Amended in Assembly June 15, 2016

Amended in Senate April 5, 2016

Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1136

Introduced by Senator Morrell

(Coauthors: Senators Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, McGuire, Nielsen, and Runner)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bigelow, Gallagher, Harper, Jones, Obernolte, Olsen, and Wagner)

February 18, 2016

An act to amend Section 4214 of the Public Resources Code, relating to fire prevention.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1136, as amended, Morrell. Fire prevention: state responsibility areas: report.

Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in begin insert an end insert amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each habitable structure, as defined, on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, as defined. Existing law requires the state board to adjust the fire prevention fee annually using prescribed methods, and requires the state board, until January 31, 2017, to submit a report to the Legislature every January 31 on the status and uses of the fund, containing specified information and recommendations.

This bill would begin insert instead require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to submit that report to the Legislature and the board, and would end insert extend to January 31, 2021, the time until which the begin delete state board end delete begin insert report end insert is required to begin delete submit the report to the Legislature, and end delete begin insert be submitted. The bill end insert would additionally require that the report include specified information on each program, subprogram, and element for which the begin delete Department of Forestry and Fire Protection end delete begin insert department end insert uses money generated from that fire prevention fee, and other information regarding fund expenditures, as provided.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 4214 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4214.  

(a) Fire prevention fees collected pursuant to this chapter
shall be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, as
follows:

(1) The State Board of Equalization shall retain moneys
necessary for the payment of refunds pursuant to Section 4228 and
reimbursement of the State Board of Equalization for expenses
incurred in the collection of the fee.

(2) The moneys collected, other than those retained by the State
Board of Equalization pursuant to paragraph (1), shall be deposited
into the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund, which is
hereby created in the State Treasury, and shall be available to the
board and the department to expend for fire prevention activities
specified in subdivision (d) that benefit the owners of habitable
structures within a state responsibility area who are required to
pay the fire prevention fee. The amount expended to benefit the
owners of habitable structures within a state responsibility area
shall be commensurate with the amount collected from the owners
within that state responsibility area. All moneys in excess of the
costs of administration of the board and the department shall be
expended only for fire prevention activities in counties with state
responsibility areas.

(b) (1) The fund may also be used to cover the costs of
administering this chapter.

(2) The fund shall cover all startup costs incurred over a period
not to exceed two years.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the moneys in this fund
be fully appropriated to the board and the department each year
in order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

(d) Moneys in the fund shall be used only for the following fire
prevention activities, which shall benefit owners of habitable
structures within the state responsibility areas who are required to
pay the annual fire prevention fee pursuant to this chapter:

(1) Local assistance grants pursuant to subdivision (e).

(2) Grants to Fire Safe Councils, the California Conservation
Corps, or certified local conservation corps for fire prevention
projects and activities in the state responsibility areas.

(3) Grants to a qualified nonprofit organization with a
demonstrated ability to satisfactorily plan, implement, and complete
a fire prevention project applicable to the state responsibility areas.
The department may establish other qualifying criteria.

(4) Inspections by the department for compliance with defensible
space requirements around habitable structures in state
responsibility areas as required by Section 4291.

(5) Public education to reduce fire risk in the state responsibility
areas.

(6) Fire severity and fire hazard mapping by the department in
the state responsibility areas.

(7) Other fire prevention projects in the state responsibility
areas, authorized by the board.

(e) (1) The board shall establish a local assistance grant program
for fire prevention activities designed to benefit habitable structures
within state responsibility areas, including public education, that
are provided by counties and other local agencies, including special
districts, with state responsibility areas within their jurisdictions.

(2) In order to ensure an equitable distribution of funds, the
amount of each grant shall be based on the number of habitable
structures in state responsibility areas for which the applicant is
legally responsible and the amount of moneys made available in
the annual Budget Act for this local assistance grant program.

(f) By January 31, begin delete 2015, end delete begin insert 2017, end insert and annually thereafter, the begin delete board end delete
begin insert department end insert shall submit to the Legislature begin insert and the board end insert a written
report on the status and uses of the fund pursuant to this chapter.
The written report shall include all of the following for each
reporting period:

(1) A description of each program, subprogram, and element
for which the department uses money generated from the fire
prevention fee, including an itemized accounting of expenditures
for each program, subprogram, and element.

(2) An evaluation of the benefits received by counties based on
the number of habitable structures in state responsibility areas
within their jurisdictions, the effectiveness of the board’s grant
programs, the number of defensible space inspections in the
reporting period, the degree of compliance with defensible space
requirements, and measures to increase compliance, if any.

(3) An accounting of expenditures for equipment.

(4) Positions that are associated with each expenditure.

(5) A description of the grants awarded and expenditures of
grant moneys.

(6) A description of actual expenditures for the past fiscal begin delete year
and end delete begin insert year, estimated expenditures for end insert the current fiscal begin delete year and
estimated end delete begin insert year, and budgeted end insert expenditures for the budget year.

(7) Any recommendations to the Legislature on the status and
uses of the fund.

(g) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subdivision (f) is inoperative on January 31, 2021, pursuant to
Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (f) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

(h) It is essential that this article be implemented without delay.
To permit timely implementation, the department may contract
for services related to the establishment of the fire prevention fee
collection process. For this purpose only, and for a period not to
exceed 24 months, the provisions of the Public Contract Code or
any other provision of law related to public contracting shall not
apply.