Existing law establishes in state government the Natural Resources Agency, consisting of various departments, including the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Existing law makes that department responsible for the fire protection, fire prevention, maintenance, and enhancement of the state's forest, range, and brushland resources, contract fire protection, associated emergency services, and assistance in civil disasters and other nonfire emergencies.
This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2023, the agency to research, and provide a report to the Legislature with recommendations for, ways in which a community that undertakes science-supported wildfire resilience actions can be recognized with a peer-reviewed, community-level certification in order to acknowledge and motivate wildfire resilience activity, as provided. The bill would provide that the sum of $2,000,000 shall be appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in the annual Budget Act each year through the 2022–23 fiscal year to the agency for purposes of this research and report.