Amended
IN
Assembly
May 25, 2018 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 30, 2018 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 12, 2018 |
Assembly Bill | No. 2551 |
Introduced by Assembly Members Wood and Patterson (Coauthors: Assembly Members Eggman and Limón) |
February 15, 2018 |
The bill would require
that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, an amount not exceeding $250,000,000 from the fund be made available to the Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, for expenditure without regard to fiscal year, for projects that improve or restore forest and wildland health and fire resiliency, to be allocated for fire prevention activities, as prescribed.
Upon appropriation by the Legislature, an amount not exceeding two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, created pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code, shall be made available to the department, for expenditure without regard to fiscal year, for projects that improve or restore forest and wildland health and fire resiliency, to be allocated for any or all of the following activities:
(a)Implementation of the program created pursuant to this article, including funding priority projects identified in subdivision (c) of Section 4665.
(b)(1)Vegetation management, including mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, and the
removal of materials for beneficial use on private, public, or tribal lands, and, where applicable, to implement projects pursuant to the federal Good Neighbor Authority.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, the federal Good Neighbor Authority means an authorization set forth in the federal Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-79), which authorizes the United States Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with any state or Puerto Rico to allow the states to perform watershed restoration and forest management services on National Forest Service lands.
(c)Conservation easements that ensure the development of diverse, natural, climate-resilient conditions, including older native forest structure and composition.
(d)Community wildfire protection efforts funded through local assistance
grants.
(e)Public education and outreach related to the activities identified in this section.