California AB 261

Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to classify lands within state responsibility areas into fire hazard severity zones, and, by regulation, 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 designated and rated zones and, as necessary, revise zones or their ratings or repeal the designation of zones. Existing law also requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state that are not state responsibility areas as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas, and to periodically review and, as necessary, make recommendations relative to very high fire hazard severity zones. This bill would prohibit the State Fire Marshal's determination of fire hazard severity zone, in both state responsibility areas and lands that are not state responsibility areas, from being based on risk mitigation activities. The bill would, as applied to both state responsibility areas and lands that are not state responsibility areas, authorize the State Fire Marshal, in periods between the State Fire Marshal's review of areas of the state for recommendations regarding an area's fire hazard severity zone, to confer with entities, including, but not limited to, public agencies, tribes, nonprofit organizations, project applicants, and members of the public, on actions that may impact the degree of fire hazard in an area or the area's recommended fire hazard severity zone designation. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to provide a written response to an entity on actions that may impact the degree of fire hazard, and would require this written response to be posted on the State Fire Marshal's internet website. This bill would authorize those entities to provide information to the State Fire Marshal on wildfire safety improvements or other actions the entity has taken or plans to take, and any information submitted to or by the department, as specified, before the next review that may impact the degree of fire hazard in an area or the area's fire hazard severity zone designation. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to consider this information in the next review, and would require any documentation provided to the State Fire Marshal to be posted in a manner that is easily accessible on the State Fire Marshal's internet website. This bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to require a fee from an entity that confers with the State Fire Marshal, or provides information to the State Fire Marshal, to cover the State Fire Marshal's costs associated with these processes, as specified.