Bill Text: CA AB1964 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1964

CA State Legislature page for AB1964

Bill Title: State Fire Marshal: home hardening.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9)

Status: (Engrossed) 2026-07-01 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB1964 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB1964-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly May 18, 2026

Amended IN Assembly April 27, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1964

Introduced by Assembly Member Bennett
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ahrens, Alvarez, Connolly, Harabedian, Hart, and Schultz)
(Coauthors: Senators Allen and Stern)

February 13, 2026

An act ~~to add Section 27212 to the Government Code, and~~ to add Sections 13133.5 and 13134 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to home hardening.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1964, as amended, Bennett. State Fire Marshal: ~~county recorder:~~ home hardening.

Existing law establishes various county offices, including the office of the recorder. Existing law requires the recorder to, among other things, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, as provided. Existing law requires the recorder to maintain various indices of specified documents and records.

Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, as specified. Existing law also requires the State Fire Marshal to classify lands within state responsibility areas into fire hazard severity zones, and, by regulation, to 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 very high fire hazard severity zones that are not state responsibility areas, and designated and rated zones that are state responsibility areas, as provided.

This bill would require a county recorder to maintain construction records related to home hardening and to share, upon request, construction records related to home hardening in a state or local responsibility area with the Office of the State Fire Marshal. By imposing additional duties on county recorders, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would require the Office of the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2028, to develop home hardening standards, as provided. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to, on or before January 1, 2030, compile a report concerning homes in moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in state and local responsibility areas. The bill would require the State Fire ~~Marshal~~ Marshal, on or before July 1, 2030, to make the completed report available on its internet website and ~~to, on or before July 1, 2030,~~ to submit copies to the Legislature, as provided. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, estimates of both the number of homes that meet those home hardening standards and the number of homes that require more home hardening to meet those standards in each responsibility area and county.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

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

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

SECTION 1.Section 27212 is added to the Government Code, immediately following Section 27211, to read:
27212.
~~(a)The recorder shall maintain construction records related to home hardening.~~
(b)The recorder shall share construction records related to home hardening in a state or local responsibility area with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, upon the request of the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

SEC. 2.SECTION 1.

Section 13133.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

13133.5.

On or before January 1, 2028, the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall develop home hardening standards to determine whether a home is sufficiently hardened to effectively reduce fire risk during an ember shower or when directly exposed to flames and radiant heat, as determined by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

SEC. 3.SEC. 2.

Section 13134 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

13134.

(a) On or before January 1, 2030, the State Fire Marshal shall compile a report concerning homes in moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, as identified pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code and Section 4202 of the Public Resources Code, in state and local responsibility areas. The report shall include the following:

(1) ~~The~~ An estimate of the total number of homes located within each fire hazard severity zone and responsibility area.

(2) ~~The~~ An estimate of the number of homes that meet the standards developed pursuant to Section 13133.5, and an estimate of the number of homes that require more home hardening to meet the standards developed pursuant to Section 13133.5, in each responsibility area and county.

~~(3)An estimate of the cost to complete home hardening on those homes that do not meet the standards developed pursuant to Section 13133.5.~~

(b) On or before July 1, 2030, the State Fire Marshal shall make the completed report available on its internet website and submit copies to the Legislature in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 4.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.