Office of Emergency Services: wildfire aerial response program.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify what actions will be taken after the working group reports their findings.

Wildfire Aerial Response Program

This law requires the Office of Emergency Services to create a working group that will study and recommend ways to implement a wildfire aerial response program in California.

What This Bill Does

• Establishes, by December 31, 2026, a working group to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a statewide wildfire aerial response program with year-round rapid suppression capabilities.
• The working group must consider factors such as cost and effectiveness when studying the program.
• The Director of Emergency Services will appoint members knowledgeable about wildfire aviation response programs to be on the working group.

Who It Names or Affects

• Office of Emergency Services
• Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Terms To Know

Quick Reaction Force firefighting helitanker program

A program that uses helicopters to quickly fight wildfires.

Working group

A team of people who work together on a specific task or project.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what will happen after the working group reports their findings.
• It is unclear if the program will become permanent based on the study's results.

Official Summary Text

AB 275, as amended, Petrie-Norris.
Office of Emergency Services: wildfire
response: SoCal Edison-funded helitanker program.
aerial response program.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes the Office of Emergency Services in the office of the Governor, with specified powers and duties relative to coordinating emergency services. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to enter into a joint powers agreement with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop and administer a comprehensive wildfire mitigation program, as specified.
Existing law requires electrical corporations to construct, maintain, and operate their electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment. Existing law requires an electrical corporation to develop, adopt, and update an emergency and disaster preparedness plan and a wildfire mitigation plan, as specified.
This bill would require the Office of Emergency
Services
Services, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,
to establish, on or before December 31, 2026, a working group to
study the feasibility of making the SoCal Edison-funded Quick Reaction Force firefighting helitanker program permanent in statute.
evaluate and develop recommendations for implementing a wildfire aerial response program to provide year-round, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, rapid aerial suppression capabilities. The bill would require the working group to consider specified elements to ensure effective statewide
aerial wildfire suppression and to develop recommendations, including whether the program should be implemented as a pilot program, a full-scale statewide initiative, or if implementation is not recommended based on feasibility findings.
The bill would require the Director of Emergency
Services
Services, in consultation with the department,
to appoint members to the working group who are
knowledgeable about the program. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
familiar with wildfire aviation response programs, as provided. The bill would require the working group to report its findings and implementation
recommendations to the Assembly Committee on Emergency Management and the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization on or before December 31, 2027, as provided.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF