BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2142
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2142 (Chesbro)
As Amended August 19, 2014
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 8, 2014) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 21, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Adds Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma
Counties to the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project (FFP Pilot
Project) created by AB 744 (Dahle), Chapter 647, Statutes of
2013.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delete the Assembly version of this bill.
2)Add Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties to the
FFP Pilot Project.
3)Add emergency regulation authority and an urgency clause.
EXISTING LAW : Pursuant to the Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice
Act (FPA):
1)Prohibits any person from conducting timber operations unless
a timber harvest plan (THP) has been prepared by a registered
professional forester and approved by the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE). The Secretary of the
Natural Resources Agency has certified that a THP is the
functional equivalent of an environmental impact report (EIR)
under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
2)Establishes the Forest Fire Prevention Exemption (18 Inch
Exemption) for tree harvesting that meets specific conditions,
including the following:
a) Only trees less than 18 inches in stump diameter,
measured at 8 inches above ground level, may be removed.
However, within 500 feet of a legally permitted structure,
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or in an area prioritized as a shaded fuel break in a
community wildfire protection plan approved by a public
fire agency, if the goal of fuel reduction cannot be
achieved by removing trees less than 18 inches in stump
diameter, trees less than 24 inches in stump diameter may
be removed if that removal is necessary to achieve the goal
of fuel reduction.
b) The harvesting must occur on parcels of 300 acres or
less;
c) The harvesting must decrease fuel continuity (both
vertically and horizontally);
d) The harvesting must result in making the average
diameter of the trees that remain in the stand larger than
the average diameter of the trees in the stand prior to the
fuel reduction activities;
e) A registered professional forester must prepare the
notice of exemption;
f) The level of residual stocking must be consistent with
maximum sustained production of high-quality timber
products; and,
g) The activities must comply with the regulations that
protect archaeological sites.
3)Establishes the FFP Pilot Project, which is a three-year pilot
project limited to the Sierra Nevada Region and Modoc,
Siskiyou, and Trinity Counties, that expands the 18 Inch
Exemption by allowing the removal of trees up to 24 inches in
stump diameter. Limits the FFP Pilot Project to areas that
CALFIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map indicates are high,
very high, or extreme fire threat zones.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : Last year, the Legislature passed AB 744, which
created the three-year FFP Pilot Project. Once the implementing
regulations are adopted later this year, the FFP pilot project
will allow forest fuel treatments to occur without a THP if,
among other things, thinning is limited to trees no bigger than
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24 inches in stump diameter - previously, 18 inches was the
standard, which proved to be too restrictive for meaningful fuel
treatment projects. Additionally, AB 744 does not allow clear
cutting and it imposes specific post-harvest requirements to
ensure over-cutting does not occur.
This three-year pilot project, however, is limited to inland
California, which has a very different ecosystem compared to the
coast. Since the coastal forests are also vulnerable to
catastrophic wild fires, this bill extends AB 744 to parts of
the coast (i.e., Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma
Counties). This will allow the state to conduct a more thorough
analysis on how to move forward with forest fuel treatment
policy once the FFP Pilot Project sunsets.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0005329