BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2601
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2601 (Jeffries) - As Amended: April 12, 2010
SUBJECT : Firefighting.
SUMMARY : Annually appropriates $45.6 million of revenue
received by the state from the proposed Tranquillon Ridge
(T-Ridge) offshore oil and gas project for firefighting
purposes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Pursuant to the State Assistance for Fire Equipment Act (Act),
authorizes the Secretary of Emergency Management (Secretary)
to acquire specified firefighting equipment for resale to a
local agency that provides fire suppression services or a fire
company. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Office of
Emergency Services Fire Advisory Committee prior to adopting
regulations to implement the Act.
2)Establishes the State Assistance for Fire Equipment Account,
which is continuously appropriated for purposes of the Act.
THIS BILL :
1)Requires the Secretary to consult with the California
Emergency Management Fire Advisory Committee, the chairperson
of the Blue Ribbon Fire Commission, the Director of Forestry
and Fire Protection (CDF), the State Fire Marshall, and the
chairperson of the State Board of Fire Services prior to
adopting regulations to implement the Act.
2)Continuously appropriates $45.6 million annually from any
revenues received by the state from the T-Ridge project to the
General Fun for firefighting purposes, as follows:
a) $30,750,000 into the State Assistance for Fire Equipment
Account. Authorizes the Secretary to use these funds to
purchase additional new equipment not currently included in
the Act, as specified;
b) $3,300,000 to CDF for the purposes of conducting
AB 2601
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vegetation management, defensible space projects, and
wildfire environmental restoration;
c) $10,250,000 to CDF for purposes of funding the purchase
and replacement of aging fire engines, bulldozers,
transports, and urban search and rescue equipment.
d) $1 million to the State Fire Marshal for the purposes of
providing training course and materials related to state or
federally mandated firefighter training and certification;
and,
e) $300,000 to the California Volunteers for the purposes
of assisting local agencies in rural communities with
volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention materials,
training, and incentive programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Continuously appropriates $45.6 million of any
revenue received by the state from the proposed T-Ridge project
for firefighting purposes.
COMMENTS :
The T-Ridge project refers to the development of the Tranquillon
Ridge Oil and Gas Field along the California coast near Lompoc
by the Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP). The
project, as proposed in the Governor's 2009-10 Budget, would
have generated a one-time $100 million payment to the General
Fund, and ongoing royalties over the life of the project. The
permit for the proposed project was heard in January 2009 by the
State Lands Commission, which denied the permit. The proposal
was included in the 2009-10 Budget and was rejected by the
Assembly Budget Subcommittee #3 on Resources and then again by
the Budget Conference Committee.
According to the author, "The fire service throughout California
is vastly under funded. CDF is proposed to be cut by $200
million this year. While the Governor has proposed, for the
fourth year in a row, the Emergency Response Initiative (a 2.8
percent surcharge on insurance policy premiums statewide to
support emergency response activities) to partially backfill the
CDF cuts, [it] is unlikely to pass. AB 2601 is a basic
alternative to fund the fire service."
The committee may wish to consider whether this bill is
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premature, as the T-Ridge project has not been approved, and
therefore no associated revenues exist. Moreover, this bill
would divert nearly half of the proposed revenues for a
specified purpose, rather than allowing the Legislature and the
Governor to appropriate the revenue through the Budget process.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
California State Lands Commission
Sierra Club California
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092