BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 824 (Gatto) - Fire prevention activities
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|Version: July 16, 2015 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 824 would expand the Department of Forestry and
Fire's (CalFire) annual report on fire prevention activities to
include information regarding the coordination and cooperation
with the federal government.
Fiscal
Impact:
Initial costs of $302,000 for the first year and then $258,000
annually thereafter from the General Fund to CalFire in order
to obtain the required report information.
Unknown cost pressures, at least in the tens of millions of
dollars, to the General Fund and the Fire Prevention Fund
(special) by identifying the funding needs for forest fuel
management programs.
Background: Under existing law, The Board of Forestry (board) is required
to identify all lands where the state has the primary financial
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responsibility for preventing and suppressing fires. These state
responsibility areas (SRAs) are generally lands that are (or
were, prior to development) largely covered by trees, brush, and
grass and other undeveloped lands. Under 4114 of the Pubic
Resources Code, CalFire must provide wildland fire prevention
and firefighting personnel and equipment within the SRA. CalFire
may provide rescue, first aid, and other emergency services to
the public in the SRA if the activity does not require
additional funds. All habitable structures within the SRA are
required to pay a Fire Prevention Fee to pay for fire prevention
services within the SRA that is deposited into the State
Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund.
Existing law requires CalFire to report annually on its fire
prevention activities in the previous year (PRC §4137).
Specifically, the report is to include information such as the
number of hours of fire prevention education performed, the
number of defensible space inspections conducted, and the number
of acres treated to reduce fuel loads.
Proposed Law:
This bill would expand the annual fire prevention report
required under PRC §4137 to also include information about
coordination and cooperation with the federal government.
Specifically, the report would be required to include:
Estimates of state and federal fire prevention costs to fund
fire prevention activities of local organizations, such as
Fire Safe Councils, who cooperate with the state and federal
authorities to reduce the risk of wildfires near communities.
Estimates of the funding needs for forest fuel management
programs to reduce urgent fire risks near communities at high
risk of wildfire.
Usage of coordinated policies that promote defensible space
adjacent to communities where multiple jurisdictions may
engage in fire suppression activities.
A map of the areas of coordination between the state and the
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federal government.
Staff
Comments: To include the map of areas of coordination between
the state and federal government would have minor and absorbable
costs to CalFire to include in the annual report.
To provide the other estimates required in the bill would
require an extensive amount of data gathering and consolidation
by CalFire. For example, in regards to estimating the state and
federal fire prevention costs to fund local organizations,
CalFire would need to identify appropriate organizations, which
is a large universe, and obtain funding information from the
federal government. Also, to make meaningful estimates of forest
fuel management programs, CalFire would need to consolidate
detailed information from its individual units about local
conditions. Altogether, CalFire anticipates needing two
Associate Governmental Program Analysts ongoing for a first year
cost of $302,000, and the $258,000 annually ongoing. As the
required information note is limited to SRA lands, the
activities required by this bill could not be paid for by the
SRA Fire Prevention Fund and would therefore come from the
General Fund.
This bill would require the annual report to have information
regarding the funding needs for forest fuel management programs
to reduce urgent fire risks near communities at high risk of
wildfire. While these needs are exist regardless of this bill,
identifying and reporting these needs will increase pressures on
the state to pay for such needs, thereby creating cost
pressures. As the need for fuel management in state are
extensive, staff estimates that these cost pressures would at
least be in the tens of millions of dollars.
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