Senate BillNo. 263


Introduced by Senator Gaines

February 18, 2015


An act to amend Section 4210 of the Public Resources Code, relating to fire prevention.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 263, as introduced, Gaines. Fire prevention: state responsibility areas.

Existing law makes certain findings and declarations regarding fire protection of the public trust resources on lands in state responsibility areas, including that the costs of fire prevention activities aimed at reducing the effects of structures in state responsibility areas should be borne by the owners of the structures.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to this law.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P1    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 4210 of the Public Resources Code is
2amended to read:

3

4210.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

4(a) Fire protection of the public trust resources on lands in the
5state responsibility areas remains a vital interest to California.
6Lands that are covered in whole or in part by a diverse plant
7community prevent excessive erosion, retard runoff, reduce
8sedimentation, and accelerate water percolation to assist in the
9maintenance of critical sources of water for environmental,
10irrigation, domestic, or industrial uses.

P2    1(b) The presence of structures within state responsibility areas
2can pose an increased risk of fire ignition and an increased potential
3for fire damage within the state’s wildlands and watersheds. The
4presence of structures within state responsibility areas can also
5impairbegin delete wild landend deletebegin insert wildlandend insert firefighting techniques and could result
6in greater damage to state lands caused by wildfires.

7(c) The costs of fire prevention activities aimed at reducing the
8effects of structures in state responsibility areas should be borne
9by the owners ofbegin delete theseend deletebegin insert theend insert structures.

10(d) Individual owners of structures within state responsibility
11areas receive a disproportionately larger benefit from fire
12prevention activities than that realized by the state’s citizens
13 generally.

14(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the economic burden
15of fire prevention activities that are associated with structures in
16state responsibility areas shall be equitably distributed among the
17citizens of the state who generally benefit from those activities
18and those owners of structures in the state responsibility areas who
19receive a specific benefit other than that general benefit.

20(f) It is necessary to impose a fire prevention fee to pay for fire
21prevention activities in the state responsibility areas that
22specifically benefit owners of structures in the state responsibility
23areas.



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