SB 310: Prescribed fire: civil liability: cultural burns.

Existing law provides that no person shall be liable for any fire suppression or other costs otherwise recoverable for a prescribed burn if specified conditions are met, including, among others, that a burn boss, as certified through a certification program developed by the State Fire Marshal, has reviewed and approved a written prescription for the burn, the burn complies with that written prescription, and either the landowner has provided written permission or the governing body of a Native American tribe has given approval, as provided. Existing law exempts cultural burns, as defined, conducted by a cultural fire practitioner, as defined, from those requirements that a person certified as a burn boss review and approve a written prescription and that the burn be conducted in compliance with the written prescription.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions by, among other things, expanding the definition of burn boss to also include a person qualified for specified positions through the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, as provided, and limiting the tribal approval condition to the approval of the governing body of a California Native American tribe. The bill would also revise and recast the definitions of cultural burn and cultural fire practitioner by, among other things, specifying that the definitions only apply to California Native American tribes.

Existing law imposes various permitting requirements and prohibitions related to prescribed burns, as provided.

This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with its departments, commissions, boards, conservancies, and other entities, to enter into written agreements with federally recognized California Native American tribes in support of tribal sovereignty with respect to cultural burning in their ancestral territories. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, the secretary may agree in a written agreement regarding cultural burning that compliance with specified state permitting or regulatory requirements is not required. The bill would authorize local air districts to enter into written agreements with federally recognized California Native American tribes in support of tribal sovereignty with respect to cultural burning in their ancestral territories, as specified. The bill would provide that it does not grant immunity from fire suppression or other specified recoverable costs to any person whose conduct constitutes gross negligence. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.