CaliforniaWildfire Prevention Grants Program: wildfire mitigation validation.
What it does
Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish a local assistance grant program for fire prevention and home hardening education activities in California and extends eligibility for grants to, among others, local agencies, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, the California Conservation Corps, certified community conservation corps, Native American tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations. Existing law requires the department, on or before December 31, 2023, and annually thereafter, to post on its internet website certain information regarding hazardous fuel reduction and vegetation management projects funded or conducted by the department for the preceding fiscal year, including projects funded under the department's Wildfire Prevention Grants Program, as provided.
More detail
Existing law requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish a statewide program to allow qualified entities, as defined, who have completed a specific training program developed and administered by the department to support and augment the department in its defensible space and home hardening assessment and education efforts.
This bill would require the department, in consultation with the State Fire Marshal's Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee, to establish a wildfire mitigation validation program to provide voluntary official recognition to a community that achieves progress toward community-scale wildfire preparedness and mitigations. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the committee, to (1) set the wildfire mitigations, including, among other things, home hardening and defensible space requirements, and (2) set the minimum percentage of mitigations required to achieve recognition and set increases in those percentages, as provided. The bill would authorize the department, commencing with the 2028–29 fiscal year, to disburse funds appropriated for the Wildfire Prevention Grants Program to recognized communities that partner with fire safe councils or other eligible groups, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to prioritize disadvantaged recognized fire communities pursuant to its established procedures for prioritizing disadvantaged applicants for the Wildfire Prevention Grants Program.
Where do you stand?
Choose your position
Tell your reps
Take a position to see your representatives and ways to contact them.
Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Sep 29Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 764, Statutes of 2026.Latest
- Sep 29Approved by the Governor Gavin Newsom.Became Law
- Sep 10Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.To Governor
- Aug 31
- Vote recorded AB 1960 Bennett Concurrence in Senate Amendments. Result: pass.Lower
- Aug 30Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6933.).Major
- Vote recorded 3rd Reading AB1960 Bennett et al. By Allen. Result: pass.Upper
- Aug 30In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
- Aug 30Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.).Passed Senate
- Aug 30Ordered to special consent calendar.
- Aug 20Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- Aug 19Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.Major
- Aug 13Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass. Result: pass.Upper
- Aug 13From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).Minor
- Aug 3In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.Minor
- Vote recorded Placed on suspense file. Result: pass.Upper
- Jul 1From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Jun 30
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Upper
- Jun 25From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E.M.Major
- Jun 24From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E.M. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on E.M.Minor
- Jun 23
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Emergency Management]. Result: pass.Upper
- Jun 3Referred to Coms. on N.R. & W. and E.M.Minor
- May 21In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.Minor
- Vote recorded AB 1960 Bennett Assembly Third Reading. Result: pass.Lower
- May 21Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 70. Noes 2. Page 5207.)Passed Assembly
- May 18Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- May 14From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 1.) (May 14).Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass. Result: pass.Lower
- May 6In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.Minor
- Apr 23From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Lower
- Apr 9Re-referred to Com. on E.M.Minor
- Apr 8Read second time and amended.Major
- Apr 7From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on E.M. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 6).Major
- Apr 6Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Emergency Management]. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 26From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. Read second time and amended.Major
- Mar 2Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and E.M.Minor
- Feb 14From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.
- Feb 13Read first time. To print.Introduced