Official Summary Text
AB 1457, as amended, Bryan.
Wildfires: training: defensible space: inspections.
General plan: environmental justice element: disadvantaged communities.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires each planning agency to prepare and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that contains specified mandatory elements, including an environmental justice element, or related goals, policies, and objectives integrated in other elements, that identifies disadvantaged communities, as defined, within the area covered by the general plan of the city, county, or city and county, if the city, county, or city and county has a disadvantaged community, as specified. The law requires a city, county, or city and county subject to these provisions to adopt or review the environmental justice element, or the environmental justice
goals, policies, and objectives in other elements, upon the adoption of the next revision of two or more elements concurrently on or after January 1, 2018.
This bill would require a city, county, or city and county to meaningfully involve disadvantaged communities in the development, adoption, and implementation of the environmental justice element, or the related goals, policies, and objectives integrated in other elements, using methods that are designed to effectively involve disadvantaged communities based on local conditions and circumstances, as specified. The bill would require a city, county, or city and county subject to these provisions to adopt or review the environmental justice element, or the environmental justice goals, policies, and objectives in other elements, upon the earliest of the adoption or next revision of two or more elements concurrently on or after January 1, 2018, or June 30, 2028. By increasing the duties on local governments, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection, until January 1, 2026, to establish a statewide program to allow certain persons and entities that have completed specific training developed by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for these purposes to support and augment the
department in its defensible space and home hardening assessment and education efforts. Existing law requires the director to establish a common reporting platform that allows defensible space and home hardening assessment data collected by those persons and entities to be reported to the department,
and authorizes the department to use that data to direct its inspection and enforcement resources and for other specified purposes.
This bill would extend the operation of the program described above indefinitely, and would require the training, beginning July 1, 2026, to include training consistent with the “Home Ignition Zone/Defensible Space Inspector” course plan, established by the State Fire Marshal, to ensure that individuals are trained to conduct home ignition zone inspections.