Wildfire, Forestry and Insurance Bill Updates
SB 429 (Dave Cortese, D-San Jose) – Legislature Passes Bill to Develop Public Catastrophe Model for Insurance
This bill, sponsored by the California Department of Insurance, would create a Wildfire Safety and Risk Mitigation program within the department to develop the public catastrophe rating plan model. Senate Bill 429 passed out of the Legislature and goes to the governor. Farm Bureau supports.
Staff Contact: Peter Ansel, pansel@cfbf.com
SB 616 (Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park) – Legislature Passes Wildfire Insurance Bill
This bill, which is sponsored by the California Department of Insurance, would create a Community Hardening Commission inside the department. Farm Bureau worked with the department to amend the bill so that the commission may acknowledge the lower wildfire risk from agricultural lands. Senate Bill 616 passed out of the Legislature and heads to the governor.
Staff Contact: Peter Ansel, pansel@cfbf.com
SB 629 (Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles) – Legislature Passes Wildfire Mapping Bill
This bill requires that the Office of the State Fire Marshal maintain fire risk maps based severity zones that include areas within the perimeter of a wildfire that burned 1,000 or more acres, destroyed more than 10 structures or resulted in a fatality. Senate Bill 629 passed out of the Legislature and heads to the governor. Farm Bureau supports the bill after it was amended so that OSFM recognizes areas where agricultural land affects fire hazard.
Staff Contact: Peter Ansel, pansel@cfbf.com
AB 226 (Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier) – Legislature Passes FAIR Plan Financing Bill
This bill authorizes the FAIR Plan to leverage iBank bonding for financial stability to address the risk to insolvency to the FAIR Plan from its staggering policy in force growth the past few years. The bill contains an urgency clause so that it goes into effect as soon as it is signed into law, instead of in January 2026. Assembly Bill 226 passed out of the Legislature and heads to the governor for final approval. Farm Bureau supports.
Staff Contact: Peter Ansel, pansel@cfbf.com
AB 846 (Damon Connolly, D-Marin) – Wildfire Preparedness Activities Bill Held in Senate
This bill would develop a voluntary, streamlined process for local agencies to submit wildfire preparedness plans to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and mitigate the take of an endangered, threatened or candidate species incidental to conducting vegetation management activities in areas with a high risk of wildfire. The legislation aims to prioritize wildfire preparedness activities and community safety, while upholding environmental laws and permitting authorities. A similar bill was vetoed last year by the governor due to budgetary concerns. In response to the governor’s veto, the sponsors of that bill created Assembly Bill 846 and included language providing explicit authority to CDFW to impose a fee on local agencies that submit a plan, thereby offsetting costs incurred by CDFW. Despite bipartisan support throughout the legislative process, with no registered no votes, the bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file and became a two-year bill. Farm Bureau supports.
Staff Contact: Richard Filgas, rfilgas@cfbf.com
AB 706 (Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters) - Forest Waste Bioenergy Bill Dies in State Senate Committees
This bill was Calforests’ sponsored bioenergy bill. It would have made changes to the state’s BioRAM program to address a growing issue of risk due to unused wood waste. Assembly Bill 706 died in state Senate policy committees. Farm Bureau supported.
Staff Contact: Kevin Johnston, kjohnston@cfbf.com
.svg.png?cacheid=0.9616018850896426)
