971, ARB set the first air quality standards for ozone, Particulate Matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx), and carbon monoxide due to their negative impacts on public health above specified concentrations.
The federal government followed suit and set NAAQS for six “criteria pollutants.” These included ground-level ozone, PM, NOx, SOx, and carbon monoxide, and added lead. Now, the US EPA reviews each NAAQS at five-year intervals to ensure that the standards are based on the most recent scientific information.
Regions that do not meet the national standards for any one of the standards are designated “nonattainment areas.” The FCAA sets deadlines for attainment based on the severity of nonattainment and requires states to develop comprehensive plans, known as the state implementation plan (SIP), to attain and maintain air-quality standards for each area designated nonattainment for an NAAQS.
Notably, emissions from wildfires and other natural disasters do not count against air basins with regard to their attainment status. Emissions from prescribed and agricultural burns, however, do count against air basins with regard to their attainment status. - Health impacts of air pollution. When not adequately controlled, air pollution has dire consequences on the health and safety of both people and the environment. Poor air quality causes the lungs to constrict, resulting in wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness, especially during exercise or physical activity.
It is well known that air pollution causes asthma. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nationwide 7.4% of adults and 8.6% of children have been diagnosed with asthma. In California, the numbers are significantly higher: 13.1% of adults and 12.5% of children have been diagnosed with asthma. Lower income and minority groups are disproportionately affected by asthma due to their increased exposure to air pollution.
Depending on exposure, air pollution alone can cause an increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory illness, lung disease, cancerous tumors, birth defects, premature births, developmental disorders, central nervous system damage, intellectual disability, persistent memory impairments, epilepsy, dementia, and premature death.
The Lancet, a U.K.-based medical journal, recently published that 9 million people died in 2015 from all sources of pollution, which cost $4.6 trillion in economic damage. Air pollution accounted for approximately 6.5 million of the 9 million deaths.
A June 2017 study published by Harvard researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine found that there is no safe level of long-term exposure to PM 2.5 (PM that is less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) and ozone below which there is no risk of premature death. The study followed over 60 million Americans over 65 years old for seven years. Two key findings in the study are that reducing PM 2.5 concentrations by 1 microgram per cubic meter nationwide would save about 12,000 lives each year and that reducing ozone concentrations by 1 part per billion nationwide would save about 1,900 lives each year.
Comments
- Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “in 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 44 people. Five of California’s most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history.
“Unfortunately, 2017 does not appear to be an abnormality. To the contrary, most of California’s largest wildfires have occurred within the past 30 years. Changing climate patterns have made our state more vulnerable to wildfire, with massive tree die-offs due to years of drought and widespread insect infestations, year-round fire weather conditions, and critical levels of fuels accumulation, all combining to create severe fire risks throughout the state. Indeed, the National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Outlook for 2018 is forecasting above normal large fire potential in California due to the persistence of dry fuels, frequent offshore winds, and generally unfavorable weather.
“As the Little Hoover Commission concluded in its February 2018 report entitled “Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada,” California’s forests are reaching a breaking point. Poor management policies that interrupted natural forest lifecycles combined with climate change, have left our forests vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
“This bill reorients California’s forest management policies toward long-term forest health and fire resiliency.” - ARB and CAL-FIRE letter. In a letter regarding prescribed fire and air quality, in response to Assemblymember Muratsuchi and Senator Hertzberg, ARB wrote:
Thank you for your letter dated July 20, 2017, requesting that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) work with relevant stakeholders to develop an air quality monitoring program utilizing state of the art equipment and practices to improve the assessment of health impacts from wildfire and prescribed fire.
CARB and CAL FIRE held an initial meeting with stakeholders on August 10, 2017, to discuss increased air quality monitoring of wildfires and prescribed fire projects. As you may know, staff from your respective committees attended the meeting. This meeting focused on the type and number of air quality monitors currently operated by CARB, the staff needed to deploy the monitors, an estimate of the number of monitors required if prescribed fires are increased, other types of monitors available for purchase, and the necessary next steps for monitoring.
CARB and CAL FIRE are committed to continuing work with local air districts, other land management agencies, and stakeholders to improve the monitoring and assessment of health impacts from wildfire and prescribed fire, as well as to develop strategies to improve decision-making. Current efforts include participating in the Joint Air and Land Managers meetings, the Interagency Air and Smoke Council, the California and Nevada Smoke and Air Committee, and the Prescribed Fire Memorandum of Understanding.
CARB has recently taken steps to improve smoke monitoring capabilities. Enhanced monitoring and better model data have already led to a more efficient authorization process. CARB received a U.S. EPA grant to purchase six new Environmental Beta Attenuation Monitors, or “EBAMs” in 2017, which will be made available to local air district staff and other partner agencies to deploy during prescribed fires. While this equipment can assist in monitoring smoke impacts, specifically particulate matter associated with fires, additional new tools are needed to better asses the benefits of prescribed fires. These include better evaluation, modeling, and communication to improve the decision-making process for planning and executing prescribed burn projects.
