Bill > SB899

This bill requires the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, a group established to implement California's plan for managing wildfires and forests, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the health costs and impacts of severe wildfire smoke by July 1, 2028. Working with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the State Department of Public Health, the task force will use existing data to estimate emergency room visits and deaths caused by wildfire smoke since July 1, 2018, and calculate the associated healthcare costs. Additionally, the task force will develop a model to quantify the health benefits, both in terms of cost savings and improved public health, of achieving the goals outlined in the state's "Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan" and will recommend ways to enhance these health benefits. The task force is authorized to hire independent contractors to assist with this assessment, and the findings, along with proposed actions to reduce smoke's health impact, will be incorporated into the next update of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB899