GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING.
ASSEMBLY MEMBER. WELCOME,
EVERYBODY TO BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE
FOR HEARING, TODAY WE'LL BE
HEARING FROM THREE DEPARTMENTS
UNDER THE NATURAL RESOURCES
AGENCY. THE DEPARTMENT OF
CONSERVATION, CALIFORNIA
CONSERVATION CORPS, AND THE
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, FORESTRY
AND FIRE PROTECTION. WE'LL ALSO
HEAR FROM THE OFFICE OF PLANNING
AND RESEARCH AND THE NATURAL
RESOURCES AGENCY SECRETARY'S
OFFICE. WE HAVE FIVE ITEMS
PLANNED FOR PRESENTATION FOR
EACH PRESENTATION ITEM, WE'LL
ASK EACH WITNESS IN THE AGENDA
TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES BEFORE
THEY BEGIN THEIR TESTIMONY. AT
THE END OF THE PRESENTATIONS,
MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE MAY
ASK QUESTIONS, MAKE COMMENTS, OR
REQUEST A PRESENTATION ON ANY OF
THE 12 NON PRESENTATION ITEMS.
WE WILL NOT BE TAKING A VOTE ON
ANY ITEMS ON THE AGENDA. AFTER
ALL THE ITEMS ARE HEARD, WE'LL
TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR MEMBERS
OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO
PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT. PLEASE
LIMIT YOUR TESTIMONY TO ITEMS ON
THE AGENDA. IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS
ON SPECIFIC BUDGET SOLUTIONS NOT
RELATED TO THE DEPARTMENTS
BEFORE US, PLEASE REFER TO THE
DAILY FILE FOR WHICH
SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING THE
PERTINENT DEPARTMENT WILL BE
BEFORE THE COMMITTEE. EACH
MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE
ONE MINUTE TO SPEAK. THERE WILL
BE NO REMOTE TESTIMONY. LET'S
TAKE ROLL. BENNETT HERE.
CONNOLLY HERE. LARA.
PETRIE-NORRIS WILSON. ALL RIGHT.
IF WE COULD HAVE, THE CNR
DEPARTMENTS, COME ON UP AND, YOU
GUYS CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT ORDER
YOU'RE GOING TO SPEAK IN. WE
HAVE A HUGE PANEL.
GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING,
BRIAN CASH. I'M ASSISTANT
SECRETARY AT THE NATURAL
RESOURCES AGENCY. THE SECRETARY
PROVIDED A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW
OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE
ON THE CLIMATE INVESTMENTS. AND
THIS MORNING, WE'RE GOING TO GO
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER, DEEPER DIVE
WITH THE THREE DEPARTMENTS THAT
I HAVE UP HERE WITH ME. WE HAVE
THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
ON THE OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL
AND CAL FIRE. SO WE'LL START
WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF
CONSERVATION. GOOD. GOOD
MORNING, MR. CHAIR, AND MEMBERS
OF THE COMMITTEE, MY NAME IS
KAYLEE EBRIGHT. I'M THE DIVISION
DIRECTOR AT THE DEPARTMENT OF
CONSERVATION, I WANTED TO START.
I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT TWO
PROGRAMS TODAY, THE REGIONAL
FOREST AND FIRE CAPACITY PROGRAM
AND THE MULTI-BENEFIT LAND
REPURPOSING PROGRAM, WHICH BOTH
RECEIVED CLIMATE FUNDS IN THE
LAST FEW YEARS OF THE BUDGET,
FOR BOTH PROGRAMS, IT'S
IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT THESE,
THESE PUBLIC INVESTMENTS AS
ESSENTIAL SERVICES THAT ALL
PARTS OF OUR STATE NEEDS, ALL OF
OUR REGIONS OF THE STATE ARE
FACING CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE AND
IMPACTS FROM WATER
SUSTAINABILITY AND WHAT OUR
PROGRAMS REALLY ARE INTENDED TO
DO IS TO PROVIDE A BASE LAYER
KIND OF APPROACHING IT, MUCH
LIKE AN INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM,
TO CREATE THE CAPACITY ACROSS
THE STATE. SO THAT PARTNERS CAN
PARTICIPATE IN THE MANY PROGRAMS
THAT WE'RE ALSO FUNDED, THAT
WE'RE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP
WITH. LIKE FOR INSTANCE, CAL
FIRE'S FOREST HEALTH AND
WILDFIRE PREVENTION AND DWR'S
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE AND HABITAT
PROGRAMS, ETC, THE REGIONAL
FOREST AND FIRE CAPACITY PROGRAM
IS A FAIRLY NEW PROGRAM, BUT IT
HAS IT WAS STARTED IN 2019, WE
STARTED THE PROGRAM WITH A
MANDATE TO COVER THE WHOLE STATE
WITH, REGIONAL LEADS FOR
WILDFIRE CAPACITY BUILDING,
SINCE THE 2019, WE HAVE PUT IN
PLACE ORGANIZATIONS WITH STRONG
FISCAL AND OTHER CAPACITIES TO
LEAD REGIONAL EFFORTS TO BUILD
BOTH TO IDENTIFY PRIORITIES,
DEVELOP PROJECTS, BUILD
IMPLEMENTATION CAPACITY, AND
CREATE A, A PIPELINE OF SHOVEL
READY PROJECTS THAT CAN THEN
FEED INTO OUR BIGGER STATEWIDE
SYSTEM OF IMPLEMENTATION THAT
MULTIPLE AGENCIES AND FEDERAL
AGENCIES ARE MANAGING. WE HAVE
SEEN, SOME OF, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE
STARTED, WE SAW A LOT OF LOW
HANGING FRUIT, ENTITIES WITH
REALLY GREAT PROJECTS HERE AND
THERE, SCATTERED ACROSS THE
LANDSCAPE. ONE OF THE TRENDS
WE'RE SEEING IS THAT WE'RE
SEEING, OUR PARTNERS START TO
REALLY CONSOLIDATE AND FOCUS ON
LARGER, WATERSHED BASED,
LANDSCAPE BASED, IMPLEMENTING
STRATEGIES THAT CAPTURE WHOLE
WATERSHEDS AND THE COMMUNITIES
THAT ARE WITHIN THEM, ONE OF
THEM TO BRING UP, FOR EXAMPLE,
IS DOWN IN THE INLAND EMPIRE IN
RIVERSIDE AND SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTY, THOSE PARTNERS ARE
WORKING WITH WATER AGENCIES TO
DEVELOP, FUELS TREATMENT
STRATEGIES ACROSS THE SANTA ANA
WATERSHED. THEY HOPE TO KIND OF
EXPAND THAT WATERSHED WIDE ALL
THE WAY TO THE COAST. BUT NOW
THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE UPPER
WATERSHED, WITH REALLY HIGH
CAPACITY, STRONG, PARTNERS IN
BOTH WATER AGENCIES, THE FOREST
SERVICE, CAL FIRE AND, AND
OTHERS. MOVING ON, BECAUSE I
KNOW I ONLY HAVE THREE MINUTES,
MOVING ON TO THE MULTI-BENEFIT
LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM. THAT
IS A NEWER PROGRAM. WE HAVE ONLY
FUNDED TWO ROUNDS OF GRANTS. FOR
THAT PROGRAM. IT'S ALSO A BLOCK
GRANT PROGRAM, MEANING THAT WE
PUT A BLOCK OF FUNDING INTO A
REGION WITH THE INTENTION THAT
THE REGION REALLY BE THE ONE
THAT LEADS THE KIND OF PRIORITY
SETTING AND IMPLEMENTATION
STRATEGIES, KIND OF PULLING BACK
AS A STATE AND LETTING REGIONS
LEAD HAS BEEN AN OVERRIDING
THEME, WITH THE MULTI-BENEFIT
LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM THAT'S
TARGETED AT THE KIND OF THE
BIGGER QUESTION OF WHAT DO WE
DO, YOU KNOW, AS WE PUSH TOWARDS
GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY, WHAT
DO WE DO WITH THE KIND OF THE
REALITY THAT WE'RE GOING TO LOSE
A LOT OF LAND, WE'RE GOING TO
TAKE A LOT OF LAND OUT OF
AGRICULTURE AND WHAT DO WE HOW
DO WE HOW DO WE TRANSITION THOSE
LANDS TO OTHER BENEFICIAL USES,
RATHER THAN JUST SEEING
PIECEMEAL FALLOWING ACROSS THE
STATE, UPWARDS OF 500,000 TO 1
MILLION ACRES OF LAND IS
PROJECTED BY PICK ME. THAT
PROGRAM RECEIVED. AND, WE HAVE
WE PUT FOUR BLOCK GRANTS OUT FOR
EACH ROUND. WE HAD 24 APPLICANTS
IN EACH ROUND, SO WE HAD WE WERE
EXTREMELY OVERSUBSCRIBED, BUT
WE'RE REALLY PROUD THAT THROUGH
THOSE EIGHT BLOCK GRANTS, WE'VE
PUT DOWN A FOOTPRINT OF REGIONAL
LEADERSHIP LED BY GSA'S AND IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH ALL OF THEIR
LOCAL HABITAT COMMUNITY AND,
OTHER RESOURCE PARTNERS, WE HAVE
A FOOTPRINT THAT COVERS THE
MAJORITY OF THE SOUTHERN SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY AND THE SALINAS
VALLEYS, WHICH ARE CRITICAL TO
THE STATE'S AGRICULTURAL
ECONOMY, BUT ALSO TO COMMUNITY
IMPACTS AND GROUNDWATER RISKS,
THAT PROGRAM, I THINK THE ONE
THING THAT WE'RE REALLY PROUD
ABOUT IS THAT WE'RE WE'RE VERY
INTENTIONAL THROUGH THE PROGRAM
TO BIND COMMUNITY IMPACTS AND
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE
PLANNING WITH THE OVERARCHING
GOAL OF WATER SUSTAINABILITY AND
KIND OF PRODUCTIVE LAND REUSE
AND WE'VE SEEN IN ACTION,
COMMUNITY GROUPS GETTING KIND OF
BETTER AND MORE BEING ABLE TO
PARTICIPATE IN A MORE MEANINGFUL
WAY IN SHAPING THE USE OF THE
LAND GOING FORWARD. AND THEN
WE'RE ALSO SEEING OUR PARTNERS
STAND UP MANY PROJECTS, KIND OF
LIKE THE REGIONAL FOREST FIRE
CAPACITY PROGRAM, TO BE ABLE TO
THEN APPLY FOR BIGGER FUNDS THAT
ARE COMING FROM DEPARTMENT OF
WATER RESOURCES, FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT, ETC. SO BOTH REALLY
EXCITING. WE THINK WE'RE SETTING
THE TABLE FOR A LONG, YOU KNOW,
FOR THE NEXT DECADE OF PROJECTS
AND EFFORTS THAT REALLY ARE
EQUITABLE, INCLUSIVE, BUT ALSO
MEET, YOU KNOW, OUR NATURAL
RESOURCES, GOALS AND SUPPORT.
OUR SISTER STATE AGENCIES, WHICH
HAS BEEN A REALLY KEY PART OF
OUR MISSION, BECAUSE WE KIND OF
PLAY THIS CONDUIT ROLE TO OUR
OTHER STATE AGENCIES IN THIS,
ERA OF CUT, CUT, CUT. IT'S A
PLEASURE TO HEAR SOME POSITIVE
NEWS, ABOUT WHAT SOME OF THE
SPENDING THAT WE HAVE ENGAGED IN
IS, IS TAKING PLACE. SO I
APPRECIATE THAT. YES. THANK YOU.
GOOD MORNING, CHAIR BENNETT AND
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. MY
NAME IS CHEN ECKERLE. I'M THE,
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE
OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL. I ALSO
SERVE AS THE DEPUTY SECRETARY
FOR OCEANS AND COASTAL POLICY
FOR THE CALIFORNIA NATURAL
RESOURCES AGENCY. I HOPE TO
SHARE A LITTLE MORE OF THAT.
GOOD NEWS WITH YOU HERE TODAY. I
HAVE TWO SEPARATE POTS OF
FUNDING THAT I'M GOING TO SPEAK
TO. ONE IS, FUNDING THAT WAS
PROVIDED TO THE OCEAN PROTECTION
COUNCIL SPECIFICALLY FOR BROAD
ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE IN THE ON
THE COAST AND OCEAN. AND THEN
FUNDING THAT WAS SPECIFIC TO
IMPLEMENTATION OF SENATE BILL
ONE. SO THE OCEAN PROTECTION
COUNCIL RECEIVED $100 MILLION
OVER TWO YEARS, 50,000,000IN 22,
23 AND 50 AND ANOTHER
50,000,000IN 2324 FOR RESILIENCE
PROJECTS THAT CONSERVE, PROTECT
AND RESTORE MARINE WILDLIFE AND
HEALTHY AND OCEAN, OCEAN AND
COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS. THE
GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET
REDUCES THIS FUNDING BY 35
MILLION, WITH 65 MILLION
REMAINING TO DATE. THE OCEAN
PROTECTION COUNCIL HAS ADVANCED
CLOSE TO $35 MILLION FROM THE
2223 GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATION
TO ADVANCE ADMINISTRATION
PRIORITIES RELATED TO BUILDING
OCEAN AND COASTAL RESILIENCE,
ADVANCING EQUITY AND CONSERVING
BIODIVERSITY, INVESTMENTS IN
COASTAL ADAPTATION AND WETLAND
RESTORATION PROJECTS INCLUDE THE
BIG CANYON COASTAL WETLAND
RESTORATION AND ADAPTATION
PROJECT, WHICH IS IN UPPER
NEWPORT BAY IN ORANGE COUNTY.
SEA LEVEL RISE ADAPTATION
PLANNING AND PLANNING RESEARCH,
INCLUDING CHARACTERIZATION OF
CONTAMINATED SITES THAT ARE
VULNERABLE TO SEA LEVEL RISE AND
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATEWIDE
BEACH RESILIENCY PLAN, AND
RESEARCH TO EVALUATE THE
VULNERABILITY OF SANDY BEACHES,
DUNES, AND INTERTIDAL ECOSYSTEMS
AS INVESTMENTS IN MARINE
ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE AND
POLLUTION PREVENTION INCLUDE
KELP RESEARCH, MONITORING AND
RESTORATION MONITORING TO
SUPPORT CALIFORNIA'S MARINE
PROTECTED AREA NETWORK AND
FISHERIES MANAGEMENT RESEARCH ON
THE IMPACTS OF OCEAN
ACIDIFICATION AND HYPOXIA ON
ECOSYSTEM HEALTH, AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATION'S
FIRST STATEWIDE MICROPLASTICS.
MICROPLASTICS STRATEGY,
INCLUDING MICROPLASTICS
MONITORING AND RESEARCH AND
IMPLEMENTATION ON PLASTIC SOURCE
REDUCTION STRATEGIES AT THE
LOCAL LEVEL. INVESTMENTS TO
STRENGTHEN TRIBAL AND COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS INCLUDE INVESTMENTS
IN THE TRIBAL MARINE STEWARDSHIP
NETWORK. STEWARDS NETWORK, WHICH
IS AN ALLIANCE OF FIVE TRIBAL
NATIONS WORKING TO PROTECT
COASTAL AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
AND ADVANCING RESILIENCE AND
BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION ACTIONS
OF MUTUAL PRIORITY FOR BOTH
STATE AND TRIBES. AN
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SMALL
GRANTS PROGRAM THAT ENHANCES
MORE INCLUSIVE AND ACCESSIBLE
FUNDING PATHWAYS AND INCREASES
OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT ON OCEAN AND COASTAL
PROJECTS, POLICIES AND RESEARCH.
AN OCEAN CORE PILOT PROGRAM,
WHICH IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS,
PILOTED IN FORTUNA LONG BEACH IN
SAN DIEGO TO SUPPORT OCEAN AND
COASTAL PRIORITIES AND BUILD THE
NEXT GENERATION OF OCEAN
STEWARDS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
OPC'S EQUITY PLAN, WHICH
INCLUDES INCREASED COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS TO
INCLUDE THAT OPC'S WORK BENEFIT
CGRTS ALL CALIFORNIANS. THE
REMAINING GENERAL FUNDS ARE
ESSENTIAL TO SUPPORT SIGNIFICANT
INVESTMENTS. THIS YEAR THAT
ADVANCE ADMINISTRATION AND OPC
PRIORITIES TO BUILD RESILIENCE
TO CLIMATE CHANGE, ADVANCE
EQUITY WITH TRIBES AND
UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, AND
CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY. THE
REMAINING $30 MILLION WILL BE
FULLY COMMITTED WITHIN THE NEXT
FIVE MONTHS FOR RESEARCH AND
MONITORING TO ADVANCE
ADMINISTRATION AND THE
LEGISLATURE'S GOALS TO ACHIEVE
30 BY 30 IN COASTAL WATERS,
RESEARCH, ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING AND COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT. TO MINIMIZE THE
IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE WIND ON
MARINE AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
AND COASTAL COMMUNITIES,
INCLUDING FISHERMEN. EXCUSE ME?
TRIBAL PRIORITIES, INCLUDING
RESTORATION, OAN AND LAND
RETURN THAT ADVANCE RESILIENCE
AND BIODIVERSITY GOALS AND
ELEVATE TRIBAL EXPERIENCE AND
EXPERTISE AND STEWARDSHIP.
CONTINUED MARINE PROTECTED AREA
MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING MONITORING
AND ENFORCEMENT, COASTAL HABITAT
CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION,
INCLUDING KELP FOREST AND
EELGRASS. DATA MODERNIZATION AND
IMPROVEMENT FOR MANAGEMENT OF
CLIMATE RESILIENT FISHERIES AND
AN ONGOING SEA LEVEL RISE.
ADAPTATION TO PROTECT HABITAT
COMMUNITIES AND ACCESS THE
MAINTAIN GENERAL FUND IS
CRITICAL TO ADVANCE THESE NEAR
TUM PRIORITIES, WHICH WERE
IDENTIFIED IN CLOSE COORDINATION
ACROSS MULTIPLE AGENCIES.
SOLUTIONS WILL DELAY OR
ELIMINATE THE ABILITY TO ADVANCE
THESE PRIORITIES QUICKLY TO THE
APPROPRIATION FOR SENATE BILL
ONE. OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL
ALSO RECEIVED CLOSE TO $102
MILLION OF GRF AND GENERAL FUND
OVER MULTIPLE YEARS TO IMPLEMENT
SENATE BILL ONE, WHICH DIRECTS
THE STATE TO HELP LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS PLAN FOR SEA LEVEL
RISE. IN RECOGNITION OF THE
POTENTIAL LOSS OR DAMAGE TO
PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, HEALTH
AND SAFETY, AND NATURAL
HABITATS. FROM THIS CLIMATE
DRIVEN IMPACT. THIS IS
SIGNIFICANT AND URGENT. THE
GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET
INCLUDES A $25 MILLION REDUCTION
TO THESE FUNDS, AND A SHIFT FROM
GENERAL FUND TO GRF, MAINTAINING
$77 MILLION. OPC HAS DEVELOPED
AND LAUNCHED AN SB1 GRANT
PROGRAM TO PROVIDE CRITICAL
FUNDING TO LOCAL, REGIONAL AND
TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS TO DEVELOP
SEA LEVEL RISE ADAPTATION PLANS
AND PROJECTS. SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC
OUTREACH FOR THIS PROGRAM IS
UNDERWAY, AND MANY STAKEHOLDERS
AND LOCAL JURISDICTIONS HAVE
EXPRESSED INTEREST AND NEED FOR
THIS FUNDING. THE GRANTS PROGRAM
WAS LAUNCHED AND INCLUDES A
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO
PROVIDE DIRECT APPLICATION
SERVICES TO UNDER-RESOURCED
COMMUNITIES. WE LAUNCHED IT LAST
DECEMBER WITH A QUARTERLY
ROLLING AWARDS. THE DEADLINE FOR
A FIRST ROUND OF APPLICATIONS
WAS ON MARCH 22ND. WE RECEIVED
NINE APPLICATIONS TOTALING $7
MILLION. WITHIN THAT FOUR MONTH
PERIOD ALONE. APPLICATIONS THAT
MEET THE GRANT PROGRAM CRITERIA
WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE COUNCIL
FOR CONSENT AT THEIR JUNE 4TH
MEETING, WITH SUBSEQUENT AWARDS
AT EACH OF OUR QUARTERLY
MEETINGS GOING FORWARD. THE
RESULT OF THE SB ONE GENERAL
FUND SOLUTION WILL RESULT IN
FEWER GRANTS FUNDED FOR LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS TO DEVELOP SEA LEVEL
RISE, ADAPTATION PLANS AND
PROJECTS LEADING LEAVING LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS WITH WITHOUT
RESOURCES TO ADEQUATELY PLAN AND
INFORM INVESTMENTS IN ADAPTATION
. THANK YOU. THAT CONCLUDES MY
REMARKS. THANK YOU. GOOD
MORNING, CHAIR BENNETT. MEMBERS
OF THE COMMITTEE, MATTHEW
REICHMAN ON THE CAL FIRE DEPUTY
DIRECTOR FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
. THAT'S THE FORESTRY PROGRAMS
IN OUR DEPARTMENT, THANK YOU FOR
HAVING ME THIS MORNING. I'M
GOING TO GIVE YOU A VERY BRIEF,
HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE
PROGRAMS, OUR RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE
BEEN USING TO ADMINISTER THESE
FUNDS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
I'D THEN LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO
MY COUNTERPART, CHIEF FRANK
BIGELOW, TO SPEAK A LITTLE MORE
SPECIFICALLY ABOUT OUR FIRE
PREVENTION EFFORTS AND SOME OF
THOSE PROGRAMS INVOLVED IN THE
GENERAL FUND SOLUTIONS, I'LL
START WITH OUR FOREST HEALTH
PROGRAM. THIS IS A LANDSCAPE
LEVEL PROGRAM WHERE WE ENGAGE IN
, FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
AT SCALE. THESE ARE LARGE
PROJECTS, SEVERAL THOUSAND
ACRES. OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS,
WE'VE ADMINISTERED OVER $500
MILLION TO 119 PROJECTS ACROSS
THE STATE. AGAIN, MULTIPLE
LANDOWNERS INVOLVED WITH THESE
PROJECTS ENGAGED IN MULTIPLE
LAND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
PRESCRIBED FIRE, FUEL REDUCTION,
THINNING, JUST A BIOMASS, A
WHOLE SLEW OF DIFFERENT
ACTIVITIES THERE. AND BEEN VERY
SUCCESSFUL, POST-FIRE
REFORESTATION. THESE ARE FUNDS
THAT CAME TO US LAST YEAR FOR
THE FIRST TIME. WE HAD $50
MILLION THERE. WE ADMINISTERED
EXCUSE ME A MINUTE. JUST ASK YOU
TO PULL THE MIC AS YOU TURN TO
LOOK AT US. I THINK IT GETS
HARDER FOR THEM TO HEAR. SO
MAYBE PULL THE MIC OVER. SO.
YEAH. HOW'S THAT? YEAH THAT'S
BETTER. GOTCHA. OKAY. THANK YOU.
YEAH. THE POST-FIRE
REFORESTATION GRANTS. THESE ARE
GRANTS THAT WE GO IN AFTER FIRES
AND TREAT THE BRUSH, PUT TREES
IN THE GROUND. AND SO AGAIN,
WE'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL
THERE. WE'VE HAD TEN PROJECTS SO
FAR, ADMINISTERING THOSE 50
MILLION OR THOSE 50 MILLION THAT
WE HAVE, TRIBAL ENGAGEMENT.
WE'VE HAD $40 MILLION UP TO
DATE. WE'VE ADMINISTERED 20
MILLION, THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM
FOR US AS WELL THAT REACHES OUT
TO TRIBES ACROSS THE STATE,
SUPPORTS THEM IN FIRE PREVENTION
ACTIVITIES, FUEL REDUCTION,
HELPING THEM DEVELOP,
OBJECTIVES. AND THAT THEY ARE
INTERESTED IN BRINGING SOME OF
THAT TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL
KNOWLEDGE BACK. AND, IT'S BEEN A
GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH
THEM ON THESE PROJECTS BECAUSE
WE HAVE GOT A LOT TO LEARN. AND,
WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO. SO AGAIN,
WE'VE HAD 12 PROJECTS. THEY'RE
ADMINISTERING $20 MILLION, THUS
FAR, AND WE HAVE ANOTHER, $10
MILLION THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE
MOVING FORWARD WITH. WE HAVE OUR
BUSINESS AND WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. WE RECOGNIZE
THAT THERE IS A DEFICIT IN THE
WORKSPACE FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT
DO FOREST MANAGEMENT WORK IN
CALIFORNIA. AND SO WE'RE
REACHING OUT TO VARIOUS CGRTS,
THROUGH VARIOUS GRANTS TO
SUPPORT, YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN
GOING INTO FOREST MANAGEMENT AND
LEARNING HOW TO RUN A BULLDOZER,
RUN A CHAINSAW, SOME OF THOSE,
SKILL SETS THAT YOU DON'T OFTEN
GET EXPOSED TO, YOU KNOW,
GROWING UP AND WHAT AND WHATNOT.
SO THAT'S A PROGRAM THAT WE'RE
VERY HAPPY TO HAVE ADMINISTERED.
AND I THINK WE HAVE 30 GRANTS
NOW. WE'VE ADMINISTERED,
APPROXIMATELY $40 MILLION THUS
FAR, SMALL FOREST LANDOWNERS.
THIS IS A PROGRAM WHERE WE REACH
OUT TO THOSE NON INDUSTRIAL
LANDOWNERS. WE PROVIDE THEM
SUPPORT IN THEIR, MEETING THEIR
LAND MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES.
WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO
ADMINISTER 196 GRANTS, TO THOSE
LANDOWNERS COVERING JUST ALMOST
9000 ACRES. AND, THAT'S A
PROGRAM WHERE WE WILL CONTINUE
TO ADMINISTER ON A ROLLING
BASIS. AND SO BEEN VERY
SUCCESSFUL THERE. WE ALSO HAVE
DEVELOPED WHAT WE CALL A BLOCK
GRANT PROGRAM. THIS IS WHERE WE
GO IN POST FIRE. WE PROVIDE
LANDOWNERS THAT HAVE SUFFERED A
LOSS TO THEIR FORESTS,
OPPORTUNITY CITIES TO START
THINKING ABOUT REFORESTATION,
PLANTING, SOMETIMES THAT'S NOT
ALWAYS ON THE RADAR. WHEN YOU'VE
SUFFERED LOSS AFTER A FIRE, BUT
PROVIDING THEM SUPPORT AND
ASSISTANCE AND, AND, GETTING
THEM TO START THINKING ABOUT
REFORESTING THEIR PROPERTIES
EARLY AND PROVIDING THEM WITH
THE RESOURCES TO DO SO. SO WE'VE
BEEN VERY HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO
STAND THAT PROGRAM UP, FOREST
LEGACY, THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT
WE PURCHASE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
THROUGH CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.
AND, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS
IN THAT PROGRAM OVER THE LAST
FEW YEARS. WE'VE ADMINISTERED
JUST OVER $30 MILLION TO 12
DIFFERENT GRANTS. CONSERVING
JUST OVER 40 OR 40,000 ACRES,
THE PROGRAM, FROM ITS BEGINNING,
HAS CONSERVE AND CLOSE TO
200,000 ACRES SO FAR IN
CALIFORNIA. SO A PROGRAM THAT
WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE HAD THE
FUNDING FOR, HOPING TO BE ABLE
TO CONTINUE THOSE EFFORTS MOVING
FORWARD, WANTED TO MENTION OUR
MONITORING AND RESEARCH. THESE
ARE GRANTS, THAT WE HAVE, IN
SUPPORT OF THE VARIOUS NEEDS
AND, AND DEFICITS AND DATA IN
REGARD TO CLIMATE SCIENCE AND
FOREST MANAGEMENT. AND SO WE ARE
FUNDING PROJECTS THAT BRING
INFORMATION TO US THAT ALLOW US
TO, TO DRIVE POLICY DECISIONS
AND ULTIMATELY DRIVE REGULATIONS
AND PROTECTING OUR FORESTS. AND
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A VARIETY OF
DIFFERENT RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
, MOST OF WHICH ARE GEARED
TOWARDS, CLIMATE CHANGE AND
CLIMATE SCIENCE. WE ALSO HAVE
OUR FOREST INVENTORY ANALYSIS
THAT WE SUPPORT OUT OF THAT.