CARB and CAL FIRE have identified the following initial actions toward better understanding the role and use of prescribed fires including:
- Pilot Projects: In the short term (Spring 2018), identify two to five approved prescribed burn projects that can be monitored. Large prescribed burns encompassing multiple agencies and equipment will be useful test trials and help us develop best management practices and improve inter-agency cooperation. CAL FIRE has several approved and permitted prescribed fire projects that will be considered for monitoring. Project areas will be selected with variation in landscape vegetation types, conditions, topography, meteorological conditions, land ownership, and human population levels.
- Technical Team: Establish a collaborative, multi-party technical team including, but not limited to, the U.S. Forest Service, CARB, local air districts, air quality researchers, the National Park Service, CAL FIRE, and non-governmental organizations to address the issues surrounding monitor deployment and building an enhanced air-fire strategy with established criteria for air monitor deployment.
- Public Outreach: In conjunction with various fire public education staff, establish a public outreach strategy to communicate air quality impacts of prescribed fire.
These initial actions may provide a foundation for establishing better tools that can inform how to minimize impacts on community health from prescribed fires.
Thank you for your interest in this matter. We look forward to working with you and your staff in the coming months and years to implement improved air monitoring, modeling, evaluation and communication of impacts to communities.
- Work in progress. Most of the content in SB 1260 is the jurisdiction of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and is well on its way to being fully developed. The provisions in SB 1260 under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Quality Committee relate to air quality and monitoring and are, however, less fully-formed.
Indeed, right now the bill contains 25 pages of forest health policy, prescribed burn policy, and other intent language, but air quality policy is limited to three sentences.
As noted in the background, air pollution, including the emissions from prescribed burns and wildfires, have serious to deadly impacts on public health. A June 2017 study published by Harvard researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine found that there is no safe level of long-term exposure to PM 2.5 (PM that is less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter), which is generated in large amounts by wildfires and prescribed burns. The study followed over 60 million Americans over 65 years old for seven years. The key finding relevant to this bill in the study is that reducing PM 2.5 concentrations by 1 microgram per cubic meter nationwide would save about 12,000 lives each year.
Should the committee approve this bill, the author will need to work with committee staff to ensure the right protections for air quality, public health, and the environment are incorporated, including maintaining appropriate regulatory jurisdictions of CAL-FIRE, ARB, and local air districts.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1956 (Limón, 2018) establishes a fire prevention working group and a local assistance grant program to improve fire prevention in California and ensure that fire prevention activities happen year round. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2091 (Grayson, 2018) renames the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) as the Board of Forestry and Fire Prevention and Protection (Board) and requires the Board to establish standards for prescribed burning and certify prescribed burn managers. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2518 (Aguiar-Curry, 2018) requires CAL-FIRE, in collaboration with the Board to explore markets, including export markets, for milling, development, and expansion of innovative forest products and mass timber, as defined, that are consistent with the state’s climate objectives on forest lands. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
AB 2551 (Wood, 2018) requires CAL-FIRE to establish, implement, and administer the Forest and Wildland Health Improvement and Fire Prevention Program (Program). The bill requires CAL-FIRE to implement the Program to promote forest and wildland health, restoration, and resilience and improve fire prevention and preparedness throughout the state. The bill would also require that not less than 18% of all moneys in the GGRF be made available annually, upon appropriation in the annual budget act, to CAL-FIRE for projects implementing the Program. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
AB 2645 (Patterson, 2018) continuously appropriates $74.8 million from the GGRF annually to CAL-FIRE for purposes of fire prevention activities that reduce GHG emissions. This bill also, beginning in the 2019–20 Fiscal Year, continuously appropriates $450 million from the GGRF annually to CAL-FIRE for state and local healthy forest and fire prevention programs and projects that improve forest health and reduce GHG emissions. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
AB 2911 (Friedman) requires the State Fire Marshal to recommend updating building standards for site and structure fire risk reduction. This bill extends and clarifies the Board’s review process of local government’s safety elements to strengthen state and local collaboration on fire risk reduction. This bill authorizes CAL-FIRE to permit any property owner to construct a fire break if deemed necessary to protect life, property, and natural resources. This bill extends the distances and types of vegetation management required for power lines in the State Responsibility Area. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
TRIPLE REFERRAL:
This measure is set to be heard in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on April 16, 2018. If this measure is approved by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, the do pass motion must include the action to re-refer the bill to the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
SOURCE:
Author
SUPPORT:
American Planning Association
Big Sur Land Trust
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
California Forestry Association
Fire Safe Council of San Diego County
Little Hoover Commission
Pacific Forest Trust
Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council
Resource Conservation Districts
Save the Redwoods League
Sierra Forest Legacy
Sonoma County Water Agency
Southern California Association of Governments
The Nature Conservancy
The Wildlands Conservancy
OPPOSITION:
None on file
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
Senator Robert Hertzberg, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular
Bill No: SB 1260 Hearing Date: April 16, 2018
Author: | |||
Version: | April 9, 2018 Amended | ||
Urgency: | Fiscal: | ||
Consultant: | |||
Subject: Fire prevention and protection: prescribed burns
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
- Requires local agencies to designate very high hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction.
