Amended
IN
Assembly
January 15, 2020 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 21, 2019 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Waldron |
December 03, 2018 |
This bill would require the department to establish a grant program to provide grants to county road maintenance departments and local fire districts to enable those departments and districts to purchase vegetation management equipment to be used to manage vegetation along streets and roads to prevent the ignition of wildfires on those roads or streets maintained by a county road maintenance department or local fire district that are located in very high fire hazard severity zones, as described. The bill would prescribe requirements for a county road maintenance department or local fire district to be eligible to receive a grant under the program, and would require the department to consider specified information in determining the award of grants. The bill would require the department, by May 1, 2021, to provide a report to the Assembly Committee on Budget and the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, containing specified information about the grant program.
The bill would appropriate the sum of $25,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to be used to provide grants under the program, as provided.
(a)The department shall establish a grant program to provide grants to county road maintenance departments and local fire districts to enable those departments and districts to purchase vegetation management equipment to be used to manage vegetation along streets and roads to prevent the ignition of wildfires on those streets and roads maintained by a county road maintenance department or local fire district that are located in very high fire hazard severity zones, as identified by the department pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code, or as designated pursuant to Section 51179 of the Government Code.
(b)To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a county road maintenance department or local fire district shall submit
an application to the department that includes all of the following:
(1)A copy of the county’s road maintenance plan and related information that includes all of the following information:
(A)The county road maintenance department’s or local fire district’s responsibilities related to managing vegetation adjacent to county streets and roads.
(B)The linear mileage that the county or local fire district is responsible for maintaining throughout each year.
(C)Current county standards for defensible space between county streets and roads and vegetation adjacent to those streets and roads.
(D)Methods currently used to manage vegetation adjacent to county streets and roads.
(2)A description of the equipment, including the age of the equipment, that is currently being utilized by the county or local fire district to manage vegetation adjacent to the county streets and roads and a prioritized list of equipment, including the cost to acquire each piece of equipment, necessary to expedite the management of vegetation adjacent to county streets and roads.
(3)Any plans the county has to widen defensible space between county streets and roads and combustible vegetation adjacent to those streets and roads.
(4)An estimate of the amount of vegetation management or additional defensible space that would be created with the use of additional equipment.
(c)The department shall consider the information provided in paragraphs (1) and
(3) of subdivision (b) in determining the award of grants pursuant to this section.
(d)The department shall award grants to county road maintenance departments and local fire districts as equitably as possible to address areas in very high fire hazard severity zones, as identified pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code, or designated pursuant to Section 51179 of the Government Code.
(e)(1)The department shall provide a report on the grant program to the Assembly Committee on Budget and the Senate Committee Budget and Fiscal Review, on or before May 1, 2021, containing all of the following:
(A)A list of equipment and the amount of funding requested by each county road maintenance department or local fire district.
(B)The amount of funding awarded to each county road maintenance department or local fire district and the equipment purchased by each of those departments or districts receiving funding.
(C)Information provided by each county road maintenance department or local fire district regarding the amount of additional vegetation management or additional defensible space that was created during the prior year using additional equipment.
(2)The requirement for submitting a report imposed under paragraph (1) is inoperative on May 1, 2025, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(b)If the amount of funds appropriated to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to subdivision (a) is insufficient to fund all requests for grants under Section 4204.5 of the Public Resources Code, the department shall give priority to grants to be used for equipment needed for
fire prevention in areas identified as very high fire hazard severity zones pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code, or designated pursuant to Section 51179 of the Government Code.