State Fire Marshal: county recorder: home hardening.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on costs or direct impacts on home safety.

Home Hardening Records and Reports

This law requires county recorders to keep records about home hardening projects and asks the State Fire Marshal to create a report on homes in fire-prone areas that need more protection.

What This Bill Does

• Requires county recorders to maintain construction records related to making homes safer from fires (home hardening).
• Asks the State Fire Marshal to compile a report by January 1, 2030 about homes in moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones that meet safety standards and need more work.
• Makes this report available online and sends copies to lawmakers by July 1, 2030.

Who It Names or Affects

• County recorders who must keep new records.
• The State Fire Marshal who has to create the report.
• Homeowners in fire-prone areas whose homes are included in the report.

Terms To Know

home hardening

Making a home more resistant to damage from wildfires, such as by installing fire-resistant materials and improving ventilation systems.

fire hazard severity zones

Areas classified based on the risk of wildfire danger they face.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much it will cost or who will pay for keeping new records and making the report.
• It is unclear if this law will make homes safer from fires directly, but it provides information to help lawmakers understand where more work needs to be done.

Official Summary Text

AB 1964, as introduced, Bennett.
State Fire Marshal: county recorder: home hardening.
Existing law establishes various county offices, including the office of the recorder. Existing law requires the recorder to, among other things, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, as provided. Existing law requires the recorder to maintain various indices of specified documents and records.
This bill would require a county recorder to maintain construction records related to home hardening. By imposing additional duties on county recorders, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, as specified. Existing law also requires the State Fire Marshal to classify lands within state responsibility
areas into fire hazard severity zones, and, by regulation, to designate fire hazard severity zones and assign to each zone a rating reflecting the degree of severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in the zone. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to periodically review very high fire hazard severity zones that are not state responsibility areas, and designated and rated zones that are state responsibility areas, as provided.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to, on or before January 1, 2030, compile a report concerning homes in moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in state and local responsibility areas. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to make the completed report available on its internet website and to, on or before July 1, 2030, submit copies to the Legislature, as provided. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, the number of homes that meet home
hardening criteria and the number of homes that require more home hardening in each responsibility area and county.
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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Current Bill Text

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