BILL NUMBER: AB 135 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 29, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 1, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jeffries
JANUARY 20, 2009
An act to amend Sections 4799.04 4464,
4475, 4475.5, 4799.04, and 4799.12 of the Public Resources
Code, relating to public resources , and declaring the urgency
thereof, to take effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 135, as amended, Jeffries. Public resources: forest
resource improvement protection : urban
forestry: cost sharing.
(1) Existing law, the Wildland Fire Protection Management Act of
1978, authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to
enter into contracts, with the approval of the Director of General
Services, for prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction
with the owner or any person who has legal control of any property or
any public agency with regulatory or natural resource management
authority over certain lands. The act authorizes the state to assume
a proportionate share of the costs of site preparation and prescribed
burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.
This bill would change the term "contract" to "agreement" and
would delete the requirement of approval by the Director of General
Services. The bill would also authorize the director to 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. The director would be
authorized to waive the cost sharing requirements of the act where
the funding source prohibits cost sharing requirements.
(1)
(2) Existing law authorizes the Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection to enter into agreements and make loans to
encourage private and public investment in, and improved management
of, forest lands and resources within the state to ensure adequate
future high-quality timber supplies, related employment and other
economic benefits, and the protection, maintenance, and enhancement
of a productive and stable forest resource system for the benefit of
present and future generations. The Director of Forestry and Fire
Protection is authorized to enter into agreements for forest resource
improvement work with eligible landowners that require cost sharing
on the part of the landowner and is required to deposit
into the Forest Resource Improvement Fund funds from any source for
forest resource improvement purposes.
This bill would allow the department to waive the cost sharing
requirement when the funding source for the authorized forest
resource improvement work prohibits cost sharing requirements. The
bill would exempt funds received pursuant to the federal
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 from a requirement
that those funds be deposited by the Director of Forestry and Fire
Protection in delete the requirement that funds be
deposited into the Forest Resources Improvement Fund.
(2)
(3) Existing law, the California Urban Forestry Act of
1978, authorizes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to
implement a program in urban forestry to, among other things,
encourage better management and planting of trees in urban areas and
assist cities in innovative solutions to problems, including
greenhouse gas emissions, urban heat island effect, stormwater
management, lack of green space, and vandalism. The director, with
advice from other appropriate state agencies and interested parties,
is authorized to make grants to provide assistance of 25 to 90% of
costs for projects meeting guidelines established by the State Board
of Forestry and Fire Protection, upon recommendation by the director.
This bill would allow the director to waive the cost sharing
requirement when the funding source for a grant prohibits cost
sharing requirements.
(4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 4464 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
4464. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the
following definitions govern the construction of this chapter:
(a) "Wild land" means any land that is classified as a state
responsibility area pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
4125) of Chapter 1 and includes any land having a flammable plant
cover. "Wild land" also means any land not classified as a state
responsibility area where the geographic location of these lands and
accumulation of wild land fuel is such that a wild land fire
occurring on these lands would pose a threat to a state
responsibility area.
(b) "Wild land fuel" means any timber, brush, grass, or other
flammable vegetation, living or dead, standing or down.
(c) "Wild land fire" means any uncontrolled fire burning on wild
land.
(d) "Prescribed burning" or "prescribed burning operation" means
the planned application and confinement of fire to wild land fuels on
lands selected in advance of that application to achieve any of the
following objectives:
(1) Prevention of high-intensity wild land fires through reduction
of the volume and continuity of wild land fuels.
(2) Watershed management.
(3) Range improvement.
(4) Vegetation management.
(5) Forest improvement.
(6) Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7) Air quality maintenance.
(e) "Prescribed burn crew" means personnel and firefighting
equipment of the department that are prepared to contain fire set in
a prescribed burning operation and to suppress any fire that escapes
during a prescribed burning operation.
(f) "Person" means any natural person, firm, association,
partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company,
company, or combination thereof, or any public agency other than an
agency of the federal government.
