Fire prevention: defensible space inspections: statewide defensible space and home hardening platform.

Existing law requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered lands, shrub-covered lands, grass-covered lands, or land that is covered with flammable material, to at all times maintain a defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, as provided. Existing law requires a seller of real property that is located in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone to provide the buyer documentation stating that the property is in compliance with that defensible space requirement. This bill would authorize the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection, using specified funds, to procure or establish a statewide defensible space and home hardening platform that would allow property owners to support and augment the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in defensible space inspection requests, as provided. The bill would require the platform to have specified features, including a functionality that would allow for live video and audio interaction between a fire safety official and a property owner. The bill would require the director to establish any necessary quality control measures to ensure that the inspection information that is shared on the platform is accurate, reliable, and auditable. The bill would authorize a seller of real property to use the platform for purposes of providing specified documentation relating to defensible space requirements, as provided. The bill would subject a property owner to a specified civil penalty if the property owner provides false information, omits information requested by a fire safety official, or otherwise seeks to use the platform to provide false or misleading information for the purpose of providing the documentation described above.