AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

98

Introduced by Assembly Member Calderon

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lackey)

February 20, 2026

An act to amend Sections 51178, 51179, and 51181 of the Government Code, relating to fire safety.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state that are not state responsibility areas, commonly known as local responsibility areas, as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to periodically review and make recommendations relative to very high fire hazard severity zones within local responsibility areas. Under existing law, this review is required to coincide with review of state responsibility area lands every 5 years and, when possible, fall within the timeframes for each county’s general plan update. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving the recommendations from the State Fire Marshal. Existing law authorizes a local agency to, at its discretion, include areas within its jurisdiction not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal as very high fire hazard severity zones and areas not identified as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones. Under existing law, a local agency is required to transmit a copy of an this adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. Existing law provides that changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the State Fire Marshal are final.

This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to, no fewer than 180 days before finalizing the designation of local responsibility areas as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, post specified information relating to those designations on its public internet website, conduct regional public workshops to receive oral public comments and consider those comments, provide at least one workshop on the draft maps for stakeholder participation, host a 30-day public comment period to receive written comments from interested stakeholders and stakeholders, respond to all written comments by local agencies regarding land use and zoning matters that address the accuracy of the data used by the State Fire Marshal for those designations within 30 days of the end of the public comment period, and coordinate with other state agencies to help educate the public during the public workshops, their constituencies, as specified. The bill would also require, on or before January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, the State Fire Marshal to review the local responsibility area lands designated as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones and to recommend changes. The bill would no longer require end the requirement that this review to, review, when possible, fall within the timeframes for each county’s general plan update. The bill would authorize a local agency to, at its discretion, increase the level of fire hazard severity applicable to a parcel in its jurisdiction if a parcel contains 2 or more designations, so that the higher level of fire hazard severity would apply to the entire parcel. parcel and include documentation of existing wildfire mitigation efforts or programs implemented locally within the fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to publish within 60 days the local ordinance transmitted to the board, as described above, on its internet website.

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

SECTION 1.

Section 51178 of the Government Code is amended to read:

51178.

(a) The State Fire Marshal shall identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones shall be based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and other relevant factors including areas where winds have been identified by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as a major cause of wildfire spread.

(b) The State Fire Marshal shall, no fewer than 180 days before finalizing the designations pursuant to subdivision (a), do all of the following:

(1) Post draft maps of preliminary designations on its public internet website to ensure the preliminary designations are available for public stakeholder review and comment.

(2) Post the data inputs, model, and methodology used to develop the preliminary designations on its public internet website.

(4) (A) Host a 30-day public comment period for interested stakeholders to provide written comment on the draft maps.

(B) Respond to, within 30 days of the end of the public comment period pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, all written comments received from local agencies regarding land use and zoning matters. matters that address the accuracy of the data used by the State Fire Marshal for the preliminary designation.

(5) Coordinate with other state agencies to help educate the public during the public workshops pursuant to paragraph (3) educate their constituencies on the following topics related to the preliminary designations:

(A) Mitigation activities.

(B) Fire insurance.

(C) Other related maps and models.

SEC. 2.

Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:

51179.

(a) A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 51178.

(b) (1) A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area.

(2) A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal, as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones, respectively.

(3) A local agency may, at its discretion, increase the level of fire hazard severity applicable to a parcel in its jurisdiction if a parcel contains two or more designations, so that the higher level of fire hazard severity would apply to the entire parcel.

(4) A local agency shall not decrease the level of a fire hazard severity zone as identified by the State Fire Marshal for any area within the jurisdiction of the local agency, and, in exercising its discretion pursuant to paragraph (2), may only increase the level of a fire hazard severity zone as identified by the State Fire Marshal for any area within the jurisdiction of the local agency.

(c) The local agency shall transmit a copy of an ordinance adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption.

(d) Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the State Fire Marshal shall be final and shall not be rebuttable by the State Fire Marshal.

(e) The State Fire Marshal shall publish within 60 days the local ordinances transmitted pursuant to subdivision (c) on its internet website to ensure they are publicly available.

(f) The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones.

(g) Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.

(h) A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.

SEC. 3.

Section 51181 of the Government Code is amended to read:

51181.

On or before January 1, 2030, and every five years thereafter, the State Fire Marshal shall review the local responsibility area lands in the state, including areas identified as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones pursuant to this chapter, and as necessary, shall recommend changes in accordance with Sections 51178 and 51179. This review of local responsibility area lands shall coincide with the review of state responsibility area lands every five years.