BILL NUMBER: AB 1429	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chiu
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Nazarian)

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2015

   An act relating to earthquake mitigation repairs.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1429, as introduced, Chiu. Earthquake mitigation retrofit
program: homes.
   Existing law establishes a program within all cities and all
counties and portions thereof located within seismic zone 4, as
described, to identify all potentially hazardous buildings, as
defined, establish a mitigation program for these buildings, and file
a report on the programs with the Seismic Safety Commission. Among
other tax incentives, the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation
Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those
laws.
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create and fund a program to assist California
homeowners with earthquake mitigation repairs to their homes.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) The earthquakes of 2014 that affected the Cities of La Habra
and Napa have generated increased interest in mitigating
single-family homes against earthquake damage.
   (2) The California Earthquake Authority and the Office of
Emergency Services plan to expand the Earthquake Brace + Bolt Program
to 650 homes in 2015.
   (3) The California Earthquake Authority is working with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Applied Technology
Council, a nonprofit research organization, to develop the "ATC-110.
Redevelopment of a Prestandard for the Evaluation and Retrofit of One
and Two Family Light Frame Residential Buildings" for retrofitting
additional types of single-family homes.
   (4) A well-funded program to encourage homeowners to mitigate
their homes would mean more homes would survive an earthquake and
homeowners who retrofit their homes would receive actuarially
justified lower rates for earthquake insurance.
   (5) Only 12 percent of California homeowners currently purchase
earthquake insurance, leaving the vast majority of homeowners
unprotected in the event of a major earthquake.
   (6) There are many paths to funding a retrofit program, including
income tax credits, sales tax rebates, attaching the financing to
property taxes, and grants.
   (b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create and fund a program to assist California
homeowners with earthquake mitigation repairs to their homes.