(g) "Hazardous fuel reduction" means the application of practices
to wild lands, the primary impact of which to the vegetation is
generally limited to the reduction of surface and ladder wild land
fuels. These practices include, but are not limited, to prescribed
fire, piling by machine or by hand in preparation for burning,
thinning, pruning, or grazing. Treatments that reduce crown densities
shall be prescribed only for the purpose of impacting fire behavior,
and where it can be reasonably concluded based on the proposed
treatment that the likelihood for the formation of crown fires is
reduced.
(a) "Hazardous fuel reduction" means the application of practices
to wild lands, the primary impact of which to the vegetation is
generally limited to the reduction of surface and ladder wild land
fuels. These practices include, but are not limited to, prescribed
fire, piling by machine or by hand in preparation for burning,
thinning, pruning, or grazing. Treatments that reduce crown densities
shall be prescribed only for the purpose of impacting fire behavior,
and where it can be reasonably concluded, based on the proposed
treatment, that the likelihood for the formation of crown fires is
reduced.
(b) "Nonprofit organization" means any California corporation
organized under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the federal
Internal Revenue Code.
(c) "Person" means any natural person, firm, association,
partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company,
company, nonprofit organization, or a combination of those, or any
public agency other than an agency of the federal government.
(d) "Prescribed burn crew" means personnel and firefighting
equipment of the department that are prepared to contain fire set in
a prescribed burning operation and to suppress any fire that escapes
during a prescribed burning operation.
(e) "Prescribed burning" or "prescribed burning operation" means
the planned application and confinement of fire to wild land fuels on
lands selected in advance of that application to achieve any of the
following objectives:
(1) Prevention of high-intensity wild land fires through reduction
of the volume and continuity of wild land fuels.
(2) Watershed management.
(3) Range improvement.
(4) Vegetation management.
(5) Forest improvement.
(6) Wildlife habitat improvement.
(7) Air quality maintenance.
(f) "Wild land" means any land that is classified as a state
responsibility area pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
4125) of Chapter 1 and includes any land having a flammable plant
cover. "Wild land" also means any land not classified as a state
responsibility area where the geographic location of these lands and
accumulation of wild land fuel is such that a wild land fire
occurring on these lands would pose a threat to a state
responsibility area.
(g) "Wild land fire" means any uncontrolled fire burning on wild
land.
(h) "Wild land fuel" means any timber, brush, grass, or other
flammable vegetation, living or dead, standing or down.
SEC. 2. Section 4475 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
4475. The director , with the approval of the Director
of General Services, may enter into a contract
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
(1) the owner or any other person who has legal control of any
property or (2) any public agency with regulatory or natural resource
management authority over any property that is included within any
wild land for any of the following purposes, or any combination
thereof of those purposes :
(a) Prevention of high-intensity wild land fires through reduction
of the volume and continuity of wild land fuels.
(b) Watershed management.
(c) Range improvement.
(d) Vegetation management.
(e) Forest improvement.
(f) Wildlife habitat improvement.
(g) Air quality maintenance.
No contract agreement may 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
contract agreement will be equal to or greater
than the foreseeable damage that could result from the prescribed
burning or other hazardous fuel reduction.
SEC. 3. 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.
The state's 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 state's 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 state's 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 when the funding
source prohibits cost sharing requirements.
SECTION 1. SEC. 4. Section 4799.04
of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
4799.04. To effectuate the purposes of this chapter, the
department is authorized to:
(a) Collect or contract for adequate supplies of high-quality seed
and take whatever steps are necessary to insure to the maximum
degree feasible that seeds or seedlings planted as part of forest
resource improvement projects undertaken pursuant to this chapter are
adapted to the planting site and measures are taken to assure
appropriate diversity of forest species.
(b) Contract for seedling production and, in cooperation with
other state, local, and federal agencies, encourage the production of
seedlings needed to accomplish reforestation in the state by small
business entities in or near areas where planting will be carried
out.
(c) Provide technical assistance to private seedling nurseries and
conduct a program for certification of the quality and adaptability
of seeds and tree seedlings supplied for forest resource improvement
projects undertaken pursuant to this chapter.