- Requires local agencies to transmit the safety element of a general plan to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) within 90 days of adoption.
- Requires local agencies, prior to approval of a tentative map or a parcel map in very high hazard severity zones or state responsibility areas, to make specified findings regarding the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole. The findings must show consistency with any regulations adopted by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) relating to buildings or structures in hazardous fire areas.
- Imposes liability for fires that escape a landowner’s property in instances in which due diligence is not exercised.
- Authorizes the use of fire to abate fires in certain circumstances.
- Authorizes CDF to engage in prescribed fire planning and burning but excludes lands under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
- Recognizes the adoption by CDF of a vegetation management draft environmental impact statement that is intended to manage and direct the department’s statewide activities regarding vegetation management.
- Requires contracts pertaining to prescribed burns that are entered into with CDF to contain specific terms, provides that there are circumstances in which a lien will be placed upon the landowner’s property, and related provisions.
- Authorizes CDF to purchase 3rd party liability insurance for prescribed burns and provides that if the CDF does not purchase 3rd party liability insurance that the department shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the person or public agency contracting with CDF.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill:
- Includes a series of findings regarding the ecological importance of restoring appropriate prescribed fire to the California landscape, the public health consequences of emissions from wildfires and the importance of restoring prescribed fire as a component of the state’s overall climate goals for its forests.
- States legislative intent to develop a mechanism to help homeowners remove hazardous trees in areas affected by tree mortality and in high fire hazard severity zones.
- States legislative intent to create a program to help homeowners self-finance retrofits to their homes to improve resistance to wildfire.
- Requires local agencies to inform CDF of the adoption of an ordinance that designates very high hazard severity zones within 30 days of adoption.
- Deletes the requirement that local government ordinances must make a finding that each lot in a subdivision complies with regulations of the Board which is redundant with regulations of the Board. It retains the provision that each subdivision must be in compliance, and clarifies that subdivisions must also comply with the defensible space provisions in section 4291 of the Public Resources Code.
- Amends the liability provision for prescribed fires that escape to provide that a prima facie case of due diligence is established when a prescribed burn is in compliance with all provisions of law and the terms and conditions imposed by an agreement with CDF.
- Allows CEQA compliance for prescribed burns to tier from the CDF Vegetation Management Program Environmental Report upon its certification in the Sierra-Cascade, central coast, and north coast regions of the state.
- Deletes obsolete provisions pertaining to prescribed fires.
- Authorizes the department to determine proportionate share of liability in instances in which the department does not purchase 3rd party liability insurance.
- Authorizes those with valid fire boss certificates from qualified third party organizations to be appointed burn bosses in California until 1/1/39.
- Directs CDF to cooperate with private and public landowners in prescribed fire activities including site preparation, preburn planning, and other activities. The bill provides the department shall schedule its personnel, including seasonal staff, to provide all appropriate services to assist in prescribed burn activities, including the use of state and local conservation corps and minimum custody inmates. The bill authorizes CDF to consider establishing one or more separate units to assist with annual prescribed burn activities, and provides that the department’s prescribed burn activities shall not diminish the department’s fire suppression activities.
- Requires CDF and the State Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop and fund a program, upon appropriation, to enhance air quality and smoke monitoring, to provide a public awareness campaign regarding prescribed burns, and to address the unmet needs of local air pollution control districts.
- Requires the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum, or amend an existing curriculum, for a certification program for burn bosses.
- Directs CDF to actively engage the University of California Extension Service, fire safe councils, resource conservation districts, and others to enhance public education efforts regarding fire prevention and public safety. These activities could include community wildfire protection plans, community fire safe councils, community and private chipping days, defensible space, prescribed fires, hardening of houses, compliance with building standards, evacuation routes, activities that promote fire resiliency or achieve carbon sequestration benefits in the wildland urban interface and other forest lands, and activities that promote public safety. The bill directs the department to establish a grant program for these purposes, upon appropriation by the Legislature, and which may include a cost-share provision.
- Makes other technical changes.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, this bill contains several provisions designed to improve California’s capabilities regarding prescribed fire, assistance to landowners and homeowners, improved public outreach and education regarding fire prevention, and improved coordination between CDF, CARB, and local air districts regarding smoke monitoring and public education during prescribed fires.
