State Fire Marshal: home hardening certification program implementation plan.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details about the recommendations that must be included in the implementation plan.

Home Hardening Certification Program Plan

This law requires the State Fire Marshal's Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee to develop an implementation plan for a home hardening certification program by January 1, 2028.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the committee to develop an implementation plan for a home hardening certification program.
• Identifies measures that can be voluntarily implemented during renovations or property improvements to reduce fire risk.
• Authorizes the State Fire Marshal's Office to use funds from a special fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to create this plan.
• Requires the committee to report its findings and recommendations to legislative committees.

Who It Names or Affects

• The State Fire Marshal’s Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee
• Local building officials, builders, and fire service personnel

Terms To Know

Wildland-Urban Interface

An area where homes are built near or among lands prone to wildfires.

Home Hardening

Steps taken to make a home more resistant to damage from fires, such as using fire-resistant materials and creating defensible space around the house.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much funding will be available for the program.
• It is unclear what specific recommendations must be included in the implementation plan.
• The effectiveness of the home hardening measures depends on their proper execution and maintenance.

Official Summary Text

AB 1934, as amended, Bennett.
State Fire Marshal: home hardening certification
program.
program implementation plan.
Existing law requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to develop and make available on its internet website a Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Safety Building Standards Compliance training intended for use in the training of local building officials, builders, and fire service personnel, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Office of the State Fire Marshal to allow certification of contractors who conduct defensible space, home hardening, fuel reduction, roadside clearance, and other contracting activities for wildlife resiliency efforts and who have completed specified training programs. Existing law requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to develop and update a Wildland-Urban Interface Products listing of products and construction assemblies that comply with prescribed regulations regarding building in a wildland-urban interface area. Existing law authorizes the Office
of the State Fire Marshal to expend funds from the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of researching and developing the products listing and the educational and training provisions. Existing law requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to establish the State Fire Marshal’s Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee.
This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2028, the State Fire Marshal’s Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee to develop
an implementation plan for
a home hardening certification program that identifies home hardening measures, including defensible space, that can be voluntarily implemented during renovation or property improvement projects, or both, to substantially reduce the risk of loss during a fire and bring existing building stock into alignment with
state building standards for wildland-urban interface areas. The bill would require the committee, in developing the
implementation plan for the
home hardening certification program, to provide specified recommendations. The bill would authorize the Office of the State Fire Marshal to expend funds from the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of developing the
implementation plan for the
home hardening certification program.
The bill would require the committee, on or before January 1, 2028, to provide a report to specified legislative committees on its findings and recommendations pursuant to these provisions.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF