California SB 223

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties pertaining to, among other things, protecting, preserving, and advancing public health. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with specified stakeholders, to develop a plan, addressing specified issues, with recommendations and guidelines for counties to use in the case of a significant air quality event caused by wildfires or other sources. This bill, the Wildfire Smoke and Health Outcomes Data Act, would require the State Department of Public Health, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, to create, operate, and maintain a statewide integrated wildfire smoke and health data platform on or before July 1, 2028, that, among other things, would integrate wildfire smoke and health data from multiple databases. Under the bill, the purposes for the data platform would include providing adequate information to understand the negative health impacts on California's population caused by wildfire smoke and evaluating the effectiveness of investments in forest health and wildfire mitigation on health outcomes in California. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, to develop, among other things, protocols for data sharing, documentation, quality control, and promotion of open-source platforms and decision support tools related to wildfire smoke and health data. This bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, where appropriate, to utilize data from existing sources, including open source data and other external data, for purposes of implementing the act. This bill would create the Wildfire Smoke and Health Administration Fund. Under the bill, moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force for the collection, management, and improvement of wildfire smoke and health data for the purposes of the act. The bill would specify that these provisions do not change existing law with respect to the jurisdiction of the public entities involved. The bill would make related findings and declarations.