AB 1964: State Fire Marshal: county recorder: home hardening.

Existing law establishes various county offices, including the office of the recorder. Existing law requires the recorder to, among other things, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, as provided. Existing law requires the recorder to maintain various indices of specified documents and records.

This bill would require a county recorder to maintain construction records related to home hardening. By imposing additional duties on county recorders, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, as specified. Existing law also requires the State Fire Marshal to classify lands within state responsibility areas into fire hazard severity zones, and, by regulation, to designate fire hazard severity zones and assign to each zone a rating reflecting the degree of severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in the zone. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to periodically review very high fire hazard severity zones that are not state responsibility areas, and designated and rated zones that are state responsibility areas, as provided.

This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to, on or before January 1, 2030, compile a report concerning homes in moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in state and local responsibility areas. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to make the completed report available on its internet website and to, on or before July 1, 2030, submit copies to the Legislature, as provided. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, the number of homes that meet home hardening criteria and the number of homes that require more home hardening in each responsibility area and county.

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.