THAT'S A COOPERATIVE EFFORT THAT
WE HAVE WITH THE FOREST SERVICE,
THERE ARE SEVERAL PLOTS ACROSS
THE CALIFORNIA THAT WE ARE
MONITORING, WE STEPPED IT UP
FROM A TEN YEAR, MONITORING
CYCLE TO A FIVE YEAR CYCLE TO
GIVE US MORE UP TO DATE
INFORMATION SO THAT WE COULD
MORE EFFECTIVELY USE THAT
INFORMATION. AND MODELING AND
REALLY FIGURING OUT WHAT FOREST
MANAGEMENT, WHAT THE FIRES THAT
WE'VE HAD, WHAT THE EFFECTS THAT
IS HAVING ON THE STANDS IN
FOREST THAT WE HAVE ACROSS
CALIFORNIA. AND THEN LASTLY, I
WILL SAY THAT PROGRAM HAS BEEN
VERY SUPPORTIVE OF PRESCRIBED
FIRE, PRESCRIBED FIRE
MONITORING, BOTH BEFORE WE PUT
FIRE ON THE GROUND AND AFTER. SO
WE'LL GO IN AND MEASURE THE
FUELS, THE FUEL LOADING, THE
SIZE OF THE FUELS, THE
CONFIGURATION THÀNH BEFORE WE
BURN, AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK AND
WE'LL FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, THAT
GIVES US INFORMATION ON HOW
EFFECTIVE OUR MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES HAVE BEEN. SO I WILL
STOP THERE, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN
IT OVER TO CHIEF BIGELOW TO
SPEAK A LITTLE BIT BRIEFLY ABOUT
OUR FIRE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES,
IF THAT'S OKAY, BEFORE YOU LEAVE
. YES, SIR. I HAVE SOME SOME
OVERALL QUESTIONS THAT I'D JUST
LIKE TO ASK YOU VERY BRIEFLY.
SURE. AND ONE IS I'D LIKE TO ASK
YOU TO SCHEDULE SOME TIME IN MY
OFFICE SO I CAN GO INTO MORE
DEPTH ON SOME OF THESE
QUESTIONS, BUT JUST FROM A FROM
A GENERAL OVERVIEW, AS THE
ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO PUT
THE BUDGET TOGETHER, THESE CUTS
THAT WE DO HAVE AND SOME OF
THESE PROGRAMS, FOREST LEGACY,
ETC, DO THESE, DO THEY, DO THEY
GET GENERATED FROM, FROM CAL
FIRE TO THE ADMINISTRATION, OR
DOES THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
COME TO YOU WITH WE'RE THINKING
OF THIS THAT WHICH ORDER DOES
WHERE WHERE DOES THE GERMINATION
FOR THE FOR THE CUT COME FROM?
THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, I WOULD
SAY IT'S MAYBE A LITTLE BACK AND
FORTH, BUT I THINK I SHOULD
PROBABLY DEFER TO DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE. ALL RIGHT. HEY, AARON
CARSON, DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE.
THE GENERAL FUND SOLUTION
FRAMEWORK IS GENERALLY A
COLLABORATIVE APPROACH BETWEEN
THE ADMINISTRATION AND AGENCIES.
OKAY. THANK YOU. MY, MY, A
COUPLE OTHER QUICK QUESTIONS.
AND THAT IS THAT IN TERMS, YOU
KNOW, IF I WHILE YOU'RE UP, I
WANT TO SAY THAT ONE OF THE
SIGNIFICANT THINGS THAT'S, I
THINK HAS EVOLVED IS THAT THE,
THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSEMBLY
IS MUCH MORE AWARE OF AND
SUPPORTIVE OF, OF WHAT WILDFIRE
MANAGEMENT EFFORTS TO TRY TO
DECREASE, YOU KNOW, THESE
WILDFIRES AND SO THERE'S MUCH
MORE CURIOSITY ABOUT THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF THOSE EFFORTS,
ETC. AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS
I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS IN MORE
DETAIL, BUT GET AN OVERVIEW FROM
YOU, IS THAT DO WE MY IMPRESSION
IS THAT WE HAVE CAL FIRE
PERSONNEL THAT FIGHT FIRES, AND
THEN WHEN THEY HAVE EXTRA TIME,
THEY DO WILDFIRE PREVENTION. AND
DO WE HAVE ANY KIND OF DIVISION
WHERE SOME PEOPLE ARE FOCUSED ON
A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF PEOPLE
ARE FOCUSED 100% ON WILDFIRE
PREVENTION AND, AND, YOU KNOW,
THAT'S YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S
THE MISSION THAT THEY HAVE,
THAT'S THEIR FOCUS RATHER THAN
Ó WHEN YOU HAVE SOME EXTRA
TIME, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO DO
EXTRA, WE WANT TO GET THIS
WILDFIRE PREVENTION EFFORT
MOVING AND STUFF. CAN YOU HELP
ME JUST WITH AN OVERVIEW OF THAT
REAL QUICKLY? SURE AND THAT'S A
GREAT QUESTION, WITHIN OUR
DEPARTMENT, WE ALL HAVE PRIMARY
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES,
WHETHER IT'S FIRE PREVENTION,
WHETHER IT'S FORESTRY, WHETHER
IT'S FIRE SUPPRESSION. BUT WE
VERY MUCH CROSS OVER WHEN
THERE'S A NEED AND WHEN WE HAVE,
FOR INSTANCE, A FIRE, IT'S ALL
HANDS ON DECK BASED ON THE
THREAT AND COMPLEXITY AND WHAT
WE NEED TO GET ACCOMPLISHED, THE
SAME GOES FOR FIRE PREVENTION
AND FUELS MANAGEMENT. WHEN WE
HAVE ENGINES THAT, YOU KNOW,
AREN'T ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN FIRE
SUPPRESSION, THEY'RE OUT DOING
DEFENSIBLE SPACE INSPECTIONS.
THEY'RE ENGAGED IN FUEL
REDUCTION WHEN THEY'RE WORKING
WITH HOMEOWNERS ON, YOU KNOW,
PROVIDING THEM RECOMMENDATIONS
ON ON HOW TO DO CLEARING AROUND
THEIR HOMES, THEY'RE OUT DOING
THE WORK IN THE FIRE PREVENTION
IN THE FORESTRY WORLD. AND WE
HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY WITHIN
OUR DEPARTMENT TO MOVE THOSE
PERSONNEL AROUND. SO WE LOOK AT
IT AS THE MORE DIVERSE WE CAN,
DIVERSITY WE CAN CREATE WITHIN
OUR EMPLOYEES, THE BETTER WE'RE
GOING TO BE AT AT ADDRESSING OUR
MISSION. AND SO THERE IS A HUGE
CROSSOVER. SO TO SAY THAT
SOMEBODY ONLY DOES FIRE
PREVENTION OR ONLY DOES FIRE
SUPPRESSION WOULD NOT BE
ACCURATE. THEIR PRIMARY JOB
MIGHT BE FIRE SUPPRESSION, BUT
AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE AND AS
THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING
TO UTILIZE THE RESOURCES TO THE
BEST OF OUR ABILITIES IS HOW AND
WHERE WE CAN. SO THERE IS A
CROSSOVER. SO CERTAINLY I WOULD
APPRECIATE THAT FROM A FIRE,
SUPPRESSION STANDPOINT, IT'S ALL
HANDS ON DECK WHEN WE'RE IN IN
REAL CRISIS. BUT I'D BE CURIOUS
WHAT PERCENTAGE WERE THEIR
PRIMARY MISSION IS FIRE WILDFIRE
PREVENTION VERSUS PEOPLE WHOSE
PRIMARY MISSION IS SUPPRESSION
THAT SURE THAT THAT'D BE THAT'D
BE HELPFUL FOR ME TO KNOW. I
APPRECIATE THAT AND STUFF. OKAY.
GREAT. AND WE COULD CERTAINLY
GET YOU THE NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT
WE HAVE THAT ARE IN FIRE
SUPPRESSION POSITIONS VERSUS
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OR FIRE
PREVENTION. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT
OH, ONE MORE QUESTION BEFORE YOU
GO. YES HI. THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR, FOR BEING HERE TODAY, I
THINK WE ALL AGREE THAT MAKING
INVESTMENTS IN WILDFIRE
PREPARATION RESILIENCE IS HUGELY
IMPORTANT. AS YOU MAY BE AWARE,
I HAVE SOME CONCERNS, AND I'VE
ASKED SOME QUESTIONS OVER THE
YEARS ABOUT THE TRANSPARENCY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY OF THAT SPENDING,
I THINK OVER THE LAST SINCE
2021, I THINK WE'VE INVESTED
LIKE 2.8 BILLION THÀNH FOR
PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT THE STATE'S
WILDFIRE AND FOREST RESILIENCE
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. LIKE I
SAID, THAT MONEY IS SO, SO
IMPORTANT. AND I'VE BEEN A HUGE
SUPPORTER, BUT WHEN I'VE ASKED
QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE THAT MONEY
IS GOING OR TRIED TO GET DATA
ABOUT WHAT LOCAL AGENCIES HAVE
GOTTEN THE MONEY OR WHAT THEY'VE
DONE WITH IT, IT'S BEEN VERY
DIFFICULT, SO I GUESS TWO
QUESTIONS. WHERE CAN WE GET
INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE THE
MONEY IS GOING, WHAT PROJECTS
IT'S BEING SPENT ON, AND THEN
SECOND, WHAT CRITERIA ARE WE
USING TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY
OF THESE PROGRAMS AND THESE
DOLLARS? SO GREAT QUESTION. AND
THE FIRST PART, WHERE CAN YOU GO
TO FIND THIS INFORMATION. IN
REGARD TO CAL FIRE, SPECIFICALLY
OUR PROJECTS, WE ARE POSTING ALL
OF THAT INFORMATION ON OUR
GRANTS IN THE EFFORT THAT WE
HAVE ONLINE. SO IT'S AVAILABLE
THERE. IF YOU HAD A SPECIFIC
PROGRAM, YOU'RE INTERESTED IN,
WE COULD CERTAINLY GET YOU THAT
INFORMATION. WE ARE ALSO IN THE
PROCESS OF DEVELOPING WHAT WE'RE
CALLING THE DATA HUB. AND THIS
IS AN EFFORT THROUGH THE
WILDFIRE AND FOREST RESILIENCE
TASK FORCE. IT'S BRINGING ALL OF
THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES TO THE
TABLE. OUR FEDERAL COOPERATORS,
OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
COOPERATORS, AND ESSENTIALLY
BRINGING THAT DATA INTO ONE
COMMON PLATFORM SO THAT WE CAN
MORE EFFECTIVELY REPORT OUT OR
COMPREHENSIVELY REPORT OUT ON
THE TOTALITY OF ACTIVITIES THAT
ARE GOING ON ON THE LANDSCAPE.
AS YOU COULD IMAGINE, DIFFERENT
AGENCIES MAY TRACK THINGS
DIFFERENTLY. AND SO ONE OF THE
CHALLENGES THERE IS JUST TO MAKE
SURE WE'RE COMPARING APPLES TO
APPLES. AND SO QA AND QC ON THAT
DATA IS A HUGE PART OF IT. BUT
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THESE
FUNDS TO START DEVELOPING THAT
THAT DATA HUB. SO THAT THAT
INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE.
THERE'S A TRACKING SYSTEM THAT
WE HAVE IN PLACE. THERE IS A
FORWARD FACING DASHBOARD NOW
THAT'S AVAILABLE SO THAT WE'RE
MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION. AND I
DEFINITELY HEAR THE QUESTION,
WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE A
PROGRAM CALLED CAL MAPPER THAT
WE USE THAT HAS VERY SIMILAR,
BUT IT'S GEARED MORE
SPECIFICALLY TO CAL FIRE
PROJECTS. SO THAT INFORMATION IS
BEING DEVELOPED. AND IS THERE
AVAILABLE, BUT CERTAINLY HAPPY
TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU. OKAY.
WELL, THANK YOU. AND I
APPRECIATE THAT. AND IT'S REALLY
ENCOURAGING TO HEAR, AS YOU
SAID, THAT WE'RE MOVING TO THAT
MORE TRANSPARENCY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY. SO I APPRECIATE
THAT. AND THEN ONE OTHER
QUESTION, SO I'M ACTUALLY VERY
PLEASED TO SEE UNDER OUR SCIENCE
BASED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENTS
THAT WE'RE RETAINING THE VAST
MAJORITY OF THOSE, I THINK IT'S
A RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNT OF
MONEY, WHICH WHEN INVESTED WELL,
SAVES US AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF
MONEY, ONE OF THE, THE, THE
THINGS THAT I WORKED ON IN MY
FIRST YEAR IN THE LEGISLATURE
WAS THE FIRES PROGRAM, WHICH WE
PILOTED IN ORANGE COUNTY WITH
THE ORANGE COUNTY FIRE
AUTHORITY. AND THEN BASED ON THE
SUCCESS OF THAT PROGRAM, WE'RE
ABLE TO ROLL THAT OUT STATEWIDE.
BECAUSE OF MY INTEREST IN THIS
AREA, I'VE BEEN BRIEFED SEVERAL
TIMES ABOUT THE ALERT CALIFORNIA
PROGRAM AT UCSD. DOES THAT RING
A BELL? I'M FAMILIAR, A LITTLE
BIT FAMILIAR WITH IT. I'M
PROBABLY NOT THE BEST ONE TO
SPEAK ON IT, BUT THIS MIGHT BE A
GREAT TIME FOR ME TO TRANSITION
TO DO THE HANDOFF. OKAY, OKAY.
GOOD MORNING. HI. GOOD MORNING.
MY NAME IS FRANK BIGELOW, AND
WITH CAL FIRE. AND I'M A DEPUTY
DIRECTOR FOR OUR COMMUNITY
WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS AND
MITIGATION DIVISION OUT OF THE
OFFICE OF THE STATE FIRE
MARSHAL. BEFORE YOU START, WHY
DON'T YOU ANSWER THE
ASSEMBLYMEMBERS QUESTION, AND
THEN WE'LL LET YOU DO YOUR
PRESENTATION AND AS WELL, I'D
LIKE TO FOLLOW UP ON, ON YOUR
PREVIOUS QUESTION AS WELL. SO ON
ALERT CALIFORNIA, AND I GUESS MY
FIRST, DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M
TALKING ABOUT WHEN I'M TALKING
ABOUT ALERT CALIFORNIA? SO IT'S,
YOU KNOW, COMBINATION OF
CAMERAS, LIDAR, MULTI SPECTRAL
DATA COLLECTION TO AID IN THE
PREDICTION, DETECTION AND
SUPPRESSION OF WILDFIRES, TIME
ACTUALLY HIGHLIGHTED IT AS ONE
OF THE BEST INVENTIONS OF 2023.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE'VE
KIND OF INVESTED IN DOING HALF
OF THE MAPPING WORK ACROSS THE
STATE, AND THAT THERE'S ANOTHER
LIKE $20 MILLION TO ACTUALLY
COMPLETE THAT WORK. AND THAT
PROGRAM. IS THAT MONEY INCLUDED
IN IN THIS SCIENCE BASED
MANAGEMENT AND OTHER BUCKET? ARE
WE PLANNING TO FUND THE
COMPLETION OF THAT PROJECT? JUST
BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S
TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY, FOR US
TO PROTECT PROPERTY AND SAVE
LIVES, AS WELL AS, SAVE A LOT OF
MONEY FOR THE STATE. SO IT'S
CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE
QUESTION. AND, AND I THOUGHT YOU
WERE GOING DOWN A ROAD OF
AWARENESS OF THE, OF THE PROGRAM
AND WHAT THE PROGRAM OFFERED IN
VALUE THEN TOOK A HARD RIGHT
TURN FOR FINANCIAL QUESTION THAT
I'M NOT SPECIFICALLY, FAMILIAR
WITH. ON IF THE 20 MILLION THAT
WE FROM THE MONITORING IS GOING
TO GO TO FUND THAT. SO THAT'S
SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO
FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON. AND THEN
BUT I GUESS THEN MAYBE ANSWER
THE FIRST QUESTION, DO YOU THINK
IT'S VALUABLE AND WORTHWHILE.
ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. IT HAS BEEN A
FUNDAMENTAL GAME CHANGER IN THE
DETECTION AND AWARENESS OF
WILDFIRES. THIS HAS BEEN ABLE TO
ALERT US MUCH MORE QUICKLY OF
THE OF A OF A WILDFIRE STARTING,
YOU KNOW, IN THE INITIAL PHASES
OF THE PROGRAM, THERE'S A LOT OF
BUGS TO WORK THROUGH. YOU KNOW,
DUST CLOUDS WOULD COME UP AND
WE'D GET FALSE ALERTS, BUT THE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAS HAS
VASTLY IMPROVED. AND HAS BEEN
ABLE TO FILTER OUT SOME OF THOSE
FALSE POSITIVES AND MAKE THOSE
NOTIFICATIONS MUCH MORE QUICKLY.
AND THE ADDING OF THE MILITARY
SPECTRAL CAMERAS BEING ABLE TO
SEE THROUGH THE SMOKE. SO AT
NIGHT NOW WE'RE ABLE TO USE THE
TECHNOLOGY TO BE ABLE TO REALLY
SEE WHERE THE FIRE IS AT NIGHT
AND THE ACTIVITY THAT IT'S
PRODUCING. SO IT'S BEEN A GAME
CHANGER FOR ALL OF US AND THE
ABILITY FOR OUR OUR
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS TO BE ABLE
TO NAVIGATE SOME OF THOSE
CAMERAS, TO ORIENT THEM TOWARD
THE FIRE HAS BEEN A HUGE HELP AS
WELL. OKAY WONDERFUL, I GUESS
I'LL JUST SAY IT'S A POINT OF
FOLLOW UP. ANYTHING THAT I THINK
MY OFFICE WILL FOLLOW UP TO
FIGURE OUT. WHAT DO WE NEED TO
DO TO MAKE SURE THAT, GIVEN THE
POTENTIAL THIS PROGRAM, AS YOU
SAID, IT'S POTENTIALLY A GAME
CHANGER FOR THE STATE. WHAT DO
WE DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE
ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING IT, EVEN
IN THE MIDST OF A CHALLENGING
BUDGET ENVIRONMENT. AND I THINK
THERE'S OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR
FUNDING, YOU KNOW, THAT OUTSIDE
OF THE GOVERNMENT THROUGH, AS,
AS AN EXAMPLE, UTILITY COMPANIES
WHO HAVE ALSO ADDED TO THE
SYSTEM, WHO'VE BROUGHT IN
CAMERAS OF THEIR OWN, THAT CAN
BE ADDED TO THAT. SO JUST AS A
THOUGHT, OKAY. THANK YOU. SO I'D
LIKE TO FOLLOW UP ON YOUR
QUESTION AS WELL, AND WHERE YOU
ASKED ABOUT THE STAFF DEDICATED
TO FIRE PREVENTION WORK. SO
ASSEMBLY BILL NINE OF 2021
CREATED THE COMMUNITY WILDFIRE
PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION
DIVISION WITHIN THE OFFICE OF
THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL. THAT
BILL CREATED MY POSITION AS A
DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT
DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND TWO FPAS ARE
FOREST AND FIRE PROTECTION
ADMINISTRATORS OR WHAT WE CALL
STAFF CHIEFS. THOSE STAFFS WERE
ACTUALLY WRITTEN INTO THE
LEGISLATION THAT THEY WERE TO BE
THE LAST PEOPLE CALLED FOR. IN
ANY EVENT, A FIRE ACTIVITY
SOLELY TO FOCUS ON PREPAREDNESS
AND MITIGATION AS WELL. OVER THE
LAST FEW YEARS, SINCE 2020,
WE'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO GROW
THAT DIVISION FROM WHAT IT WAS
AT 13 PEOPLE TO 63 THAT ARE FULL
TIME STAFF, DEDICATED ON
EVERYTHING FROM DEFENSIBLE SPACE
TO HOME HARDENING, WORKING WITH
THE INVESTOR OWNED UTILITIES,
WORKING WITH LOCAL JURISDICTIONS
ON EVERYTHING FROM SAFETY
ELEMENTS AND THEIR GENERAL PLANS
TO LOCAL HAZARD MITIGATION
PLANS. ADMINISTERING OUR
WILDFIRE PREVENTION GRANTS
PROGRAMS, A WHOLE HOST OF OTHERS
THAT I PLAN TO GO THROUGH WHEN
WE GET TO THE AGENDA TO TALK
ABOUT THOSE EFFORTS. BUT WE HAVE
IN ADDITION, IN OUR CAL FIRE
UNITS, OF WHICH WE HAVE 21
ACROSS THE STATE AND THEN SIX
CONTRACT COUNTIES WHICH GET
FUNDING AS WELL TO DO DEDICATED
AND, PREVENTION AND PREPAREDNESS
WORK IN THE FORM OF DEFENSIBLE
SPACE INSPECTIONS, OF WHICH WE
HAVE 94 DEFENSIBLE SPACE
INSPECTORS THAT ARE SEASONAL, 20
OR 31 FULL TIME FORESTRY
TECHNICIANS THAT DO DEFENSIBLE
SPACE WORK, AS WELL AS PUBLIC
EDUCATION AROUND PREPAREDNESS
AND MITIGATION. SO WE HAVE,
BEGUN TO SHINE A LIGHT, USING
THE MONEY, THE INVESTMENTS THAT
HAVE BEEN MADE, ABOUT THE 2
MILLION OR 2 BILLION, EXCUSE ME,
THAT WERE MENTIONED EARLIER,
AMONG OTHERS, THAT I'LL TALK
ABOUT SHORTLY, BUT I DID WANT
YOU TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE FULL
TIME DEDICATED STAFF UNDER MY
SUPERVISION THAT DO THAT WORK.
BUT WHAT I WAS GETTING AT IS,
WAS THE NUMBER 63 OR WAS IT 13
OR WAS IT? AND SO TO HEAR THAT
YOU'VE BUILT IT UP TO 63 IS
HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR ME TO
HAVE. THANK YOU. GREAT OKAY. GO
AHEAD WITH YOUR PRESENTATION NOW
OKAY. WELL GOOD MORNING, AND THE
FIRST PART OF MY PRESENTATION
HERE, I'M REALLY JUST GOING TO
FOCUS ON THE SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE
BEEN, THAT HAVE BEEN OFFERED.
AND THEY REALLY ONLY TOUCH TWO
OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE UNDER
MY PURVIEW, WHICH ARE THE UNIT
FIRE PREVENTION PROJECTS, WHICH
SHIFTS $26 MILLION OF GENERAL
FUND TO GRF, SO SIX 6 MILLION
FROM LAST FISCAL YEAR. AND THEN
20 MILLION OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND OUR FIRE PREVENTION GRANTS
PROGRAM, SHIFTING $82 MILLION
FROM GENERAL FUND TO GRF, AND AS
A PART OF THAT. SO OUR WILDFIRE
PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM THIS
THIS FISCAL YEAR HAS $117
MILLION TO GIVE OUT. WE'RE
CURRENTLY IN OUR SOLICITATION
RIGHT NOW. SO WE PUT OUT IN
NOVEMBER A CALL FOR GRANTS. WE
RECEIVED 225 GRANT APPLICATIONS
FOR JUST OVER $250 MILLION. WE
HAVE 117 SO EXTREMELY
OVERSUBSCRIBED. IT'S THAT WAY
EVERY YEAR. THERE'S A
SIGNIFICANT INTEREST IN THIS
PROGRAM. IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR
WITH THE WILDFIRE PREVENTION
GRANT PROGRAM, WE DO EVERYTHING
FROM FIRE PREVENTION WORK
THROUGH EDUCATION. FUELS
REDUCTION WORK, AND WE HELP
DEVELOP KWP OR COMMUNITY
WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS. LOCAL
HAZARD MITIGATION PLANS, CREATE
CEQA DOCUMENTS. SO A VERY ROBUST
PROGRAM. WE'RE CURRENTLY GRADING
THOSE APPLICATIONS OR RANKING
THOSE APPLICATIONS TO OUR LOCAL
CAL FIRE UNITS. AND WE
ANTICIPATE THE AWARDS THOSE
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE BUDGET
APPROPRIATION. SO WHATEVER THAT
LOOKS LIKE, WE'RE HOPING FOR
JUNE. IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE
JULY, IT TURNS OUT TO BE JULY,
BUT THAT PROGRAM IS WELL ON ITS
WAY. SO APPRECIATE THE CONTINUED
FUNDING, THE UNIT FIRE
PREVENTION PROJECTS, THIS MONEY
GOES DIRECTLY TO OUR UNITS, OUR
CAL FIRE UNITS TO DO, FUELS
WORK. AND THAT HAS BEEN AS A
PERSON THAT CAME THROUGH A LOCAL
CAL FIRE UNIT YEARS AGO. WE WERE
STRUGGLING TO GET THE FUNDING TO
COMPLETE THE WORK. WE WANTED TO
DO THE WORK. WE HAD THE PROJECTS
IDENTIFIED, BUT WE COULDN'T GET
THE FUNDING. WELL, NOW WE DO
HAVE THE FUNDING AND THAT WORK
IS BEING DIRECTED EITHER
DIRECTLY BY THE UNITS, MEANING
THOSE FOLKS THAT DO DUAL WORK,
FIRE PREVENTION AND FIRE
SUPPRESSION ARE GOING OUT AND
CONDUCTING THE FUELS WORK, OR WE
ARE CONTRACTING WITH VENDORS TO
COME DO THE LOGGING OR DO THE
MASTICATION, OR DO THE OTHER
WORK THAT ACTUALLY GETS DONE ON
THE GROUND SO THAT THAT MONEY IS
BEING, SPENT AND BEING USED TO
TREAT AND HELP CAL FIRE MEET OUR
TARGET OF 100 000 ACRES AND OUR
500 PROJECTS ANNUALLY. AND JUST
AS A NOTE, WHERE WE STAND WITH
THAT, AS OF AS OF MARCH, WE'VE.
CAL FIRE HAS WORKED ON 570
PROJECTS, WHICH IS 141% OF OUR
GOAL. WE'VE COMPLETED 44,946
ACRES OF FUELS WORK, AND OF THAT
, 29,983 OF IT ARE UNIT
PROJECTS. WHAT PERCENT OF YOUR
GOAL DID YOU SAY WE, OF THE 500,
WE ARE AT 570 PROJECTS. SO WE'RE
A LITTLE OVER 140% OF OUR GOAL.
THE OUR GOAL IS 100,000 ACRES OF
TREATED ACRES. SO WE'RE AT 44%
OF OUR OF OUR GOAL BECAUSE WE'RE
AT 44,000 OR JUST UNDER 45,000
ACRES, OUR GRANTS PROGRAM HAS
CONTRIBUTED 20,000 OF THOSE
ACRES. SO A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT
WE WERE ABLE TO LAST YEAR, WE
HAVE TO GIVE MOTHER NATURE A
LITTLE CREDIT FOR HELPING US OUT
LAST YEAR. BUT I THINK THAT THE
WORK THAT WE DID AS WELL NEEDS
TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR. BUT OUR,
OUR, OUR CAL FIRE UNITS WERE
ABLE TO BURN USING BENEFICIAL
FIRE IN SOME UNITS MORE THAN
THEY HAD IN WILDLAND
UNCONTROLLED WILDLAND FIRES LAST
YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT WE
CAN REMEMBER. SO THAT'S A
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENT. IT
SHOWS WHILE WE STILL HAD THE
ALMOST THE SAME NUMBER OF
UNCONTROLLED WILDFIRES AS WE DID
IN 2020, LAST YEAR, JUST OVER
7400, FIRES WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP
THOSE FIRES VERY SMALL USING THE
RESOURCES THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE.
BUT ALSO THEY WEREN'T HUGE
DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTING FIRES
BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE
INVESTMENTS AND THE WORK THAT
WE'VE DONE AHEAD OF TIME THROUGH
FUELS MANAGEMENT, FUELS
REDUCTION AND EDUCATION, SO
THOSE THAT'S MY OPENING FOR THE
FOR THE SOLUTION, AND WHERE WE
STAND WITH THOSE TWO, THOSE TWO
GROUPS THAT ARE GETTING NÓ
SOLUTIONS. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. WE HAVE A WE HAVE QUITE A
FEW QUESTIONS. I THINK
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE HEARING
THIS MORNING, SO I'M GOING TO
ASK THAT, THAT YOUR RESPONSES
TRY TO BE DIRECT AND WRITE TO
THE POINT, AND, JUST THE
OVERALL. SO PERHAPS FOR YOU, MR.
KASHA, WHAT'S THE CRITERIA THAT
THE ADMINISTRATION USES TO
DETERMINE WHAT PROGRAMS QUALIFY
FOR A SHIFT AT GRF FROM GENERAL
FUND? ERIN CARSON, DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE, HAPPY TO GO OVER THE
ADMINISTRATION CRITERIA. I HAVE
A SCRIPT ALSO LAID OUT TO GO
OVER THAT AS WELL. LET'S GO TO
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE BEFORE WE
TAKE THIS QUESTION. THANK YOU.
