Wildfire mitigation plans: vegetation management: vegetation inspection standards.

Existing law requires electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, and electrical cooperatives to prepare and update wildfire mitigation plans, as specified. Existing law requires a wildfire mitigation plan to include, among other things, plans for vegetation management. Existing law requires the wildfire mitigation plans and updates prepared by electrical corporations to be submitted to the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety for review and approval, while those prepared by local publicly owned electric utilities and electrical cooperatives are submitted to the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board. This bill would require the standards for vegetation inspection in the plans for vegetation management to meet specific requirements related to visually assessing and inspecting trees. The bill would specify that an electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, or electric cooperative, or a person engaging in vegetation management on behalf of those entities, meeting those requirements for vegetation inspection establishes a rebuttable presumption that the relevant standard of care is met. By imposing additional duties on local publicly owned electric utilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.