California SB 1404: Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

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 Bill Text - SB-1404 Wildfire prevention: state responsibility areas: fire prevention fee.

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 |Add To My Favorites |Track Bill | Version: 04/20/26 - Amended Senate
 03/25/26 - Amended Senate
 02/20/26 - Introduced

 SB-1404 Wildfire prevention: state responsibility areas: fire prevention fee.(2025-2026)

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 Date Published: 04/20/2026 09:00 PM

SB1404:v97#DOCUMENTBill Start

 Amended
 IN 
 Senate
 April 20, 2026

 Amended
 IN 
 Senate
 March 25, 2026

 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

 Senate Bill

No. 1404

Introduced by Senator Stern
(Coauthors: Senators Allen and Becker)(Coauthor: Senator Allen)

February 20, 2026

 An act to amend Section 4213.05 of of, and to repeal Article 3 (commencing with Section 4229) of Chapter 1.5 of Part 2 of Division 4 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to fire prevention. 

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1404, as amended, Stern.
 Wildfire prevention: state responsibility areas: fire prevention fee.

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, subject to the January 1, 2031, repeal. 2027. The bill would delete the repeal date of the above-described provisions, thereby extending the operation of those
 provisions indefinitely.

Digest Key

 Vote:
 MAJORITY 
 Appropriation:
 NO 
 Fiscal Committee:
 YES 
 Local Program:
 NO 

Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Reinstating the fire prevention fee ensures dedicated, sustainable funding for fire prevention in state responsibility areas, reducing risk to residents.

(b) Funding supports proactive forest management and vegetation treatments designed to reduce the severity of wildfires, allowing forests within state responsibility areas to better withstand ignition and reducing the intensity of wildfire behavior.

(c) Revenue allows for updated fire hazard severity mapping and
 the development of comprehensive emergency evacuation plans, providing homeowners with essential information to improve household safety.

(d) Fees provide vital grants to local fire safe councils and community conservation corps for fire prevention projects, augmenting the ability of local fire agencies to manage risks in the wildland-urban interface.

(e) Funding sustains fire prevention education programs for residents and supports fire-related law enforcement activities, including arson investigations and fire cause determinations, which are essential for reducing wildfires caused by humans.

SEC. 2.Section 4213.05 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

4213.05.(a)The fire prevention fee imposed pursuant to Section 4212 shall be reinstated, effective January 1, 2027.
 Any moneys held
 in the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund shall be appropriated by the Legislature in a manner consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 4214.

(b)It is the intent of the Legislature that moneys derived from the auction or sale of allowances pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism established pursuant to Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code shall be used to replace the moneys that would have otherwise been collected pursuant to Section 4212 from July 1, 2017, to January 1, 2027, inclusive, to con