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)


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        |COMMITTEE VOTE:  |8-1  |(August 25, 2014)   |RECOMMENDATION: |concur    |
        |(Nat. Res.)      |     |                    |                |          |
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        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: 








                                                                AB 2142
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           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, 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  








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        allow forest fuel treatments to occur without a THP  if, among  
        other things, thinning is limited to trees no bigger than 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 and fuel  
        characteristics 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 bill incorporates all of the standards  
        contained in AB 744.  It should be noted that issues, such as  
        surface fuel depth standards, are not specifically prescribed in  
        the FFP Pilot Project statutes.  There are distinct differences  
        between inland and coastal surface fuels and the Board of Forestry  
        and Fire Protection will have to use its expertise to determine the  
        appropriate standards for the coastal counties.

        This bill contains an emergency regulation provision and an urgency  
        clause to ensure Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma  
        Counties can be part of the FFP Pilot Project as soon as possible.   



         Analysis Prepared by  :  Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)  
        319-2092 


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