AB 2410

AB2410:v96#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2410

An act to amend Sections 30519 and 30610 of, and to add and repeal Sections 21080.06 and 30618 of, Section 21080.7 of the Public Resources Code, relating to wildfire safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2410, as amended, Ellis. Wildfire safety: fuels reduction projects: California Environmental Quality Act: California Coastal Act. Act.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts from its requirements certain projects.

This bill would, until January 1, 2030, exempt from CEQA critical fuels reduction projects that address extremely flammable species, are conducted in communities located in high fire threat districts or very high fire hazard severity zones, as provided. zones, and remove specified nonnative species or common species. The bill would require projects exempt from CEQA pursuant to this exemption to comply with the best management practices under the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan, as provided. The bill would require a lead agency carrying out a project exempt from CEQA pursuant to this exemption to consult with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, as provided, and to, within 90 days of project completion, submit a notice of project completion and a final compliance determination regarding the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and the Secretary for Environmental Protection, as provided. The bill would require, on or before March 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to, in consultation with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, submit a report to the Legislature with specified information summarizing the implementation of these provisions during the preceding calendar year. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or a local government, as provided. The act generally requires each local government lying in whole or in part within the coastal zone to prepare a local coastal program for that portion of the coastal zone within its jurisdiction and prescribes procedures for the preparation, approval, and certification of local coastal programs. The act generally prohibits, after certification of a local coastal program and all implementing actions within the affected area, the commission from exercising its coastal development permit review authority over any new development within the area to which the certified local coastal program, or any portion thereof, applies. Under the act, this prohibition does not apply to specified types of development including development proposed or undertaken on any tidelands, submerged lands, or on public trust lands. The act provides that a coastal development permit is not required for specified types of development in specified areas, as provided.

This bill would provide that, until January 1, 2030, a coastal development permit is not required for critical fuels reduction projects, as provided. The bill would add these critical fuels reduction projects to the list of specified types of development that the above-described prohibition on the commission exercising its coastal development permit review authority does not apply to.

The act provides for the certification of public works plans by the commission and for limited review by the commission for projects contained in a public works plan after certification.

This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2028, the commission to report to the Legislature certain information on fuel modification and reduction projects, including the number of fuel modification or reduction projects requested under a public works plan from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2026, inclusive, among other information.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.Section 21080.06 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

21080.06.

SECTION 1.

Section 21080.7 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

21080.7.

(a) Without limiting any other statutory or categorical exemption provided under this division and subject to subdivision (b), this division does not apply to a critical fuels reduction project that addresses extremely flammable species and is conducted in a community located in a high fire threat district as determined by the Public Utilities Commission, or very high fire hazard severity zone as identified by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code or Section 4202 or as designated by an ordinance pursuant to Section 51179 of the Government Code that does at least one of the following: removes nonnative species 12 inches or less in diameter at breast height or a common species 8 inches or less in diameter at breast height.

(1)Removes hazardous, dead, or dying trees.

(2)Removes vegetation for the creation of strategic fuel breaks as identified by approved fire prevention plans, including CAL-FIRE Unit Fire Plans or community wildfire protection plans.

(3)Removes vegetation along roadways, highways, and freeways for the creation of safer ingress and egress routes for the public and first responders and to reduce roadside ignitions.

(4)Removes vegetation around electric utility lines, poles, and rights-of-way to reduce the risk of wildfire and fire-related service outages.

(5)Removes vegetation using cultural traditional ecological knowledge for cultural burning or prescribed fire treatments or both of those types of treatments for fuels reduction projects.

(6)Maintains previously established fuel breaks or fuel modification projects.

(b)For purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3), subdivision (a) only applies if the vegetation removed for the critical fuels reduction project meets all of the following requirements:

(1)The vegetation is a nonnative species.

(2)The vegetation is 12 inches or less in diameter.

(3)The vegetation is a common species.

(c)

(b) (1) Projects exempt from this division pursuant to this section shall comply with the best management practices under the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan as prepared by the Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency. Agency, or its successor document.