SORRY ERIN CARSON, DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE I'M JUST GOING TO
PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE
ADMINISTRATION'S CRITERIA FOR
THE GENERAL FUND SOLUTION, AND
THEN AN OVERVIEW OF NATURAL
RESOURCES AGENCIES AND OPC'S
SOLUTIONS. AND THEN I'LL PASS IT
OFF TO MY COLLEAGUES TO GO OVER
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND
CAL FIRE SOLUTIONS. ALL RIGHT.
SO TO FILL THE 37.9 BILLION
BUDGET SHORTFALL, THE
ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES
SOLUTIONS WITH THE FOLLOWING
CONSIDERATIONS IN MIND. PROTECT
FUNDING FOR THE MOST IMMEDIATE
CLIMATE RISKS. MINIMIZE
DISRUPTIONS FOR PROGRAMS
UNDERWAY. POTENTIAL AVAILABILITY
TO SHIFT TO OTHER FUNDS, AND
POTENTIAL AVAILABILITY OF
FEDERAL FUNDS. PRIORITIZING
INVESTMENTS IN PRIORITY
POPULATION WHICH FACE
DISPROPORTIONATE HARM FROM THE
CLIMATE CRISIS. PROVIDE
EQUITABLE REDUCTIONS ACROSS
CLIMATE CATEGORIES. CONSIDER THE
CURRENT AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAM
FUNDING BY FISCAL YEAR. THE 2021
AND 2022 BUDGET ACTS COMMITTED
APPROXIMATELY $3.3 BILLION OVER
FIVE YEARS IN THE CLIMATE
PACKAGE TO THE SECRETARY OF
NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY,
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND
CAL FIRE. FOR THESE THREE
DEPARTMENTS, THE GOVERNOR'S 2425
BUDGET PROPOSES APPROXIMATELY
134 MILLION IN BUDGET SOLUTIONS
FROM THE CLIMATE PACKAGE, WHICH
INCLUDE REDUCTIONS, FUND SHIFTS
AND DELAYS. THESE SOLUTIONS FALL
ACROSS VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF THE
CLIMATE PACKAGE PACKAGES SUCH AS
WILDFIRE AND FOREST RESILIENCE,
NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS, EXTREME
HEAT, COASTAL RESILIENCE AND
CLIMATE JOBS, THE NATURAL
RESOURCES AGENCY AND OCEAN
PROTECTION COUNCIL HAVE FOR
GENERAL FUND SOLUTIONS. THE
FIRST ONE IS WETLANDS
RESTORATION AT REDONDO BEACH.
THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET INCLUDES A
REVERSION OF 10 MILLION GENERAL
FUND FOR THE REDONDO BEACH
WETLANDS RESTORATION PROJECT,
WHICH ELIMINATES FUNDING FOR
THIS PURPOSE. THE SOLUTION WILL
REMOVE CNRA FROM THIS PROJECT,
WHICH HAS BEEN IN LITIGATION FOR
MANY YEARS. THE NEXT ONE IS,
OCEAN PROTECTION UNDER THE OCEAN
PROTECTION COUNCIL. THE 21 AND
22 CLIMATE BUDGETS ALLOCATED 100
MILLION OVER TWO YEARS FOR OCEAN
PROTECTION PROJECTS AT THE OCEAN
PROTECTION COUNCIL. THE
GOVERNOR'S BUDGET REVERTS 35
MILLION GENERAL FUND FOR THIS
PROGRAM, WHICH MAINTAINS 65
MILLION, OR 65% OF FUNDING.
WHILE THIS SOLUTION WILL REDUCE
OPC'S FUNDING FOR MONITORING,
RESEARCH AND HABITAT PROTECTION
PROJECTS, THE MAJORITY OF THIS
FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM IS
MAINTAINED AND IS EXPECTED TO BE
AWARDED AT THE JUNE COUNCIL
MEETING. THE NEXT ONE, OCEAN
PROTECTION SB1 IMPLEMENTATION
UNDER OPC. THE 21 AND 22 CLIMATE
BUDGETS ALLOCATE 102 MILLION
OVER THREE YEARS TO THE TO OPC
FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF SB ONE.
THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET REVERTS 25
MILLION GENERAL FUND FOR THIS
PROGRAM AND SHIFTS 36.8 MILLION
TO THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION
FUND IN 2420 2425, WHICH
MAINTAINS 77 MILLION, OR 75% OF
FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM. THE
SOLUTION REFLECTS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO SHIFT FUNDING TO ANOTHER FUND
SOURCE WITH MINIMAL PROGRAMMATIC
IMPACT, AND IS CONSISTENT WITH
THE PROGRAM BEING SUPPORTED FROM
THE GRF IN 20 2122, THE LAST ONE
HERE UNDER CNRA URBAN GREENING
AT THE 2021 AND 2022 CLIMATE
BUDGETS, ALLOCATED 250 MILLION
TO THE URBAN GREENING PROGRAM.
THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET SHIFTS
23.8 MILLION GENERAL FUND TO THE
GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION FUND IN
20 2425, WHICH MAINTAINS 75
MILLION, OR 30% OF FUNDING FOR
THIS PROGRAM. THE SOLUTION ALSO
REFLECTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHIFT
FUNDING TO ANOTHER FUND SOURCE.
ALTHOUGH THE SHIFT MAY DELAY
CNRA IN AWARDING GRANTS BY
SEVERAL MONTHS. AND WITH THAT,
I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY
COLLEAGUES AT CLEARLY.
GOOD MORNING, CHAIR MEMBERS,
ZACH LYERLY, DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE. THE DEPARTMENT OF
CONSERVATION HAS THREE GENERAL
FUND SOLUTIONS. THE FIRST
SOLUTION IS BIOMASS TO HYDROGEN,
BIOFUELS PILOT PROGRAM. THE 2021
AND 2022 CLIMATE BUDGETS
ALLOCATED 50 MILLION TO THE
BIOMASS. TO THIS PROGRAM. EXCUSE
ME. GOVERNOR'S BUDGET REVERTS
43.5 MILLION. A GENERAL FUND FOR
THIS PROGRAM, WHICH MAINTAINS
6.5 MILLION, OR 13% OF FUNDING.
WHILE THE SOLUTION WILL REDUCE,
THE CONSERVATION FUNDING FOR
CREATING HYDROGEN AND OR LIQUID
FUEL RESULTING FROM FOREST
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, GIVEN THE
AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE AVAILABLE
FUNDING THAT HAS NOT BEEN
COMMITTED, THE ADMINISTRATION
HAD TO MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS
TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. SECOND
PROGRAM, THE OIL AND GAS WELL
AND CAPPING PROGRAM UNDER THE
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION, THE
2021 AND 2022 CLIMATE BUDGETS
ALLOCATED 100 MILLION FOR THIS
PROGRAM. THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET
SHIFTS 50 MILLION GENERAL FUND
TO THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION,
WHICH MAINTAINS 100% OF THE
ORIGINAL FUNDING. FUNDING BEING
SHIFTED FOR THE PROGRAM IS
DELAYED TO 20 2425 AND
CONSISTENT WITH THE PROPOSED
THIS PROPOSED SHIFT, THE
GOVERNOR'S BUDGET PROPOSES
TRAILER BILL LANGUAGE TO AMEND
SECTION 3258 OF THE PUBLIC
RESOURCES CODE. THIS. THIS
SOLUTION REFLECTS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO SHIFT FUNDING TO ANOTHER FUND
SOURCE WITH MINIMAL PROGRAMMATIC
IMPACT, AND IS CONSISTENT WITH
THE PROGRAM BEING USED FOR GRF
IN 2122. LASTLY, REGIONAL FIRE
AND FOREST CAPACITY PROGRAM, THE
2021 AND 2022 CLIMATE BUDGETS
ALLOCATED 150 MILLION FOR THIS
PROGRAM, AND THE GOVERNOR'S
BUDGET PROPOSES TO SHIFT 20
MILLION GENERAL FUND TO THE
GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION FUND,
WHICH MAINTAINS 100% OF THE
FUNDING. FUNDING BEING SHIFTED
FOR THE PROGRAM IS DELAYED TO
2425. THE SOLUTION AGAIN ALSO
REFLECTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHIFT
FUNDING TO ANOTHER FUND SOURCE
WITH MINIMAL PROGRAMMATIC
IMPACT, AND IS CONSISTENT WITH
THE PROGRAM BEING SUPPORTED FROM
THE GRF IN 2122. AND I'M GOING
TO TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE
FOR THE CAL FIRE ISSUES. WE DO
HAVE A CAST OF THOUSANDS HERE
TODAY. A LOT OF PIECES. GOOD
MORNING, JAMIE GONSALVES,
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE. I'LL BE
GOING OVER THE SEVEN GENERAL
FUND SOLUTIONS REGARDING CAL
FIRE. FIRST IS CAL FIRE'S UNIT
FIRE PREVENTION PROJECTS. THE 21
AND 22 CLIMATE BUDGETS ALLOCATED
90 MILLION FOR CAL FIRE UNIT
FIRE PREVENTION PROJECTS. THE
GOVERNOR'S BUDGET SHIFTS 26
GENERAL FUND TO THE GREENHOUSE
GAS REDUCTION FUND, WHICH
MAINTAINS A 100% OF FUNDING.
FUNDING BEING SHIFTED FOR THE
PROGRAMS IS DELAYED TO 24 AND
25, ALTHOUGH THE SHIFT MAY DELAY
SOME PROJECTS BY SEVERAL MONTHS.
THIS SOLUTION REFLECTS AN
OPPORTUNITY TO SHIFT FUNDING TO
ANOTHER FUND SOURCE AND
PRIORITIZES MAINTAINING FUNDING
THAT DIRECTLY TRANSLATES INTO
ACRES TREATED FOR FUEL
REDUCTIONS IN VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT. NEXT, WE HAVE FIRE
PREVENTION GRANTS. THE 2021 AND
22 CLIMATE BUDGETS ALLOCATED 475
MILLION FOR THE FIRE PREVENTION
GRANTS PROGRAM. THE GOVERNOR'S
BUDGET SHIFTS 82 MILLION GENERAL
FUND TO THE GREENHOUSE GAS
REDUCTION FUND, WHICH MAINTAINS
A 100% OF FUNDING THIS SHIFT.
THIS SHIFT KEEPS THE FUNDING
WITHIN 2324, ALTHOUGH THE SHIFT
MAY DELAY THE ISSUANCE OF SOME
GRANTS BY A FEW MONTHS. THIS
SOLUTION REFLECTS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO SHIFT FUNDING TO ANOTHER FUND
SOURCE WITH MINIMAL PROGRAMMATIC
IMPACT. THIS SOLUTION
PRIORITIZES MAINTAINING FUNDING
THAT DIRECTLY TRANSLATES INTO
ACRES TREATED FOR FUELS
REDUCTION AND VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT. NEXT, WE HAVE
PRESCRIBED FIRE IN HAND CREWS.
THE 2021 AND 2022 CLIMATE BUDGET
ALLOCATED 134 MILLION FOR
PRESCRIBED FIRE AND HAND CREWS.
THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET REVERTS
5.3 MILLION. GENERAL FUND FROM
THIS PROGRAM, WHICH MAINTAINS
128.7 MILLION, OR 96% OF THE
FUNDING. THIS REDUCTION
REPRESENTS THE REMAINING BALANCE
OF ONE TIME GENERAL FUND
PROVIDED FOR THIS PURPOSE AND
2021 AND 22, AND WILL HAVE A
MINIMAL IMPACT ON THE FUELS
REDUCTION AND VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT WORK COMPLETED BY
THESE CREWS. BECAUSE 35 MILLION
OF THE 200 MILLION OF GRF
ALLOCATED TO CAL FIRE ANNUALLY
DOES GO TOWARD SUPPORTING THESE
CREWS. NEXT, WE HAVE FOREST
LEGACY PROGRAM, THE 2021 2022
CLIMATE BUDGET ALLOCATED 49
MILLION FOR THE FOREST LEGACY
PROGRAM. THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET
REVERTS 3.6 MILLION. GENERAL
FUND FOR THIS PROGRAM, WHICH
MAINTAINS 45.4 MILLION, OR 93%
OF THE FUNDING GIVEN THE
MAGNITUDE OF THE BUDGET PROBLEM
AND DIFFICULT DECISIONS THAT
HAVE HAD TO BE MADE TO BALANCE
THE BUDGET FOR WILDFIRE AND
FOREST RESILIENCE INVESTMENTS,
THE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIZED
MAINTAINING FUNDING THAT
DIRECTLY TRANSLATES INTO ACRES
TREATED FOR FUELS REDUCTION AND
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT. THIS
SOLUTION REPRESENTS A REDUCTION
THAT MINIMIZES PROGRAMMATIC
DISRUPTIONS. NEXT, WE HAVE
INTERAGENCY FOREST DATA HUB. THE
20 2122 CLIMATE BUDGETS
ALLOCATED 10 MILLION TO
ESTABLISH THE INTERAGENCY FOREST
DATA HUB. THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET
REVERTS 2.9 MILLION. GENERAL
FUND FOR THIS PROGRAM, WHICH
MAINTAINS 7.1 MILLION, OR 71% OF
THE FUNDING. THIS SOLUTION ALSO
REPRESENTS A REDUCTION THAT
MINIMIZES PROGRAMMATIC
DISRUPTION AND THE
PRIORITIZATION OF MAINTAINING
FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS THAT MOST
DIRECTLY PROTECT AGAINST
IMMEDIATE FIRE RISKS. NEXT, WE
HAVE MONITORING AND RESEARCH.
THE 20 2122 CLIMATE BUDGETS
ALLOCATED 38 MILLION FOR
MONITORING AND RESEARCH. THE
GOVERNOR'S BUDGET REVERTS 5.7
MILLION. GENERAL FUND FOR THIS
PROGRAM, WHICH MAINTAINS 32.3
MILLION, OR 85% OF THE FUNDING.
THIS SOLUTION ALSO REPRESENTS A
REDUCTION THAT MINIMIZES
PROGRAMMATIC DISRUPTIONS AND THE
PRIORITIZATION OF MAINTAINING
FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS THAT MOST
DIRECTLY TRANSLATE INTO ACRES
TREATED FOR FUELS REDUCTION AND
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT. LAST WE
HAVE HOME HARDENING, THE 2122
CLIMATE BUDGETS ALLOCATED 50
MILLION TO THE HOME HARDENING
PROGRAM. THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET
REVERTS 12 MILLION GENERAL FUND
FOR THIS PROGRAM, WHICH
MAINTAINS 38 MILLION, OR 76% OF
THE FUNDING. THIS FUNDING IS
USED AS A MATCH FOR FEDERAL
FUNDING THROUGH FEMA'S HAZARD
MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM. GIVEN
THE LENGTHY PROCESS TO APPLY FOR
AND SECURE THIS FEDERAL FUNDING,
THE 38 MILLION MAINTAIN IS IN
VARIOUS STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
, BUT NO WORK HAS BEGUN RELATED
TO THE TO THIS REMAINING BALANCE
. OKAY. THANK YOU, BEFORE WE GO
TO LÀ, I JUST HAVE A QUICK
QUESTION FOR YOU, ON THE FOREST
LEGACY PROGRAM. DO DO THOSE,
LANDS THAT ARE COVERED UNDER THE
FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM COUNT
TOWARDS THE GOVERNOR'S 3030
GOALS. MY COLLEAGUE. SO
REGARDING THE FOREST LEGACY
MEETING, THE GOVERNOR'S 30, 30
GOALS, I, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT
THIS I. I'LL HAVE TO FOLLOW UP
AND CONFIRM THAT, BUT I DON'T
BELIEVE THEY DO. OKAY. THANK YOU
. ALL RIGHT. I THINK WE'RE READY
FOR LAO FINALLY. THANK YOU.
CHAIR AND MEMBERS. HELEN
CHRISTIE WITH THE LEGISLATIVE
ANALYST'S OFFICE. I'LL TRY TO
KEEP THIS SHORT, BECAUSE I KNOW
WE HAVE A LOT ON THE AGENDA
TODAY. AND REALLY, OUR
OVERARCHING COMMENTS ARE THE
SAME AS THE ONES THAT I KNOW MY
COLLEAGUES HAVE PRESENTED TO YOU
IN THE OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS,
SO THE ADMINISTRATION PRESENTS
ONE SET OF POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS.
GIVEN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
BUDGET PROBLEM THAT YOU'RE
FACING, WE THINK IN GENERAL,
IT'S A REASONABLE, YOU KNOW, A
REASONABLE SET OF SOLUTIONS, BUT
IT'S JUST ONE SET AND IT
REFLECTS THE ADMINISTRATION'S
PRIORITIES. SO I THINK ONE OF
THE MESSAGES WE'VE BEEN TRYING
TO MAKE OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS
IS YOU HAVE OTHER OPTIONS. YOUR
AGENDA DOES A REALLY NICE JOB OF
LAYING OUT SOME OF THE SPECIFIC
ONES THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED. A
COUPLE OF KEY SORT OF
OVERARCHING POINTS ON THOSE ONE.
SO ONE, SOME OF THOSE OPTIONS
ARE ONES THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE
ADMINISTRATION WENT OVER A
NUMBER OF AREAS WHERE THEY'RE
SWITCHING FUND SOURCES FROM
GENERAL FUND TO GRF. YOU COULD
CONSIDER WHETHER YOU WANTED TO
MAKE SOME OF THOSE REDUCTIONS,
FOR EXAMPLE, INSTEAD OF FUND
SHIFTS. IF YOU DID THAT, THAT
WOULD FREE UP GRF THAT YOU COULD
USE FOR OTHER PRIORITIES. SO
THAT'S ONE KIND OF POSSIBLE SET
OF DIFFERENT CHOICES. ANOTHER IS
THERE ARE SOME AREAS WHERE
THERE'S ADDITIONAL UNCOMMITTED
FUNDS THAT THE ADMINISTRATION IS
NOT PROPOSING FOR SOLUTIONS. SO
WE WE'VE IDENTIFIED SOME OF
THOSE AREAS FOR OR TRIED TO
IDENTIFY ALL OF THOSE AREAS FOR
YOU. YOU CAN LOOK AT THOSE
DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND DECIDE,
YOU KNOW, KIND OF WEIGHING YOUR
PRIORITIES, WHICH ONES FIT BEST.
SO YOU MAY WANT TO REPLACE SOME
OF THE ONES THAT THE GOVERNOR
PROPOSES OR ARE DEPENDING ON,
YOU KNOW, IF THE IF THE BUDGET
SITUATION GETS MORE SEVERE, YOU
COULD POTENTIALLY EVEN ADD TO
THE GOVERNOR'S LIST. SO IF YOU
HAVE QUESTIONS, I'LL I'D BE
HAPPY TO TAKE THEM. BUT
OTHERWISE I'M NOT GOING TO GO
OVER THE FULL LIST. IN THE
INTEREST OF TIME, WE REALLY
APPRECIATE LAO OVERALL AND IN
PARTICULAR HERE TO ACTUALLY
IDENTIFY SPECIFIC PROGRAMS THAT
WE CAN CONSIDER THAT ARE NOT ON
THE ADMINISTRATION'S LIST IS
REALLY HELPFUL FOR US. SO THANK
YOU, SO I'M GOING TO I ASKED
THAT FIRST QUESTION. AND SO
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, WHOEVER
WANTS TO ANSWER THAT, WHAT IS
THE CRITERIA FOR WHICH PROGRAMS
QUALIFY FOR SHIFTING OVER TO
GRF. SO THE ADMINISTRATION
LOOKED SORRY. THE ADMINISTRATION
LOOKED AT WHAT GENERAL FUNDED
PROGRAMS STILL HAVE FUNDING
AVAILABLE THAT MOST ALIGNED WITH
THE ADMINISTRATION'S PRIORITIES,
INCLUDING THOSE THAT SUPPORT
EQUITY, MEET GREENHOUSE GAS
REDUCTION GOALS, AND HAVE
PREVIOUSLY BEEN FUNDED OUT OF
GRF. SO THE MIX OF PROGRAMS THAT
ARE PROPOSED TO BE SHIFTED TO
GRF MEET THOSE CONSIDERATIONS.
AND IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT
THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION
FUND WILL ALSO BE DISCUSSING
MORE OF THESE DETAILS AT THEIR
FUTURE HEARING. ALL RIGHT, I
HAVE QUITE A FEW QUESTIONS, BUT
I THINK I WANT TO, LET MY
MEMBERS, ASK THEIR QUESTIONS
FIRST AND I'LL SEE WHERE WE GO
FROM THERE. RIGHT MR. CONLON?
YEAH, I APPRECIATE IT. AND THANK
YOU FOR THE TESTIMONY. THANK YOU
FOR THE HARD WORK KEEPING OUR
COMMUNITIES SAFE. SO I'VE KIND
OF A GENERAL COMMENT, BUT THEN
WANTED TO ASK A SPECIFIC
QUESTION ON THE HOME HARDENING
PROGRAM. SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE
WANT CHIEF BIGELOW BACK, BUT
SORRY. TO. SO I GUESS THE
GENERAL COMMENT IS THAT, AS WE
DISCUSSED A LOT OF THE PROPOSED
CUTS, AGAIN AND AGAIN, WE'VE
SEEN THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE THAT
PROGRAMS COMMITTED THROUGH,
BILLS WE'VE PASSED THAT HAVE
BEEN SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR ARE,
ARE ESSENTIALLY REMAINING IN
LIMBO YEARS LATER, AROUND
IMPLEMENTATION. SO, FOR EXAMPLE,
EVEN THOUGH THE HOME HARDENING
GRANT PROGRAM WAS SET UP BY
ASSEMBLY MEMBER WOOD'S BILL IN
2019, THE LAW SAYS IT HAS,
QUOTE, FACED VARIOUS
IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES, AND
AS SUCH, ROUGHLY $25 MILLION OF
GENERAL FUND MONIES HAVE NOT YET
BEEN COMMITTED. END QUOTE, HOME
HARDENING. OBVIOUSLY, EXTREMELY
IMPORTANT, IN MY COMMUNITIES AND
STATEWIDE, ENABLING FOLKS TO
KEEP THEIR HOMES SAFE, IT'S VERY
CONCERNING TO ME THAT WE SEE THE
SLOW IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS,
BY DEPARTMENTS. AND FRANKLY, THE
AS SUCH, THE REASONING BEHIND
THESE PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS, AND
IT'S ANALYSIS, THE LAO SUGGESTS
THAT CUTTING HOME HARDENING,
BECAUSE OF IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
AND THE FACT THAT UNCOMMITTED
FUNDS, REMAIN. SO MY QUESTION,
TO CAL FIRE TO OES IS WHY WHY
HAS THIS PROGRAM LAGGED EVEN
THOUGH IT WAS CREATED IN 2019?
AND WHY DO YOU FEEL IT'S
JUSTIFIED TO HAVE $12 MILLION
CUT FROM IT WHEN IT HASN'T EVEN
BEEN PROPERLY IMPLEMENTED YET?
THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT
QUESTION, BECAUSE I'M EXCITED
TO, TO TELL YOU ALL THE ALL THE
REASONS. SO WHEN, WHEN, I THINK
WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT HOME
HARDENING IS, IS THE WAY THAT WE
NEED TO GO INTO THE FUTURE WHERE
THERE ARE EXPONENTIALLY MORE
HOMES THAT NEED RETROFITTING
THAN THERE ARE NEW HOMES THAT
HAVE BEEN BUILT TO THE CURRENT.
CHAPTER SEVEN A BUILDING
STANDARD. SO THERE ARE MILLIONS
OF HOMES THAT FAMILIES ARE
LIVING IN TODAY THAT ARE
UNPROTECTED FROM WILDFIRE, THAT
DON'T MEET CURRENT STANDARDS,
THAT WOULD TAKE BILLIONS AND
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO RETROFIT.
THIS IS A FANTASTIC FIRST STEP
IN GETTING, AWARENESS AROUND THE
NEED, BUT ALSO IMPLEMENTATION OF
THIS. SO WHEN CAL FIRE AND CAL
OES ENTERED A JOINT POWERS
AUTHORITY, OF WHICH I SIT ON THE
BOARD FOR THE JOINT POWERS
AUTHORITY, WE HAD TO BUILD A
PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP. WE
WERE BASICALLY GIVEN OVER THE
COURSE OF TWO FISCAL YEARS, $50
MILLION AND SAID, BUILD A
PROGRAM THAT'S NEVER BEEN BUILT
BEFORE WITH STANDARDS THAT
HAVEN'T BEEN DEVELOPED WITH A,
WITH CRITERIA THAT'S NEVER BEEN
BUILT WITH A APPLICATION PORTAL
THAT ISN'T DEVELOPED WITH AN
ASSESSMENT APPLICATION THAT WE
DON'T HAVE WITH OUTREACH
MATERIAL, WE DON'T HAVE. SO GO
AHEAD. SO WE DID WE STARTED AND
WE CAME TOGETHER IN JANUARY OF
2020. AND ONCE THE STAFF WAS
HIRED AND ONCE THE MONEY WAS
THERE AND WE STARTED TO
IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM AND THAT
IS EVERYTHING I JUST MENTIONED,
WE HAD TO BUILD THE SALES FORCE
APPLICATION, THE PORTAL BY WHICH
PEOPLE WOULD APPLY. WE HAD TO
DEVELOP USING SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY. WE USING THE RESEARCH
COMMUNITY, USING THE PUBLIC TO
HELP US DETERMINE. AND WHEN I
MENTIONED THE RESEARCH INDUSTRY,
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY OR THE
INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR BUSINESS
AND HOME SAFETY OR UNDERWRITERS
LABORATORY, FIRE SAFETY RESEARCH
INSTITUTE, WE LEVERAGED SOME OF
THE SMARTEST MINDS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY TO DEVELOP WHAT'S CALLED
THE HAZARD MITIGATION
METHODOLOGY. AND THIS
METHODOLOGY IS A COMPREHENSIVE
METHODOLOGY THAT LOOKS AT EVERY
ASPECT OF A HOME AND PRIORITIZES
IT AND THEN ADDS DIFFERENT
COMPONENTS SO YOU CAN HAVE A
STANDARD UPGRADE, A PLUS
UPGRADE, AND AN OPTIMAL UPGRADE
TO BUILD PEOPLE UP TO THAT
STANDARD. NOBODY HAD EVER DONE
THAT BEFORE FOR RETROFITTING,
AND IT TOOK A WHILE TO DEVELOP
THAT, THAT METHODOLOGY. AND THEN
AS SIMULTANEOUSLY, WHILE WE'RE
WORKING WITH THAT COMMUNITY TO
DEVELOP THAT, THE FOLKS AT CAL
OES ARE DEVELOPING THE SALES
FORCE PORTAL SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE
CAL FIRE STAFF IS THE SUBJECT
MATTER. EXPERTS WERE DEVELOPING
THE ASSESSMENT APPLICATION THAT
WE LEVERAGE, ESRI, THE
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH INSTITUTE, TO DEVELOP A
SURVEY ONE, TWO, THREE, WHICH
THEY SAID WAS ONE OF THE MOST
COMPLEX THAT THEY HAD SEEN OVER
A THOUSAND QUESTIONS THAT WE
ASKED TO ASSESS EVERY SINGLE
ASPECT OF A PARCEL AND NOT JUST
THE PARCEL, BUT THE HOME. SO
EVERYTHING FROM THE ROOF, THE
SIDING, THE WINDOWS, THE EAVES,
THE, THE WINDOWS, AND THEN
LOOKING AT THE SURROUNDING
VEGETATION AND BEING ABLE TO
THEN PRODUCE A REPORT THAT SHOWS
EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
AROUND THAT HOUSE. AND SO ALL OF
THAT, THE OUTREACH MATERIAL, THE
WEBSITE, ALL OF THAT STUFF HAD
TO BE DEVELOPED. AND THEN WE'RE
LEVERAGING STATE DOLLARS AGAINST
HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT DOLLARS
WITH FEMA. AND THIS IS WHERE THE
SLOWDOWN HAPPENS. IS WHEN YOU
START ADDING DIFFERENT ENTITIES
INTO A PROGRAM, AND NAVIGATING
THEIR PROCESS AND WORKING WITH
THEM, WHICH THEY'VE BEEN GREAT
TO WORK WITH. I'M NOT BASHING
FEMA, I'M JUST SAYING IT ADDED A
LITTLE BIT OF COMPLEXITY TO THE
PROGRAM, WHEN DEALING WITH THE
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, THE
HOUSING, THE ENVIRONMENTAL OR
THE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION ACT,
THE MIGRATORY BIRD ACT, AND ALL
THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO
DO THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT THAT
WE HAVE TO FOLLOW. IT ADDED TIME
TO THE PROCESS. I AM HAPPY TO
ANNOUNCE, THOUGH, THAT THE FIRST
HOME IN KELSEYVILLE RIVIERA IS
BEING RETROFITTED NOW, SO
PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE. WE ARE
RETROFITTING A HOUSE, OUR GOAL
IS TO GET 2440 HOMES RETROFITTED
WITH THE MONEY THAT WE'VE BEEN
ALLOCATED, AND THOSE COMMUNITIES
ARE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, SHASTA
COUNTY, LAKE COUNTY, EL DORADO
AND TUOLUMNE. ALL FIVE ARE IN
VARIOUS STAGES OF THE PROCESS,
BUT KELSEYVILLE AND LAKE IS
THROUGH THE HAZARD MITIGATION
PROCESS. SAN DIEGO IS SHORTLY
BEHIND. WE WILL BE, AS WE CALL,
SWINGING HAMMERS, IN SAN DIEGO
IN APRIL, SHASTA COUNTY IN APRIL
AS WELL. TUOLUMNE AND EL DORADO
CAME ON A LITTLE BIT LATER. SO
IT'LL BE A FEW MORE MONTHS
BEFORE THEY WILL. WE'RE ALSO
LEVERAGING THE BALANCE OF THE
STATE DOLLARS THAT WE HAD THAT
WASN'T OFFERED AS A SOLUTION TO
DO A DEFENSIBLE SPACE ONLY GRANT
IN SISKIYOU COUNTY, SO THAT WE
CAN PREP FOR IF THERE IS
ADDITIONAL FUNDING, THAT THOSE
HOMES WILL BE DONE BECAUSE
THAT'S A REQUIREMENT FOR THE
HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT DOLLARS.
