CaliforniaWildfire County Coordinator Program.
What it does
Existing law establishes the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force and requires the task force to develop a comprehensive implementation strategy to track and ensure the achievement of the goals and key actions identified in the state's Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, as provided. Existing law requires, on or before March 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, the task force to update the action plan.
More detail
The Budget Act of 2025 provided for a community hardening program in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection that includes home hardening certification and a wildfire county coordinator program, appropriated $9,500,000 to the department to make available to the California Fire Safe Council for the Wildfire County Coordinator Program, and required the county coordinators to prioritize home hardening, defensible space, planning, and education for community-level wildfire mitigation efforts.
This bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish the California Wildfire Preparedness Program to (1) establish recommended guidance for the use of available wildfire risk modeling and analysis tools by organizations, as specified, (2) develop guidance and tools related to wildfire risk assessments, (3) support the development or updating of county-level wildfire risk assessments, (4) maintain oversight authority for the Wildfire County Coordinator Program, as provided, and (5) develop guidance and templates for the creation or revision of county-level wildfire preparedness prioritization and implementation plans, and accompanying guidance for integrating these plans with related wildfire resilience programs, as provided.
This bill would provide in code for the Wildfire County Coordinator Program to support countywide coordination of and capacity for community wildfire mitigation, prevention, preparedness, and recovery activities, as specified. The bill would require the department to enter into an agreement with the California Fire Safe Council to administer and deliver the program. The bill would require the program to, among other things, establish capacity in participating counties to plan and execute specified activities in support of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan and collect data on local mitigation and preparedness activities, including costs and outcomes, as provided.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Sep 29Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 772, Statutes of 2026.Latest
- Sep 29Approved by the Governor Gavin Newsom.Became Law
- Sep 2Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.To Governor
- Aug 27Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 5986.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.Major
- Vote recorded Special Consent SB973 Becker et al. Result: pass.Upper
- Aug 26Ordered to special consent calendar.
- Aug 24In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
- Vote recorded SB 973 Becker Senate Third Reading By Bennett. Result: pass.Lower
- Aug 24Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6422.) Ordered to the Senate.Passed Assembly
- Aug 17Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- Aug 13Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.Major
- Vote recorded Do pass as amended. Result: pass.Lower
- Aug 13From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 13).Major
- Aug 13Assembly Rule 63 suspended.
- Aug 5August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.
- Jun 30From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Jun 29
- Vote recorded Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. Result: pass.Lower
- Jun 23From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E.M with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (June 22). Re-referred to Com. on E.M.Minor
- Jun 22
- Vote recorded Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Emergency Management] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. Result: pass.Lower
- Jun 9From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.Major
- Jun 1Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and E.M.Minor
- May 26In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.Minor
- Vote recorded 3rd Reading SB973 Becker et al. Result: pass.Upper
- May 26Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 4448.) Ordered to the Assembly.Passed Senate
- May 18Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- May 14Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.Major
- Vote recorded Do pass as amended. Result: pass.Upper
- May 14From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 4259.) (May 14).Major
- May 8Set for hearing May 14.
- May 4May 4 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
- Vote recorded Placed on suspense file. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 24Set for hearing May 4.
- Apr 22From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0. Page 3972.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Apr 21
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 13From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.M.Major
- Apr 10Set for hearing April 21.
- Mar 24From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E.M. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 3660.) (March 24). Re-referred to Com. on E.M.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Emergency Management] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 11Set for hearing March 24.
- Feb 18Referred to Coms. on N.R. & W. and E.M.Minor
- Feb 5From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 7.
- Feb 4Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.Introduced