(d) Increase availability of genetically improved seed and
planting stock by expansion of seed orchards or other recognized tree
improvement techniques.
(e) In cooperation with other public and private entities or
persons:
(1) Conduct necessary research and take other appropriate measures
to protect the genetic integrity and diversity of forest tree
species, including, but not limited to, a seed depository.
(2) Conduct research and make grants or enter into contracts or
cooperative agreements with public and private entities or persons
concerning measures to increase the contribution of trees to improve
the natural environment and economy of the state and measures to
otherwise accomplish the purposes of this chapter.
(f) Purchase necessary equipment or materials and, in accordance
with the State Civil Service Act (commencing with Section 18570 of
the Government Code), appoint such deputies, officers, and other
employees as may be necessary.
(g) In cooperation with other public and private entities and
persons, establish such training and educational programs as may be
appropriate to increase the number of workers with necessary skills
to carry out seed collection, seedling production, and forest
resource improvement projects.
(h) To accept grants and donations of equipment, seedlings,
materials, or funds from any source for the purpose of supporting or
facilitating forest resource improvement work undertaken pursuant to
the provisions of this chapter. Any funds received, except
funds received pursuant to the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 shall be deposited by the director in the
Forest Resource Improvement Fund established pursuant to Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 4799.13) of this part.
(i) Waive the landowner cost sharing requirements of this chapter
when the funding source for the authorized forest resource
improvement work prohibits cost sharing requirements.
SEC. 2. SEC. 5. Section 4799.12 of
the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
4799.12. The director, with advice from other appropriate state
agencies and interested parties, may make grants to provide
assistance of 25 to 90 percent of costs for projects meeting
guidelines established by the board upon recommendation by the
director. The director may waive the cost sharing requirement for
projects that are in disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged
communities. The director may also waive the cost sharing requirement
when the funding source for a grant prohibits cost sharing
requirements. Grants may be made to cities, counties, districts, and
nonprofit organizations. Contributions required as a condition of
grants made pursuant to this section may be made in the form of
material, services, or equipment, or funds. Authorized assistance may
include, but is not limited to, any of the following needs:
(a) Funding for development of urban tree plans that include
coordination of local agency efforts and citizen involvement.
(b) Funding for development of urban tree plans that include
coordination of multiple jurisdictions, multiple agency efforts, and
citizen involvement.
(c) Funding for development of urban forest master plans or
similar plans designed to provide comprehensive protection,
maintenance, and management of the urban forest.
(d) Provision of seedling and tree stock.
(e) Tree planting projects.
(f) Funding and other assistance to local agencies and nonprofit
organizations for partnerships as follows:
(1) Energy saving urban forest programs similar to the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power's Trees for Green LA program and the
Sacramento Municipal Utility District's Sacramento Shade Tree
program.
(2) Developing projects or programs that use urban forests for
water conservation, improving water quality, or stormwater capture.
(3) Developing projects or programs that use urban forests for air
quality improvement, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, or
reduction of urban heat island effect.
(4) Developing community education and engagement programs on the
benefits and proper care of trees.
(g) Funding for the development of training and educational
materials on the benefits of the urban forest.
(h) Funding for the development of training and educational
materials on proper care and maintenance of trees and the urban
forest, including young and mature tree care.
(i) Funding and other assistance, based on criteria developed by
the department, for management of urban forests to ensure their
survival and ability to optimize the benefits that urban forests
provide the community and the environment.
(j) Funding and other assistance for demonstration projects in
urban forestry with special attention given to projects or programs
assisting the state in meeting the requirements of the Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500)
of the Health and Safety Code), improving energy and water
conservation, capturing and filtering urban stormwater, improving
water quality, reducing the urban heat island effect, improving air
quality, and wood and fiber utilization projects, including, but not
limited to, biofuel and bioenergy.
(k) Other categories of projects recommended by the director and
approved by the board.
SEC. 6. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to receive and expend needed funds recently made
available by Congress as part of the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 as soon as possible, it is necessary that
this act take effect immediately.