(2) A project’s compliance with the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan pursuant to paragraph (1) does not exempt the project from a requirement to obtain a permit pursuant to any other law. (c) The lead agency carrying out a project exempt from this division pursuant to this section shall consult with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to ensure that, to the extent feasible, the project is designed to avoid or minimize impacts to rare, threatened, and endangered plants and wildlife and wildlife nursery sites, including nesting rookeries, spawning areas, fawning areas, and maternal roosts.(d) Within 90 days of project completion, the lead agency shall submit a notice of project completion and a final determination of compliance with the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and the Secretary for Environmental Protection. The final compliance determination shall include all of the following information:(1) The 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan measures implemented.(2) Any deviations from the approved project description or 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan requirements and the reasons for those deviations.(3) The status of all required mitigation, restoration, monitoring, and maintenance activities.(4) Documentation or other evidence sufficient to demonstrate implementation of applicable 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan requirements and any measures resulting from consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.(5) Documentation or other evidence of achievement of all required permits.(e) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and the Secretary for Environmental Protection may audit project records maintained pursuant to subdivision (d) to evaluate compliance with this chapter and the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan and may issue recommendations to improve implementation of this section.(f) On or before March 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, shall submit a report to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, that summarizes implementation of this chapter during the preceding calendar year. The report shall include, at a minimum, all of the following information: (1) The number of projects determined eligible under this chapter.(2) The location, acreage, and project type of each project.(3) The permitting or environmental compliance mechanisms used.(4) The lead agency responsible for project oversight.(5) A summary of compliance with the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan, including any identified instances of noncompliance and corrective actions taken.(6) A summary of mitigation measures implemented.(7) A summary of ecological monitoring results and any recommendations for improving the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan based on projects exempt from this division pursuant to this section or implementation of this chapter. (8) Recommendations for statutory or administrative changes to improve wildfire resilience while protecting fish, wildlife, water quality, and other natural resources.

(d)

(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.Section 30519 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

30519.

(a)Except for appeals to the commission, as provided in Section 30603, after a local coastal program, or any portion thereof, has been certified and all implementing actions within the area affected have become effective, the development review authority provided for in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600) shall no longer be exercised by the commission over any new development proposed within the area to which the certified local coastal program, or any portion thereof, applies and shall at that time be delegated to the local government that is implementing the local coastal program or any portion thereof.

(b)Subdivision (a) shall not apply to any development proposed or undertaken on any tidelands, submerged lands, or on public trust lands, whether filled or unfilled, lying within the coastal zone, nor shall it apply to a critical fuels reduction project pursuant to subdivision (j) of Section 30610, any development proposed or undertaken within ports covered by Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 30700) or within any state university or college within the coastal zone; however, this section shall apply to any development proposed or undertaken by a port or harbor district or authority on lands or waters granted by the Legislature to a local government whose certified local coastal program includes the specific development plans for the district or authority.

(c)The commission may, from time to time, recommend to the appropriate local government local coastal program amendments to accommodate uses of greater than local importance, which uses are not permitted by the applicable certified local coastal program. These uses may be listed generally or the commission may recommend specific uses of greater than local importance for consideration by the appropriate local government.

SEC. 3.Section 30610 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

30610.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, a coastal development permit shall not be required pursuant to this chapter for the following types of development and in the following areas:

(a)Improvements to existing single-family residences; provided, however, that the commission shall specify, by regulation, those classes of development that involve a risk of adverse environmental effect and shall require that a coastal development permit be obtained pursuant to this chapter.

(b)Improvements to a structure other than a single-family residence or a public works facility; provided, however, that the commission shall specify, by regulation, those types of improvements that (1) involve a risk of adverse environmental effect, (2) adversely affect public access, or (3) involve a change in use contrary to any policy of this division. Any improvement so specified by the commission shall require a coastal development permit.

(c)Maintenance dredging of existing navigation channels or moving dredged material from those channels to a disposal area outside the coastal zone, pursuant to a permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

(d)Repair or maintenance activities that do not result in an addition to, or enlargement or expansion of, repair or maintenance activities; provided, however, that if the commission determines that certain extraordinary methods of repair and maintenance involve a risk of substantial adverse environmental impact, it shall, by regulation, require that a permit be obtained pursuant to this chapter.

(e)Any category of development, or any category of development within a specifically defined geographic area, that the commission, after public hearing, and by two-thirds vote of its appointed members, has described or identified and with respect to which the commission has found that there is no potential for any significant adverse effect, either individually or cumulatively, on coastal resources or on public access to, or along, the coast and, where the exclusion precedes certification of the applicable local coastal program, that the exclusion will not impair the ability of local government to prepare a local coastal program.

(f)The installation, testing, and placement in service or the replacement of a necessary utility connection between an existing service facility and a development approved pursuant to this division; provided, however, that the commission may, where necessary, require reasonable conditions to mitigate any adverse impacts on coastal resources, including scenic resources.

