Wildfire mitigation program: financial assistance to counties.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not specify exact conditions for using federal funds.

Wildfire Mitigation Program: Help for Counties

The bill requires financial assistance to be given to the top 7th to 10th ranked counties with high wildfire risk and social vulnerability, using federal funds when available.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Office of Emergency Services and Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to provide financial help to the top 7th to 10th ranked counties based on their wildfire risks and social needs.
• Allows these agencies to use federal money for home hardening in those counties if certain conditions are met.
• Gives the Office of Emergency Services permission to adjust funding plans to include more counties with similar needs.

Who It Names or Affects

• The top 7th to 10th ranked counties with high wildfire risks and social vulnerability
• Property owners, community organizations, and local governments in those counties

Terms To Know

Wildfire mitigation program

A plan to reduce the risk of wildfires by making homes and buildings more fire-resistant.

Social vulnerability

The degree to which a community is exposed to harm from natural disasters, like wildfires, due to factors such as poverty or lack of resources.

Limits and Unknowns

• It's not clear how much money will be available for this program.
• The bill does not specify exactly what conditions must be met to use federal funds.

Official Summary Text

SB 1270, as amended, Richardson.
Wildfire mitigation program: financial assistance to counties.
Existing law, contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature, 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 to, among other things, encourage cost-effective structure hardening and retrofitting to create fire-resistant homes, businesses, and public buildings. Existing law requires the joint powers authority to develop eligibility criteria for property owners, community organizations, and local governments who may receive financial assistance under the program. Existing law authorizes the joint powers authority to accept any federal funds granted, by act of Congress or by executive order, for any purposes related to the wildfire mitigation program. Existing law requires the joint powers authority to submit a report to the
Legislature regarding the implementation of the wildfire mitigation program, including specified information.
This bill would require the joint powers authority, upon appropriation for specified purposes, to provide financial assistance to the
top 7th to 10th ranked counties, inclusive,
counties
with the greatest combined risk of wildfire and social vulnerability based on the above-described eligibility criteria, as provided. The bill would also require certain federal funding, subject to specified conditions, to revert to the joint powers authority to fund home hardening in those counties.
The bill would authorize the Office of Emergency Services to exercise maximum discretion to adjust its
funding allocations and strategy to include more counties with specified approaches to home hardening, as provided.
The bill would require the joint powers authority to additionally include an evaluation of the amount of additional funding that would be required to expand the wildfire mitigation program to those counties.
This bill would make related findings and declarations.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF