Wildfire Prevention Grants Program: wildfire mitigation validation.

Removed the cap limiting disbursements to up to 20 percent of Wildfire Prevention Grants Program funds. The Senate version allows the department to disburse funds without a stated percentage limit.

Added new paragraph (5) requiring that state and private home hardening certification programs base certification on objective, verifiable, and periodically reviewed wildfire mitigation criteria supported by publicly available methodology and data.

Changed the prioritization mechanism from awarding 'additional points' to disadvantaged communities to requiring the department to 'prioritize' them and award preference pursuant to established procedures for prioritizing disadvantaged applicants.

Removed the standalone application process that allowed any group of residents to apply for identified cohesive fire community status with a written justification. The application role is now handled entirely through fire safe councils applying for grant funding on behalf of the community.

Changed the definition of identified cohesive fire community from a 'neighborhood' that reached 50 percent certification under any State Fire Marshal-approved program to a 'community' that reached the applicable phased percentage under the process described in the section itself, removing the June 1, 2027 deadline and State Fire Marshal approval requirement.

Added new subdivision (e) stating that qualification as an identified cohesive fire community cannot be used for purposes of the business of insurance and does not establish actuarial justification for rate adjustments, catastrophe model modifications, underwriting changes, or mitigation credits absent supporting empirical and statistical evidence.

New wildfire mitigation validation program requiring the department, in consultation with the State Fire Marshal's Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee, to provide voluntary official recognition to communities that achieve progress toward community-scale wildfire preparedness and mitigations.

The department must set minimum percentage thresholds of mitigations required to achieve recognition and must set increases in those percentages over time to incentivize continued community-scale preparedness.

Prioritization of disadvantaged communities changed from a mandatory requirement ('shall prioritize') to a discretionary preference ('may be awarded preference pursuant to the department's established procedures'), giving the department more flexibility in how it handles disadvantaged community applicants.

Specific mitigations now enumerated: home hardening per Health and Safety Code Section 13108.5, defensible space per Government Code Section 51182, Firewise USA Community recognition, fuel reduction projects adjacent to the community including maintained green space, and other science-backed mitigations determined by the State Fire Marshal.

Grant funding eligibility expanded from communities partnering only with fire safe councils to communities partnering with a fire safe council or other eligible group as identified in subdivision (a) of Section 4124.5, broadening the range of partner organizations that can apply for and manage grant funds.

The definition of 'identified cohesive fire community' was changed from a flat 50 percent home certification threshold to a phased system: 10 percent for fiscal years 2028-29 and 2029-30, 30 percent for 2030-31 through 2032-33, and 50 percent for 2033-34 and 2034-35. This makes it far easier for communities to qualify in the early years.

The department is now required to 'prioritize disadvantaged identified cohesive fire communities' in its evaluation of Wildfire Prevention Grants Program applicants, in addition to awarding additional points. This introduces an explicit equity-based prioritization requirement.

The qualifying home hardening certification program was narrowed from 'any program approved by the State Fire Marshal' to specifically one 'developed by an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit scientific research and communications organization supported by property insurers, reinsurers, and affiliated companies.' The term 'community neighborhood' was also replaced with 'neighborhood community' as defined in Government Code Section 65302.10(a)(1).

New provisions require that if a state agency later adopts its own home hardening certification program, it must use timeframes and percentage thresholds comparable to the phased system. Communities that already qualified under the nonprofit program retain their status if a state agency program is later adopted.

The fire safe council's role was expanded. A new subdivision requires the fire safe council to be both the entity that applies for grant funding on behalf of the community and the entity that receives and manages the awarded funds, with discretion over how to spend them.

The definition of 'identified cohesive fire community' was changed from 'a community that has reached 50 percent of homes certified' to 'a community neighborhood that has reached 50 percent of homes certified,' adding the word 'neighborhood' to narrow the scope of what qualifies.

A new condition of eligibility was added: identified cohesive fire communities must partner with a fire safe council in order to use funds from the Wildfire Prevention Grants Program. The fire safe council is responsible for receiving and managing the funds on behalf of the community.

A new provision requires the department to award additional points in its evaluation of applicants for the Wildfire Prevention Grants Program to identified cohesive fire community grant applicants that partner with fire safe councils, starting in the 2028-29 fiscal year.