Wildfire prevention: qualified entities: assessments: California Fire Service Training and Education Program Act.

A new requirement is added to Section 4291.6(b) (incorporating AB 1457 changes): beginning July 1, 2026, the defensible space training program must provide training consistent with the 'Home Ignition Zone/Defensible Space Inspector' course plan established by the State Fire Marshal, ensuring individuals are trained to conduct home ignition zone inspections.

The funding authorization in Section 13159.5(d) (incorporating AB 1143 changes) is expanded from covering 'the products listing and the educational and training provisions' to also cover 'developing the home hardening certification program,' broadening what the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund can be used for.

The term 'University of California fire advisors' is changed to 'University of California fire advisers' in the qualified entities definition (a spelling correction).

Standard enrolled bill formatting changes: removal of amendment history headers, addition of Senate and Assembly passage dates, addition of CHAPTER heading, Governor receipt language, and page number reformatting. No substantive policy effect.

Replaced Senate and Assembly passage date lines, Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk signature blocks, and Governor receipt date with 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' header, Chapter 767 designation, and approval/filing date of October 13, 2025.

Changed page headers from 'SB 514' to 'Ch. 767' and renumbered pages (from 93-series to 92-series) to reflect the final chaptered document format.

Corrected spelling of 'advisors' to 'advisers' in Section 2(a)(3)(C) referring to University of California fire advisers, aligning it with the spelling used in Section 2.5.

Removed official document formatting elements including 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' header, page numbers, and chapter references (e.g., 'Ch. 767').

Added website navigation elements (skip to content, home, accessibility, FAQ, feedback, sitemap, login) and bill tracking metadata including version history dates, vote designation (MAJORITY), appropriation status (NO), fiscal committee review (YES), and local program status (NO).

Reformatted the bill text for web display with different line breaks and spacing, but no changes to the substantive legal language of any section.

The bill now amends Sections 4291.5 and 4291.6 and adds Section 4291.7 to the Public Resources Code, in addition to the original Article 10.5 (Section 4207). The scope expanded from a single accreditation framework to a multi-part system covering assessments, training, and accreditation.

New Section 4291.7 creates a point-based accreditation framework with bronze, silver, and gold tiers for neighborhoods, fire safe councils, and local governments. Participation is optional. Points are assigned based on the value of each practice to fire prevention, including fuel breaks, vegetation thinning, reflective address signs, Firewise USA recognition, and forest thinning.

New definitions added for 'home hardening' (replacement or repair of structural features to comply with Title 24 Chapter 7A), 'qualified entities' (counties, conservation corps, fire safe councils, UC fire advisors, registered professional foresters, and others deemed appropriate by the director), and 'wildfire safety improvements' (resilience measures including home hardening, defensible space, and fuel reduction on property identified by the State Fire Marshal).

Section 4291.5 requires the director to establish a statewide program authorizing qualified entities to conduct defensible space assessments, educate property owners about wildfire safety improvements, and assess whether improvements have been completed. A common reporting platform must be established with quality control measures.

Section 4291.6 requires the department to develop a training program for third-party assessors that provides consistent nonregulatory training and ensures all assessment programs use coordinated messaging aligned with www.readyforwildfire.org or successor website.

The department may use assessment data to direct enforcement resources away from compliant landowners and toward noncompliant ones, direct educational resources to structures that can be hardened, and estimate statewide defensible space compliance.

Annual legislative reporting requirement added: on December 31, 2023, and annually thereafter, the department must report all defensible space data collected, including proportion of parcels inspected, degree of compliance, enforcement actions taken, and comparisons between qualified and non-qualified local entities.

Sections 4291.5 and 4291.6 both contain sunset provisions: they remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and are repealed as of that date. The legislative digest states the bill would extend operative dates indefinitely, which appears inconsistent with the statutory text.

A pilot program using trained volunteers is required, with costs coming from existing funds in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (Government Code Section 16428.8). The bill also directs consideration of the California Fire Science Consortium and Regional Forest and Fire Capacity program at the Natural Resources Agency.

The original bill's accreditation framework (Section 4207) is retained but now operates alongside the new Section 4291.7 point-based system. The new system requires a minimum percentage of properties in a neighborhood to have received certificates from qualified entities, and local governments must comply with minimum fire safety standards including board regulations under Sections 4290 and 4290.5.

