SB 1404 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Wildfire prevention: state responsibility areas: fire prevention fee.

Summary

Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each habitable structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, as specified, and authorizes the board to annually adjust the fire prevention fee using prescribed methods. Existing law requires that the fire prevention fees collected, except as provided, be deposited into the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and be made available to the board and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for certain specified fire prevention activities that benefit the owners of habitable structures in state responsibility areas who are required to pay the fee. Existing law, effective July 1, 2017, suspends the fire prevention fee and requires any moneys held in reserve in the fund to be appropriated by the Legislature in a manner consistent with the purposes of the fund. Existing law repeals the fire prevention fee program on January 1, 2031. This bill would reinstate the fire prevention fee effective January 1, 2027. The bill would delete the repeal date of the above-described provisions, thereby extending the operation of those provisions indefinitely.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 20, 2026 Last action May 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/20/26 - Amended Senate → SB1404 · 2 edits

MINOR

The final version of SB 1404 removes the January 1, 2031 sunset date that would have repealed the fire prevention fee program, making the reinstated fee permanent rather than temporary. The bill still reinstates the fee effective January 1, 2027, but now extends its operation indefinitely. This is a significant policy shift from a time-limited reinstatement to a permanent funding mechanism for wildfire prevention in state responsibility areas.

TIMELINE

Deleted the January 1, 2031 sunset date (former subsection (d) of Section 4213.05) that would have made the fire prevention fee provisions inoperative, thereby making the program permanent instead of temporary.

SCOPE

The legislative counsel's digest was updated to reflect that the bill now 'deletes the repeal date of the above-described provisions, thereby extending the operation of those provisions indefinitely' rather than being 'subject to the January 1, 2031, repeal.'

03/25/26 - Amended Senate → 04/20/26 - Amended Senate · 5 edits · Apr 20, 2026

MODERATE

SB 1404 was substantially restructured between these versions. The bill no longer amends Section 4771 to modify the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force implementation strategy; instead, it now repeals Article 3 (commencing with Section 4229) of the Public Resources Code in its entirety, eliminating the task force's implementation strategy requirements. The fire prevention fee reinstatement provisions were also reorganized, with the replacement funding period extended from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed significantly. It previously both reinstated the fire prevention fee AND modified the task force implementation strategy under Section 4771. Now it reinstates the fee and outright repeals the entire Article 3 containing the task force provisions, rather than amending them.

SCOPE

The entire amendment to Section 4771 (the comprehensive implementation strategy for the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan) was removed. This included detailed requirements for treating 500,000 acres annually, fuel break networks, defensible space programs, wood products market development, outdoor recreation expansion, urban canopy targets, annual reporting through 2048, and federal coordination obligations.

A new Section 3 was added that repeals Article 3 (commencing with Section 4229) of Chapter 1.5 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code in its entirety, effectively eliminating the statutory framework for the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force implementation strategy.

FISCAL

The period during which cap-and-trade auction proceeds must replace fire prevention fee revenue was extended from July 1, 2017 through January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2017 through January 1, 2028 inclusive, giving the state one additional year of replacement funding.

TIMELINE

The fire prevention fee provisions were restructured: the suspension section now explicitly states the fee is suspended from July 1, 2017 to January 1, 2027 inclusive, and a new subdivision (d) makes that suspension section inoperative on January 1, 2031.

TECHNICAL

Senator Becker was removed as a coauthor; only Senator Allen remains listed alongside the primary author, Senator Stern.

02/20/26 - Introduced → 03/25/26 - Amended Senate · 5 edits · Mar 25, 2026

MODERATE

The Senate amendment significantly expands SB 1404 by adding a provision to reinstate the state responsibility area fire prevention fee effective January 1, 2027, which had been suspended since July 1, 2017. It also adds a mechanism requiring carbon market auction revenue to backfill the funding gap from the suspension period (2017-2027). The original wildfire resilience implementation strategy provisions are retained but renumbered as Section 3.

Scope change

The bill's scope expands from solely addressing wildfire resilience implementation strategy requirements to also include reinstating a state fee on property owners in state responsibility areas and establishing a carbon revenue backfill mechanism for the prior suspension period.

FISCAL

Reinstates the fire prevention fee under Public Resources Code Section 4212 effective January 1, 2027. The fee (up to $150 per habitable structure in state responsibility areas) had been suspended since July 1, 2017 and is set to be permanently repealed on January 1, 2031.

Requires that moneys from carbon allowance auctions under the cap-and-trade program (Division 25.5 of Health and Safety Code) be used to replace the fire prevention fee revenue that would have been collected between July 1, 2017 and January 1, 2027, to continue fire prevention activities during the suspension gap.

Specifies that Budget Act appropriations made to backfill the fee suspension gap shall not count toward the fund's annual proceeds for purposes of calculations under Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code (which governs how surplus fund moneys are handled).

SCOPE

Adds a new Section 1 containing legislative findings justifying the fee reinstatement, citing benefits including dedicated fire prevention funding, proactive forest management, updated fire hazard severity mapping, grants to local fire safe councils and community conservation corps, and fire prevention education and law enforcement.

TECHNICAL

The original amendment to Section 4771 (wildfire resilience implementation strategy) is renumbered from Section 1 to Section 3 to accommodate the two new sections. A minor terminology change replaces 'performance measures' with 'performance metrics' in the statewide framework requirement.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

upper

Apr 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 1. Page 4016.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Apr 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on REV. & TAX. (Ayes 4. Noes 2. Page 3871.) (April 14). Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Coms. on N.R. & W. and REV. & TAX.

upper

Apr 6, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W.

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on N.R. & W.

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Introduced

Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor