State Fire Marshal: home hardening., the official text

An act to add Sections 13133.5 and 13134 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to home hardening.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, as specified. Existing law also requires the State Fire Marshal to classify lands within state responsibility areas into fire hazard severity zones, and, by regulation, to designate fire hazard severity zones and assign to each zone a rating reflecting the degree of severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in the zone. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to periodically review very high fire hazard severity zones that are not state responsibility areas, and designated and rated zones that are state responsibility areas, as provided.
This bill would require the Office of the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2028, to develop home hardening standards, as provided. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to, on or before January 1, 2030, compile a report concerning homes in moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in state and local responsibility areas. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before July 1, 2030, to make the completed report available on its internet website and to submit copies to the Legislature, as provided. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, estimates of both the number of homes that meet those home hardening standards and the number of homes that require more home hardening to meet those standards in each responsibility area and county.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 13133.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
13133.5.
On or before January 1, 2028, the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall develop home hardening standards to determine whether a home is sufficiently hardened to effectively reduce fire risk during an ember shower or when directly exposed to flames and radiant heat, as determined by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

SEC. 2.
Section 13134 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
13134.
(a) On or before January 1, 2030, the State Fire Marshal shall compile a report concerning homes in moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, as identified pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code and Section 4202 of the Public Resources Code, in state and local responsibility areas. The report shall include the following:
(1) An estimate of the total number of homes located within each fire hazard severity zone and responsibility area.
(2) An estimate of the number of homes that meet the standards developed pursuant to Section 13133.5, and an estimate of the number of homes that require more home hardening to meet the standards developed pursuant to Section 13133.5, in each responsibility area and county.
(b) On or before July 1, 2030, the State Fire Marshal shall make the completed report available on its internet website and submit copies to the Legislature in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.