Mountainous, forest-, brush-, and grass-covered lands: timber operations: clearings: notice: enforcement: limitations periods.

(1) Existing law requires a person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains an electrical transmission or distribution line upon specified lands to maintain clearances and firebreaks around certain electrical equipment, as provided. Existing law provides that a person is not required to comply with the above provisions relating to the clearing on any land if the person does not have the legal right to maintain that clearing. This bill would delete the above provision of law that excludes a person, as provided, from having to maintain the clearing and would make conforming changes. The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 (act) prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The act defines timber operations for these purposes to mean the cutting or removal, or both, of timber or other solid wood forest products from timberlands for commercial purposes, as provided. The act defines "commercial purposes" to include, among other things, the cutting or removal of trees that are processed for sale, barter, exchange, or trade, as provided. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would also include, as part of the definition of "commercial purposes" any cutting or removal of timber or other solid wood forest products by any person that owns, controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or distribution line upon specified lands, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated program. The bill would require a utility company, before commencing work to maintain clearances and firebreaks around certain electrical equipment, to notify, in writing, the owner of the land upon which the work will be performed no less than 21 days before the commencement of the work, as provided. The bill would require the notice to include specified information, including information regarding the landowner's right to object to the work and information regarding the landowner's options for the disposition of the timber or other solid wood forest products, as provided. The bill would require that a person who violates these provisions be subject to a civil penalty imposed by a court in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each violation. The bill would authorize a city attorney or county counsel to bring action to enforce these provisions, as provided. The bill would also make conforming changes. Existing law provides that civil actions can only be commenced within prescribed periods, based on the nature of the action, including a 3-year limitations period for specified violations of the act. This bill would provide that an action commenced by a city attorney or a county counsel to enforce the provisions described above relating to notice before a utility company commences work to maintain clearances and firebreaks around certain electrical equipment is subject to a 3-year limitations period, as provided. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.