Bill Text: CA SB571 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Fire safety: ingress and egress route recommendations: report.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-09-22 - In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending. [SB571 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB571-Amended.html

---

Amended  IN  Assembly  July 08, 2024

Amended  IN  Assembly  June 24, 2024

Amended  IN  Senate  January 10, 2024

Amended  IN  Senate  January 03, 2024

Amended  IN  Senate  March 21, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 571

---

Introduced by Senator Allen
(Coauthor: Senator Stern)

February 15, 2023

---

An act to add and repeal Section 65040.25 of the Government Code, relating to fire safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 571, as amended, Allen. Fire safety: ingress and egress route recommendations: report.

Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research in the Governor’s office. Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research, by July 1, 2020, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, and other fire and safety experts, to update the guidance document entitled “Fire Hazard Planning, General Plan Technical Advice Series.” Existing law requires the guidance document to include specific land use strategies to reduce fire risk to buildings, infrastructure, and communities.

This bill would require the office to conduct a study and prepare a report, including recommendations, that evaluates potential improvements to state standards for ingress and egress and evacuation routes for development, as defined, in the event of a wildfire, natural disaster, as provided. For purposes of assisting with and informing the development of the report, the bill would require the office to convene and consult with a working group that includes specified voluntary representatives, including from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research, on or before January 1, 2027, to submit the report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature and the Governor.

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.

 Section 65040.25 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65040.25.

 (a) Unless the context otherwise requires, for purposes of this section, “development” means all new residential, commercial, and or industrial development.

(b) The office shall conduct a study and prepare a report, including recommendations, that evaluates potential improvements to state standards for ingress and egress and evacuation routes for development in the event of a wildfire. natural disaster, including seismic activity and related hazards, flooding, and wildland and urban fires, for which local governments plan in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 65302. The report and recommendations shall consider, at minimum, all of the following:

(1) The potential effect that a change to state standards, described in this subdivision, could have on all of the following:

(A) The cost and affordability of housing, including any potential impact on the ability of cities and counties to meet their obligations under Article 10.6 (commencing with Section 65580) of Chapter 3.

(B) Interactions Interactions, if any, with state climate goals. regional transportation planning requirements.

(C) The ability for individuals and communities to rebuild after a disaster.

(2) Existing evacuation planning guidance, best practices, and including, but not limited to, minimum fire safety standards.

(3) The role of wildfire behavior, fire modeling, and potential wildfire impacts affecting evacuation routes and temporary refuge area locations.

(4) Recommended feasible timeframes after notification of a fire natural disaster to accommodate travel by the development’s population to a point of safety, such as to a temporary refuge area, when appropriate, using designated evacuation routes.

(5) Scaling and tiering of feasible standards based on the development’s size, population density, motor vehicle volume, and other appropriate factors, including strategies and performance criteria to address safety needs.

(6) The needs of vulnerable populations.

(7) Travel capacity needs for designated evacuation routes and needs for concurrent emergency vehicle access, including considerations of current use of existing routes by local populations and potential reductions of travel capacity posed by new development.

(8)Feasible mitigation for a development’s traffic impacts that address any unmet local travel and infrastructure capacity needs of identified evacuation routes.

(8) The existence of evacuation routes, and the size, population density, motor vehicle volume, and other appropriate factors, of the community or development that those existing routes support, in relation to the new development.

(c) To assist with and inform the development of the report and recommendations required by this section, the office shall convene and consult with a working group that includes, but is not limited to, voluntary representatives from all of the following entities:

(1) The Office of the State Fire Marshal.

(2) The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.

(3) The Department of Housing and Community Development.

(4) The Office of Emergency Services.

(5) The Transportation Agency.

(6) The State Air Resources Board.

(7) The Seismic Safety Commission.

(8) The Department of Water Resources.

(7)

(9) Local fire chiefs and local law enforcement or statewide associations representing those entities.

(8)

(10) The building industry.

(9)Organizations

(11) Local governments and statewide organizations representing urban, suburban, and rural local governments.

(10)

(12) Environmental, housing, and other nongovernmental stakeholder organizations.

(d) When developing the report pursuant to this section, the office shall include public outreach and engagement by providing regular opportunities for input from and dialogue with the public.

(e) On or before January 1, 2027, the office shall submit the report required by this section to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795, and to the Governor.

(f) Pursuant to Section 10231.5, this section is repealed on January 1, 2031.