BILL NUMBER: AB 1300 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fletcher
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add and repeal Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section
4310) of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, relating
to fire protection.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1300, as amended, Fletcher. Fire protection: vegetation
management: pilot program.
Existing law creates the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection within the Natural Resources Agency, and the department is
responsible for fire protection, fire prevention, maintenance, and
enhancement of the state's forest, range, and brushland resources,
contract fire protection, associated emergency services, and
assistance in civil disasters and other nonfire emergencies.
This bill would require the department to establish and implement
a vegetation management pilot program until January 1, 2013
. The bill would require the department to choose up to 10
applicant communities based upon specified criteria and provide to
those communities incentives for fire prevention vegetation
management projects by paying up to $20 per ton , as
specified, for bone dry vegetation removed from the pilot
program communities during fire prevention projects. The bill would
require the department to seek funding from specified sources, as
available for fire prevention projects, and would limit the
department's administrative costs for selecting projects and
preparing a report that would be submitted to the Legislature to no
more than 15% of the value of the projects
grant amount for each project selected.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section 4310) is added to
Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 3.1. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PILOT PROGRAM
4310. The goals of the vegetation management pilot program
established pursuant to this chapter are as follows:
(a) To provide incentives for fire prevention in and around
communities by making the material removed during vegetation
management projects for fire prevention worth more to biomass
facilities, thereby offsetting more of the cost of doing the work.
(b) To determine if a small incentive payment on the final
disposition of the vegetation materials would statistically increase
the amount of fire prevention vegetation management work done.
4311. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall
establish a vegetation management pilot program to provide incentives
for fire prevention vegetation management projects in selected
communities by paying up to twenty dollars ($20) per ton
for bone dry vegetation removed from the pilot program communities
during fire prevention projects and accepted by a biomass energy
facility. The fee shall be paid pursuant to the following
considerations:
(1) Fifteen dollars ($15) per bone dry ton for communities that
are located up to 20 miles away from a biomass energy facility.
(2) Eighteen dollars ($18) per bone dry ton for communities that
are located 20 to 30, inclusive, miles away from a biomass energy
facility.
(3) Twenty dollars ($20) per bone dry ton for communities that are
located more than 30 miles away from a biomass energy facility.
(b) The department shall take any action necessary, in its best
discretion, to implement the pilot program.
(c) The community taking part in the pilot program shall work with
a biomass energy facility to dispose of the vegetation materials
collected, including transportation of the materials.
(d) The department, in its best judgment when reviewing the
applications and based upon the funding available for the term
necessary to complete the projects in each community selected, shall
choose up to 10 applying communities for inclusion in the pilot
program. All of the following criteria shall be used in the selection
process:
(1) The community, or region where the program is taking place, is
within a ____-mile radius of a biomass energy facility.
(2)
(1) The community is a Firewise community, has a
community wildfire protection plan approved by a public fire agency,
or can otherwise show a concerted and dedicated effort towards
wildfire prevention.
(3)
(2) The community has a written plan in place to reach
full compliance with existing defensible space requirements.
(4)
(3) The community has made significant strides towards
reaching compliance with existing defensible space requirements and
has "buy-in" from the local firefighting agency.
(5)
(4) The community has significant wildland urban
interface areas.
(6)
(5) The vegetation in the community poses a high
hazard, including, but not limited to, chaparral or forested areas.
(7) The types of vegetation surrounding the community are
appropriate for use as fuel in the biomass energy facility within
____ miles of the program area.
(8)
(6) The community has a local Fire Safe Council or
other entity in place that is willing and able to organize the actual
project work and manage the funding the that
comes through the pilot program.
(9)
(7) The department may also use other criteria it deems
appropriate to choose between two otherwise similarly eligible
communities after considering all of the requirements set forth in
paragraphs (1) to (8) (6) , inclusive.
(10)
(8) The department shall consider choosing communities
for the pilot program that are geographically widespread throughout
the state, but only after considering all of the requirements set
forth in paragraphs (1) to (9) (7) ,
inclusive.
4312. (a) The department shall seek funding for the pilot program
from the following sources, to the extent the funds are available
for fire prevention efforts:
(1) Fire Safe Council grants dedicated to fire prevention efforts.
(2) Sierra Nevada Conservancy grants dedicated to fire prevention
efforts.
(3) California Tahoe Conservancy grants dedicated to fire
prevention efforts.
(4) Other state, federal, or private funds dedicated to fire
prevention efforts.
4312. (a) The department
shall seek funding for the pilot program from new state, federal, or
private funds dedicated to fire prevention efforts, to the extent the
funds are available for those efforts.
(b) The pilot program projects shall not be funded through the
General Fund.
4313. The department shall report to the Legislature, no later
than six months after the completion of the final project of the
program, regarding the effectiveness of the program and whether its
goals were met.
4314. (a) The department's
administrative costs for selecting projects and preparing the report
required under Section 4313 shall not exceed more than 15 percent of
the value of the projects grant amount for
each project selected. The department may choose to waive its
administrative costs in order to fund more fire prevention projects.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "value of the projects
selected" means ____.
4315. This chapter shall remain in effect only until
____ January 1, 2013 , and as of that date is
repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before
____ January 1, 2013 , deletes or
extends that date.