THAT DEFENSIBLE SPACE BE DONE
PRIOR TO THE HOME HARDENING
BEING COMPLETED. SO WE'RE GOING
TO KIND OF ALREADY FORWARD
THINKING OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO
DO NEXT. IF THERE IS ANOTHER
APPROPRIATION OF DOLLARS. SO
ALTHOUGH IT MAY SEEM AND LOOK
LIKE THERE HASN'T BEEN A LOT
THAT'S HAPPENED, I CAN TELL YOU
THAT THIS IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF
BOTH CAL OES AND CAL FIRE'S
MIND, AND THAT WE ARE MOVING
FORWARD AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
COULD YOU ENLIGHTEN US ON WHY
THOSE COUNTIES, HOW IS IT THAT
THOSE COUNTIES EMERGED AS THE
FIVE COUNTIES? YEAH ABSOLUTELY.
SO IN, IN AB 38 OF 2019 THAT
CREATED THE PROGRAM, IT
IDENTIFIED SOME CRITERIA THAT WE
SHOULD USE TO CHOOSE THE
COUNTIES FINANCIALLY
DISADVANTAGED AND THERE'S A
MULTITUDE OF THEM. I WON'T BORE
YOU WITH THE DETAILS. WE DID AN
ANALYSIS AND WE ADDED THINGS
LIKE FIRE HISTORY, IGNITIONS,
FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONES AND,
OTHER CRITERIA TO IT. AND BASED
ON THAT ANALYSIS, IT RANKED OR
PRIORITIZED THE COUNTIES IN
ORDER OF, OF NEED. IT WAS ALSO
HOW MANY HOMES, YOU KNOW, AND
WHAT AGE THEY WERE, A WHOLE,
WHOLE WHOLE HOST. WE THEN WENT
TO THOSE CAL FIRE UNITS IN THOSE
COUNTIES AND SAID, HEY, THESE
YOUR COUNTY WAS IDENTIFIED AS
ONE OF THE TOP THREE. WHICH
COMMUNITIES IN YOUR COUNTY DO
YOU FEEL NEED THIS WORK THE
MOST? SO THAT'S WHERE WE HAD TO
START SOMEWHERE. AND THIS IS A
PILOT, RIGHT? WE'RE JUST
PILOTING US. SO WE ALSO LOOKED
AT OTHER CRITERIA ONCE WE GOT TO
THAT COMMUNITY LEVEL, WE WANTED
TO FIND, COMMUNITY GROUPS,
WHETHER THAT'S A RESOURCE
CONSERVATION DISTRICT OR A FIRE
SAFE COUNCIL OR IN LAKE COUNTY'S
NORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH
IS A NONPROFIT GROUP THAT HELPS
FOR POST-FIRE RESTORATION,
MOSTLY, BUT NOW IS GETTING INTO
THE PRE FIRE WORLD. WE ALSO IN
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, PARTNERED WITH
THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT. AND THE
REASON WE WANTED TO DO THESE
KIND OF MORE DIVERSE GROUPS IS
BECAUSE THE INTENT IS BEYOND THE
PILOT STAGE. WE WANT WE DON'T
WANT TO BE IN THE SELECTION OF
PICKING WHICH GROUPS WE WANT
THEM TO BE ABLE TO COME TO US,
BUT THEN WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO
PROVIDE THEM ALL THE OUTREACH
MATERIAL AND THE EDUCATION FROM
EACH OF THE DIFFERENT ENTITIES
THAT CONDUCTED THE WORK SO THAT
THEY CAN BEST FIT OR ALIGN WITH
THE ONE THAT THEY ARE, AND GIVE
THEM THE MOST INFORMATION TO BE
SUCCESSFUL AS THEY MOVE FORWARD.
THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE? YEAH,
MAYBE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
TOPIC, BUT RELATED ISSUE. AND
THANK YOU FOR THAT CONTEXT.
THAT'S HELPFUL. SO APROPOS OF MY
FIRST QUESTION, THE ADMINISTER
NATION AND THE LAO ARE
JUSTIFYING A 49% CUT TO COASTAL
RESILIENCE ON THE BASIS THAT A
SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THE STATE
COASTAL COMMISSION'S FUNDING HAS
NOT YET BEEN SPENT. IT'S MY
UNDERSTANDING THAT THE
LEGISLATURE HAS APPROXIMATELY
$1.3 BILLION FOR COASTAL
RESILIENCE OVER MULTIPLE YEARS
FOR PROJECTS, YET THIS FUNDING
REMAINED UNENCUMBERED. AND SO,
THE STATE COASTAL COMMISSION IS
NOT HERE TODAY TO ANSWER
QUESTIONS, BUT I'D LIKE THE LAO
OR ANOTHER PANELIST TO EXPAND ON
THIS SITUATION. WHY ARE WE
ALLOWING, MONEY TO SIT WITHOUT
BEING ALLOCATED TO PROJECTS? DO
YOU WANT ME TO THANK YOU FOR
THAT QUESTION, I DO NOT
REPRESENT THE STATE COASTAL
CONSERVANCY, BUT I THINK I CAN,
ADDRESS THAT QUESTION MORE
BROADLY, THIS FUNDING CAME TO
OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL AND THE
CONSERVANCY RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
AND LIKE YOU HEARD THE TESTIMONY
FROM MY CALFIRE COLLEAGUE, WE
HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY QUICKLY
TO STAND UP PROGRAMS AND TO MOVE
THAT FUNDING AS, AS FAST AS
POSSIBLE, I THINK, FOR, FOR THE
COASTAL CONSERVANCY, THE WETLAND
RESTORATION AND WATERSHED
RESTORATION PROJECTS THAT THEY
INVEST OFTEN TAKE SOME TIME TO
STAND UP, AND THEY HAVE A
PIPELINE OF PROJECTS THAT THEY
ARE PREPARED TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND SOME OF THAT HAS, I THINK,
BEEN PAUSED, GIVEN WHERE WE ARE
RIGHT NOW WITH THE BUDGET,
SIMILARLY FOR THE OCEAN
PROTECTION COUNCIL, WE'VE BEEN
MOVING AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN TO
MOVE THOSE FUNDS, AS I MENTIONED
IN MY TESTIMONY, WE WE'VE MOVED
$35 MILLION IN THE LAST YEAR OR
SO. SO AGAIN, THAT WE'RE TRYING
TO BALANCE, WE HAVE A VERY SMALL
STAFF. THERE'S ABOUT 15 OF US
THAT BALANCE. FUNDING THE
HIGHEST PRIORITY, HIGHEST VALUE
PROJECTS AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN
WHILE MAKING SURE WE'RE,
ADVANCING POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
THAT ARE THEN GOING TO INFORM
THE INVESTMENTS AFTER THAT. SO
WE'VE GOT SOME PACING THAT WE'RE
ALSO MANAGING, HELEN. CHRISTINE,
IF I COULD JUST ADD, I THINK ONE
MORE POINT. MY UNDERSTANDING, ON
THIS, ON THIS TOPIC IS THAT
THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION LAST
YEAR ABOUT POTENTIALLY PULLING
SOME OF THIS MONEY. AND SO THAT
ALSO, I THINK, SLOWED SOME OF
THE IMPLEMENTATION. SO, YEAH,
YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE ARE
VARIOUS THINGS THAT GO ON.
SOMETIMES THERE ISN'T MONEY TO
IMPLEMENT, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIES.
SOMETIMES YOU KNOW, THINGS GET
KIND OF, YOU KNOW, STALLED
BECAUSE THERE'S DISCUSSION ABOUT
POTENTIALLY, RESCINDING MONEY,
AND THIS WAS AN AREA I KNOW OF,
HIGH LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY THAT
OUR OFFICE HAS, HAS, IDENTIFIED
IN THE PAST AS BEING AN AREA
WHERE THE LEGISLATURE REALLY HAS
WANTED TO FOCUS, BUT HAS
SUSTAINED, KIND OF DEEPER
PROPOSED CUTS THAN MANY OTHER
AREAS. SO WE WEREN'T WE WEREN'T
NECESSARILY RECOMMENDING THESE
CUTS. WE WERE JUST FLAGGING THAT
THIS IS AN AREA THAT THE
ADMINISTRATION HAS PROPOSED KIND
OF A HIGHER LEVEL OF CUTS THAN
OTHER AREAS. AND, AND SOME OF
THE REASON FOR THAT. JUST IF I
CAN JUST COVER THE COASTAL
CONSERVANCY, I'M BRIAN CASH, I
SERVE, I'M AT THE NATURAL
RESOURCES AGENCY. I SERVE ON THE
BOARD FOR THE SECRETARY. AND I
WOULD SAY THAT THEY HAVE MOVED
FORWARD AT A VERY QUICK PACE,
THESE ARE HISTORIC INVESTMENTS
THAT HAVE COME TO THE
CONSERVANCY AND THEY'VE BEEN
ABLE TO ROLL TO GROW THEIR
PROGRAMS AND ROLL OUT, PROJECTS
AT A RATE THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN
BEFORE IN THE 17 YEARS THAT I'VE
BEEN SITTING ON THE BOARD. SO
THEY HAVE BEEN MOVING FORWARD
JUST THE SIZE OF THE, OF THE
APPROPRIATIONS THAT WERE GIVEN
WERE SUCH THAT, YOU KNOW, IT
TAKES SOME TIME TO GET ALL THE
PROJECTS OUT THE DOOR, BUT THEY
HAVE BEEN MOVING QUICKLY.
ASSEMBLYMEMBERS PETRIE-NORRIS.
YEAH. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND
ACTUALLY PICKING UP ON THAT
THREAD, I THINK I SHARE,
ASSEMBLY MEMBER CONNOLLY'S
CONCERNS ABOUT, JUST THE DEPTH
OF THESE CUTS. AND I THINK THAT
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
BUILDING COASTAL RESILIENCE,
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INVESTMENTS,
TO MITIGATE THE CATASTROPHIC,
CATASTROPHIC IMPACT OF SEA LEVEL
RISE ON OUR COAST. IT'S
INVESTMENTS WE HAVEN'T BEEN
MAKING. RIGHT? BECAUSE WE KEEP
PUTTING IT OFF TO NEXT YEAR, TO
NEXT YEAR TO NEXT YEAR. AND IT'S
LIKE SEA LEVEL RISES IS KIND OF
SLOW MOVING TSUNAMI, MY CONCERN
IS IF WE DO NOT ACT IN THE NEAR
TERME, IT REALLY IS GOING TO BE
TOO LATE FOR MANY OF OUR COASTAL
COMMUNITIES. AND I GUESS IT'S
SORT OF A BROADER CONCERN THAT I
HAVE IN IN THIS HEARING AND IN
OUR PREVIOUS HEARINGS, IT FEELS
LIKE THE CRITERIA FOR PROGRAM
CUTS ARE LARGELY OR ALMOST
EXCLUSIVELY BASED ON WHAT STUFF
ARE WE ALREADY DOING AND
THEREFORE GOING TO KEEP DOING?
WHAT STUFF HAVEN'T WE STARTED
AND THEREFORE ARE NOT GOING TO
DO? AND I GUESS I WOULD LOVE TO
UNDERSTAND. AND WHAT IS OUR WHAT
WHAT ARE WE USING TO EVALUATE
THE EFFICACY OF CURRENT PROGRAMS
IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR
NOT THEY DESERVE TO MOVE
FORWARD, OR PERHAPS THEY SHOULD
BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK SUCH
THAT WE HAVE RESOURCES TO INVEST
IN NEW, URGENT AND IMPORTANT
PRIORITIES. AS ERIN CARSON,
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE I'LL JUST
SAY, WITH REGARDS TO A LOT OF
THE, THE COASTAL RESILIENCE
FUNDING, A LOT OF THE GENERAL
FUND SOLUTIONS IN THIS AREA,
WERE DETERMINED BASED ON DOLLARS
THAT HAD NOT YET BEEN COMMITTED
YET. SO NOT SPEAKING TO ANYTHING
REGARDING THE POTENTIAL EFFICACY
OF WHERE THOSE DOLLARS COULD
HAVE BEEN, IT WAS JUST A MATTER
OF, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT A WIDE
VARIETY OF PRIORITIES IN THE
RESOURCES AREA AND BEYOND ACROSS
STATE AGENCIES. IT WAS A
SITUATION WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE
THERE WAS A LOT OF DOLLARS THAT
WERE NOT YET COMMITTED, WHEN WE
WERE DEVELOPING THE GOVERNOR'S
BUDGET LAST FALL, SO THAT THAT
WAS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR, WITH
REGARDS TO THE THOSE DOLLARS.
YEAH. I YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO SPEAK
TO THE, THE EFFICACY PIECE AND
ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF SEA LEVEL
RISE PLANNING AND ADAPTATION AND
ON THE GROUND PROJECTS. WE THINK
THAT'S CRITICAL. WE THINK IT IS,
THIS PARTICULAR SOURCE OF
FUNDING FOR SENATE BILL ONE,
IT'S UNIQUE, RIGHT. WE KNOW
THERE'S LOTS OF OTHER STATE AND
FEDERAL DOLLARS AVAILABLE FOR
THOSE ON THE GROUND PROJECTS,
BUT THE PLANNING, THOSE DOLLARS
ARE LESS LESS AVAILABLE, WE HAVE
FUNDED RESEARCH THAT SHOWS THAT
ABOUT 63% OF OUR COAST IS
DOESN'T HAVE ADEQUATE SEA LEVEL
RISE PLANS IN PLACE. AND SO WE
KNOW THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AND
URGENT NEED, AS FAR AS THE
EFFICACY I CAN PROVIDE ONE
EXAMPLE OF FUNDING THAT THE
OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL HAS HAS
PROVIDED TO SUPPORT KELP
RESTORATION AND RECOVERY ACROSS
THE STATE, AND THE WAY THAT
WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT IS THROUGH
A SERIES OF, PILOT INVESTMENTS.
RIGHT. SO HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT
RESEARCH, AND THAT ULTIMATELY
RESTORATION TECHNIQUES AND
APPROACHES ARE GOING TO BE MOST
EFFECTIVE. AND INSTEAD OF GOING
OUT AND SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY
DOING A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT
THINGS, LET'S PILOT, SEE WHAT
WORKS BEST AND THEN INCREASE
THOSE INVESTMENTS AS WE GO
FORWARD. SO IF I MAY JUST ADD, I
THINK IT'S SUCH A GOOD QUESTION
AND SUCH AN IMPORTANT QUESTION,
AND I THINK ONE THAT OUR OFFICE
HAS IS, HAS FELT THERE IS A LACK
OF SORT OF CONSISTENT OR
COMPREHENSIVE, GOOD QUALITY
INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO
BE ABLE TO USE TO EVALUATE THAT
ONE, NOT JUST IN TERMS OF THESE
CUTS. AND IT'S MANY OF THEM ARE
NOT DRIVEN BY OR PROBABLY MOST
OF THEM ARE NOT DRIVEN BY ANY
EVALUATION OF. THIS IS THE MOST
EFFECTIVE PROGRAM, PARTLY
BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T HAVE THAT
DATA. RIGHT, WE DO HAVE
INFORMATION ON KIND OF THE GHG
EMISSION REDUCTIONS. THERE'S
SORT OF DATA THAT'S COLLECTED
ANNUALLY ON THAT. YOU KNOW, OUR
OFFICE HAS RAISED SOME SOME, YOU
KNOW, SOME ISSUES WITH SOME OF
THE TECHNICALITY. BUT THERE IS
WE ARE TRACKING THAT AND THERE
ARE SOME, YOU KNOW, IN CERTAIN
PROGRAMS, THERE'S SOME TRACKING.
A LOT OF TIMES THE OUTCOMES ARE
MORE LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S
SORT OF LIKE NUMBERS OF ACRES
TREATED NOT DO YOU HAVE A
HEALTHY FOREST BECAUSE DO YOU
HAVE A HEALTHY FOREST IS A MUCH
HARDER THING TO EVALUATE AND
FIGURE OUT. EVEN NUMBER OF ACRES
IS HARD. AND I THINK WE'VE HAD
PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS,
ABOUT HOW DO YOU EVEN HAVE
CONSISTENT AND GOOD TRACKING OF
THAT, BUT BUT THE REAL OUTCOME
THAT YOU CARE ABOUT IS EVEN
HARDER. AND SO IT'S A HARD THING
FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO DO. I
MEAN, WE CERTAINLY ACKNOWLEDGE
THAT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT I
THINK WE COULD BE DOING A BETTER
JOB OF AND ESPECIALLY WITH THESE
PACKAGES, WE HAD SO MUCH MONEY
AND MANY CASES FOR NEW PILOT
PROGRAMS. AND THE MONEY'S GOING
TO GO AWAY, AND WE'RE GOING TO
HAVE TO HOPEFULLY IN TEN YEARS
OR I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG, YOU
KNOW, HOPEFULLY AT SOME POINT,
HOPEFULLY BEFORE TEN YEARS. BUT
AT SOME POINT THE BUDGET WILL BE
IN A POSITION TO MAKE ADDITIONAL
INVESTMENTS. AND WHEN THAT
HAPPENS, THE LEGISLATURE, WE
THINK IS GOING TO WANT TO BE
POSITIONED TO MAKE THOSE
DECISIONS. WHICH AREAS WERE MOST
EFFECTIVE AT HELPING US HAVE
RESILIENT FORESTS OR WHATEVER
YOUR GOAL IS ULTIMATELY, AND WE
KNOW THE ADMINISTRATION IS
WORKING HARD. THE FOREST AND
WILDFIRE TASK FORCE, THEY'RE
WORKING ON THIS VERY HARD IN
THAT AREA AND IN OTHER AREAS.
THE ADMINISTRATION IS MAKING
CERTAINLY MAKING PROGRESS, BUT
IT'S REALLY HARD. THERE'S WORK
TO BE DONE, AND I THINK WE NEED
TO KIND OF KEEP ASKING THOSE
QUESTIONS AND POTENTIALLY THINK
ABOUT PUTTING, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN
THIS BUDGET TIME, THINKING ABOUT
ARE THERE AREAS WHERE A LITTLE
BIT OF MONEY HERE AND THERE, TO
HAVE REALLY ROBUST EVALUATIONS.
SO IT'S NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, HOW
MANY PEOPLE USED THIS PROGRAM?
BECAUSE THAT'S NICE TO KNOW. BUT
IT REALLY DOESN'T TELL US WHAT
WE GOT FROM IT. FUNDAMENTALLY,
IF IT MET WHATEVER THE
LEGISLATURE'S GOALS ARE. SO I
THINK A REALLY GOOD QUESTION AND
I THINK, YEAH, ONE THAT WE'LL
PROBABLY CONTINUE TO HAVE TO
DISCUSS IN THESE HEARINGS.
AGREED. YES. AND I KNOW OUR I'VE
APPRECIATED OUR CHAIR'S FOCUS ON
THAT ACCOUNTABILITY. I THINK
IT'S JUST GOING TO GET MORE AND
MORE IMPORTANT. I THINK WE ALL
RECOGNIZE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR
EARLY ACTION. WE'RE GOING TO BE
MAKING EVEN HARDER DECISIONS AS
THE MONTHS GO ON. AND SO I THINK
WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO
ENSURE T WE'RE TAKING THOSE
TOUGH DECISIONS OFF REAL DATA
AND THE MOST ROBUST ANALYSIS
POSSIBLE. IF I COULD JUST FOLLOW
UP ON THAT WHILE WE HAVE IT, IF
YOU KNOW, IN THE IN THE SHORT
THREE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE,
THERE IS NO GREATER REQUEST OF
THE ASSEMBLY THAN HOW DO WE
EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
THE SPENDING THAT WE ARE
AUTHORIZING. AND SO THIS IS NOT
AN ACCUSATION. THIS IS AN
INVITATION. THÀNH, AS I THINK IS
ELOQUENTLY POINTED OUT BY LAO,
IT'S NOT EASY. I MEAN, IF IT WAS
EASY, WE WOULD HAVE WE WOULD BE
THERE. BUT I THINK YOU CAN
REALLY TRACE THE LAST COUPLE OF
DECADES. THAT QUESTION GETS
ASKED CONSTANTLY. AND WHEN YOU
START TO DIVE INTO IT, YOU START
TO SEE WHY IT IS SO DIFFICULT,
YOU KNOW, NUMBER ONE, IT COSTS
MONEY TO DO MORE EVALUATION, YOU
KNOW, IF YOU HAVE INDEPENDENT
THIRD PARTIES OR IF THE
DEPARTMENTS HAVE TO YOU KNOW,
DO, DO REPORTS. BUT THEN THE
SECOND THING IS, WELL, WHAT
EVALUATION IS REALLY, REALLY
GOING TO GET TO, YOU KNOW, IS IT
HOW MANY PEOPLE USE THE PROGRAM?
WELL, THAT DOESN'T PROVE
ANYTHING BY ITSELF, ETC. SO IF
WE COULD ALL JUST RECOGNIZE THAT
IF WE COULD MAKE PROGRESS ON
THIS IN A COLLABORATIVE WAY,
BECAUSE I KNOW YOU FOLKS THAT
ARE YOU KNOW, YOU COULD I COULD
HEAR IT IN YOUR VOICE WHEN YOU
WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW TO DO THE
HARM HARDENING PROGRAM. YOU WERE
GOING, WE WANT TO DO THE HOME
HARDENING PROGRAM, RIGHT? WE
DON'T WANT TO JUST HERE'S $50
MILLION AND IT GOES OUT AND, YOU
KNOW, BUT TO DO IT RIGHT IS
HARD. SO I KNOW YOU WOULD LIKE
TO HAVE THE BEST INFORMATION AND
CERTAINLY ON THINGS LIKE
WILDFIRE PREVENTION, YOU KNOW,
WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T WORK
. IS IT REALLY IMPORTANT
QUESTION. RIGHT. SO I DON'T HAVE
AN EASY ANSWER, BUT IF WE COULD
HAVE A REAL SENSE OF PARTNERSHIP
THAT WE WANT TO WORK ON THAT FOR
THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS,
BECAUSE IT WOULD BE A YEARS LONG
PROCESS, WE'D ALL BE BETTER OFF.
AND MAYBE WE START WITH A FEW
DEPARTMENTS LIKE YOU FOLKS, WHO
I THINK THERE'S SOME PARTICULAR
BENEFITS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE
COULD GET OUT OF THAT, A LITTLE
BIT EASIER TO DO, YOU KNOW, JUST
DID THIS. DID YOU KNOW THE
STATISTICS IN HEALTH? WE CAN GO.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DIDN'T CATCH
COVID? HOW MANY PEOPLE DIDN'T
DIE IN THE HOSPITAL? HOW MANY
PEOPLE CAME TO THE EMERGENCY
ROOM AND DIDN'T HAVE TO COME
BACK A LITTLE BIT EASIER, HARDER
WITH WITH THE WITH THE
CATEGORIES HERE IN CLIMATE AND
SEA LEVEL RISE. WHAT WHAT'S
WHAT'S EFFECTIVE, WHAT'S NOT
EFFECTIVE, ALL OF THAT KIND OF
STUFF. SO THAT'S JUST AN OVERALL
THOUGHT. BUT THERE IS A REAL
PASSION IN THE ASSEMBLY, FOR
THAT INFORMATION. AND AND I KNOW
YOU GUYS SHARE IT ALSO AND LET'S
SEE IF WE CAN, CREATE A
CONCERTED EFFORT TO TRY TO PULL
THAT OFF. I'M GOING TO GO ON TO
MY QUESTIONS, YOU GUYS. OKAY. SO
I WANT TO GO QUICK BECAUSE OF
WHAT WE HAVE. BUT, CAN YOU GIVE
US A QUICK UPDATE ON THE LEGAL
DISPUTE SURROUNDING THE REDONDO
BEACH WETLANDS RESTORATION SITE?
SURE. BRIAN CASH WITH THE
NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY, THE
PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE
ACQUISITION OF THE SITE, THERE
ARE TWO LAWSUITS GOING ON RIGHT
NOW AND A BANKRUPTCY. SO THAT
REALLY COMPLICATED THE READINESS
OF THE PROJECT. I'LL LEAVE IT AT
THAT. ALL RIGHT, AND WHY IS THE
TIMING FOR THE USE OF THESE
FUNDS UNCERTAIN, JUST BECAUSE OF
THAT? YEAH. BECAUSE I ASSUMED.
OKAY, CAL CAL FIRE, RESOURCE
CODE 4137 REQUIRES CAL FIRE TO
DEVELOP STANDARDIZED PROTOCOL
FOR MONITORING, IMPLEMENTATION,
AND EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECTS,
AND THIS IS, THIS FITS THE VERY
TOPIC. WE WERE JUST JUST
STARTING ON. BUT WHAT'S THE
STATUS OF IMPLEMENTING THE
STANDARDIZED PROTOCOL MONITORING
AND EVALUATION AND THE IMPACTS?
I'M GOING TO READ ALL FOUR
QUESTIONS SO THAT YOU CAN JUST
ANSWER THEM ALL AT ONCE. WHAT'S
THE STATUS OF THE OF THE
PROGRAM? ARE THERE ANY OBSTACLES
TO YOU, IN TERMS OF COMPLETING
THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT, DOES
THE REDUCTION IN FUNDING AND
MONITORING IMPACT YOUR ABILITY
TO FULFILL THIS REQUIREMENT, AND
HAVE YOU COMPLETED THIS YEAR'S
REPORT? ALL FOUR QUESTIONS? YES.
OKAY. THANK YOU. I THINK I GOT
THOSE, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION,
WE POSTED THE MONITORING
PROTOCOLS LAST MARCH, AND, WHAT?
WE ESSENTIALLY TOOK PROTOCOLS
THAT WE HAD EXISTING WITHIN THE
DEPARTMENT AND BUILT OFF OF
THOSE, THESE ARE PROTOCOLS THAT
OUR FOREST HEALTH PROGRAM HAD
BEEN USING FOR PROBABLY A YEAR
PRIOR TO THAT. SO THE PROTOCOLS
ARE NOW POSTED, AS FAR AS STEPS
NEEDED TO PERFORM OR TO COMPLETE
THOSE. NO. THEY'RE DONE. WE'VE
COMPLETED THEM. IT'S ACTUALLY A
COMBINATION OF TWO DIFFERENT
PROTOCOLS THAT WE'VE LUMPED INTO
ONE. ONE OF THEM IS MORE
SPECIFIC TO PRESCRIBED FIRE. AND
WE DID THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE
SOME NUANCES INVOLVED IN
MONITORING PRESCRIBED FIRES THAT
ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN
GOING OUT AND LOOKING AT A
THINNING PROJECT OR, OR SOME OF
THE OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE
MONITORING, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN
POSTED, PER 4130. LET'S SEE.
IT'S 4137 G. THERE IS A
REQUIREMENT THAT WE THEN ROLL
THOSE THOSE THOSE PROTOCOLS OUT
TO OTHER AGENCIES SO THAT WE CAN
ALL COMPREHENSIVELY BE ABLE TO
MONITOR, BASICALLY GET ON THE
SAME PAGE, THAT REQUIREMENT GOES
INTO EFFECT THIS DECEMBER 2024.
