Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation (FOREST) and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act.

Section 4773.2(b)(1)(A) now requires facilities to use only 'forest biomass waste' as feedstock, removing 'solid fuel biomass' as an acceptable option. This narrows which facilities can receive FOREST program reimbursement.

The clearcut restriction in Section 4773.2(b)(1)(B) was reworded from 'lands that have been clear cut' to 'lands that are subject to the clearcut silvicultural prescription, as defined by the board,' tying the prohibition to a specific board-defined term rather than a general description.

New Section 2.5 adds subdivision (g) to Section 4629.6, authorizing Timber Fund moneys to support demonstration state forests as a supplemental source to the Forest Resources Improvement Fund.

New Section 3.5 amends Section 4629.8 to update funding priorities to include subdivision (j) in the fourth priority, incorporating changes proposed by AB 2494. These changes are operative only if both bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

The legislative digest was updated to reference 'Timber Fund' instead of the full name 'Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund' in one instance, and to note the AB 2494 incorporation condition.

The bill now amends Sections 4629.6 and 4629.8 of the Public Resources Code, expanding its scope from solely creating the FOREST program to also restructuring how the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund is spent and prioritized.

The fire fuel reduction procurement program (former Section 4773.4), which was designed to support procurement, transport, and beneficial use of up to 15,000,000 bone-dry tons of forest biomass waste per year to reduce wildfire fuel, has been removed from the bill.

New spending purposes added for the Timber Fund: administration costs for the FOREST Fund and Program, fuel treatment grants under the Wildland Fire Protection Act, grants to local agencies/nonprofits/tribes/governments for fire protection on state responsibility area lands, and per diem payments for advisory body members.

A strict sequential funding priority system is established for the Timber Fund: administrative costs first, then reserve maintenance, then forest improvement/restoration grants, then fuel treatment and fire protection grants. No lower priority may receive funds until all higher priorities are fully funded for that fiscal year.

The existing authorization to loan up to $500,000 per year from the Timber Fund to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for addressing marijuana cultivation damage on forest lands is repealed and replaced with authority to support the FOREST Fund and Program at the same funding priority level.

A new eligibility requirement (subdivision (b)(4)) requires that a biomass facility seeking FOREST reimbursement must either be located in one of 23 specified counties (Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Del Norte, El Dorado, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, or Yuba) or meet emission limits equivalent to or more stringent than best available retrofit control technology as determined by the local air district.

The prohibition on using forest biomass waste from clear-cut lands is narrowed: it now only prohibits feedstock from lands 'subject to the clearcut silvicultural prescription, as defined by the board,' rather than all clear-cut lands.

Definitions for BioMAT and BioRAM are removed from the article. The legislative findings are updated to reference PUC Decision 21-06-035 (June 30, 2021) on clean firm energy requirements, and the reference to Executive Order B-52-18 and the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force is removed from the digest.

The application requirement language is simplified: a facility must now demonstrate it 'processes forest biomass waste to generate electricity' (rather than 'solid fuel biomass') and is 'certified by' the Energy Commission (removing the prior 'renewable-portfolio-standard-compliant retail seller' qualifier).

New requirement that no less than 60 percent of feedstock used by a facility must originate from Tier 1 and Tier 2 high hazard zones as defined in Section 399.20.3 of the Public Utilities Code.

New requirement that forest biomass waste must be a byproduct of sustainable forestry management, including removal of dead and dying trees from Tier 1 and Tier 2 high hazard zones, and that facilities may not use forest biomass waste from lands that have been clear cut.

The list of eligible electricity buyers is expanded from 'load-serving entity or industrial customer' to explicitly include retail sellers, community choice aggregators, local publicly owned electric utilities, electrical corporations, and electrical rural cooperatives.

Applicants must now demonstrate that the facility is certified by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission as an eligible renewable energy resource for purposes of satisfying the renewable portfolio standard.

The FOREST and Wildfire Prevention Fund's purpose is broadened from supporting only the fire fuel reduction procurement program to also covering the FOREST program itself (Section 4773.2).

The requirement that the fire fuel reduction procurement program grant funding priority to BioRAM and BioMAT fleets in operation on or before January 1, 2031 is removed entirely.

The vote threshold for passage is reduced from a two-thirds majority to a simple majority, and the appropriation designation changes from 'yes' to 'no.'

Senator Dahle is added as a coauthor of the bill.

A new FOREST program is established under the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to maintain and expand biomass power generation, revitalize idle facilities, and create additional capacity for power generation or feedstock utilization in strategically located regions.

The article title is updated to include '(FOREST)' in the short name, and a new legislative finding subdivision is added stating that supporting biomass power generation will help meet greenhouse gas reduction goals, provide clean power, improve grid resiliency, protect jobs, reduce wildfire risk, and support forest recovery.

Moneys from the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund (Section 4629.3) or the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (Government Code Section 16428.8) would be made available to the board upon legislative appropriation to fund the FOREST program.

The FOREST and Wildfire Prevention Fund is no longer continuously appropriated to the Natural Resources Agency. Instead, moneys in the fund are available only upon appropriation by the Legislature, shifting from automatic spending to requiring annual or ad hoc legislative action.

The bill's appropriation status changed from 'Appropriation: yes' to 'Appropriation: no,' reflecting that the fund is no longer continuously appropriated but requires legislative action.

