A conference committee on Senate Bill 901 to address wildfire preparedness and response has been established. It includes:
Assembly: Holden, Wood, Reyes, Dahle, Mayes
Senate: Hueso, Dodd, Jackson, Stone, Bates
FYI, SB 901 (Dodd) will be referred to this new committee as a vehicle to address the issues below, as related to the utilities.
• Strengthen fire prevention activities such as vegetation removal, infrastructure maintenance, utility company inspections and temporary shut off of power during extreme weather;
• Continue to ensure that those who cause wildfires are held accountable for damages associated with them;
• Appropriately determine responsibility for a wildfire;
• Ensure fair allocation of wildfire prevention and response costs in a manner that protects ratepayers; and
• Require utilities to annually submit to the state more expansive and detailed wildfire and emergency preparedness plans.
This should be interesting because many decisions made regarding fire prevention and fuel modification are focused on forested areas… not habitats we generally see here. We will be watching this closely!