WE ARE ON TASK TO MEET THAT
DEADLINE. AND SO WHAT WE'VE
ESSENTIALLY DONE IS TAKEN A
RELATIVELY COMPREHENSIVE,
COMPLEX MONITORING PROTOCOL THAT
WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN PLACE TO
MEET THE STATUTE. AND WE'RE
WE'RE WE'RE MAKING IT MORE FIELD
BASED SO THAT IT'S A LITTLE MORE
EFFICIENT, MAYBE A LITTLE LESS
COMPLEX, AND WILL ALLOW FOLKS TO
GO OUT, WITH THEIR EXISTING
RESOURCES IN ORDER TO COMPLETE
THAT MONITORING, ONE OF THE
CONCERNS IS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE
ANY FUNDING OR RESOURCES
ALLOCATED WITH THE STATUTE. AND
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE IT A LITTLE
BIT MORE SIMPLE AND EFFICIENT,
IF YOU WILL. THANK YOU. SO THE
IMPRESSION THAT IT'S NOT DONE IS
NOT ACCURATE. IT IS DONE. IT IS
COMPLETED. YES, BESIDES THE SIZE
AND DESTRUCTION OF FIRES, WHAT
METRICS CAN BE USED TO VERIFY
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WILDFIRE
PREVENTION AND VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES? AND, WE
KNOW YOU'VE GOT THE VERY SIMPLE,
TEN CENT, I MEAN, TEN WORD
ANSWER BECAUSE THIS IS A REALLY
EASY, REALLY EASY ANSWER. YEAH.
WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT. WE'RE
DONE, WE'VE SOLVED IT, SO THOSE
TWO METRICS OF SIZE AND
DESTRUCTION, OBVIOUSLY VERY
IMPORTANT. AND THEY HELP US AT A
QUICK GLANCE, KIND OF TAKE A
LOOK BACK. BUT THERE ARE SO MANY
OTHER ASPECTS THAT THAT WE LOOK
AT, TO, TO HELP EVALUATE AND
DETERMINE THE METRICS. SO I'M
GOING TO RUN THROUGH, RUN
THROUGH A FEW OF THEM. I'LL TRY
TO BE AS QUICK AS I CAN, BUT I
THINK THEY'RE IMPORTANT TO TOUCH
ON AND HIGHLIGHT A LOT OF THESE
PROGRAMS. SO, WE'LL START OUT
WITH DEFENSIBLE SPACE
INSPECTION. SO THE LAST COUPLE
OF YEARS, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO
EXCEED OUR 200 INTERNAL CAL
FIRE, 250,000 INSPECTION
ANNUALLY. GOAL. SO THERE ARE
ROUGHLY 850 TO 900,000
RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES IN THE
STATE RESPONSIBILITY AREA. AND
IT'S OUR GOAL TO HIT EVERY ONE
OF THEM EVERY THREE YEARS, SO
WITH OUR CURRENT STAFF, WE'RE ON
TRACK TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT FOR
THE FIRST TIME, IN EVER WITH THE
STAFF THAT WE'VE HAD FROM OUR
INCREASES OVER THE LAST FEW
YEARS. BUT ONE OF THE METRICS
THAT WE USE TO DETERMINE THE
EFFECTIVENESS IS COMPLIANCE. AND
WE'RE SEEING, ON AVERAGE, 84%
COMPLIANCE ON A FIRST
INSPECTION. SO THAT TELLS US
THAT PEOPLE ARE LEARNING,
THEY'RE LISTENING, THEY'RE
ABSORBING, THEY'RE DOING THE
WORK TO BECOME COMPLIANT WITH
DEFENSIBLE SPACE, A PROGRAM THAT
WAS JUST RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED
THROUGH LEGISLATION WAS CALLED
QUALIFIED ENTITIES PROGRAM. IT
ALLOWS FOR US TO TRAIN FIRE SAFE
COUNCILS OR RESOURCE
CONSERVATION DISTRICTS OR OTHER
GROUPS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN
THAT LEGISLATION TO BE
DEFENSIBLE SPACE ASSESSORS, SO
THEY CAN GO OUT AND CONDUCT
DEFENSIBLE SPACE ASSESSMENTS ON
OUR BEHALF. SO BASICALLY FORCE
MULTIPLYING THE PEOPLE THAT ARE
GOING OUT AND PROVIDING
EDUCATION AND CONDUCTING THOSE
ASSESSMENTS. SO THAT PROGRAM,
WE'VE SEEN 20 ENTITIES ALREADY
SINCE OUR LAUNCH IN JANUARY OF
THIS YEAR THAT HAVE REQUESTED
THAT TRAINING TO HELP US FORCE
MULTIPLY OUR, OUR MODEL
DEFENSIBLE SPACE PROGRAM CAME TO
US THROUGH LEGISLATION AS WELL.
EIGHT LOCAL JURISDICTIONS HAVE
SIGNED UP TO RECEIVE THIS THIS
TRAINING FROM US, BECAUSE THEY
MAY NOT HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE,
DEFENSIBLE SPACE PROGRAM WITHIN
THEIR LOCAL JURISDICTION. SO
THEY LOOK TO US AND WE CREATED
DRAFT ORDINANCES AND A
COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING FOR THEM
TO TEACH THEM HOW TO DO
DEFENSIBLE SPACE. EVERYTHING
FROM THE, THE, THE AMOUNT OF
STAFF THEY NEED. A REBUTTAL
PROGRAM, I MEAN, A COMPREHENSIVE
PROGRAM. WE'VE ALREADY SEEN
SEVEN I THINK I SAID EIGHT
JURISDICTIONS HAVE SIGNED UP FOR
THAT ALREADY THIS YEAR. WE
TALKED ABOUT THE HOME HARDENING
PROGRAM, THE WAY WE TEST WHETHER
THE HOME HARDENING PROGRAM WORKS
IS A WAY WE DON'T WANT TO, IS
FIRE COMES THROUGH AFTER WE'VE
DONE IT, AND WE FIND OUT IF THE
HOME'S BURNED DOWN OR NOT. AND
SO WE DON'T ACTUALLY WANT TO
TEST WHETHER OR NOT IT WORKS. WE
JUST WANT IT TO WORK, SO, WE
WILL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE AFTER
WE HARDEN A COMMUNITY TO SEE IF
A WILDFIRE GOES THROUGH, TO BE
ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT, BUT
FOLLOWING UP ON THAT, OUR DAMAGE
INSPECTION PROGRAM. SO FIRST
EMERGENCY ASSESSMENT, EVERYTHING
FROM FLOODS, WILDFIRES,
TORNADOES, EARTHQUAKES. WE GO
OUT AND CONDUCT POST-EMERGENCY
ASSESSMENTS TO DETERMINE WHAT
HAPPENED. WHY DID THE HOME BURN
DOWN? WHAT WERE THE ASPECTS OF
THAT THAT CONTRIBUTED TO IT? AND
THAT HELPS US DETERMINE BETTER
CODES AND REGULATIONS MOVING
FORWARD SO WE CAN DETERMINE
THOSE THINGS THAT REALLY WERE
EFFECTIVE AND OR THOSE THINGS
THAT WEREN'T EFFECTIVE. AND WE
CAN SAY THROUGH OUR DAMAGE
INSPECTION PROGRAM THAT THOSE
HOMES THAT HAD DEFENSIBLE SPACE
ON THEM WERE 56% MORE LIKELY TO
SURVIVE A WILDFIRE THAN HAD THEY
NOT HAD ANY DEFENSIBLE SPACE AT
ALL. SO WE'RE ABLE TO, MEASURE
SUCCESS THAT WAY. OUR WILDFIRE
PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH
I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, THE
OVERSUBSCRIBED AMOUNT OF WORK,
TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF INTEREST IN
THAT BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO GET
THE WORK DONE ON THE GROUND, OUR
FUELS REDUCTION, PROGRAM THROUGH
PRESCRIBED FIRE, THE USE OF
BENEFICIAL FIRE OR CULTURAL
BURNING, OUR FUELS REDUCTION
WORK THAT WE'RE DOING OUT ON THE
LANDSCAPE TO PROTECT
COMMUNITIES. AND WE'RE EXCEEDING
THAT 100 000 ACRE GOAL OVER THE
LAST THREE YEARS. SO THE FOLKS
OUT ON THE GROUND DOING A
TREMENDOUS JOB, CHIEF REICHMAN
MENTIONED CAL MAPPER, THE
ABILITY FOR US TO VISUALIZE THE
DATA. NOW, YOU CAN GO ON OUR
WEBSITE AND LOOK WHERE ALL THOSE
PROJECTS ARE DONE IN YOUR LOCAL
COMMUNITY. YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT
ACTIVITIES WERE DONE, THE
TREATMENT AREAS THAT ARE AROUND,
AROUND YOU, AND ONE THAT YOU
JUST TOUCHED ON ABOUT
EFFECTIVENESS OF FUELS TREATMENT
. SO WE'RE ROLLING OUT THIS YEAR
IN MAY 1ST, WHAT WE CALL OUR
FUELS TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS
REPORTING. SO ADDING ON TO THE
STANDARDIZED PROTOCOLS THAT
CHIEF REICHMAN TALKED ABOUT,
WE'VE IMPLEMENTED A NEW PROGRAM
WHERE AS SOON AS THERE'S A FIRE
DETECTED ANYWHERE ON THE
LANDSCAPE, IT GETS AUTOMATICALLY
SENT OUT TO OUR LOCAL CAL FIRE
UNITS. IF IT'S WITHIN A QUARTER
MILE OF A FUELS TREATMENT THAT
HAS HAPPENED ON THE LANDSCAPE
AND THAT ALERTS OUR CAL FIRE
FOLKS THAT THEY HAVE SOMETHING
THEY NEED TO GO EVALUATE, DID
THAT FIRE CONTRIBUTE TO OR DID
THE FUELS TREATMENT CONTRIBUTE
TO THE FORWARDS, STOPPING OF THE
FORWARD SPREAD OF THE FIRE? DID
IT SLOW DOWN THE FIRE? DID IT
AID IN INGRESS AND EGRESS TO
FIRE CREWS OR FOR EVACUATION?
DID IT OR DID IT HAVE NO EFFECT?
BUT WE WANT TO BE OPEN AND
TRANSPARENT ABOUT ALL OF THOSE
THINGS. HOW DID HOW DID THAT HOW
WAS IT EFFECTIVE? AND THAT
TRANSLATES TO THE INVESTMENTS
THAT WE'VE MADE, THROUGH THE
LEGISLATURE INTO THAT TO
DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, WAS IT
WORTH IT? AND IF IT WASN'T, HOW
CAN WE DO BETTER NEXT TIME? WHAT
DO WE NEED TO DO TO IMPROVE? BUT
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT
ROLLING OUT THIS PROGRAM TO BE
TRANSPARENT ABOUT WHERE WE PUT
THOSE AND HOW IF AND WHEN THEY
WERE EFFECTIVE, ALSO THROUGH OUR
LAND USE PLANNING EFFORTS, I
TOUCHED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS
EARLIER ABOUT REALLY WORKING
WITH LOCAL JURISDICTIONS ON THE
SAFETY ELEMENTS OF THEIR GENERAL
PLAN, MAKING SURE THAT THEY ARE
PUTTING HOMES OR, NOT
NECESSARILY WHERE THEY PUT THE
HOMES, BUT IF THEY ARE PUTTING
HOMES IN A CERTAIN PLACE LOOKING
AT IT FROM A SUBJECT MATTER
EXPERT STANDPOINT, ARE THE ROAD
WIDTHS THE WAY THEY SHOULD BE AS
THE WATER STORAGE CAPACITY, WHAT
IT SHOULD BE, ARE THE WIDTHS OF
THE TURNAROUNDS WIDE ENOUGH? ALL
OF THOSE ASPECTS THAT ARE PEOPLE
HELP WITH I TALKED ABOUT OUR
LOCAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN
CREATION, FIREWISE COMMUNITIES
PARTNERING WITH NFPA, THE
NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION AGENCY,
ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
FIREWISE COMMUNITIES. WE WILL BE
CELEBRATING THE 800TH COMMUNITY
THAT IS IN GOOD STANDING WITH
FIREWISE OVER THE NEXT FEW
WEEKS. REALLY EXCITING. JUST IN
2020, WE CELEBRATED THE 500TH.
SO EXPONENTIAL RISE IN THE LAST
THREE YEARS, BUT WE ALSO WORK
WITH INDUSTRIES AND, AND OTHER
INDUSTRIES AND DEPARTMENT, THE
BUILDING INDUSTRY AS CBIA OR THE
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF
INSURANCE. OUR OTHER LOCAL
PARTNERS LIKE CSAC, OUR CRC, THE
LEAGUE OF CITIES AND PUBLIC
FEEDBACK. WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS
AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT. GO INTO
ALL OF THOSE FOLKS TO SOLICIT
FEEDBACK TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ON
THE RIGHT TRACK. WE HAVE OUR
WILDFIRE MITIGATION ADVISORY
COMMITTEE THAT WE HOLD EVERY
MONTH. THAT BRINGS ALL THE
STAKEHOLDERS TOGETHER TO TALK
ABOUT ALL THINGS RELATED TO
WILDFIRE NHÀ AGAIN, SO THAT
THERE'S NOT, REDUNDANCY AND
OVERLAP. AND IF THERE IS THAT WE
FIND WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER AND
THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL
SINGING FROM THE SAME SHEET OF
MUSIC, THAT WE'RE ALL SAYING THE
SAME THINGS SO THAT THE PUBLIC
GETS THE SAME MESSAGE NO MATTER
WHICH DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY
THEY'RE HEARING IT FROM. BUT ALL
THESE THINGS COMBINED, AND MORE
OF THE METRICS WE USE TO VERIFY
FOR ON THE RIGHT TRACK AND IF
WHAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING
TRANSLATES TO BEING EFFECTIVE.
AND IF WE LOOK BACK OVER THE
LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, I THINK WE
CAN POINT TO A LOT OF SUCCESSES.
WELL, IT'S REASSURING TO HEAR
ALL THOSE EFFORTS BEING MADE,
BECAUSE IT'S HARD FOR US TO KNOW
ABOUT ALL OF THOSE EFFORTS. AND
WE CERTAINLY RESPECT THAT. IT IS
DIFFICULT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T WORK. AND
IF YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL A FIRE
COMES THROUGH, IT CERTAINLY
SLOWS THE EVALUATION PROCESS.
HOPEFULLY, THERE ARE PEOPLE AT
THE NATIONAL LEVEL AND SOME
PEOPLE AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT
CAN BE DOING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
ON WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T
WORK, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE
THE FIRE BE THE ONLY,
OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO CHECK OUT
THE EFFECTIVENESS. BUT AS WE
MOVE FORWARD, THANK YOU ALL VERY
MUCH. WE REALLY HOPE THAT WE
HELPED YOU GET YOUR STEPS IN
TODAY, AND WE'RE READY TO MOVE
ON TO ISSUE TWO. THANK YOU.
GREAT. LOOK FORWARD TO IT.
OFFICE OF PLANNING AND RESEARCH.
THE GENERAL FUND SOLUTIONS
CLIMATE PACKAGE ONLY.
IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH
YOUR DEPARTMENT? YOU ONLY HAVE
HALF AS MANY PEOPLE HERE AS
THERE. ALL BACK IN THE OFFICE
WORKING. YEAH. ALL RIGHTY. WELL,
GOOD MORNING. MY CHAIR. BENNETT
AND ASSEMBLY MEMBER CONNOLLY, MY
NAME IS RUSS FONG. I'M THE
UNDERSECRETARY FOR THE
GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF PLANNING
AND RESEARCH. AND FIRST OFF, WE
WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT
OUR CLIMATE PROGRAMS AND GIVE A
QUICK UPDATE. AND WITH THAT, I
WANT TO START OFF BY INTRODUCING
TWO VERY IMPORTANT FOLKS THAT
ARE HERE TODAY, ON MY LEFT I
HAVE ABBY EDWARDS, THE DEPUTY
DIRECTOR FOR CLIMATE AND
PLANNING PROGRAMS. THESE ARE OUR
CLIMATE EXPERTS. AND ON MY RIGHT
I HAVE ANNA LUPIEN, A COMMUNITY
ASSISTANCE FOR CLIMATE EQUITY
PROGRAM MANAGER. AND SO IF YOU
CAN BEAR WITH ME, I'D LIKE TO
GIVE A LITTLE UPDATE ON HOW OUR
PROGRAMS ARE DOING. THESE ARE
CLIMATE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE VERY
EXCITED AND VERY PROUD OF. SO
WITH THAT, THIS YEAR HAS BEEN A
YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION AND
PROGRESS FOR THE ORGANIZATION
THROUGH INVESTMENTS MADE BY THE
LEGISLATURE. IN OUR PROGRAMS,
OPR HAS EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES
AND THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND
PLAN FOR AND IMPLEMENT CLIMATE
ADAPTATION RESILIENCY MEASURES
AT ITS CORE, OPR IS AN
ORGANIZATION THAT IS FOCUSED ON
BUILDING A MORE EQUITABLE AND
CLIMATE RESISTANT CALIFORNIA
THROUGH STRATEGIC INVESTMENT AND
LAND USE. OPERS PROGRAMS PROVIDE
CAPACITY BUILDING PLANNING,
ANALYTICAL IMPLEMENTATION,
ASSISTANCE, AS WELL AS
PRE-DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES TO
COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE
STATE, INCLUDING GRANT
APPLICATION ASSISTANCE,
TRAINING, PARTNERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT, PLANNING AND
IMPLEMENTATION, SUPPORT AND
COMMUNICATION ASSISTANCE. THIS
WORK HAS HELPED ASSIST SOME OF
THE MOST VULNERABLE AND
DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES
THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA TO APPLY
FOR AND RECEIVE FUNDING FROM
FEDERAL, STATE, PHILANTHROPIC
RESOURCES UTILIZING OUR EXISTING
RESOURCES, WE ASSIST
HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS
OF THE STATE AND LEVERAGING
REGIONAL AND LOCAL INVESTMENTS
FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,
HELPING BRING DOWN ADDITIONAL
FEDERAL DOLLARS TO THE STATE.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET SOLUTIONS TO
OPR'S CLIMATE PROGRAMS WILL
PRESERVE THE PROGRESS THE STATE
HAS BEEN MAKING. WHILE
CONTRIBUTING TO THE FISCAL FOR A
BETTER FISCAL STANDING. I WANT
TO SPEAK BRIEFLY ABOUT EACH OF
THESE PROGRAMS AND THE IMPORTANT
WORK THAT WE DO. FIRST OFF, THE
CLIMATE, THE REGIONAL CLIMATE
COLLABORATIVE PROGRAM AT SDC,
THE STRATEGIC GROWTH COUNCIL,
FUNDS COALITIONS OF COMMUNITY
PARTNERS AND UNDER-RESOURCED
COMMUNITIES TO ESTABLISH
PRIORITIES, DEVELOP A PIPELINE
OF PROJECTS AND ALIGN PROJECTS
WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES. THE PROGRAM
SERVES AS A FIRST STEP IN THE
PROCESS OR SEED FUNDING, TO HELP
UNDER-INVESTED COMMUNITIES
PREPARE TO ACCESS A VARIETY OF
PUBLIC FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES,
INCLUDING PLANNING AND
IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS AVAILABLE
AT OPR AND THE STRATEGIC GROWTH
COUNCIL, AS WELL AS OTHER STATE,
FEDERAL, AND PHILANTHROPIC
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. NEXT, THE
REGIONAL CLIMATE COLLABORATIVES
PROGRAM RECEIVED $20 MILLION IN
THE 2021 BUDGET TO FUND TWO
ROUNDS OF PROGRAMS IN ROUND ONE,
THE STRATEGIC GROWTH COUNCIL
RECEIVED 45 APPLICATIONS,
REQUESTING A TOTAL OF $67
MILLION, EXCEEDING THE ALLOTTED
AMOUNT OF FUNDING BY EIGHT
TIMES. ROUND ONE FUNDED SIX
COLLABORATIVES ACROSS THE STATE
IN 2022. NEXT THE INTEGRATED
CLIMATE ADAPTATION RESILIENCE
PROGRAM AT OPR ADMINISTERS THREE
GRANT PROGRAMS FUNDING THROUGH
THE CLIMATE BUDGET. NUMBER ONE
IS THE ADAPTATION PLANNING GRANT
PROGRAM, WHICH FOCUSES ON LOCAL
ADAPTATION PLANNING EFFORTS. THE
SECOND IS OUR REGIONAL CLIMATE
RESILIENCE PROGRAM, WHICH BUILDS
REGIONAL SCALE CLIMATE
RESILIENCE CGRTS, AND OUR THIRD,
THE EXTREME HEAT AND COMMUNITY
RESILIENCE PROGRAM THAT CENTERS
AROUND BUILDING COMMUNITY
RESILIENCE TO EXTREME HEAT.
LET'S FOCUS FIRST ON THE
ADAPTATION PLANNING GRANT
PROGRAM, WHICH EXPERIENCED
OVERWHELMING DEMAND IN ITS
INAUGURAL YEAR. WE HAD 100. WE
HAD 141 APPLICATIONS REQUESTED,
A TOTAL OF $63 MILLION, FAR MORE
THAN THE 8 MILLION AWARDED FOR
14 PROJECTS. THE PROGRAM SECOND
ROUND APPLICATION CLOSES THIS
MAY, AND TO DATE WE ALREADY
RECEIVED 58 PRE-APPLICATIONS
REQUESTING NEARLY $27 MILLION,
COMPARED TO THE $10 MILLION
AVAILABLE NEXT. OUR REGIONAL
CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROGRAM
RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 83
APPLICATIONS, REQUESTING $111
MILLION. IN THE END, THE PROGRAM
WILL AWARDED 19 PLANNING AND
IMPLEMENTATION PROJECTS TOTALING
OVER $21 MILLION, 86% OF ROUND
ONE FUNDING IS GOING TO REGIONAL
PARTNERS INVOLVING CALIFORNIA
NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES AND OR
PARTNERSHIPS SERVING
PREDOMINANTLY DISADVANTAGED
COMMUNITIES. FINALLY, OUR
EXTREME HEAT AND COMMUNITY
RESISTANCE PROGRAMS FIRST ROUND
OF APPLICATIONS CLOSES THIS
MONTH. THE PROGRAM HAS
EXPERIENCED OVERWHELMING DEMAND,
WITH 166 PRE-APPLICATION
SUBMITTED REQUESTING NEARLY $180
MILLION, WHICH IS MORE THAN NINE
TIMES THE AVAILABLE FUNDING.
THIS IS IN LARGE PART DUE TO THE
EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT,
LISTENING AND WORKSHOPS OVER THE
PAST YEAR. IN SUMMARY,
CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES ARE
ACTIVELY PREPARING FOR THE
GROWING CLIMATE THREATS THEY
FACE, SUCH AS FLOODING, SEA
LEVEL RISE, WILDFIRES AND
EXTREME HEAT. WITH THE HELP OF
GRANT PROGRAMS LIKE THESE, THESE
PROGRAMS PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR
LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND TRIBAL
CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND
RESILIENCE EFFORTS, ENGAGING
DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS AND
FOSTERING MULTI-SECTOR
COLLABORATIONS. TOGETHER, THESE
GRANT PROGRAMS FILL GAPS AND ADD
IN ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE
FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE FULL LIFE
CYCLE OF PROJECTS FROM PLANNING
TO IMPLEMENTATION, ENSURING THAT
MORE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES AND
TRIBES ARE BETTER PREPARED TO
ADDRESS THE IMPACTS. EXTREME
WEATHER EVENTS HAPPENING TODAY.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE
GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET
SOLUTIONS WILL NOT STOP OR
HINDER THE PROGRESS THAT OPR IS
MAKING, AND IN THAT EFFORT, WE
WILL CONTINUE PROVIDING LASTING
BENEFITS TO COMMUNITIES
THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA. WE LOOK
FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT WORK
AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
LEGISLATURE. THIS CONCLUDES OUR
PRESENTATION. I'D BE HAPPY TO
ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, WE'LL START
WITH ASSEMBLYMEMBER CONNELLY. DO
YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OH, I'M
SORRY. DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND
LÀ. OH, DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
AND DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE.
NOTHING TO ADD. ALL RIGHT. LEÓN.
THANK YOU. LUKE KUSHMARO WITH
THE LEGISLATIVE ANALYST OFFICE,
I WANT TO FIRST ECHO THE
COMMENTS THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE
MADE, BOTH IN THIS HEARING AND
OTHER ONES THAT GIVEN THE BUDGET
CONDITION, THE STATE WILL NEED
TO MAKE SOME CUTS TO PASS THE
BALANCED BUDGET. AND REDUCING
ONE TIME FUNDING IS LESS
DISRUPTIVE THAN CUTTING INTO
ONGOING PROGRAMS, SIMILAR TO THE
PREVIOUS PANEL, WE FIND THAT THE
SOLUTIONS PROPOSED BY THE
GOVERNOR ARE REASONABLE. BUT
NOTE THAT THE LEGISLATURE DOES
HAVE ADDITIONAL OPTIONS
AVAILABLE, SPECIFICALLY, THE
LEGISLATURE COULD POTENTIALLY
MAKE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR
THE EXTREME HEAT AND COMMUNITY
RESILIENCY PROGRAM, INCLUDING
FURTHER REDUCTIONS, AS WELL AS A
REDUCTION RATHER THAN A SHIFT TO
GRF. THIS COULD PROVIDE FOR UP
TO ANOTHER $95 MILLION IN
SOLUTIONS. IN ADDITION, FOR THE
CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND
RESILIENCE PLANNING GRANTS,
THERE IS A REMAINING $10 MILLION
OF UNALLOCATED FUNDS, SORRY,
UNCOMMITTED FUNDS, THAT IT WILL
LIKELY BE COMMITTED IN THE NEXT
FEW MONTHS, BUT CURRENTLY REMAIN
AVAILABLE. THAT COULD BE REDUCED
TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL GENERAL
FUND SOLUTIONS. THANK YOU, THANK
YOU. ASSEMBLY MEMBER CONNELLY,
ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I START
DOWN LAST? YEAH, MAYBE A COUPLE
RELATING TO THE, EXTREME HEAT
AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PROGRAM
, WHICH WE KNOW IS EXTREMELY
IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMUNITIES,
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IN LEO
HIGHLIGHTS IT THAT OPA IS
PLANNING TO AWARD ABOUT $20
MILLION IN THE FIRST ROUND OF
GRANTS, OUR STAFF NOTE THAT
APPLICATIONS FOR THIS PROGRAM
ARE DUE THIS MONTH, WHICH MEANS
ORGANIZATIONS LIKE NONPROFITS,
HAVE ALREADY SPENT RESOURCES TO
COMPLETE THE DOCUMENTS TO DO THE
APPLICATION PROCESS. WILL THE
FIRST ROUND OF GRANTS STILL BE
ALLOCATED? IF NOT, HOW DOES THE
ADMINISTRATION OR OPA PLAN ON
REMEDYING THIS WITH, OUR PUBLIC
AND NONPROFIT PARTNERS, I GUESS
MORE BROADLY, WHAT ARE THE
DEPARTMENTS DOING TO ADDRESS
EXTREME HEAT IF WE'RE PROPOSING
TO ESSENTIALLY ELIMINATE THE
EXTREME HEAT AND COMMUNITY
RESILIENCE PROGRAM? THANKS FOR
YOUR QUESTION. MY NAME IS ABBY
EDWARDS. I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR
OF CLIMATE AND PLANNING PROGRAMS
AT OPA, SO AS YOU'RE CORRECT
THAT THE APPLICATIONS CLOSE THIS
MONTH, AND AS UNDERSECRETARY
FONG NOTED, WE HAVE RECEIVED
OVERWHELMING INTEREST IN THIS
PROGRAM. WE HAVE NEARLY 200
PRE-APPLICATION SURVEYS,
SUBMITTED SO FAR WITH FOLKS
INDICATING INTEREST IN THE
PROGRAM. PROJECTS RANGE FROM
SMALL PLANNING GRANTS TO HELP
SUPPORT SMALL SCALE EFFORTS AT
THE COMMUNITY LEVEL TO LARGE
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, AS WELL
, AND SO COULD YOU JUST CLARIFY
FOR ME THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'RE
ASKING, IF THIS PROGRAM, IS
FURTHER CUT, SORT OF WHAT
EFFORTS ARE WE GOING TO MAKE AT
OUR LEVEL TO ENGAGE WITH THE
COMMUNITY FURTHER? AND ALSO ARE
ARE THOSE GRANTS GOING TO BE
AWARDED THIS CYCLE AS WELL? SO
WITH THE GOVERNOR'S CURRENT
BUDGET, IT MAINTAINS THE 25
MILLION FOR THIS FIRST ROUND OF
FUNDING, AND SO IF THAT REMAINS,
THE SOLUTION, THEN WE WILL BE
ABLE TO ALLOCATE THOSE AWARDS
FOR THIS CYCLE. YEAH. AND THAT
MORE BROADLY, WHAT ARE IS THE
PROGRAM ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
ESSENTIALLY. AND IF SO, WHAT ARE
SOME ALTERNATIVES. THE PROPOSED
SOLUTIONS, AND MAYBE DEPARTMENT
OF FINANCE WANTS TO ADDRESS
THIS, BUT PROPOSES THE FUTURE
ROUNDS TO BE ALLOCATED TO GRF. I
DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK
TO THAT. I MEAN, PART OF
FINANCE. THAT IS CORRECT, THIS
COVERS BUDGET, INCLUDES A NET
REDUCTION OF 40.1 MILLION AND A
SHIFT OF 70 MILLION TO THE GRF.
