BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1207
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1207 (Kehoe) - As Amended: March 24, 2010
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:7-1
Natural Resources 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill expands contents of safety elements of general plans
that encompass state responsibility area lands (SRA) and very
high fire hazard severity zones. The bill specifically requires:
1)The Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to update
its "Fire Hazard Planning" document on or before January 1,
2012.
2)Cities and counties, prior to January 1, 2015, and thereafter
upon each revision of the housing element, to review and
update their safety elements as needed to address the risk of
fire for land classified as SRA and land classified very high
fire hazard severity zones. The reviews are required to
consider the advice included in the most recent publication of
OPR's "Fire Hazard Planning" document, various information
about fire hazards, a set of goals related to minimizing
wildfire risks, and feasible implementation measures.
3)The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) to
review safety element updates and report to the planning
agency within 60 days its written recommendations related to
land use and wildland fire prevention in SRAs and very high
fire hazard severity zones.
4)OPR to prepare proposed changes to its guidelines related to
environmental impact reports to take into account issues
related to fire hazard impacts for projects located in SRAs.
Requires the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt the
SB 1207
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proposed guideline changes.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual costs of approximately $155,000 to (GF) to Calfire to
provide guideline assistance to OPR, provide administrative
support to the Board, and assist local agencies.
In contrast to this committee's analysis, Calfire asserts that
the minimum personnel cost to comply with the bill is between
$570,000 and $1.5 million (GF) for:
a) One to three positions for guideline assistance to OPR.
b) Two half-time positions to provide administrative
support to the Board.
c) Up to 11 positions for assistance to local agencies in
their review and update of safety elements.
These costs are higher than the cost estimate given by this
committee analysis mainly because Calfire interprets the bill
as requiring it to provide assistance to local agencies while
not providing it authority to request reimbursement for this
assistance from the locals. This analysis does not agree that
the bill requires Calfire to provide such local assistance.
Calfire also claims that "responsible interpretation" of the
bill would additionally require two positions and $1 million
in annual operating costs to effectively review safety
elements, consult on CEQA issues and update Very High Severity
Zone maps. Calfire describes these activities and expenses as
necessary to effectively implement the bill. The department
acknowledges, however, that these additional costs are not
directly required by the bill.
2)One-time costs of about $50,000 (GF) to OPR to develop and
update its guidelines.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Existing law defines state responsibility areas
(SRAs) as areas of the state in which the financial
responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires has been
determined by the Board of Forestry to be primarily the
responsibility of the state. It also requires local
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governments to adopt a general plan that includes a safety
element, and requires a local government with SRAs or a very
high fire hazard severity zone to submit a draft safety
element to the Board for its review and comment prior to its
adoption or amendment. The Board is authorized, but not
required, to make written recommendations to the planning
agency within 60 days of the receipt of the draft or existing
safety element.
Under CEQA, lead agencies with the principal responsibility
for carrying out or approving a proposed discretionary project
are required to prepare a negative declaration, mitigated
declaration, or environmental impact report. OPR is required
to prepare and develop proposed guidelines to implement CEQA
and submit them to the Secretary of the Natural Resources
Agency for certification and adoption. OPR is also required
to review CEQA guidelines at least every two years and
recommend changes or amendments to the Secretary of the
Natural Resources Agency for certification and adoption.
In its analysis of the 2008-09 budget, Legislative Analyst's
Office found that Calfire's budget has increased 150% since
1997-98. One of the factors behind the increase is expanding
development in the rural areas. Despite the fact that the
total acreage in SRAs has remained stable over the last 15
years, the number of housing units in SRAs has increased by
15% over this period.
2)Rationale . The purpose of the bill is to require local
governments to consider fire protection issues when making
land use decisions. The author's office asserts that it is in
the state's best interest to ensure that cities and counties
do all they can to engage in comprehensive and consistent fire
prevention.
3)Related Legislation . SB 505 (Kehoe), which was identical to
this bill, passed the Legislature but was vetoed by the
governor.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081