SB 663, as introduced, Fuller. Liability for fires.
Under existing law, a person who commits certain acts, including, among others, negligently setting a fire that escapes onto any public or private property or failing to correct a fire hazard prohibited by law, is liable for the costs incurred in fighting the fire and the cost of providing rescue or emergency medical services.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 13009 of the Health and Safety Code is
2amended to read:
(a) Any person (1) who negligently, or in violation of
4the law, sets a fire, allows a fire to be set, or allows a fire kindled
5or attended by him or her to escape onto any public or private
6property, (2) other than a mortgagee, who, being in actual
7possession of a structure, fails or refuses to correct, within the time
8allotted for correction, despite having the right to do so, a fire
9hazard prohibited by law, for which a public agency properly has
10issued a notice of violation respecting the hazard, or (3) including
P2 1a mortgagee, who, having an obligation under other provisions of
2law to correct a fire hazard prohibited by law, for which a public
3agency has properly issued a notice of violation respecting the
4hazard, fails or refuses to correct the hazard within the time allotted
5for
correction, despite having the right to do so, is liable for the
6fire suppression costs incurred in fighting the fire and for the cost
7of providing rescue or emergency medical services, and those costs
8shall be a charge against that person. The charge shall constitute
9a debt of that person, and is collectible by thebegin delete person,end deletebegin insert personend insert or
10begin delete byend delete the federal, state, county, public, or private agencybegin delete, incurringend delete
11begin insert that incurredend insert those costs in the same manner asbegin delete in the case ofend delete
an
12obligation under a contract, expressed or implied.
13(b) Public agencies participating in fire suppression, rescue, or
14emergency medicalbegin delete servicesend deletebegin insert services,end insert as set forth in subdivision
15(a), may designate one or more of the participating agencies to
16bring an action to recover costs incurred by all of the participating
17agencies. An agency designated by the other participating agencies
18to bring an action pursuant to this section shall declare that
19authorization and its basis in the complaint, and shall itemize in
20the complaint the total amounts claimed under this section by each
21represented agency.
22(c) Any costs incurred by the Department of Forestry and Fire
23Protection in
suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading
24from a prescribed burning operation conducted by the department
25pursuant to a contract entered into pursuant to Article 2
26(commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division
274 of the Public Resources Code shall not be collectible from any
28party to the contract, including any private consultant or contractor
29who entered into an agreement with that party pursuant to
30subdivision (d) of Section 4475.5 of the Public Resources Code,
31as provided in subdivision (a), to the extent that those costs were
32not incurred as a result of a violation of any provision of the
33contract.
34(d) This section applies to all areas of the state, regardless of
35whether primarily wildlands, sparsely developed, or urban.
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