OKAY SO I'M GOING TO START AT AT
THE END BECAUSE I'M MOST CURIOUS
ABOUT THIS. AND THAT IS, YOU
KNOW, YOU'VE HAD ALL THESE
APPLICATIONS COME IN, YOU KNOW,
IN TERMS OF EXTREME HEAT AND
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. WHAT KIND
OF PROJECTS ARE COMING IN, WHAT
ARE YOU LEARNING? WHAT I MEAN,
THIS IS A WHOLE BRAND NEW AREA
OF ADDRESSING EXTREME HEAT. SO
WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK IS ARE THE
SOLUTIONS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES?
THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION,
IT'S BEEN SO MUCH FUN AND REALLY
EXCITING FOR US TO SEE THE
PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING
THROUGH. I HAVE A FEW EXAMPLES
THAT I CAN GIVE, SO ONE EXAMPLE
IS A TRIBE PARTNERING WITH A
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION,
THÀNH, TO PROVIDE SHADE AND
RELIABLE COOLING DURING EXTREME
HEAT EVENTS WITHIN THEIR TRIBAL
LANDS, ANOTHER IS A COUNTY
THAT'S PARTNERING WITH A
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION TO
DEVELOP A COLLABORATIVE HEAT
ACTION PLAN WITH HEAT VULNERABLE
COMMUNITY MEMBERS. ANOTHER IS A
COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT AND
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION
PROPOSING A MOBILE COOLING UNIT
AND MULTILINGUAL EDUCATIONAL
CAMPAIGN. THIS UNIT WOULD REALLY
TARGET, PEOPLE EXPERIENCING
HOMELESSNESS, PEOPLE
EXPERIENCING POVERTY,
IMMIGRANTS, SENIORS AND YOUNG
PEOPLE. I HAVE A LONG LIST OF
EXCITING PROJECTS, BUT ONE THING
THAT SORT OF TOUCHES ON WHAT THE
CONVERSATION AT THIS, LAST ONE
WAS ALL ABOUT AROUND THE
EVALUATION, SOMETHING THAT THE
EXTREME HEAT AND COMMUNITY
RESILIENCE PROGRAM HAS IS A
BUILT IN EVALUATION. SO REPORT
TO THE LEGISLATURE, AND THEN
ALSO AN EXTERNAL THIRD PARTY
EVALUATION TO REALLY EVALUATE
HOW IS THIS WORKING, HOW'S IS
WORKING AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL
AND REALLY BE ABLE TO ASSESS THE
IMPACTS OF THESE METRICS AND
THESE PROJECTS AT THE COMMUNITY
LEVEL TO SEE WHAT IMPACT THEY'RE
MAKING, SO WE HAVE THAT BUILT IN
TO THE PROGRAM. AND I THINK THAT
THAT WILL REALLY BE ABLE TO ADD
TO THIS, UNDERSTANDING OF, OF
HOW WE, WE ADDRESS EXTREME HEAT.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY SEEING
IT. IT'S A 58 COUNTY ISSUE,
ACROSS THE STATE. SO THANK YOU.
HOW ARE YOU COORDINATING?
BECAUSE WE HAVE A EXTREME HEAT
BEING DEALT WITH BY MULTIPLE
DEPARTMENTS. MULTIPLE AGENCIES,
WHAT KIND OF COORDINATION IS
GOING ON BETWEEN AGENCIES WITH
REGARDS TO EXTREME HEAT? ANOTHER
GREAT QUESTION. THANK YOU. WE I
FEEL LIKE WITH WITH EXTREME
HEAT, WITH ADAPTATION, WITH
RESILIENCE. I THINK CALIFORNIA
REALLY PRIDES ITSELF ON HAVING A
WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH, WE
REALLY DO A LOT OF WORK WITH OUR
INTERAGENCY PARTNERS TO ENSURE
THAT WE'RE ALIGNING ON BEST
PRACTICES, ALIGNING WITH BEST
AVAILABLE SCIENCE, AND DOING A
LOT OF WORK ON THAT FRONT. SO A
FEW THINGS THAT I'LL, I'LL NOTE,
YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE AB 1643,
WHICH IS THE OSHA HEAT STUDY,
AND OUR TEAM SITS ON IT. SITS ON
THE WORK GROUP AND ADVISORY
BOARD FOR THAT. THERE'S ALSO AB
2238, WHICH IS THE STATEWIDE
HEAT RANKING SYSTEM THAT OHA IS
LEADING. OPR ALSO SITS ON THAT
WORK GROUP TO MAKE SURE THAT
WE'RE COORDINATED. AND WE'RE
ALSO, LISTED IN THAT BILL AS
WELL. THERE'S ALSO ALL OF OUR
WORK AROUND THE STATE'S EXTREME
HEAT ACTION PLAN, WHICH REALLY
GOES A LONG WAY. IT WORKS WITH A
BUNCH OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES, TO
IDENTIFY HEAT ACTIONS, AND TO,
TO COORDINATE OUR EFFORTS ON
THAT. AND WE NOW WILL BE
UPDATING THAT ACTION PLAN
REGULARLY. AND ALSO WORKING WITH
THE NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY TO
INTEGRATE INTO THE STATE
ADAPTATION STRATEGY. SO THERE'S
A LOT OF COORDINATING THAT NEEDS
TO HAPPEN AND IS HAPPENING ON
EXTREME HEAT. AND AS WELL AS
ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE, ARE
THE APPLICATIONS DUE THIS APRIL?
I HEARD MAY. SO IS IT THIS APRIL
OR IS IT SO TWO DIFFERENT
PROGRAMS, THERE'S THE ADAPTATION
PLANNING GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH IS
A SECOND ROUND OF FUNDING.
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE IN MAY, AND
THEN THE EXTREME HEAT AND
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PROGRAM
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE THIS MONTH,
ARE DUE IN APRIL. AND WHAT ARE
THE CHALLENGES YOU FOUND IN
TERMS OF IMPLEMENTING THE
PROGRAM, THAT'S A GREAT
QUESTION. SO I THINK THE BIGGEST
CHALLENGE IS REALLY CREATING A
PROGRAM THAT MEETS THE DIVERSE
NEEDS OF THE STATE. AS I
MENTIONED, IT'S A 58 COUNTY
APPROACH, EXTREME HEAT IMPACTS,
AND WILL IMPACT EVERY EVERY
COUNTY, EVERY JURISDICTION. AND
SO CRAFTING A PROGRAM THAT'S
REALLY ABLE TO MEET ALL OF THOSE
NEEDS HAS BEEN REALLY
CHALLENGING AND EXCITING AND A
GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US, SO
I'LL SAY THROUGH A LOT OF
ENGAGEMENT, THROUGH A LOT OF
LISTENING, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO
CREATE A PROGRAM THAT'S REALLY
RESPONSIVE. SO AS I MENTIONED,
WE HAVE SMALL GRANTS THAT ARE
AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE
JUST LIKE GETTING STARTED AND
MAYBE HAVE LOWER CAPACITY AND
ARE ABLE TO REALLY THINK ABOUT
THE FIRST STEPS OF HOW TO
ADDRESS EXTREME HEAT, AND THEN
OTHERS THAT ARE READY FOR A
LARGE SCALE IMPLEMENTATION
PROJECT. AND SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE
TO CRAFT THE PROGRAM TO BE
RESPONSIVE TO THIS. BUT IT'S
TAKEN A LOT OF LISTENING AND
IT'S TAKEN A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT
TO BOTH BUILD THE BASE OF FOLKS
THAT ARE INTERESTED, BUT ALSO
MAKE SURE THAT THE PROGRAM IS
REALLY RESPONSIVE. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH, I THINK WE'RE
FINISHED WITH THIS. UNLESS
SOMEBODY MEMBER YOU HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS. RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE YOUR
TIME. AND WE'RE NOW ON, TO ISSUE
THREE AND CAL FIRE AND THE 66
HOUR WORK WEEK.
NOW WE'RE FINALLY GETTING TO
MANAGEABLE SIZED PANELS. RIGHT.
THERE WE GO. WHEN YOU'RE READY.
THANK YOU, GOOD MORNING, CHAIR
BENNETT AND MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEE. THANK YOU FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO YOU TODAY
ABOUT THE 66 HOUR WORK WEEK. MY
NAME IS JOE TYLER. I AM THE
DIRECTOR HERE AT THE CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE
PROTECTION, ALSO KNOWN AS CAL
FIRE. I COME TO YOU TODAY, IN MY
34TH YEAR WITH THE DEPARTMENT.
I'M PROUD OF THIS ORGANIZATION
AND WHERE WE HAVE BEEN AND WHERE
WE HAVE COME TO. I RECOGNIZE IN
THESE 34 YEARS OF THE COMPLEXITY
AND THE AND THE CATASTROPHIC
WILDFIRES THAT CONTINUE TO
ADVANCE AND THE NEED TO MEET OUR
MISSION, BOTH IN FIRE
SUPPRESSION, FIRE PREVENTION AND
OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT TO
ACCOMPLISH THAT IS REALLY TO
FIND OURSELVES IN A SITUATION
WHERE WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT WE
HAVE A HEALTHY AND RESILIENT
WORKFORCE TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE
MISSION. AND THAT WAS MY NUMBER
ONE PRIORITY, IS BECOMING THE
DIRECTORS, AMONG OTHER THINGS,
THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF OUR
EMPLOYEES. SO WITH THAT, TODAY,
WE COME TO YOU WITH A GOVERNOR'S
BUDGET REQUEST OF $199 MILLION,
WITH 197 OF THAT BEING FROM THE
GENERAL FUND. THAT INCLUDES 338
POSITIONS IN FISCAL YEAR 2425,
TO IMPLEMENT A SHIFT FROM A 72
HOUR WORKWEEK TO A 66 HOUR WORK
WEEK FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS WITHIN
THE DEPARTMENT. THIS COMES TO
US, AS A RESULT OF A RATIFIED
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BY
THE BARGAINING UNIT EIGHT
MEMBERS THAT WAS ALSO APPROVED
BY THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE
LEGISLATURE IN 2022. SO THIS
PROPOSAL IS A STAIR STEP
APPROACH OVER MULTIPLE YEARS
THAT FINALIZES AT NEARLY $770
MILLION, 2458 POSITIONS BY
FISCAL YEAR 2829. WITH THAT, I
RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A
SIGNIFICANTLY COMPLEX ISSUE. IN
FACT, IT TAKES UP THE NEXT 20
PAGES OF YOUR AGENDA, SO WITH
THAT, WE, WE REALIZED THE
COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUE, AND I
NEEDED A DEDICATED INDIVIDUAL TO
REALLY DIVE INTO THAT FOR US ON
BEHALF OF MANAGEMENT. SO SITTING
BESIDE ME IS THE NORTHERN REGION
CHIEF, GEORGE MORSE, THE THIRD.
AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO
HIM TO DISCUSS THE COMPLEXITIES
OF THIS PROPOSAL. GOOD MORNING,
CHAIR BENNETT. MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEE. MY NAME IS GEORGE
MORSE, THE THIRD, AND I HAVE THE
HONOR OF SERVING AS CAL FIRE'S
NORTHERN REGION CHIEF, THE
PRESENTATION WILL PROVIDE YOU
WITH A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF
THE PLAN TO IMPLEMENT THE
REDUCTION IN CAL FIRE'S WORKWEEK
. THE PLAN IS DESIGNED TO BE
PHASED IN OVER FIVE YEARS.
REDUCED THE DUTY WEEK FROM 72
HOURS TO 66, IN COMPLIANCE WITH
THE 2022 BARGAINING UNIT. EIGHT.
MOU BETWEEN THE STATE AND CAL
FIRE FIREFIGHTERS. LOCAL 281.
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PLAN ARE
TO INCREASE RECRUITMENT AND
RETENTION. PROVIDE VACANCY
RELIEF. FOR PERSONNEL. MAXIMIZE
KHÓ BENEFITS OF THE PLAN
ELEMENTS, AND MOVE FIRE
PROTECTION PERSONNEL TO A
TRANSITIONAL WORKWEEK IN NEAR
ALIGNMENT WITH INDUSTRY
STANDARDS. THIS PROPOSAL
INCLUDES ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
AND RELIEF POSITIONS UTILIZING
METHODOLOGY USED IN THE PREVIOUS
RELIEF AND DIRECT MISSION
SUPPORT. BC THE PLAN ELIMINATES
THE LEGACY TIERED TRANSITION
PERIODS TO STAFF UP AND DOWN
FROM PEAK STAFFING, AND REPLACES
IT WITH A MODEL IN WHICH CAL
FIRE IS AT PEAK STAFFING FOR
NINE MONTHS PER YEAR.
MAINTAINING UTILIZATION OF A
SEASONAL WORKFORCE,
SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDING CAL
FIRE'S STAFF FOR FIRE PROTECTION
RESOURCES YEAR ROUND, AND TO
COMPLETE CRITICAL FIRE
PREVENTION, PRESCRIBED FIRE AND
EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITIES
WITH ITS PERMANENT WORKFORCE.
FOR BACKGROUND, THE PLAN WAS
INITIATED, FROM THE RESULT OF
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN 2022
AND DEVELOPED IN PREPARATION FOR
IMPLEMENTATION TO BEGIN ON
NOVEMBER 1ST OF 2024, AS
RATIFIED IN THE MOU. THE MOU
FURTHER REQUIRED CAL FIRE TO
DEVELOP THE PLAN IN CONSULTATION
WITH LABOR, TO PRESERVE THE
ENTRANCE OF THE STATE AND LABOR
IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
WHERE POSSIBLE, THE DEPARTMENT
ACCOUNTED FOR SYSTEMIC
CONSIDERATIONS AND CHALLENGES
WHICH, UNADDRESSED OR
EXACERBATED, WOULD COMPROMISE A
SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
PLAN. THESE SYSTEMIC
CONSIDERATIONS INCLUDED THE
IMBALANCE RATIO BETWEEN THE FIRE
APPARATUS ENGINEER AND FIRE
CAPTAIN CLASSIFICATIONS, RELIEF
PERSONNEL SHORTAGE TRAINING
CAPACITY, AND THE CHALLENGE OF
DEVELOPING THE PLAN WITHIN THE
REALITY OF A FIRE YEAR. THE
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE
PROTECTION BEGAN THE USE OF THE
72 HOUR WORKWEEK IN 1977. AFTER
TRANSITIONING FIRE PROTECTION
EMPLOYEES FROM A 96 HOUR
WORKWEEK. ALL FIRE PROTECTION
PROPOSALS SUBMITTED BY CAL FIRE
SINCE 1977 WERE DEVELOPED WITHIN
THE PARADIGM OF A 72 HOUR
WORKWEEK, SO DEVELOPING A PLAN
TO IMPLEMENT IMPLEMENT THE 66
HOUR WORKWEEK REQUIRES
ADJUSTMENTS TO PREVIOUS
INITIATIVES TO ACCOUNT FOR THE
CHANGE IN WORKWEEK AS AND ITS
ASSOCIATED IMPACTS. IN THE
PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THIS PLAN,
THE CO-BENEFITS OF THE WORKWEEK
EMERGED PRIMARILY THROUGH THE
MECHANISM TO CORRECT THE FIRE
CAPTAIN. THE FIRE APPARATUS
ENGINEER RATIO IMBALANCE, SO THE
SYSTEMIC CONSIDERATIONS THAT THE
DEPARTMENT CONSIDERED WERE ONE
IMPROVE RATIO BETWEEN THE FIRE
CAPTAIN AND FIRE APPARATUS
ENGINEER. THE CAPTAIN ENGINEER
IMBALANCE IS AN INSURMOUNTABLE
OBSTACLE TO EFFECTIVELY
IMPLEMENTING THE 66 HOUR
WORKWEEK WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT
CHANGE. ENGINEERS ARE THE FEEDER
RANK FOR THE FIRE CAPTAIN
POSITION, SO THE RATIO BETWEEN
CAPTAIN AND ENGINEER AT THIS
MOMENT IS THREE CAPTAINS FOR
EVERY TWO ENGINEERS, AN ENGINEER
MUST SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE A 36
MONTHS APPRENTICESHIP AS A
PREREQUISITE FOR BECOMING A FIRE
CAPTAIN. THE DEPARTMENT IS
CONSTANTLY CHALLENGED TO KEEP
PACE WITH DEMAND FOR CAPTAIN
POSITIONS, AS THERE ARE 556 MORE
CAPTAIN POSITIONS THAN ENGINEERS
AT PRESENT, AND IN RECENT YEARS
THE DEPARTMENT HAS GROWN THROUGH
THE 2022 RELIEF, BCP AND OTHER
INITIATIVES. WHILE THESE
RESOURCES WERE ESSENTIAL TO AID
IN THE DEPARTMENT'S ABILITY TO
EFFECTIVELY STAFF, THEY WERE
DESIGNED WITHIN THE CONSTRUCT OF
A 72 HOUR WORKWEEK. THIS
PERPETUATED THE IMBALANCE
IMBALANCE, AS THERE WAS NO
FEASIBLE WAY TO CORRECT THE
IMBALANCE WITHIN THE LEGACY
STAFFING PARADIGM. SO BY
INCORPORATING A NEW STAFFING
PARADIGM, THE DEPARTMENT WILL BE
ABLE TO CORRECT THE IMBALANCE BY
SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASING THE
NUMBER OF ENGINEERS, WHILE ONLY
INCREASING NECESSARY CAPTAINS.
THIS WILL INVERT THE RATIO TO
0.9 CAPTAINS FOR EVERY 1.1 FIRE
APPARATUS ENGINEER. THE SECOND
CONSIDERATION WAS THE CURRENT
STAFFING PARADIGM IS
INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE 66 HOUR
WORKWEEK. TRADITIONAL STAFFING
IS A TEAM THAT'S USED TO
DESCRIBE FIRE ENGINE STAFFING AS
ONE CAPTAIN, ONE ENGINEER, AND
ONE OR MORE FIREFIGHTERS PER
ENGINE. MUNICIPAL FIRE
DEPARTMENTS ACROSS CALIFORNIA
AND THE ENTIRE NATION USE THIS
STAFFING MODEL BASED ON NATIONAL
FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION
STANDARDS. 1710. THE DEPARTMENT
HAS UTILIZED A LEGACY MODEL OF
ONE COMPANY OFFICER THAT'S A
CAPTAIN OR ENGINEER, AND TWO
FIREFIGHTERS TO STAFF ITS 356
FIRE ENGINES. THIS MODEL PLACES
THE BURDEN OF DRIVING THE FIRE
ENGINE, PUMP DRIVING AND FIRE
ENGINE PUMP OPERATIONS ON THE
COMPANY OFFICER, OFTEN REMOVING,
REMOVING THEM FROM FIRE LINE
SUPERVISION AND LEADERSHIP OF
THE FIREFIGHTERS IN THEIR CHARGE
IN TERMS OF PROVIDING FOR
SUPERVISION AND SAFETY OF
FIREFIGHTERS, THE COMPANY
OFFICER MAY INITIALLY TAKE
COMMAND OF AN INCIDENT WHILE
CONDUCTING PUMP OPERATIONS. AS
FIREFIGHTERS ADVANCED FIRE
CONTROL LINES UNSUPERVISED, THE
RISK ASSOCIATED WITH
FIREFIGHTERS ADVANCING FIRE
LINES WITHOUT THE LEADERSHIP OF
AN EXPERIENCED COMPANY OFFICER
CREATES A CRITICAL FIREFIGHTER
SAFETY LIABILITY, WHICH THIS
PLAN ADDRESSES AS A CO-BENEFIT
CONSIDERATION THREE WAS TO
MAINTAIN VACANCY TRAINING, LEAVE
AND DISABILITY BACKFILL
CAPABILITY. THE PLAN CONTINUES
THE DEPARTMENT'S PRIORITY OF
PROVIDING RELIEF PERSONNEL TO
ENSURE CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS
BEHIND VACANCY, INJURY LEAVE
LIABILITY AND TRAINING. THE
DEPARTMENT RECOGNIZES THE NEED
TO ENSURE CONSISTENT STAFFING
WITHOUT MANDATORY OVERTIME.
COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS FORCED
HIRES. RELIEF PERSONNEL ALLOWED
THE DEPARTMENT TO MANAGE LEAVE
LIABILITY WITHOUT ROUTINE FORCED
HIRES. RELIEF IN THE CONTEXT OF
THIS PLAN IS THE ESSENTIAL
COMPONENT OF FIXING THE CAPTAIN
TO ENGINEER RATIO. THIS PLAN
PLACES THE ENGINEER
CLASSIFICATION IN A 4.0 STAFFING
FACTOR, AND THE CAPTAIN OF
FIREFIGHTER CLASSIFICATIONS AT A
3.11 STAFFING FACTOR
CONSIDERATION FOUR WAS TO
PROVIDE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE
SUPPORT STAFF FOR PROGRAMMATIC
SUPPORT OF ADDITIONAL
FIREFIGHTING PERSONNEL. THIS
PLAN INCORPORATES ADDITIONAL
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
PERSONNEL, CONSISTENT WITH AN
ESTABLISHED, ESTABLISHED
METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATING
SUPPORT STAFF WORKLOAD AND
DEMAND. THE ADDITIONAL
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT POSITIONS
ARE ESSENTIAL TO ADDRESS THE
IMPACT OF INCREASED WORKLOAD AND
FUNCTIONS SUCH AS ACCOUNTING
BUDGETS, HUMAN RESOURCES, EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY, EMPLOYEE
SUPPORT SERVICES, TECHNICAL
SERVICES, HEALTH AND WELLNESS,
TELECOMMUNICATIONS, LABOR
RELATIONS, BUSINESS SERVICES,
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS PROGRAM,
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, LEGAL,
ALL THE REGIONS AND THE CAL FIRE
UNITS CONSISTENT WITH THE STATE
ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL, WHICH
DETAILS THE STATE'S POLICY ON
CENTRAL SERVICES FUNCTIONS THAT
PROVIDE SUPPORT TO ONE OR MORE
PROGRAMS. THIS. THESE POSITIONS
ARE COST SHARED AMONGST ALL OF
THE FUNDS WITHIN CAL FIRE'S
THREE MAIN PROGRAM AREAS UNDER A
DISTRIBUTED ADMINISTRATION AND
CONSIDERATION, FIVE PROVIDES
SUFFICIENT TRAINING CAPACITY TO
IMPLEMENT THE PLAN AND KEEP PACE
WITH NORMAL ATTRITION. THE
SUCCESS OF THIS PLAN DEPENDS ON
THE ABILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT TO
HIRE AND TRAIN SUFFICIENT
PERSONNEL ANNUALLY TO ENSURE
FULL IMPLEMENTATION BY YEAR
FIVE. THE PLAN ACCOUNTS FOR AN
ADDITIONAL TEMPORARY TRAINING
SITE AT THE FORMER CASTLE AIR
FORCE BASE. THE RECENT
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TRAINING
CENTER NORTH IN SHASTA COLLEGE
WAS DEVELOPED TO IMPLEMENT THE
2022 RELIEF BCP AND ONGOING
NEEDS RESULTING FROM THAT
SPECIFIC EXPANSION IN
PERSPECTIVE OF THIS REQUEST. SO
THIS PLAN, BY DEVELOPING CLASS
CASTLE TRAINING CENTER INCLUDES
PERSONNEL TO INCREASE THE NUMBER
OF COMPANY OFFICER AND
FIREFIGHTER ACADEMIES. ALL
INITIAL TRAINING REQUIRED FOR
COMPANY OFFICERS. THE ADDITION
OF THIS FACILITY IS CRITICAL TO
MAINTAIN THE CONSTANT OUTPUT OF
TRAINED PERSONNEL TO ACCOUNT FOR
NORMAL ATTRITION, INCLUDING
RETIREMENTS, SEPARATIONS, AND
LONG TERME INJURIES, AND BY
INCREASING FIRE PROTECTION.
PERSONNEL BY APPROXIMATELY 30.
DEMAND ON THE TRAINING CENTERS
WILL INCREASE PROPORTIONATELY
AND MUST BE ACCOUNTED FOR EVERY
FIRE PROTECTION PERSONNEL
VACANCY, THERE IS A
CORRESPONDING CYCLE OF HIRING
TESTING PROMOTING THAT OCCURS
ACROSS THE SYSTEM. IN ADDITION
TO THE ACADEMY TRAINING REQUIRED
IN THIS PLAN, THIS WILL ALSO
INCREASE THE NUMBER OF
APPRENTICES UNDER THE JOINT
APPRENTICESHIP APPRENTICESHIP
COMMITTEE. THIS THREE YEAR
PROGRAM REQUIRES TRAINING AT THE
LOCAL LEVEL AND THE DIRECT
SUPPORT OF UNIT TRAINING
OFFICERS. THE PLAN ACCOUNTS FOR
TRAINING OFFICER SUPPORT. AT THE
UNIT LEVEL. AN ENGINEER MUST
COMPLETE 36 MONTHS OF
APPRENTICESHIP, ACHIEVING
JOURNEY STATUS BEFORE THEY ARE
ELIGIBLE TO PROMOTE OR COMPETE
FOR PROMOTION TO FIRE CAPTAIN.
THE INITIAL LIFT OF IMPLEMENTING
THIS PLAN INCLUDES HIRING THE
BULK OF THE ENGINEERS IN THE
FIRST FEW YEARS OF THE PLAN TO
ENSURE THAT THERE IS A
SUFFICIENT APPLICANT POOL TO
FIRE CAPTAIN IN THE LAST TWO
YEARS OF THE PLAN. SO FOR THE
PLAN ELEMENTS, THE PLAN IS
PHASED IN OVER FIVE YEARS. IT IS
BUILT FROM A FOUNDATION OF
EXISTING INITIATIVES SUCH AS THE
RELIEF BCP, THE DIRECT MISSION
SUPPORT AND THE CREWS BC PIECE.
THE PLAN INTEGRATES WITH THEIR
MULTIYEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.
IT INCLUDES NINE PERSONNEL
MONTHS PER FIREFIGHTER, ONE TO
REDUCE DEPENDANCE ON ANNUAL ONE
TIME STAFFING ENHANCEMENT
REQUESTS. CONSISTENT WITH THE
MAY 2023 LAO REPORT. IT INCLUDES
A PROPORTIONATE INCREASE IN
CONTRACT COUNTY FUNDING. IT
INCREASED AN ADMINISTRATIVE
STAFF REQUIRED FOR PROGRAMMATIC
SUPPORT OF ADDITIONAL
FIREFIGHTING PERSONNEL, A
MULTIYEAR TRAINING PLAN, AND
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADDITIONAL
TRAINING CENTER. IT INCLUDES
TECHNICAL SERVICES, STAFF AND
SPECIAL REPAIRS. FUNDING
EMERGENCY VEHICLES, UTILITY
VEHICLES, AND FLEET SUPPORT AND
UNIT LEVEL TRAINING CAPACITY TO
FACILITATE THE INCREASE IN
APPRENTICES. CO-BENEFITS OF THE
PLAN THAT THAT WERE IDENTIFIED
IN ITS DEVELOPMENT ARE TO
DECREASE RELIANCE ON THE ANNUAL
ONE TIME STAFFING ENHANCEMENT
REQUESTS. IT BUILDS SURGE
CAPACITY FOR LARGE INCIDENT
SUPPORT AND ALSO OVERHEAD
CAPACITY AND SUPERVISION FOR
LARGE INCIDENT SUPPORT. IT
BUILDS UNIT LEVEL TRAINING
CAPACITY. ADDITIONAL PERSONAL
PERS PERMANENT STAFF WILL
INCREASE BASE LEVEL STAFFING
FROM 65 ENGINES TO 153 ENGINES.
IN THE BASE PERIOD. IT CREATES
BASE AND PEAK STAFFING LEVELS,
REMOVES THE TRANSITION PERIOD,
AND EXTENDS AVIATION CONTRACTS
TO ALIGN WITH STAFFING LEVELS.
FUEL REDUCTION. OUTPUT INCREASE
IS, LIKELY PROMOTIONS TO
ENGINEER IN TRADITIONAL STAFFING
MAY BE MORE APPEALING TO
CANDIDATES AS THEY WORK UNDER
THE GUIDED LEADERSHIP OF AN
EXPERIENCED COMPANY OFFICER OR
CAPTAIN IN CLOSER ALIGNMENT TO
INDUSTRY. INDUSTRY STANDARD
WORKWEEK WILL WILL GIVE US
CLOSER TO SCHEDULE AND WORKWEEK
PARITY, WHICH WILL MAKE US A
MORE ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER TO THE
BROADER FIRE SERVICE EMPLOYER.