The original Section 4207(c) required a 'publicly available database' while the new Section 4291.7(f) requires the department to 'publish on their internet website a list of all accredited entities, the entities' accreditation tiers, and the practices implemented.' The digest reflects this change from database to website publication.

The entire proposed Section 4291.7 of the Public Resources Code is deleted. This section would have required the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to create a standardized accreditation framework with bronze, silver, and gold tiers for neighborhoods, fire safe councils, and local governments based on wildfire mitigation practices such as fuel breaks, reflective address signs, and Firewise USA recognition.

A new Section 1 amending Health and Safety Code Section 13159.5 is added, requiring the Office of the State Fire Marshal to develop WUI Fire Safety Building Standards Compliance training for local building officials, builders, and fire service personnel, including mandates for emergency power backup such as battery backup for automatic garage door openers.

The new Health and Safety Code provision authorizes the Office of the State Fire Marshal to certify contractors who conduct defensible space, home hardening, fuel reduction, roadside clearance, and other wildfire resiliency contracting activities, provided they have completed the training program under Public Resources Code Section 4291.6 or an equivalent program.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is required to develop and regularly update a WUI Products listing identifying products and construction assemblies that comply with Chapter 7A of Title 24, covering exterior wall siding, windows, vents, decking, treated lumber, roofing materials, and emergency battery power backup for garage door openers.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is authorized to expend funds from the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund (upon legislative appropriation) for researching and developing the products listing and training provisions.

In Section 4291.5(c)(1), the word 'investigations' is replaced with 'inspections,' narrowing the circumstances under which voluntarily provided property owner data may be used for compliance or enforcement purposes related to defensible space and home hardening ordinances.

Removed the sunset provision from Section 4291.5 that would have repealed the defensible space assessment program on January 1, 2026, making it permanent.

Removed the sunset provision from Section 4291.6 that would have repealed the volunteer training program on January 1, 2026, making it permanent.

Eliminated Article 10.5 (Section 4207) entirely, which had created a separate accreditation framework allowing counties to opt in and accredit local governments, fire safe councils, and homeowners. This removed the county-level role from the accreditation process.

Consolidated the accreditation framework into a single Section 4291.7 instead of having two parallel systems (Section 4291.7 and Article 10.5/Section 4207). The department now directly creates and manages the framework without county opt-in.

Simplified the accreditation point system by combining the previously separate practice lists for neighborhoods, fire safe councils, and local governments into one unified list of eligible practices (fuel breaks, vegetation management, reflective address signs, forest thinning, Firewise USA recognition, and other practices).

Fire safe councils and local governments are now evaluated under the same combined criteria (overall rate of protection, Firewise USA communities, larger-scale mitigation practices) rather than having entirely separate subsections with different requirements.

Nonprofit entities focused on wildfire resiliency are now included as qualified entities eligible to participate in the statewide assessment program.

Contractors who conduct defensible space, home hardening, fuel reduction, roadside clearance, and other contracting activities for wildfire resiliency efforts are added as a new category of qualified entities.

Qualified entities are now authorized to assess compliance with Government Code Section 51182 within local responsibility areas, in addition to the existing authority to assess compliance with Public Resources Code Section 4291 in state responsibility areas. This extends the program's geographic reach beyond state-managed lands.

The director's authority to use assessment data is now limited to data gathered in response to requests related to compliance with Section 4291 or Section 51182, plus other data voluntarily provided by a property owner if authorized by that owner. Previously the director could use all collected data without such restrictions.

A new definition of 'property owner' is added, defined as a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 4291 or subdivision (a) of Section 51182 of the Government Code.

Data obtained voluntarily from property owners for reasons other than responding to compliance requests must be anonymized and kept confidential if requested by the property owner, and cannot be used for compliance or enforcement purposes related to defensible space and home hardening ordinances unless specifically requested by the property owner.

The annual legislative report now must include compliance data for both Public Resources Code Section 4291 and Government Code Section 51182, reflecting the expanded scope of assessments.

A new legislative findings section (SEC. 3) is added to satisfy the constitutional requirement under Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, demonstrating that the data access limitation protects the interest of increasing participation in the defensible space and home hardening assessment program.