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Bills

SB 436: Wildfire safety: The California Wildfire Mitigation Strategic Planning Act.

  • Session Year: 2023-2024
  • House: Senate
  • Latest Version Date: 2023-03-21

Current Status:

Failed

(2024-02-01: Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.)

Introduced

In Committee

First Chamber

In Committee

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:
Existing law, the California Energy Infrastructure Safety Act, establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, which provides that the offices primary objective is to ensure that regulated entities, as defined, are reducing wildfire risk and complying with energy infrastructure safety measures as required by law. The act authorizes the office to do many things related to energy infrastructure safety, including determining that a regulated entity is not in compliance with any matter under the authority of the office. If necessary, the act authorizes the office to undertake an investigation into whether the regulated entity is noncompliant with its duties and responsibilities or has otherwise committed violations of any laws, regulations, or guidelines within the authority of the office. The act authorizes the office to issue a notice of defect or violation to direct the regulated entity to correct any defect or noncompliance with the approved wildfire mitigation plan or failure to comply with any laws, regulations, or guidelines within the authority of the office. This bill would require the office, on or before April 1, 2025, and every 3 years thereafter, to prepare a Wildfire Risk Baseline and Forecast for the state, as provided. The bill would require the forecast to accomplish certain things, including establishing key risk metrics for wildfire risk for the state as a whole, by county, and by geographic location.

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the Governors office under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services and makes the office responsible for the states emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or man-made disasters and emergencies.

The

This bill would require the office, on or before January 1, 2025, and every 3 years thereafter, to prepare a Wildfire Risk Mitigation Planning Framework sufficient to quantitatively evaluate wildfire risk mitigation actions, as provided. The bill would require the framework to allow for geospatial evaluation and comparison of wildfire risk mitigation actions, as defined, sufficient to direct coordinated mitigation efforts and long-term collaborative mitigation planning. The bill would require the office to, each year the framework is completed, submit a copy of the framework to the Legislature, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, and the Public Utilities Commission for review and consideration.

The bill would require the office, on or before April 1, 2025, and every 3 years thereafter, to prepare a Wildfire Risk Baseline and Forecast for the state delineated on a statewide level and by county, as provided. The bill would require the forecast to include geographic specificity as determined by the director to be sufficient to evaluate targeted wildfire risk mitigation actions, and to accomplish specific things, including establishing key risk metrics for wildfire risk for the state as a whole, by county, and by geographic location. The bill would require the office to, each year the forecast is completed, submit a copy of the forecast to the Legislature, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, and the Public Utilities Commission for review and consideration.

The bill would require the office, on or before August 1, 2025, to prepare a Wildfire Mitigation Scenarios Report, to be updated annually. The bill would require the report to contain specified information, including identification of a reasonable range of possible scenarios for overall wildfire risk mitigation spending, as provided.

Existing law requires each electrical corporation to annually prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan to the office.The bill would require the office to apply the report and the framework, described above, when evaluating a wildfire mitigation plan of an electrical corporation in order to ensure maximum feasible consistency and coordination between the wildfire mitigation plan and activities undertaken by other parties that reduce wildfire risk and consequence. The bill would authorize the office, among other things, to direct an electrical utility to take wildfire risk mitigation actions in accordance with the framework.

The bill would authorize the director to contract with a private consultant or a public university with special expertise in quantitative assessment of wildfire risk and risk mitigation to conduct quantitative assessment of wildfire and community risk modeling and for preparation of reports to accomplish the purposes of this act.

News Coverage:

SB 436: Wildfire safety: The California Wildfire Mitigation Strategic Planning Act. | Digital Democracy