Fire safety: low-cost retrofits: regional capacity review: wildfire mitigation.

(1) Existing law requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to designate specified areas as very high fire hazard severity zones and requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered lands, brush-covered lands, grass-covered lands, or land that is covered with flammable material to take specified measures to protect that building or structure from wildfires. This bill would require the Natural Resources Agency, by July 1, 2021, and in consultation with the State Fire Marshal and the Forest Management Task Force, to review the regional capacity of each county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone to improve forest health, fire resilience, and safety, as specified. The bill would require the Natural Resources Agency to make the review publicly available on its internet website. On or after July 1, 2021, the bill would require a seller of real property located in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone to provide specified documentation to the buyer that the real property is in compliance with the wildfire protection measures described above or a local vegetation management ordinance, or enter into an agreement with the buyer pursuant to which the buyer will obtain documentation of compliance, as provided. (2) Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal, by January 31, 2020, to develop a list of low-cost retrofits that provide for comprehensive site and structure fire risk reduction to protect structures from fires spreading from adjacent structures or vegetation and to protect vegetation from fires spreading from adjacent structures. This bill, on or after January 1, 2021, would require the seller of any real property located in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone to provide a prescribed disclosure notice to the buyer, if the home was constructed before January 1, 2020, of information relating to fire hardening improvements on the property and a list of specified features that may make the home vulnerable to wildfire and flying embers and which features, if any, that exist on the home of which the seller is aware. The bill, on or after July 1, 2025, would require the disclosure notice to also include the State Fire Marshal's list of low-cost retrofits. The bill would also require a seller who has obtained a specified final inspection report to provide to the buyer a copy of that report or information on where a copy may be obtained. (3) Existing law establishes, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services, under the direction of the Director of Emergency Services. Existing law charges the Office of Emergency Services with coordinating various emergency activities within the state. The Joint Exercise of Powers Act authorizes 2 or more public agencies, if authorized by their legislative or other governing bodies, to enter into an agreement to jointly exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as provided. That act requires, among other things, that the agreement state the purpose of agreement or power to be exercised and provides for the method by which the purpose will be accomplished or the manner in which the power will be exercised. This bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to enter into a joint powers agreement pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop and administer a comprehensive wildfire mitigation program to, among other things, encourage cost-effective structure hardening and retrofitting to create fire-resistant homes, businesses, and public buildings. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with specified state officials, to identify building retrofits and structure hardening measures, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to identify defensible space, vegetation management, and fuel modification activities, that are eligible for financial assistance under the program. The bill would specify the types of designated wildfire hazard areas eligible for funding under the program. The bill would authorize the joint powers authority administering the program to accept federal funds for the bill's purposes. The bill would require the joint powers authority to develop criteria and a scoring methodology to prioritize financial assistance provided through the program based on specific factors. The bill would impose specified reporting requirements on the joint powers authority and authorize it to enter into cooperative agreements with other federal, state, regional, and local agencies. The bill would make the operation of the program contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature and would repeal the program's provisions on July 1, 2025.