Bill > AB2102

This bill, titled the "Force State and Local Government to Be Firewise Neighbors Act," aims to enhance wildfire prevention and fuel reduction efforts by imposing new responsibilities on state and local entities and providing property owners with more flexibility. Key provisions include requiring the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (the department) or local entities (cities, counties, or other local jurisdictions with fire prevention authority) to assess all undeveloped public lands under their responsibility by January 1, 2028, and every two years thereafter, to ensure these lands do not pose a severe fire hazard, with these assessments to be publicly posted. Additionally, by January 1, 2028, all public lands must have 200-foot firebreaks on borders with private property, and when the department or a local entity acquires private undeveloped land, they must create and publicly post a fire prevention management plan and report its associated costs. Furthermore, the bill allows property owners to conduct wildfire fuel reduction activities on their private property, such as removing dead trees or thinning brush, if these activities comply with guidelines established by county fire chiefs, and these activities are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a state law requiring environmental impact reviews for projects that could significantly affect the environment, regardless of the acreage involved, as long as they are solely for fuel reduction and not development. This exemption also prevents state agencies from imposing additional requirements on these activities. The bill also preempts local ordinances that would prohibit or restrict these compliant fuel reduction activities and prohibits cities, counties, or special districts from imposing discretionary review or additional environmental reviews for them.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2102