(g)(1)The replacement of a structure, other than a public works facility, destroyed by a disaster. The replacement structure shall conform to applicable existing zoning requirements, shall be for the same use as the destroyed structure, shall not exceed either the floor area, height, or bulk of the destroyed structure by more than 10 percent, and shall be sited in the same location on the affected property as the destroyed structure.

(2)For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:

(A)“Bulk” means total interior cubic volume as measured from the exterior surface of the structure.

(B)“Disaster” means a situation in which the force or forces that destroyed the structure to be replaced were beyond the control of its owner.

(C)“Structure” includes landscaping and any erosion control structure or device which is similar to that which existed prior to the occurrence of the disaster.

(h)Any activity anywhere in the coastal zone that involves the conversion of any existing multiple-unit residential structure to a time-share project, estate, or use, as defined in Section 11212 of the Business and Professions Code. If any improvement to an existing structure is otherwise exempt from the permit requirements of this division, no coastal development permit shall be required for that improvement on the basis that it is to be made in connection with any conversion exempt pursuant to this subdivision. The division of a multiple-unit residential structure into condominiums, as defined in Section 783 of the Civil Code, shall not be considered a time-share project, estate, or use for purposes of this subdivision.

(i)(1)Any proposed development that the executive director finds to be a temporary event that does not have any significant adverse impact upon coastal resources within the meaning of guidelines adopted pursuant to this subdivision by the commission. The commission shall, after public hearing, adopt guidelines to implement this subdivision to assist local governments and persons planning temporary events in complying with this division by specifying the standards that the executive director shall use in determining whether a temporary event is excluded from permit requirements pursuant to this subdivision. The guidelines adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall be exempt from the review of the Office of Administrative Law and from the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(2)Exclusion or waiver from the coastal development permit requirements of this division pursuant to this subdivision does not diminish, waive, or otherwise prevent the commission from asserting and exercising its coastal development permit jurisdiction over any temporary event at any time if the commission determines that the exercise of its jurisdiction is necessary to implement the coastal resource protection policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200).

(j)(1)A critical fuels reduction project, subject to paragraph (2), that does at least one of the following:

(A)Removes hazardous, dead, or dying trees.

(B)Removes vegetation for the creation of strategic fuel breaks as identified by approved fire prevention plans, including CAL-FIRE Unit Fire Plans or community wildfire protection plans.

(C)Removes vegetation along roadways, highways, and freeways for the creation of safer ingress and egress routes for the public and first responders and to reduce roadside ignitions.

(D)Removes vegetation using cultural traditional ecological knowledge for cultural burning or prescribed fire treatments or both of those types of treatments for fuels reduction projects.

(E)Removes vegetation around electric utility lines, poles, and rights-of-way to reduce the risk of wildfire and fire-related service outages.

(F)Maintains previously established fuel breaks or fuel modification projects.

(2)For purposes of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1), paragraph (1) only applies if the vegetation removed for critical fuel reductions projects meets all of the following requirements:

(A)The vegetation is a nonnative species.

(B)The vegetation is 12 inches or less in diameter.

(C)The vegetation is a common species.

(3)Projects pursuant to this subdivision shall comply with the best management practices under the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan as prepared by the Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency.

(4)This subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030.

SEC. 4.Section 30618 is added to the Public Resources Code, immediately following Section 30617, to read:

30618.

(a)On or before January 1, 2028, the commission shall, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, report to the Legislature all of the following information:

(1)The number of coastal development permit applications for fuel modification or reduction projects received annually by the commission from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2026, inclusive, including, to the extent this information is available to the commission, both of the following:

(A)The number of applications for fuel modification or reductions projects that were approved or denied.

(B)The number of notices received from local governments with certified local coastal programs pursuant to Section 30603 for coastal development permit applications for fuel modification or reduction projects that the applicant acted upon.

(2)The acreage of fuel modification or reduction projects approved annually under coastal development permits from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2026, inclusive.

(3)The average time annually, from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2026, inclusive, for a coastal development permit to be approved by the commission for a fuel modification or reduction project after submission of a complete coastal development permit application.

(4)The number of fuel modification or reduction projects requested under a public works plan from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2026, inclusive.

(5)The average time annually, from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2026, inclusive, for the commission to approve a fuel modification or reduction project under a public works plan.

(b)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 5.SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.