Bill Text: CA AB388 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan: implementation strategies.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2023-09-01 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB388 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB388-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  March 02, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 388

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Introduced by Assembly Member Connolly

February 02, 2023

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An act to amend Section 705.5 of 4770 of, and to add Section 4771.5 to the Public Resources Code, relating to forest resources.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 388, as amended, Connolly. Forest resources: fire prevention grants. Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan: implementation strategies: roadmap.

Existing law requires the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, including the Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Planning and Research, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in coordination with certain public agencies, to develop a comprehensive implementation strategy to track and ensure the achievement of the goals and key actions identified in the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, as provided.

This bill would require the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection, in consultation with the task force, to establish a roadmap for developing and deploying larger landscape level projects to contribute to the achievement of the goals outlined in the implementation strategy. The bill would authorize the director to directly award regional block grants to eligible regional entities, forest collaboratives, and partnerships to implement regional plans, strategies, agreements, and initiatives. The bill would authorize the department to transfer funding to other state agencies and departments to achieve the goals and key actions identified in the implementation strategy. The bill would require the department to provide the task force and to post on its internet website a description, amount, and outcome of each regional block grant and fund transfer provided under the above provisions.

The Budget Act of 2017 appropriated moneys to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for purposes of, among other things, providing local assistance grants, grants to fire safe councils, and grants to qualified nonprofit organizations with a demonstrated ability to satisfactorily plan, implement, and complete a fire prevention project for these same purposes, as provided. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to authorize advance payments to a nonprofit organization, a local agency, a special district, a private forest landowner, or a Native American tribe from the grant awards specified above. Existing law places specified requirements on the grantee of the advance payment, including that the grantee file an accountability report with the department, as provided.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:

(1) High severity wildfire, tree mortality, and other major forest disturbances increasingly occur across tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of acres of landscapes, yet funding awards remain primarily scaled to, and directed at, a project level of thousands of acres of landscape.

(2) The state is encouraging and funding regional collaboration and planning processes to develop landscape scale solutions to address high-severity wildfire and forest health.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to match funding levels to the scale of the problem and the scale of regionally developed plans and projects.

SEC. 2.

 Section 4770 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

4770.

 For purposes of this article, “task the following definitions apply:

(a) “Agreement” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 4810.

(b) “Forest collaborative” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 4810.

(c) “Task force” has the same meaning as the task force described in Section 4005.

SEC. 3.

 Section 4771.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

4771.5.

 (a) The director, in consultation with the task force, shall establish a roadmap for developing and deploying larger landscape level projects to contribute to the achievement of the goals outlined in the implementation strategy developed pursuant to Section 4771.

(b) To achieve the goals and key actions identified in the implementation strategy, the director may directly award regional block grants to eligible regional entities, forest collaboratives, and partnerships to implement regional plans, strategies, agreements, and initiatives, including, but not limited to, regional priority strategies developed pursuant to Section 4208.1 and multijurisdictional landscape-scale projects.

(c) The department may transfer funding to other state agencies or departments to achieve the goals and key actions identified in the implementation strategy.

(d) The department shall provide the task force and shall post on its internet website a description, amount, and outcome of each regional block grant or fund transfer provided pursuant to this section.

SECTION 1.Section 705.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

705.5.

(a)The director may authorize advance payments to a nonprofit organization, a local agency, a special district, or a Native American tribe from a grant awarded pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), or (g) of Provision 2 of Item 3540-001-3228 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2017, including subsequent amendments to that provision. The director may also authorize advance payments to a private forest landowner from a grant awarded pursuant to subdivision (a) of Provision 2 of Item 3540-001-3228 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2017, including subsequent amendments to that provision. No single advance payment shall exceed 25 percent of the total grant award amount.

(b)(1)The grantee shall expend the funds from the advance payment within six months of receipt, unless the department waives this requirement.

(2)The grantee shall file an accountability report with the department within four months from the date of receiving the funds, and every four months thereafter.

(c)(1)The department shall provide a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2023, on the outcome of the department’s use of advance payments.

(2)A report submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2024, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2024, deletes or extends that date.