Bill > AB1642

This bill addresses the growing threat of severe wildfires—uncontrolled fires spreading through vegetation or structures—by establishing standardized testing, cleanup, and safety protocols for toxic contamination left behind in homes, schools, and workplaces. Specifically, it requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (an agency that regulates hazardous materials) to work with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (a state entity that evaluates health risks) to develop formal regulations for lead and asbestos testing and remediation by December 31, 2028, and to publish guidance for other specific contaminants like heavy metals, cyanide, and dioxins by December 31, 2029. Until these new rules take effect, existing federal and state standards for lead and asbestos will serve as the legal benchmark for clearing residential properties for safe human occupancy. Additionally, the State Air Resources Board—the state agency responsible for monitoring and protecting air quality—must publish guidance on indoor air contaminants from wildfire smoke by the end of 2028, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control must collaborate with the State Department of Education to provide non-regulatory advisory guidance for schools by July 1, 2028, to help local educational agencies safely manage post-wildfire reopenings. These new rules and guidance documents are exempt from the standard Administrative Procedure Act and the California Environmental Quality Act to expedite the recovery process, and the bill will only become operative if a companion measure, Assembly Bill 1795, is successfully enacted by January 1, 2027.