Bill Text: CA AB3164 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 3164 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Fire prevention: wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model: model use guidelines.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2020-09-29 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB3164 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB3164-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly May 04, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 3164

Introduced by Assembly Member Friedman
(Coauthor: Senator Dodd)

February 21, 2020

An act to amend Section 4201 of, and to add Sections 4204.1 and 4204.2 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to fire prevention.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 3164, as amended, Friedman. Fire prevention: wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model: model use guidelines.

Existing law requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to classify lands within state responsibility areas into fire hazard severity zones and, by regulation, to designate fire hazard severity zones and assign each zone a rating reflecting the degree of severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in the zone.

This bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, by July 1, 2022, to develop a wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model to determine the risk for a community or parcel within a local responsibility area or state responsibility area and guidelines for the proper use of the model, as provided. The bill would require the department to establish, and consult with, an advisory workgroup, with specified members, to develop the model. The bill would require the department to update the model and guidelines when fire hazard severity zones are revised.

This bill would also make a revision to the provision relating to the purpose of the fire hazard severity zones provisions.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 4201 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

4201.

The purpose of this article is to provide for the classification of lands within state responsibility areas in accordance with both the severity of fire hazard and risk present for the purpose of identifying measures to be taken to retard the rate of spreading and to reduce the potential intensity of uncontrolled fires that threaten to destroy resources, life, or property.

SEC. 2.

Section 4204.1 is added to the Public Resources Code, immediately following Section 4204, to read:

4204.1.

(a) On or before July 1, 2022, the department, in consultation with the State Fire Marshal and the Insurance Commissioner, shall develop a wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model, hereafter referred to as the model, that uses current wildfire hazard severity information known for the local responsibility area and the state responsibility area. The model shall determine the risk for a community or parcel in a local responsibility area or state responsibility area through the input of mitigating factors into the model. The mitigation factors shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Defensible space compliance data.

(2) Whether structures meet building standards for comprehensive site and structure fire risk reduction.

(3) Community fire prevention work.

(4) Fire prevention, educational, planning, and mitigation infrastructures.

(b) The department may enter into contracts with an independent group to develop the model.

(d) The department shall update the model when fire hazard severity zones are revised pursuant to Section 51181 of the Government Code or Section 4202 of this code.

(e) (1) The department shall establish, and consult with, an advisory workgroup to develop the model.

(2) The advisory workgroup established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include all of the following members:

(A) The State Fire Marshal, or the State Fire Marshal’s designee.

(B) The Director of Emergency Services, or the director’s designee.

(D) The Director of State Planning and Research, or the director’s designee.

(E) Two representatives from insurers and insurance research organizations that have appropriate expertise in wildfire risk modeling, such as exposure measurement, risk modeling, and actuarial expertise, to be appointed by the department.

(F) Two representatives; one a fire chief, and the other a fire prevention officer, to be appointed by the ~~department.~~ department, in consultation with the California Fire Chief’s Association and the Fire Districts Association of California.

(G) A representative from the California Professional Firefighters, to be appointed by the department.

(H) A representative from the California Fire Science Consortium, to be appointed by the department.

(I) A representative from the California Building Industry Association, to be appointed by the department.

(J) Two representatives from a local government, with one from a rural city or county, to be appointed by the department.

(3) The members of the advisory workgroup shall serve at the pleasure of their respective appointing powers.

(4) The members of the advisory workgroup shall serve without compensation, but each member shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(5) The chairperson of the advisory workgroup shall be the State Fire Marshal, or the State Fire Marshal’s designee.

(6) The vice chairperson of the advisory workgroup shall be the ~~Director of Emergency Services, or the director’s~~ fire chief specified in subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2), or the fire chief’s designee.

SEC. 3.

Section 4204.2 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

4204.2.

(a) On or before July 1, 2022, the department shall develop guidelines for the proper use of the wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model developed pursuant to Section 4204.1, hereafter referred to as the model. The guidelines shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) The type, quality, and collection frequency of the data related to the mitigation factors with which a local agency using the model is required to comply.

(2) Methods for uploading the data for mitigating factors into the model.

(3) Provisions for making the risk determined by the model available to the department, the Insurance Commissioner, and the residents in the community or parcel for which the risk is being modeled.

(b) The department shall make the model available to a local agency that agrees to comply with the guidelines.

(c) A local agency may modify the model to allow for the input of additional mitigation factors that are locally relevant.

(d) The department shall provide technical assistance to a local agency using the model.

(e) The department shall post on its internet website general information about the model and the local agencies using the model.

(f) The department shall update the guidelines when the fire hazard severity zones are revised pursuant to Section 51181 of the Government Code or Section 4202 of this code.