The author observed that in 2017, California experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire season in its history. Nearly 9,000 wildfires ignited across the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land, destroying more than 10,800 structures, and killing at least 44 people. Five of California’s most destructive wildfires on record occurred in 2017, including the Thomas Fire, which is now the largest recorded fire in California history.
Unfortunately, the author continued, 2017 does not appear to be an abnormality. To the contrary, most of California’s largest wildfires have occurred within the past 30 years. Changing climate patterns have made our state more vulnerable to wildfire, with massive tree die-offs due to years of drought and widespread insect infestations, year-round fire weather conditions, and critical levels of fuels accumulation, all combining to create severe fire risks throughout the state. Indeed, the National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Outlook for 2018 is forecasting above normal large fire potential in California due to the persistence of dry fuels, frequent offshore winds, and generally unfavorable weather.
As the Little Hoover Commission concluded in its February 2018 report entitled “Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada,” California’s forests are reaching a breaking point. Poor management policies that interrupted natural forest lifecycles, combined with climate change, have left our forests vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
This bill reorients California’s forest management policies toward long-term forest health and fire resiliency by helping promote long-term forest health, increasing support to local entities with experience in forest management, prescribed fire, and public safety, and enhances CDF’s role in identifying wildfire hazards in the planning process undertaken by local governments.
The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) believes that prescribed fire is an important tool to help mitigate and prevent the impacts of wildfire. Its member counties contain much of the California’s forested lands including more than 70% of the state’s national forest lands. It and the American Planning Association, California Chapter, have asked the author to consider changing the provision that gives CalFire 180 days (currently 90 days) to review the safety element of the general plan of local governments.
The California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (RCD) supports the bill and especially the provision that could enhance the work of RCDs around the state that help local landowners with fire prevention activities and education. There are many examples of local RCDs providing services to landowners and rural communities that should be expanded to help reduce the impacts and costs of wildfires. In one example, forest projects in Mariposa County halted the approach of a wildfire before it reached the town of Coulterville.
The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) describes the bill as addressing “a suite of fire preparedness actions.” PFT notes that a century of fire suppression combined with the removal of larger older trees, ill-conceived development patterns, and climate change have degraded and increased stresses on our forests. Prescribed fire that restores natural fire regimes, combined with actions to protect and restore forestland and shift management practices to promote diverse forests with older trees, can restore forest to more resilient conditions. PFT has suggested that the author consider an amendment that statutory fire protection standards be extended to areas considered “high” or “moderate” in addition to high hazard fire severity zones.
Sierra Forest Legacy, a coalition of 80 organizations focused on ecologically-based forest management, has followed the scientific research concerning fire’s role in California forests for more than 2 decades. After a century of fire suppression and an even longer period of excluding the natural role of fire, we are seeing regular fire events that are far outside the natural bounds of the natural evolutionary fire history of California.
The Nature Conservancy observes that the devastating wildlfires from 2017 should remind us all of the critical importance of fire prevention and protection including prescribed burns that reduce environmental impacts of wildfire, minimize susceptibility to wildfires, and reduce fuel loads on forest lands.
The Wildlands Conservancy, the state’s largest nonprofit landowner, works with youth at its preserve in southern Kern County to do fire training for young CDF firefighters and its staff. It is broadly supportive of the provisions in the bill especially in light of the National Interagency Fire Center Predictive Outlook for 2018 that forecasts above normal large fire potential in California.
The Big Sur Land Trust, which experienced the 2016 Soberanes fire that burned 132,000 acres, believes that SB 1260 will help re-orient California’s forest management policies toward long-term forest health and fire resiliency. Similar points in support were made by Save the Redwoods League.
The Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council and the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County support the increased actions to engage in collaborative forestry projects that reduce the risk of wildfire in their respective regions.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None received.
COMMENTS
- The provisions in this bill dealing with grants to homeowners to help remove hazard trees and the funding to CARB and CDF for increased smoke monitoring equipment and public education are somewhat dependent on the 2018-19 budget providing funding for these items which is why they remain intent sections for now.
- This hearing is the first stop for this bill which will also be heard in Senate Environmental Quality and Senate Governance and Finance.
SUPPORT
American Planning Association, California Chapter (if amended)
Big Sur Land Trust
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
California Licensed Foresters Association (if amended)
California State Association of Counties (if amended)
Fire Safe Council of San Diego
Little Hoover Commission
Nature Conservancy
Pacific Forest Trust
Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council
Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments
Rural County Representatives of California (if amended)
San Diego Gas and Electric
Save the Redwoods League
Sierra Forest Legacy
Sonoma County Water Agency
The Wildlands Conservancy
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION
None Received
-- END --
Discussed in Hearing
3MIN
Senate Floor
2MIN
Assembly Floor
1H
Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations
2MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations
15MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Local Government
8MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Natural Resources
3MIN
Senate Floor
11MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):