Emergency services: property insurance surcharge.

(1) Existing law establishes the California Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services for certain manmade disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property. This bill would establish the Local Government Mutual Aid Enhancement Program in the agency, and would require funds, as specified, deposited in the Emergency Response Fund, to be allocated to the program upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would require the Secretary of California Emergency Management to allocate funds to specified entities, for the purpose of enhancing or sustaining fire and rescue disaster mutual aid capacity to combat the effect of all hazard disasters, as provided. This bill would also require the secretary, in consultation with specified entities, to develop a strategy, as provided, for the enhancement of mutual aid, and would require each fire and rescue operational area to submit a 3-year strategy for the enhancement of fire and rescue disaster mutual aid, as specified, to the secretary. (2) Existing law provides that the Insurance Commissioner, in cooperation with insurers, the Office of Emergency Services, and other emergency service agencies, shall establish procedures for the coordination of efforts between insurers and their representatives and those of emergency response agencies. This bill would create the Emergency Response Fund in the State Treasury. Insureds would be required to pay a special purpose surcharge on commercial and residential fire and multiperil insurance policies, including policies with combined property and liability coverage, issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2010, as specified. Funds from this surcharge would be available for appropriation by the Legislature to fund emergency activities, as defined, of the California Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Military Department. Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year would be retained and carried forward to the next fiscal year. This bill would require insurers collecting the surcharge to make a specified disclosure on the policy declarations page, billing statement, or a separate document accompanying the declarations page or billing statement. This bill would also require the Department of Insurance, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and other state agencies and departments to cooperate and provide information to the California Emergency Management Agency as necessary to implement this act. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on January 8, 2010. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 8, 2010, pursuant to the California Constitution. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.