Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: Fire Innovation Unit.

The Emergency Services Innovation Unit (ESIU) within the Office of Emergency Services is completely removed. The bill no longer addresses all-hazards emergency management innovation (flood, earthquake, cybersecurity, etc.) and is now limited to wildfire/fire prevention only.

Section 787(b) broadens consultation scope from technologies that may support 'the department's operational missions' to those that may support 'state agencies' operational missions,' widening the range of cross-agency technology integration considerations.

All Public Contract Code amendments are removed: Section 10298 (leveraged procurement agreements for innovative technology), Section 10340 (competitive bidding exemptions for authorized units), and Section 10340.1 (authority to award contracts for innovative technology without competitive solicitation). This eliminates the state-level procurement framework that would have allowed both the FIU and ESIU to bypass standard competitive bidding.

The Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development duties are changed from permissive ('may do') to mandatory ('shall do'), making its evaluation, testing, documentation, and recommendation functions required rather than optional.

The Innovation, Outreach, and Coordination Program duties are similarly changed from permissive to mandatory language, requiring it to coordinate with end users, identify innovation gaps, serve as liaison, oversee collaborative development, implement the grant program, collaborate with institutions, coordinate demonstrations, provide firefighting expertise for field trials, and facilitate information sharing.

The Rapid Acquisition and Deployment Program's authority to pilot and scale technologies is changed from using 'flexible contracting methods available to the department under applicable law' to 'flexible contracting authorities pursuant to this article,' meaning it must rely on the FIU article's own provisions rather than general state procurement flexibility.

The grant program is renamed from 'Wildfire Innovation Program' to 'Wildfire Innovation Grant Program' in Section 788(a), and the phrase 'to support department efforts' is removed from that section's opening language.

The bill title changes from 'relating to fire prevention, disaster response' to 'relating to disaster response, fire prevention,' reordering to emphasize the broader all-hazards disaster response mission over the narrower wildfire focus.

The Fire Innovation Unit grant program scope is expanded from funding projects that enhance 'wildfire readiness, mitigation, or response' to those that enhance 'wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response,' explicitly adding prevention and preparedness as fundable categories.

Section 786(b) and (c) language is revised so that the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development and the Innovation, Outreach, and Coordination Program 'may' perform their listed activities rather than 'shall,' converting mandatory duties into permissive authorities.

The list of activities for the Innovation, Outreach, and Coordination Program is renumbered and cleaned up, removing duplicate or empty numbered items that resulted from prior amendment markup. Section 2 reference is moved to a cleaner position in the bill structure.

Establishes a new Emergency Services Innovation Unit (ESIU) within the Office of Emergency Services (Government Code 8589.66) to study, test, evaluate, and advise on procurement and deployment of emerging technologies for all-hazards emergencies including fire, flood, extreme heat, tsunami, earthquake, cybersecurity, terrorism, and epidemics.

Removes the Deputy Director of Wildfire Innovation position that was to direct the FIU, leaving the unit without a specified leadership structure in the bill text.

Adds Section 786.5 clarifying that the FIU may collaborate with the Office of Emergency Services and FIRESCOPE Program on shared initiatives, and that nothing in the article limits OES authority to administer the Mutual Aid System.

Adds Public Contract Code Section 10340.1 allowing the FIU or ESIU to award contracts for innovative technology without competitive solicitation, provided the vendor completed a pilot/prototype/demonstration project and received written formal validation based on documented results. Contracts may be structured as multiphase agreements with subsequent phases activated without further competition upon satisfactory completion of prior phases.

Adds a leveraged procurement mechanism in Public Contract Code Section 10298(c) allowing the Department of General Services to assume administration of contracts awarded by the FIU or ESIU and make them available as leveraged procurement agreements for state agencies, local governments, and public agencies in other states (with vendor consent).

Changes multiple FIU program duties from mandatory ('shall do all of the following') to permissive ('may do all of the following'), including for the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development and the Innovation, Outreach, and Coordination Program, giving the department more discretion in how it operates these programs.

Exempts innovative technology contracts awarded by the FIU or ESIU from the consulting contract prohibition in Public Contract Code Section 10365.5, which normally prevents a firm that received a consulting contract from also bidding on related service or procurement contracts.

Changes the Wildfire Innovation Grant Program from 'may fund' to 'shall fund' early-stage, mature, or dual-use technology projects, and expands the scope from 'wildfire readiness, mitigation, or response' to 'wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response through grants, contracts, or both.'

Changes the Rapid Acquisition and Deployment Program's reference from 'flexible contracting authorities pursuant to this article' to 'flexible contracting authorities methods available to the department under applicable law,' broadening the legal basis for flexible procurement beyond just this bill's provisions.

Requires the Office of Emergency Services to submit an annual report to the Governor and legislative committees by January 1, 2028 and annually thereafter, summarizing ESIU activities including technologies evaluated, cost-effectiveness findings, and partnerships leveraged.

The FIU's mission statement in Section 785(b) was expanded to explicitly name the types of technologies it targets: ecosystem and landscape scale resilience, community risk reduction, ignition reduction, early detection, fast fire suppression, and decision support tools.

Section 792 (technical assistance) was expanded to include 'tribal' fire agencies in the list of recipients, changing it from 'local, state, federal, and international' to 'local, state, tribal, federal, and international.'

Section 786(c)(9) adds a new duty for the Innovation, Outreach, and Coordination Program to facilitate information sharing with local fire agencies and relevant state agencies, including the Office of Emergency Services, about technologies evaluated, piloted, or deployed through the FIU.

Section 787(b) is new: the FIU may consult with and invite participation from relevant state agencies, including the Office of Emergency Services, for technologies under evaluation that may support those agencies' operational missions or impact cross-agency technology integration.

Section 788(c) is new: the FIU shall, to the extent practicable, encourage grant projects that evaluate technologies across diverse operational environments and geographical conditions within the state to assess performance under varying terrain, fuel types, and weather conditions.

New Section 793 authorizes the FIU to maintain a publicly available resource (such as an information bulletin) to provide visibility into technologies evaluated, piloted, or deployed under the article.

New Section 794 authorizes the FIU to provide opportunities for participation in demonstrations, pilot programs, and field testing, and requires the FIU to seek operational feedback from participating fire agencies and state agencies when it does so.

Section 788(a) changed the grant program from optional to mandatory: 'may fund' was replaced with 'shall fund,' requiring the FIU to actually fund early-stage, mature, or dual-use technology projects rather than merely having the authority to do so.

Section 788(b) is new and explicitly lists eligible entities for the grant program: local, state, and federal agencies, tribal entities, nonprofit organizations, public and private academic and research institutions, and private sector technology developers.