IMPROVEMENTS IN FIREFIGHTER
HEALTH AND WELLNESS. AND THIS
ALL MAY MAY ALSO ATTRACT FORMER
PREVIOUSLY TRAINED EMPLOYEES WHO
LEFT EMPLOYMENT WITH CAL FIRE
FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITH MORE
ATTRACTIVE WORKWEEKS AND
COMPENSATION. THÀNH CHALLENGES
WITH IMPLEMENTING THIS PLAN
CENTER AROUND TRAINING,
CAPACITY, HIRING AND
INFRASTRUCTURE. ON THE TRAINING
SIDE, IT NEEDS A MULTIYEAR
TRAINING PLAN, THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE FORCE, THE DEVELOPMENT
AND STAFFING OF THE FOURTH
TRAINING SITE NEEDS PROCUREMENT
OF ADDITIONAL FIRE APPARATUS TO
SUPPORT COMPANY OFFICER
TRAINING, INCREASING TRAINING
OUTPUT WHILE ACCOUNTING FOR
NORMAL ATTRITION AND INCREASING
TRAINING CAPACITY AT THE UNIT
LEVEL TO SUPPORT THE APPRENTICES
FOR HIRING ENGINEERS HAVE TO
COMPLETE THAT 36 MONTHS OF
APPRENTICESHIP, ACHIEVING
JOURNEY STATUS BEFORE THEY'RE
ELIGIBLE TO PROMOTE TO FIRE.
CAPTAIN RECRUITMENT OF FIRE
SERVICE PROFESSIONALS FROM THE
BROADER FIRE SERVICE VIA OPEN
EXAMINATIONS WILL ALSO BE
CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS
RETENTION OF CAL FIRE PERSONNEL
TO PREVENT LOSS FROM VOLUNTARY
SEPARATION DURING THIS TIME
PERIOD IS ALSO ESSENTIAL FOR
INFRASTRUCTURE STAFFING FOR
LONGER DURATIONS ROUTINELY WILL
STRESS EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE
WILL REQUIRE PREVENTATIVE
MAINTENANCE AND SPECIAL REPAIRS
TO REMAIN OPERATIONAL FOR
OUTCOMES AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF
THIS PLAN. THIS REQUEST WILL
PROVIDE FOR AN OPERATIONALLY
FEASIBLE TRANSITION TO A 66 HOUR
WORKWEEK BY ACCOUNTING FOR
MISSION AND MINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
VEHICLE SPECIAL REPAIR AND A
MULTI YEAR TRAINING PLAN
ESSENTIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THE
OF THE REQUEST AND UPON
APPROPRIATION, CAL FIRE WILL
IMPLEMENT THE 66 HOUR WORKWEEK
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
COLLECTIVE BARGAINED START DATE
RATIFIED IN THE 2022 BARGAINING
UNIT. EIGHT MOU. IN SUMMARY, THE
66 HOUR WORKWEEK IS A STEP
TOWARDS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD
WORKWEEK FOR FIRE PROTECTION
PERSONNEL, AND THIS TRANSITION
MAXIMIZES THE CAPABILITY OF FIRE
PROTECTION PERSONNEL AND CREATES
SIGNIFICANT CO-BENEFITS BEYOND
THE BENEFIT OF A REDUCED
WORKWEEK. I THANK YOU FOR YOUR
TIME AND ATTENTION AND WELCOME
ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE. THANKS
FOR THE THOROUGH REPORT. BEFORE
WE GO TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE, I JUST HAVE TWO QUICK
QUESTIONS THAT SPECIFICALLY
RELATE. YOU REFERRED TO THE 3.1
STAFFING RATIO FOR POINT ZERO
AND 3.1 STAFFING RATIO, BUT
COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THAT A
LITTLE BIT MORE? SO WHAT THAT'S
REFERRING TO IS THE STAFFING
FACTOR. AND SO THAT'S THE AMOUNT
OF PEOPLE THAT IT REQUIRES TO
FILL OUT A WEEK TAKING INTO
ACCOUNT THEIR LEAVE LIABILITY.
SO A 3.1 STAFFING FACTOR, THE
FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION WAS
DEVELOPED LOOKING AT THE AVERAGE
LEAVE LIABILITY THAT AN EMPLOYER
EMPLOYEE HAS. IT'S 12 WEEKS A
YEAR ESSENTIALLY THAT THEY'RE IN
TRAINING. THEY'RE THERE. THEY'VE
GOT MOU VACATION SICK LEAVE, ALL
THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT THEY
COULD TAKE LEAVE FOR IT BUDGETS
THAT IN SO THAT YOU HAVE
SUFFICIENT PEOPLE TO COVER SEVEN
DAYS A WEEK. OKAY. SAME THING
FOR THE 4.0. AND THE OTHER THING
IS COULD COULD THE TWO OF YOU
WHERE ARE WE IN TERMS OF THE
CHALLENGES WITH RECRUITING? I
MEAN, IT USED TO BE PEOPLE WOULD
TALK ABOUT 2000 PEOPLE SHOWING
UP FOR, YOU KNOW, TEN FIRE
POSITIONS AT THE MUNICIPAL
LEVEL. BUT AT THE CAL FIRE
LEVEL. NOW, HOW HOW HOW
CHALLENGING IS IT TO FIND
QUALITY PERSONNEL AND WHAT'S
HAPPENING FROM OUR RECRUITMENT,
AND STANDPOINT? SO IN TERMS OF
RECRUITMENT IN THE LAST FEW
YEARS IN PARTICULAR, WE'VE,
WE'VE PUT A HIGHER EMPHASIS ON
WORKING, WORKING THROUGH
PLATFORMS LIKE LINKEDIN AND
HAVING BIGGER RELATIONSHIPS TO
REACH PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE. I
MEAN, THE FOLLOWING ON THAT
ALONE IS ABOUT A BILLION PEOPLE.
SO REACHING PEOPLE WITH THE
RIGHT SKILL SETS, I THINK WHEN
WE BECOME A MORE ATTRACTIVE
EMPLOYEE, AN EMPLOYER IN TERMS
OF WORKWEEK AND SCHEDULE PARITY,
THAT WILL BE A NATURAL, BENEFIT
WHERE PEOPLE WILL WANT TO COME.
WE'VE WE'VE EXPANDED WITH THE
USE OF OUR, RECRUITMENT PROGRAM.
WE'RE OUT IN EVENTS. WE'RE GOING
TO EVENTS IN COMMUNITIES THAT WE
DON'T PROVIDE SERVICE TO, TO
REACH THE FULL BREADTH OF THE
POPULATION IN CALIFORNIA, SO,
YEAH, RECRUITMENT IS A CONCERN
IN THIS, BUT I THINK WORKWEEK
PARITY WILL HELP BRING FIRE
SERVICE PROFESSIONALS TO CAL
FIRE. BUT WE'VE BEEN CHALLENGED
TO GET ENOUGH ENOUGH APPLICANTS
AT THIS POINT IN TIME. IS THAT
CORRECT? SO, CHAIR BENNETT,
SEVERAL CLASSIFICATIONS THAT WE
HAVE ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT FOR
OUR SEASONAL FIREFIGHTER ONE
CLASSIFICATION IS GENERALLY A
DEEP POOL. THERE ARE A LOT OF
APPLICANTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN
OUR SEASONAL FIREFIGHTER ONE
POSITION. WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS
WE HAVE CONTINUED TO GROW IS
MANY TIMES PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME
OUT OF ACCREDITED FIRE ACADEMIES
WITH ALL THE TRAINING ALREADY,
WE ARE HIRING ALL OF THOSE
INDIVIDUALS AND WE ARE BACK TO A
POINT IN WHICH WE ARE HIRING
INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE LITTLE TO
NO TRAINING AT ALL, PUTTING THEM
THROUGH OUR ACADEMIES. THEN THEY
HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, EITHER
COME IN AT AN ENTRY LEVEL OR
PROMOTE TO A FIREFIGHTER TWO
CLASSIFICATION. THE FIREFIGHTER
TWO CLASSIFICATION SEEMS TO BE A
STABLE CLASSIFICATION, EXCEPT
FOR PARAMEDICS USED IN OUR
COOPERATIVE FIRE PROTECTION
AGREEMENTS. THAT IS A CALIFORNIA
FIRE SERVICE PROBLEM. NOT
SPECIFICALLY JUST THE CAL FIRE
PROBLEM FROM A FIREFIGHTER. TWO
THEY WILL TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO
PROMOTE INTO A FIRE APPARATUS
ENGINEER POSITION AND GENERALLY
SPEAKING, WE'RE ABLE TO FILL OUR
FIRE APPARATUS ENGINEER
POSITIONS. IT IS THE POINT THAT
WAS SAID EARLIER WHERE WE HAVE
AN IMBALANCE IN A RATIO
IMBALANCE OF, ENGINEERS TO FIRE
CAPTAINS. AND SO THEREFORE,
BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH
JOURNEY LEVEL ENGINEERS
CURRENTLY, TO FILL ALL OF OUR
FIRE CAPTAIN VACANCIES, WE'RE
ALSO RELYING ON OPEN LIST FIRE
CAPTAINS, OR LATERAL FIRE
CAPTAINS FROM MUNICIPAL OR
FEDERAL AGENCIES TO COME ACROSS
INTO CAL FIRE. THAT IS NOT A
ROBUST A ROBUST, WORKFORCE TO
LATERAL ACROSS LARGELY BECAUSE
WHEN IT COMES FROM A MUNICIPAL
SETTING, THE WAGES COMPENSATE
AND WORKWEEK ARE MUCH BETTER IN
A MUNICIPAL FIRE SETTING. SO AT
THE ENTRY LEVEL, YOU HAVE PLENTY
OF APPLICANTS. IT SOUNDS LIKE
YOU'RE AT A SEASONAL LEVEL, AT
THE SEASONAL LEVEL, AND THEN
WHAT'S THE NEXT LEVEL AFTER
SEASONAL LEVEL, THERE ARE THREE
ENTRY POINTS, ACTUALLY FOUR, BUT
THREE PRIMARY ENTRY POINTS INTO
THE DEPARTMENT. IT IS
FIREFIGHTER FIREFIGHTER ONE,
FIREFIGHTER TWO, AND FIRE
APPARATUS ENGINEER AND
FIREFIGHTER ONE NEEDS TRAINING
AND THEY GO THROUGH THE ACADEMY.
SO WE ARE HIRING SO MANY
INDIVIDUALS AT THE FIREFIGHTER
ONE LEVEL THAT WE ARE BEGINNING
TO TRAIN THEM IN DEPTH. THEY'RE
NOT COMING TO US WITH TRAINING
BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE SKILLS.
RIGHT. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK
YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE
THAT, AND I THINK YOU'VE DONE AN
EXCELLENT JOB IN THE
PRESENTATION ABOUT THE
STRUCTURAL PROBLEM THAT EXISTS
IN TERMS OF ENGINEER TO CAPTAIN
RATIO, DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE,
STEPHEN BENTON, DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE, GIVEN HOW EXCELLENT THE
OVERVIEW WAS, I DON'T HAVE
ANYTHING TO ADD FROM AN OVERVIEW
PERSPECTIVE, BUT AVAILABLE TO
HELP ANSWER WITH QUESTIONS AND
FUNDING. THANK YOU. LAO HELEN
KIRSTEIN, AGAIN WITH THE
LEGISLATIVE ANALYST'S OFFICE. SO
WE THINK PRIORITIZING THE HEALTH
AND WELFARE OF FIREFIGHTERS
CERTAINLY MAKES SENSE. WE'VE HAD
A NUMBER OF DIFFICULT FIRE
SEASONS, AS I KNOW THE COMMITTEE
IS WELL AWARE, SO WE THINK IT
MAKES IT WAS TOTALLY
UNDERSTANDABLE THAT THE
LEGISLATURE WOULD HAVE WANTED
TO, IMPLEMENT THIS CHANGE IN
WORKWEEK WHEN IT ADOPTED THE MOU
WITH UNIT EIGHT BACK IN
SEPTEMBER 2022. I THINK THE
POINT WE WANT TO MAKE, OR ONE OF
THE KEY POINTS WE WANT TO MAKE,
IS THAT THE LANDSCAPE HAS
CHANGED A LOT IN THE INTERVENING
18 MONTHS, AND THERE WERE A
COUPLE KEY WAYS I WANT TO
HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU THAT THE
LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED SINCE THE
LEGISLATURE PASSED THAT MOU. ONE
IS THE CONDITION OF THE GENERAL
FUND. AND I KNOW OUR OFFICE HAS
TALKED ABOUT THIS IN QUITE IT
OF DEPTH WITH, WITH ALL OF YOU
IN THE PAST, BUT THE CONDITION
OF THE GENERAL FUND HAS DECLINED
SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE LAST 18
MONTHS, AND THAT MAKES IT MUCH
MORE LIKELY THAT THE STATE WILL
HAVE TO ADOPT SIGNIFICANT BUDGET
REDUCTIONS OR POTENTIALLY
REVENUE INCREASES, SUCH AS TAX
INCREASES. THE SECOND THING I
WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU IS
THAT THE MAGNITUDE OF THE COSTS
OF THIS PROPOSAL AND THE
IMPLICATIONS OF THIS PROPOSAL
ARE MUCH CLEARER NOW THAN THEY
WERE WHEN THE LEGISLATURE
CONSIDERED THIS MOU IN SEPTEMBER
2022. SO IN SEPTEMBER 2022, THE
MOU JUST HAD A PROVISION ABOUT
IMPLEMENTING THE WORKWEEK CHANGE
. IT DIDN'T HAVE ANY SPECIFICITY
ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN, I
MEAN, IT ESTABLISHED THIS
COMMITTEE TO COME UP WITH THE
DETAILS, BUT IT DIDN'T DEFINE
REALLY WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE
, AND THERE WAS NO COST
ESTIMATE. AND THE REASON THERE
WAS NO COST ESTIMATE INCLUDED AS
PART OF THE MOU IS THAT THIS WAS
REALLY A VERY UNUSUAL PROVISION.
SO MOST OF THE TIME WHEN THEIR
PROVISIONS OF MOUS, THE MOU
PROVISION TAKES EFFECT DURING
THE TERMS OF THE MOU AND THEN
THE ADMINISTRATION PROVIDES A
COST ESTIMATE SO THEY SAY, OKAY,
THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE SOME
SOME ASPECT OF THE EMPLOYMENT
CONDITION. IT'S GOING TO COST
$10 MILLION IN THIS CASE, THIS
66 HOUR WORKWEEK PROVISION
DOESN'T WOULDN'T TAKE EFFECT
UNTIL NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR. BUT
THE MOU EXPIRES IN JUNE. SO
THERE WAS NO COST ESTIMATE
PROVIDED. TO THE LEGISLATURE
WHEN IT CONSIDERED THIS
PROVISION OR THE MOU. MORE
BROADLY, WE NOW KNOW THAT THIS
PROVISION OF THE MOU WILL BE
VERY COSTLY. WE HAD ESTIMATE OUR
OFFICE HAD SAID MAYBE IN THE
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
THIS IS KIND OF AT THE TOP END
OF THE RANGE WHEN FULLY
IMPLEMENTED. OF THAT, OF THAT
RANGE THAT WE EXPECTED WHEN
FULLY IMPLEMENTED. THIS PROPOSAL
IS VERY SIGNIFICANT. $750
MILLION ONGOING GENERAL FUND
$770 MILLION OF ALL FUNDS. SO
IT'S VERY SIGNIFICANT. IT WOULD
INCREASE THE STAFFING AND THE
AND THE BUDGET FOR THE
DEPARTMENT REALLY MARKEDLY. AND
THEY'VE AND I KNOW THERE'S SOME
QUESTIONS YOU ALREADY YOU HAVE
ON THIS. BUT THE DEPARTMENT HAS
GROWN DRAMATICALLY OVER THE LAST
SEVERAL YEARS. AND THIS WOULD
WOULD BE ANOTHER SUBSTANTIAL
INCREASE, AND IT WOULD HAVE A
VARIETY OF BOTH. YOU HEARD THE
DIRECT IMPACTS ON THE
DEPARTMENT. SO A NUMBER OF
THINGS RELATED TO THE MIX OF
THE, THE PERSONNEL ON CREWS, HOW
MANY PERSONNEL ARE ARE, ARE
BUDGETED FOR EACH POSITION ON AN
ENGINE WOULD CHANGE. HOW MANY
ENGINES ARE IN OPERATION, WHICH
MONTHS, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR WHICH
MONTHS. SO A LOT OF OPERATIONAL
CHANGES FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND
THEN A NUMBER OF POTENTIAL
INDIRECT IMPACTS. AND A LOT OF
THOSE WE DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND
YET. I'M GOING TO I'M GOING TO
JUST MENTION ONE THAT MIGHT BE
OF INTEREST TO FOLKS. SO CAL
FIRE HAS A NUMBER OF CONTRACTS
WITH LOCAL AGENCIES WHERE IT
PROVIDES BASICALLY FIRE SERVICE
IN SOME CASES. ALSO PARAMEDIC
SERVICE, ON BEHALF OF THOSE
LOCAL AGENCIES. WELL WE EXPECT
THAT THIS THAT THIS THE
IMPLEMENTING THE 66 HOUR
WORKWEEK WILL CHANGE THE WILL
INCREASE THE COST OF A FIRE
CREW, AND SO ULTIMATELY, WHEN
THOSE CONTRACTS ARE RENEGOTIATED
WITH LOCAL AGENCIES, THOSE COSTS
MAY HAVE TO BE WORKED INTO THOSE
CONTRACTS WITH LOCAL AGENCIES.
AND THAT COULD BE ADDITIONAL
COST FOR THEM. AND SOME OF THEM
MAY DECIDE, HEY, IT'S NOT WORTH
CONTRACTING WITH CAL FIRE
ANYMORE BECAUSE THEY USED TO BE
A RELATIVELY CHEAP ALTERNATIVE
COMPARED TO LOCAL AGENCIES. NOW
THEY'RE NOT AS MUCH. SO THAT'S
JUST ONE POTENTIAL IMPACT THERE.
THERE LIKELY OTHERS, GIVEN THE
SCALE AND SCOPE OF THIS PROPOSAL
, WHICH IS VERY LARGE, SO GIVEN
THIS ALTERED CONTEXT, WE THINK
THE LEGISLATURE FACES A REALLY
KEY DECISION ABOUT WHETHER THE
LEGISLATURE FEELS LIKE THE
GENERAL FUND CAN SUSTAIN THIS
PROPOSAL AT THIS TIME,
RECOGNIZING THAT DOING SO COULD
MEAN THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE TO MAKE
CUTS OTHER PLACES OR RAISE TAXES
OR, YOU KNOW, SOME OTHER THINGS
THAT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT CHOICES,
IF THERE'S ONE POINT I WANT TO
LEAVE YOU WITH, I GUESS IT'S
THIS WE RECOMMEND YOU DON'T
TREAT THIS AS A DECISION THAT'S
ALREADY BEEN MADE. THE
LEGISLATURE HAS THE CHOICE. DO
YOU WANT TO DO THIS? AND DO YOU
WANT TO DO THIS NOW? KHÓ MOU
PROVISIONS ARE ALWAYS SUBJECT TO
APPROPRIATION, BUT THIS
PARTICULAR PROVISION HAD A
SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IN IT THAT
SAID THAT IT WAS SUBJECT TO
APPROPRIATION, WHICH SEEMED TO
ENVISION THE LEGISLATURE REALLY
MAKING THAT DECISION ABOUT IS
THE GENERAL FUND AVAILABLE TO
SUPPORT THIS? SO WE THINK IF
YOU'RE IF YOU'RE NOT SURE IF THE
LEGISLATURE IF THE BUDGET CAN
SUSTAIN THIS NOW THAT YOU DON'T
MOVE FORWARD WITH IT THIS YEAR,
YOU COULD ALWAYS YOU CAN DO IT
NEXT YEAR OR FUTURE YEAR WHEN
THAT BECOMES CLEAR. BUT THAT YOU
DON'T DO IT THIS YEAR. BECAUSE
IF YOU IF YOU APPROPRIATE THE
FUNDING THIS YEAR, WE THINK IT'S
GOING TO BE VERY DIFFICULT TO
CHANGE COURSE IN THE FUTURE AND
PULL BACK IF, FOR EXAMPLE, THE
GENERAL FUND CONDITION CONTINUES
TO DETERIORATE, THIS WOULD GIVE
YOU JUST MORE FLEXIBILITY TO
POTENTIALLY MAKE OTHER CHOICES,
AND YOU COULD MAKE OTHER KINDS
OF INVESTMENTS, TO ADDRESS
ISSUES WITH THE HEALTH AND
WELLNESS OF FIREFIGHTERS, BOTH
IN THE NEAR AND LONGER TERMS, WE
DO PROVIDE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR
SOME THINGS THAT YOU COULD
CONSIDER IN THAT AREA. I'M HAPPY
TO GO OVER THOSE IF THAT'S
HELPFUL, WE DO THINK IF YOU IF
YOU FEEL THAT YOU WANT TO
CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE GENERAL
FUND FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS
CHANGE IN 2425, WE HAVE JUST A
RECOMMENDATION RELATED TO ADDING
SOME REPORTING LANGUAGE. THIS
GETS AT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I
THINK THE CHAIR ASKED ABOUT HOW
MUCH YOU KNOW, WHAT WORK ARE
DIFFERENT PEOPLE YOU KNOW ARE
ARE RESPONSE PERSONNEL DOING
VERSUS, RESILIENCE PERSONNEL. SO
ONE OF THE KEY POINTS HERE IS
YOU'RE GOING TO BE IF YOU
IMPLEMENT THIS PROPOSAL, IT'S A
BIG INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF
YEAR ROUND PERMANENT STAFFS.
RIGHT NOW, CAL FIRE RELIES
PRETTY HEAVILY ON SEASONAL
FIREFIGHTERS TO DO A LOT OF
WORK. THEY HAVE A LOT OF
PERMANENT FOLKS, TOO, BUT
SEASONAL FOLKS ARE DOING A LOT
OF WORK AND THIS WOULD REALLY
SHIFT THAT BALANCE. THERE WOULD
BE A LOT MORE PERMANENT YEAR
ROUND FIREFIGHTERS. SO THOSE
FOLKS REALLY SHOULD BE AVAILABLE
TO DO SOME OF THIS RESILIENCE
WORK. AS A CO-BENEFIT. IT'S NOT
THE CHEAPEST WAY TO GET THAT
WORK DONE, BUT THEY SHOULD
REALLY HAVE SOME CAPACITY TO DO
THAT KIND OF WORK. AND SO WE
THINK HAVING SOME OF REPORTING
LANGUAGE TO REALLY GET AT HOW
MUCH DO WE ACTUALLY GET, HOW
MUCH WORK IS BEING CONDUCTED,
GET A SENSE THAT THAT WOULD BE
HELPFUL IF THE LEGISLATURE
DECIDES TO MOVE FORWARD, SO
HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. BUT
THAT'S KIND OF AT A HIGH LEVEL,
WE DID PROVIDE. HOPEFULLY YOU
ALL GOT IT, WE DID A LITTLE
BRIEF, THAT TRIES TO LAY OUT THE
ISSUES IN MORE DETAIL. SO
DEFINITELY, IF YOU HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS ON THAT, LET ME KNOW,
BUT ALSO HAPPY TO TAKE THEM
TODAY. THANKS THIS IS, YOU KNOW,
THE FIRST PUBLIC HEARING WE'RE
HAVING ON THIS. SO I WANT TO
MAKE SURE WE GET EVERYTHING OUT
ON THE TABLE SO THAT SOMEBODY
THAT WASN'T HERE CAN LOOK AT
THIS HEARING, MAKE SURE THEY GET
ALL THE INFORMATION. SO THAT'S
THE INTENTION, THAT WE HAVE UP
HERE IN TERMS OF THE QUESTION.
SO I HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS
TO MAKE SURE WE DO THOROUGHLY
GET ALL OF THE INFORMATION OUT
ON THE TABLE. I DO WANT TO
COMPLIMENT LAO IN THAT THEY DO
THE HARD JOB OF ASKING THE
POLITICALLY HARD QUESTIONS AND
POINTING THINGS OUT, AND THAT'S
EXACTLY WHAT THE ASSEMBLY ASKED
FOR WHEN THEY CREATED THE LAOS
OFFICE. AND CERTAINLY A BIG
BUDGET REQUEST LIKE THIS IS
SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD EXPECT
THEM TO BE VERY THOROUGH AND,
AND SCRUTINIZE CAREFULLY. SO AS
ALWAYS, THE LAOS OFFICE IS, WE
APPRECIATE YOUR CANDOR AS YOU
MOVE FORWARD. SO I HAVE A WHOLE
SERIES OF QUESTIONS, BUT I WANT
TO TURN TO MY COLLEAGUES IN CASE
YOU HAVE ANYTHING. FIRST, BEFORE
I GET INTO THE MORE PROFORMA,
MAKE SURE WE GET THINGS OUT ON
THE TABLE. SO ASSEMBLY MEMBER
AND THEN ASSEMBLY MEMBER, THANK
YOU. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING
HERE. AND I GUESS I'LL JUST
START BY SAYING THAT I DO THINK
THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT
PROPOSAL, RECOGNIZING YOUR POINT
THAT THE MOU IS WAS SUBJECT TO
APPROPRIATION, IT DOES STILL
FEEL TO ME LIKE THIS IS US
MAKING GOOD ON A COMMITMENT
THAT'S IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THE
SAFETY OF CALIFORNIANS, AS WELL
AS THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF OUR
CAL FIRE EMPLOYEES. I THINK TO
ME, THE SORT OF STARKEST
STATISTIC IS THE FACT THAT IF
YOU'RE WORKING IN A MUNICIPAL
DEPARTMENT, YOU'RE WORKING 56
HOUR WORKWEEK. IT SEEMS LIKE
THERE WOULD BE NO WAY FOR US TO
MAINTAIN ADEQUATE STAFFING AND
HAVE ANY KIND OF CONSISTENCY AT
A 72 HOUR WEEK. SO I KIND OF
SHOCKED THAT WE DON'T SEE MORE
FOLKS, YOU KNOW, LEAVING. AND SO
I THINK IT'S REALLY AN IMPORTANT
STEP TO ENSURE THAT WE THAT CAL
FIRE IS COMPETITIVE RELATIVE TO
THESE MUNICIPAL JOBS, BECAUSE I
THINK WE KNOW THAT LIKE
RECRUITING AND TRAINING COSTS,
CHURN HAS ITS OWN REALLY
SIGNIFICANT COSTS, SO I DO THINK
IT'S AN IMPORTANT THING
RECOGNIZING THAT IT'S A BIG,
NUMBER. GOING BACK TO THE
EARLIER PANEL, I THINK IT'S
IMPORTANT FOR US TO TAKE A LOOK
AT SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS
WE'RE DOING IN OTHER PROGRAMS
THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, THAT
PERHAPS AREN'T COST EFFECTIVE,
BUT I DO I DO THINK THIS IS AN
IMPORTANT ONE FOR US TO, TO FIND
FUNDING TO SUPPORT, BUT I DO
HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS BASED ON
SOME OF THE ANALYSIS IN THE
DOCUMENT. SO I THINK IT WAS THE
LAO HAD LOOKED AT SUGGESTED SOME
POTENTIALLY OTHER WAYS THAT WE
MIGHT IMPLEMENT THE 66 HOUR
WORKWEEK. YOU OFFERED, I THINK
THREE EXAMPLES, CAN YOU JUST
SPEAK TO THE ANALYSIS? DID YOU
ANALYZE AND EVALUATE THOSE
APPROACHES, AND WHY DID YOU
CHOOSE THE APPROACH THAT THAT
YOU'RE PUTTING FORWARD HERE? SO
WE DID ANALYZE THESE, THERE WERE
THREE ALTERNATIVES. AND HELENA,
IF I MISSED THIS, PLEASE. BOOM.
IN ONE WAS REDUCED. THE RELIEF
STAFFING COMPONENT, WHICH WAS TO
SUGGEST TO KEEP PERSONNEL AT A
2.33 STAFFING FACTOR, TO
IMPLEMENT THE WORKWEEK AND
DISTRIBUTING THE RELIEF STAFFING
CAPACITY THAT WE'VE ALREADY
INVESTED IN IN THE RELIEF
STAFFING BCP OUT TO ACCOMPLISH
THAT WITH EVERYBODY AT 2.33.
MATHEMATICALLY, THAT DOESN'T PAN
OUT, THE RELIEF BCP IT WOULD
NEGATE ALL OF THE BENEFIT OF THE
RELIEF BCP AND THE PURPOSE
BEHIND IT FOR THE REASON ABOUT
LEAVE LIABILITY AND MAKING SURE
THAT POST COVERED POSITIONS ARE
COVERED. SO THE WAY THAT WE
WOULD HAVE TO COVER THAT WOULD
BE THROUGH MANDATORY FORCED
HIRES. AND SO THE REDUCTION IN
THE WORKWEEK WOULD BE IN NAME
ONLY, BUT NOT IN PURPOSE. YOU
WOULD WE COULD NEVER ACTUALLY
FEEL IT. IT WOULD HAVE TO BE
COVERED BY MANDATORY OVERTIME.