A facility's solid fuel biomass electrical generation becomes eligible for reimbursement at an incentive rate if it uses solid fuel biomass or forest biomass waste to generate electricity, the electricity is generated on or after January 1, 2027, and it is sold within the state to a load-serving entity or industrial customer.

Facility operators must submit an application demonstrating their facility processes solid fuel biomass and is a renewable-portfolio-standard-compliant retail seller. Monthly invoices documenting eligible generation are required, and the board makes monthly incentive payments at a rate it determines and publishes.

The board must maximize disposition of forest biomass waste when prioritizing reimbursement applications and must ensure, in consultation with CAL FIRE, that reimbursed facilities achieve a net reduction in short-lived climate pollutants.

The board is given authority to adopt regulations (including emergency regulations) to implement the FOREST program. Emergency regulations may remain in effect until revised by the board, and their adoption does not constitute a project under CEQA.

New definitions added for 'FOREST fund' (the FOREST and Wildfire Prevention Fund) and 'FOREST program' (the Forest Organic Residue Energy and Safety Transformation program).

Section 4773.3(c) requiring that 'Projects shall use only nonliving organic waste' was deleted, removing a restriction on what types of biomass material can be used in funded projects.

New Section 4773.4 was added stating that ratepayer funds shall not be used to fund the FOREST and Wildfire Prevention Fund, explicitly walling off utility customer payments from this program's financing.

The definition of 'forest biomass waste' in Section 4773.1(d) was corrected from 'byproducts of forest biomass that is removed management for wildfire mitigation' to 'byproducts of forest management for wildfire mitigation,' fixing a garbled phrase.

Subdivision (e) of Section 4773.1, which defined 'organic waste' by reference to Section 42649.8, was removed entirely.

Section 4773.3(a) was simplified by removing a redundant duplicate phrase ('biomass procurement, transport, and beneficial use') that appeared before the operative language about supporting procurement of forest biomass waste.

The deadline for BioRAM and BioMAT fleets to be in operation in order to receive funding priority was extended from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2031, giving existing and planned bioenergy facilities five additional years to qualify.

The definition of 'forest biomass waste' was changed from 'forest biomass that is removed for wildfire mitigation, wildfire prevention, forest restoration, or the protection of public safety or infrastructure' to 'the byproducts of forest biomass that is removed for wildfire mitigation, wildfire prevention, forest resiliency, forest restoration, or the protection of public safety or infrastructure.' An explicit exclusion was added: 'Forest biomass waste does not include purpose-grown crops.'

Section 4773.3(a) was revised to specify that the program supports procurement, transport, and beneficial use of 'forest biomass waste' rather than the broader term 'organic waste,' narrowing the eligible material to forest-derived byproducts specifically.

The BioMAT findings section removed the detailed MW allocation breakdown (110 MW from diverted organic waste, 90 MW from agricultural and dairy waste), keeping only the reference to the 50 MW forest waste target. The term 'Procurement Funding priority' was simplified to 'Funding priority.'

The bill no longer amends Section 21650 of the Public Utilities Code regarding nonpublic-use airports. That provision is entirely deleted, narrowing the bill to forestry and wildfire prevention only.

The fire fuel reduction procurement program now supports 'biomass procurement, transport, and beneficial use' rather than just 'biomass procurement,' broadening what the fund can pay for beyond purchasing biomass to also covering moving it and putting it to productive use.

The priority deadline for BioRAM and BioMAT fleets is extended from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2031, and the criterion changes from fleets 'in existence' to fleets 'in operation,' giving existing and near-term facilities a much longer window of priority funding.

A new definition is added for 'forest biomass waste': forest biomass removed for wildfire mitigation, wildfire prevention, forest restoration, or protection of public safety or infrastructure (Section 4773.1(d)).

The fiscal committee vote changes from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries a state fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee approval, consistent with the expanded program scope.

The priority language in Section 4773.3(b) changes from 'procurement priority' to 'procurement funding priority,' clarifying that the priority applies specifically to funding allocation rather than general procurement process.

New legislative findings (r) and (s) are added citing a Clean Air Task Force report on bioenergy job creation and the Governor's California Jobs First plan, noting that $30 million in federal funding for BioMAT projects would be lost if the program is not extended.

Establishes the FOREST and Wildfire Prevention Fund in the State Treasury with a continuous appropriation to the Natural Resources Agency. This changes the bill from having no appropriation to making one, which also raises the vote requirement from majority to two-thirds.

Adds an entirely new Article 12 (Sections 4773 through 4773.3) to the Public Resources Code, expanding the bill's scope from a single technical amendment in the Public Utilities Code to a comprehensive wildfire prevention and biomass procurement framework.

Creates a fire fuel reduction procurement program designed to support sufficient biomass procurement that reduces wildfire fuel by up to 15,000,000 bone dry tons of forest biomass organic waste per year.

Requires that projects under the fire fuel reduction procurement program use only nonliving organic waste, limiting the type of material eligible for removal and processing.

Grants procurement priority to BioRAM and BioMAT fleets that exist on or before January 1, 2026, creating a deadline-based eligibility criterion for bioenergy facilities to receive funding under the program.

Defines key terms including 'biomass,' 'BioMAT' (Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff), 'BioRAM' (Bioenergy Renewable Auction Mechanism), and 'organic waste' for purposes of the new article.

The original airport definition amendment (Section 21650) is retained but renumbered from Section 1 to a later section number to accommodate the new article added before it.