THE SECOND ALTERNATIVE WAS TO
INCREASE SCHEDULED OVERTIME,
WHICH WOULD BE NECESSARY IF
ALTERNATIVE ONE WAS IMPLEMENTED.
PAYING OVERTIME TO COVER, WE
WOULD HAVE TO PAY OVERTIME TO
COVER APPROXIMATELY 25,000 DAYS
OF OVERTIME IN A IN THE SPAN OF
A YEAR. GIVEN THE SIZE AND SCOPE
OF OUR OPERATION, IF YOU RUN OUT
THE SCHEDULE AND FILL THOSE GAPS
ON A 2.33. SO DOING THAT DOESN'T
ADDRESS THE FUNDAMENTAL REASONS
FOR SHIFTING TO THE 66 HOUR
WORKWEEK ITSELF, IT MAINTAINS
THE FIRE CAPTAIN, THE FIRE
APPARATUS RATIO IMBALANCE, WHICH
PERPETUATES THAT PROBLEM, AND IT
HOLDS PERSONNEL ON DUTY DAYS AS
A MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND NOT AS
A, AS A GOOD FUNCTION OF
GOVERNMENT. THE PROPOSED
ALTERNATIVE WOULD ALSO HAVE
DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON THE
WELL-BEING OF CAL FIRE EMPLOYEES
. IN OUR ESTIMATION, GIVEN THAT
YOU WOULD HAVE TO LOCK THEM ON
FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME TO
EFFECTUATE THAT CHANGE.
ALTERNATIVE THREE WAS ADDRESSING
THE CAPTAIN SHORTAGE THROUGH
OTHER APPROACHES, AND THOSE
APPROACHES WERE TO, ADJUST
EXISTING CLASSIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS. SO WE DID LOOK AT
THE FEASIBILITY OF ANOTHER
CLASSIFICATION BETWEEN FIRE
CAPTAIN AND FIRE APPARATUS
ENGINEER, WHICH WE WERE
CONCEPTUALIZING AS A LIEUTENANT,
THE LIEUTENANT AND THE CAPTAIN'S
DUTIES WOULD BE SO SUBSTANTIALLY
SIMILAR THAT CARVING OUT A
DISTANCE BETWEEN WHAT THEY DO
WOULD BE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT
AND PROBABLY NOT PASS AS A FRESH
CLASSIFICATION, FRANKLY, SO WHEN
WE DID DISCUSS THAT ABOUT THE
FEASIBILITY OF IT, BUT BECAUSE
THEY WOULD BE SUBSTANTIALLY
SIMILAR, THE JUICE MAYBE WASN'T
WORTH THE SQUEEZE. SO USING
EXISTING CLASSIFICATIONS THAT WE
HAD TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING THAT
WE HAVE TO IMPLEMENT WITHIN A
FIVE YEAR PERIOD, OR WHAT WE
WERE LOOKING AT, WE FELT THAT
STICKING WITH THE
CLASSIFICATIONS THAT WE HAVE WAS
GOING TO BE THE BEST ALTERNATIVE
, THE OTHER THING ABOUT THAT IS
IF A, IF A I MENTIONED THE 36
MONTHS OF APPRENTICESHIP, SO
THAT WOULD STILL BE THE FLAG FOR
SOMEONE TO BECOME A LIEUTENANT
IN THIS, IN THIS IDEA. SO ONCE
THEY FINISH THEIR THEY BECAME
JOURNEY, THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE
PERHAPS FOR A DIFFERENTIAL OR
SOMETHING THAT WOULD MAKE THEM A
LIEUTENANT. MAYBE THEY'RE STILL
AN FE WITH DIFFERENTIAL. THERE'S
WAYS THAT WE DO THAT. ASSISTANT
CHIEF IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. DEPUTY
CHIEF IS A DIFFERENTIAL, BUT
DOING SO WE WERE LOOKING AT THE
PRACTICALITY OF AUTOMATIC MAKING
SOMEONE A LIEUTENANT. WOULD THEY
HAVE TO COMPETE FOR IT ALL OF
THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE MERIT
BASED. AND IF SOMEBODY DECIDED
THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE A
LIEUTENANT, WE COULDN'T MAKE
THEM ONE. SO THAT COULD BE A
PROBLEM, TOO. SO THOSE WERE SOME
OF THE PRACTICAL REASONS THAT WE
DIDN'T THINK LIEUTENANT WAS
GOING TO BE, A VIABLE OPTION.
THE OTHER OPTION THAT WAS IN
THERE WAS RECRUITING FIRE
CAPTAINS FROM OTHER AGENCIES OR
INCREASING FIRE CAPTAIN PAY. SO
RECRUITING CAPTAINS FROM OTHER
AGENCIES, I THINK, IS A IS AN
INTERESTING IDEA. I THINK IF WE
DON'T ACHIEVE WORK WEEK AND
SCHEDULE PARITY FOR THE SAME
REASONS WE MENTIONED BEFORE
ABOUT COMPENSATIONS AND WORKWEEK
, WE'RE VERY UNLIKELY TO BE AN
ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER FOR THAT,
INCREASING THE FIRE CAPTAINS
SALARY IS INTRIGUING, BUT IT
WOULD CAUSE IF YOU DIDN'T DO IT
CONTEMPORANEOUSLY,
CONTEMPORANEOUSLY WITH THE OTHER
RANKS ABOVE FIRE. CAPTAIN YOU
WOULD HAVE AN IMMEDIATE
COMPACTION ISSUE THAT WOULD
AFFECT PROMOTIONS TO LEADERSHIP
LEVELS IN THE DEPARTMENT.
UNDERSTOOD, ALL RIGHT, ONE OTHER
QUESTION. WHEN THE LAO TALKED
ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS IS A
SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN YOUR
FULL TIME WORKFORCE AND THAT
THERE WOULD POTENTIALLY BE, SOME
CO BENEFITS AND, YOU KNOW, FOLKS
THAT COULD HELP DO SOME OF THE
CLIMATE RESILIENCE WORK THAT WE
KNOW IS SO CRITICAL AND
IMPORTANT. YOU ALL ARE BOTH
NODDING. SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT
YOU DO ENVISION, SOME OF THESE
FOLKS IN THE OFF SEASON BEING
ABLE TO BE DEPLOYED AND IN DOING
THAT TYPE OF WORK? WELL, I WOULD
SAY THAT RIGHT NOW, THE 65
ENGINES THAT WE DO STAFF YEAR
ROUND ARE DOING THAT WORK IN THE
BASE PERIOD. SO INCREASING THAT
WOULD PROPORTIONATELY INCREASE
THAT OUTPUT. OKAY. SO YOU DO SEE
THERE BEING CO BENEFIT OF THAT
EXPANDED FULL TIME WORKFORCE.
ABSOLUTELY OKAY. ALL RIGHT. IF I
COULD EXPAND UPON THAT, ONE OF
THE THINGS THAT I WAS TASKED
WITH IS CHANGING A CULTURE
WITHIN OR A PERCEIVED CULTURE
WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT,
ESPECIALLY AFTER 2007 WHEN WE
CHANGED OUR MONIKER TO CAL FIRE,
IT MADE US APPEAR THAT WE WERE
MORE OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT THAN
AN ALL INCLUSIVE NATURAL
RESOURCE PROTECTION, FIRE
SUPPRESSION, PREVENTION, FIRE
MARSHAL ORGANIZATION. AND I CAN
RESPECT THAT, THE NEED FOR US TO
PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY TO THE
ASSEMBLY ON THE DISCUSSIONS THAT
CHAIR BENNETT HAD EARLIER ABOUT
WHAT POSITIONS ARE DEDICATED TO
FIRE PROTECTION VERSUS WHAT
POSITIONS ARE DEDICATED TO FIRE
PREVENTION. BUT THE CULTURE I
HAVE TO CHANGE IS I HAVE TO
CHANGE THAT STIGMA, THAT STIGMA
THAT YOU EITHER DO ONE OR THE
OTHER. SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO US
AS WE CONTINUE TO EXPAND THE
DEPARTMENT AND OUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO MEET OUR
MISSION, THAT I EXPECT OUR
EMPLOYEES TO DO BOTH. ASSEMBLY
MEMBER THANK YOU. SO I SUPPORT
THIS PROPOSAL, AND I THINK THE
BEST CASE FOR IT IS, MOVING CAL
FIRE TOWARD BEST PRACTICES AND
THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS. IT'S NOT
SIMPLY, MUNICIPAL FORCES, BUT
ALSO OTHER STATES THAT TYPICALLY
HAVE, LOWER WORKWEEKS AS WELL.
SO WANTED TO DELVE DOWN A LITTLE
BIT AND, AND ALLOW YOU TO
EXPLAIN, PERHAPS WITH MORE
DETAIL, HOW THE 66 HOUR WORKWEEK
IS GOING TO ADDRESS ISSUES LIKE
MENTAL HEALTH FATIGUE, RETENTION
OF FIREFIGHTERS. I APPRECIATE
THAT QUESTION. YOU KNOW, WHEN
YOU LOOK AT WHAT A FIREFIGHTER
DOES, THEY WORK 24 HOURS A DAY
AND CANNOT GO HOME UNTIL THEY
ARE RELIEVED. AND SO IF WE HAVE
A DEFICIENT STRUCTURE TO WHERE
WE CAN'T RELIEVE THEM
EFFECTIVELY, WE THEY CAN'T GO.
IMAGINE HOW DESTABILIZING,
DESTABILIZING THAT IS FOR A
PERSON. WHEN YOU'RE MISSING,
YOU'RE MISSING ALL OF THE KEY
ELEMENTS OF LIFE BECAUSE YOU
CANNOT LIVE IT. YOU HAVE TO STAY
IN YOUR WORK LOCATION. I THINK
THIS THE PROPOSAL WON'T DO
ANYTHING ABOUT THE TRAUMA OF
FIREFIGHTING, EMERGENCY RESPONSE
IS A TRAUMATIC JOB, AND THE LAO
DOES A GOOD JOB OF EXPLAINING
THAT IN HER REPORT. BECAUSE IT'S
TRUE. THAT IS NOT GOING TO
CHANGE THAT, BUT GIVING TIME AND
DISTANCE FROM THAT TRAUMA IS
PART OF HEALING FROM IT. AND IF
WE CAN'T LET PEOPLE ROTATE OUT
OF THE THING THAT WAS PROVIDING
CREATING THE TRAUMA, THEN WE'RE
DOING THEM A DISSERVICE. AND I
THINK, IN THAT WAY, IN GIVING A
MORE CONSISTENT SCHEDULE, RULES
OF THE ROAD, ROAD THAT THEY CAN,
BUILD A LIFE AROUND, I THINK
THAT WILL HELP THEIR HEALTH AND
WELLNESS, PROBABLY MORE THAN ANY
INITIATIVE WE'VE DONE THUS FAR.
GOT IT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT,
LET ME GET, GET THESE OTHER
QUESTIONS OUT THAT WE'VE GIVEN
YOU GUYS IN ADVANCE. SO
HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE CAN PROMPTLY
ANSWER THEM, HOW MUCH IS THE
DEPARTMENT BUDGET GROWN OVER THE
LAST FIVE YEARS? AND DOLLARS AND
PERCENTAGES. SO DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE, STEVEN BENSON I'LL TAKE
THAT. I WANT TO GIVE A LITTLE
BIT OF CONTEXT TO THE NUMBERS
BEFORE I GIVE YOU THE NUMBERS.
SO YOU UNDERSTAND SORT OF HOW WE
DEVELOP THEM. SO GIVEN THIS IS
TALKING ABOUT GROWTH, WE WANTED
TO CONTROL FOR WHAT FACTORS IN
THEIR BUDGET ARE INCLUDED. SO WE
EXCLUDED THINGS LIKE ONE TIME
COSTS. WE DON'T CONSIDER THAT TO
BE GROWTH. WE ALSO EXCLUDED THE
EMERGENCY FUND APPROPRIATION
THAT'S DONE ANNUALLY. THAT'S NOT
REALLY BASED BUDGET GROWTH.
WE'RE TRYING TO REALLY ISOLATE
ON BASE BUDGET GROWTH, THE OTHER
THING THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE
TO POINT OUT IS WE LOOKED AT
PROPOSALS THAT HAD BEEN APPROVED
IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. AS
YOU'RE PROBABLY AWARE, RELIEF
STAFFING AND SEVERAL OTHER CREW
PROPOSALS AND THINGS LIKE THAT
HAVE AN IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE
THAT GOES OUT LIKE FIVE YEARS.
SO I'M LOOKING AT WHAT THE FULL
IMPLEMENTATION COST IS. WHEN I
GIVE YOU THIS NUMBER, THOSE
FUNDING WON'T ACTUALLY BE IN
THEIR BUDGET UNTIL 20 2728, BUT
THE COMMITMENT HAS BEEN MADE TO
PROVIDE IT. SO JUST GOING TO
GIVE THAT CONTEXT. SO WITH
PROPOSALS APPROVED OVER THE LAST
FIVE YEARS, THE DEPARTMENT'S
BUDGET WILL HAVE GROWN BY $987.4
MILLION. AND IT WILL HAVE GROWN
BY 3840 POSITIONS, WHICH IS
ABOUT 47% IN TERMS OF DOLLARS
AND ABOUT 50% IN TERMS OF
POSITION. SO VERY CLOSE TO 50%
INCREASE IN BOTH DOLLARS AND
POSITIONS OVER THE FIVE YEAR
DECISION WINDOW. SO TEN YEAR
IMPLEMENTATION WINDOW, AND THEN
I'LL, I THINK MAYBE JUST JUMP
AHEAD TO YOUR NEXT QUESTION YOU
HAD IN HERE HOW 66 HOUR WORKWEEK
IMPACTS THAT. SO WHEN YOU LOOK
AT JUST THE 2425 BUDGET YEAR,
NUMBER, THAT'S $198.9 MILLION
AND 338 POSITIONS. SO THAT WOULD
BE A 6.4% INCREASE IN 24, 25, IN
TERMS OF DOLLARS AND A 2.9%
INCREASE JUST IN THAT YEAR FOR
POSITIONS FULL IMPLEMENTATION IS
THE SEVEN, 70.4 AND 2457
POSITIONS. SO AT FULL
IMPLEMENTATION, THIS PROPOSAL
ADDS ABOUT 25% ADDITIONAL TO THE
BUDGET IN TERMS OF DOLLARS, AND
IT ADDS ABOUT 21% IN TERMS OF
INCREASE IN POSITIONS, ON TOP OF
THE SORT OF BASE NUMBERS OF
DECISIONS ALREADY MADE TO DATE.
GREAT. MY NEXT QUESTION, HOW
MANY NEW PERSONNEL HAS THE
LEGISLATURE APPROVED OVER THE
LAST FIVE YEARS OF NUMBERS AND
PERCENTAGE? YOU SORT OF
EXTRAPOLATE. YEAH. SO SORT OF
ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT. SO
THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS WAS THE
3840, SO THE 50 AND ROUGHLY
ROUGHLY 50. YEAH. GREAT. ALL
RIGHT, ALL RIGHT. AND THEN, THE.
HOW DID THE DEPARTMENT DETERMINE
THE NUMBER OF FIRE ENGINES THAT
WILL BE STAFFED YEAR ROUND UNDER
THIS PROPOSAL? SO WE LOOKED AT
THE LEVY LIABILITY FOR THE
PERMANENT PERSONNEL, AND WE
LOOKED AT HOW MANY BATTALIONS
THAT WE HAVE ACROSS THE STATE.
WE HAVE 111 BATTALIONS. SO THAT
WOULD THAT WOULD ASSIGN ONE
ENGINE PER BATTALION, WHICH IS
OUR WHICH IS WHAT OUR FIRST
TRANSITION ALWAYS LOOKED LIKE,
ONE PER BATTALION, PLUS TWO
ADDITIONAL PER 21 CAL FIRE
UNITS, FOR A TOTAL OF 153. AND
THAT WOULD GIVE, DEPENDING ON
THE SIZE OF THE UNIT, AT LEAST A
STRIKE TEAM WORTH OF ENGINES
AVAILABLE AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
THAT'S FIVE ENGINES AND A LITER.
NÓ. JUST TO CLARIFY, A STRIKE
TEAM. I I MY OWN VIEW IS I THINK
THERE'S A CLEARLY STRONG SUPPORT
AMONGST ALL OF US IN THE
LEGISLATURE IN TERMS OF HONORING
THE MOU THAT HAS BEEN SIGNED AND
IN TERMS OF GOING FORWARD, I
THINK THAT THE QUESTION THAT I
AND THE CHALLENGE FOR YOU, CHIEF
IN PARTICULAR, IS TRYING TO
EMBED THIS INTO THIS NEW CULTURE
THAT YOU HAVE. BUT I HOPE THAT
YOU CAN SEND THE MESSAGE THAT
THE LEGISLATURE THAT IS WILLING
TO SUPPORT A SUBSTANTIAL FUNDING
INCREASE AT A VERY DIFFICULT
TIME, WHEN MILLIONS OF
CONSTITUENTS ARE GOING TO BE
UNHAPPY WITH THE CUTS THAT WE'RE
GOING TO BE MAKING, AND THEY'RE
GOING TO BE SOME REALLY HARD
ONES THAT IF THE LEGISLATURE IS
DOING THAT, IT'S PARTIALLY
BECAUSE THEY HAVE A NEWFOUND
APPRECIATION FOR CAL FIRE
OVERALL. BUT FOR FIRE
PREVENTION, BECAUSE I THINK
EVERYBODY KNOWS IT'S JUST NOT
SUSTAINABLE TO KEEP HAVING THESE
BIG, HUGE FIRES. AND SO CAL FIRE
HAS TO BE IT HAS IT MAY NOT BE
WHATEVER IT TAKES, WHATEVER THE
CULTURAL CHALLENGES ARE MAY BE
DIFFICULT, BUT CAL FIRE HAS TO
TAKE THAT RESPONSIBILITY
SERIOUSLY. AND IT HAS TO BE A
MEASURE OF A PROFESSIONAL FIRE
FIGHTER HAS TO BE HIS OR HER
COMMITMENT TO FIRE SUPPRESSION
AS MUCH AS FIRE PREVENTION, AND
PARTICULARLY AT THE LARGE
WILDFIRE, YOU KNOW, GO OUT, I
THINK WHAT THE PERCEPTION IS
THAT THERE IS A RESISTANCE TO
GOING OUT AND DOING THE FOREST
CLEARING THE, YOU KNOW, THOSE
KINDS OF THINGS THAT HAVE TO
HAPPEN. SO I JUST ON BEHALF OF
THE ASSEMBLY, I CAN'T TELL YOU
HOW MANY CONVERSATIONS PEOPLE
HAVE WITH ME ABOUT FIRES,
WILDFIRES, PREVENTION AND, AND
THE NEED TO DO THAT. AND SO I
HOPE YOU CAN USE THIS AS A, AS
A, AS ANOTHER MOTIVATOR AND A
TOOL FOR YOU AS YOU GO FORWARD.
BECAUSE I THINK IN SPITE OF THE
ADVOCACY OF THE LOUGH, I THINK
IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THE
LEGISLATURE IS, IS GOING TO BE
SUPPORTIVE OF MOVING FORWARD. SO
THANK YOU FOR LETTING US GET ALL
OF THIS INFORMATION OUT SO THAT
EVERYBODY HAS HAS THE DETAILS
AND WE CAN BE DOING THIS WITH
FULL TRANSPARENCY, BECAUSE
THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO DO A BIG
INCREASE LIKE THIS WHILE WE'RE
DOING ALL THESE OTHER CUTS
WITHOUT FULL TRANSPARENCY. AND
HOPEFULLY WE CAN ADD TO IT THAT
CULTURAL CHANGE AND GIVE YOU AN
EXTRA MOTIVATION IN TERMS OF
MAKING THAT HAPPEN. SO THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. AND I SEE THE OTHER
MEMBERS ARE GONE. WE'LL MOVE ON
TO ISSUE FOUR. GOOD LUCK. THANK
YOU. YEAH. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.
ISSUE FOUR CAPITAL OUTLAY AND
FACILITY RELATED PROPOSALS.
WHEN YOU'RE READY. THANK YOU.
CHAIR. BENNETT ISSUE NUMBER
FOUR, THE VARIOUS CAL FIRE
CAPITAL OUTLAY AND FACILITY
RELATED PROPOSALS, WE HAVE,
QUITE THE GROUP HERE AGAIN TODAY
THAT ARE HOPEFULLY GOING TO WALK
US THROUGH EVERY ONE OF YOUR
QUESTIONS. THANK YOU FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY. THE PROPOSAL THAT'S
BEFORE YOU TODAY ENCOMPASSES TEN
CAPITAL OUTLAY PROJECTS FOR A
TOTAL OF $36.2 MILLION IN
GENERAL FUND AND $87.83 MILLION
IN PUBLIC BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 2425. NOW,
WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF
STRUCTURES ACROSS THE STATE AND
FACILITIES ACROSS THE STATE AS A
DECENTRALIZED ORGANIZATION. SO
WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT
OVER TO, MICHELLE VALENZUELA,
OUR ASSISTANT DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF
CAPITAL, FINANCE AND
SUSTAINABILITY, TO WALK US
THROUGH IT. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY
NAME IS MICHELLE VALENZUELA.
COULD YOU PULL THE MICROPHONE A
LITTLE CLOSER, PLEASE? YES ALL
RIGHT. MY NAME IS MICHELLE
VALENZUELA. I'M THE ASSISTANT
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF, WELL,
CAPITAL FINANCE AND
SUSTAINABILITY AT CAL FIRE, SO
CAL FIRE HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH
THE ADMINISTRATION TO BUILD A
PLAN FOR CAL FIRE FACILITIES
WHILE EMPHASIZING OPERATIONAL
NEED, FACILITY AGE AND STRUCTURE
CONDITION. CAL FIRE CAPITAL
OUTLAY PLAN ADDRESSES CRITICAL
FACILITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND FIRE
AND LIFE SAFETY PROJECTS. THE
PLAN ADDRESSES CAL FIRE'S URGENT
NEED TO CONTINUE ITS CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM TO REDUCE
THE DEPARTMENT'S LARGE AND
GROWING BACKLOG OF CRITICALLY
NECESSARY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
CAL FIRE MAINTAINS A DIVERSE
FACILITIES PORTFOLIO OF MORE
THAN 3000 STRUCTURES AND OVER
635 FACILITIES STATEWIDE IN
SUPPORT OF FIRE PROTECTION AND
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT EFFORTS FOR
MORE THAN 31 MILLION ACRES OF
BOTH STATE AND PRIVATELY OWNED
WILDLANDS THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA.
FACILITIES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO
HAVE A MAXIMUM MAXIMUM
OPERATIONAL LIFE OF 50 YEARS.
HOWEVER, CAL FIRE FACILITIES IN
MANY INSTANCES HAVE EXCEEDED THE
EXPECTED LIFESPAN BY. AS AN
EXAMPLE, 63% OF OUR FACILITIES
WERE CONSTRUCTED PRIOR TO 1960
AND 80% CONSTRUCTED PRIOR TO
1970. AS A RESULT OF INCREASED
INCREASED USAGE THROUGHOUT
EXTENDED FIRE SEASON AND
ADDITIONAL STAFFING, CAL FIRES
EXPERIENCING A HIGHER RATE OF
FACILITY DETERIORATION TO OUR
ALREADY AGING INFRASTRUCTURE,
INCLUDING FIRE STATIONS, UNIT
AND ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS,
CONSERVATION CAMPS, FIRE
CENTERS, STATE FORESTS,
NURSERIES, TRAINING CENTERS,
COMMUNICATION SITES, AIR ATTACK
BASES AND HELITACK BASES. AS CAL
FIRE CONTINUES TO WORK TO
IDENTIFY DEFERRED MAINTENANCE
PROJECTS AND ANNUALLY HAS HAD A
NEED FOR ONGOING SPECIAL REPAIR
FUNDING TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT
INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S IMPORTANT
TO NOTE THAT FLUCTUATIONS IN THE
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS HAVE OFTEN
LED TO HALTING OF PROJECTS, BUT
DUE TO THEIR INHERENT
IMPORTANCE, THEY ARE OFTEN
RESURRECTED ONCE THE FINANCIAL
CONDITIONS IMPROVE. THE PAST
INSTANCES HAVE SERVED AS A
VALUABLE REMINDER THAT UPON
RESURRECTION, TOTAL PROJECT
COSTS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE
THIS ESCALATION OF COSTS CAN BE
ATTRIBUTED TO SEVERAL FACTORS,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
UPDATING PROJECT PLANS DUE TO
MIS CODE CYCLES, INFLATION IN
LABOR COSTS, AND GENERAL
INDUSTRY INCREASES, CAL FIRE
WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE AN
INCREASED NEED FOR CAPITAL
OUTLAY FUNDING TO ADDRESS THE
DECLINING STATE OF THE CURRENT
INFRASTRUCTURE AND TO ENSURE THE
DEPARTMENT'S MISSION, MANDATES
AND HEALTH AND SAFETY
REQUIREMENTS ARE MET. THE
PROPOSAL, OUTLINED IN THE 2425
GOVERNOR'S BUDGET, WILL TACKLE
CRITICAL AREAS ESSENTIAL FOR
ENHANCING CAL FIRE'S
INFRASTRUCTURE, LEADING TO
INCREASED SAFETY, EFFICIENCY AND
OPERATIONAL PREPAREDNESS BY
INVESTING STRATEGICALLY IN
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE,
TRAINING FACILITIES AND HEALTH
AND SAFETY MEASURES. WE AIM TO
STRENGTHEN CAL FIRE'S
CAPABILITIES AND BETTER SERVE
OUR COMMUNITIES BY WORKING
DILIGENTLY TO PROTECT THE LIVES,
PROPERTY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
OF CALIFORNIA. WITH THAT, WE'RE
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
GREAT DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE.
JAMIE GONSALVES, DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE NO ADDITIONAL COMMENTS,
BUT I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY
QUESTIONS REGARDING RAMONA AIR
BASE. THANK YOU. LAO, SO TWO
PARTS TO MY COMMENT, SO I'LL TRY
TO GO QUICKLY IN THE INTEREST OF
TIME, THE FIRST PART IS SORT OF
SOME HIGH LEVEL COMMENTS ON ALL
OF THE PROPOSALS. AND THEN I
HAVE SOME SPECIFIC COMMENTS ON
THE TRAINING CENTER PROPOSAL. SO
AT A HIGH LEVEL, WE NOTE THAT
THE GENERAL FUND THAT THE
GOVERNOR'S PROPOSING QUITE A
RANGE OF DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT
POTENTIALLY HAVE IMPACTS ON THE
GENERAL FUND. AND THERE ARE A
COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT
THESE PROJECTS DO IMPACT THE
GENERAL FUND. SOME OF THEM HAVE
DIRECT GENERAL FUND CAP OUTLAYS.
SO THERE'S JUST BASICALLY CASH
FROM THE GENERAL FUND. IN OTHER
CASES, THESE PROJECTS ARE LEASE
REVENUE BOND FUNDED. BUT IN THE
CASE OF CAL FIRE, THEY WOULD BE
REPAID BY THE GENERAL FUND OVER
A PERIOD OF PROBABLY ABOUT 25
YEARS, WE NOTE THAT WHILE MANY
OF THESE PROJECTS MAY HAVE
SIGNIFICANT MERIT GIVEN THE
SEVERITY OF THE BUDGET
SITUATION, THE LEGISLATURE IS
FACING, WE THINK THAT, YOU KNOW,
IT'S WORTH THE LEGISLATURE
PONDERING WHETHER ALL OF THEM
NEED TO HAPPEN RIGHT NOW OR
WHETHER SOME OF THEM COULD BE
DEFERRED, BOTH BECAUSE, AGAIN,
THE CONDITION OF THE GENERAL
FUND AND THESE WOULD ESPECIALLY
COLLECTIVELY ADD SIGNIFICANT
COST. THE SECOND COMMENT SET OF
COMMENTS I WANTED TO MAKE WAS ON
THE TRAINING CENTER, WITH THIS
ONE SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE
RECOMMENDING THAT THE
LEGISLATURE DEFER ACTION ON IT.
YOU MAY RECALL THAT LAST YEAR,
THE LEGISLATURE, PROVIDED
FUNDING FOR A STUDY. WE KNOW
THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN
WORKING HARD ON THAT STUDY, AS
WELL AS A PREVIOUS STUDY, BOTH
RELATED TO THE TRAINING CENTER
AND THIS THE STUDY FROM LAST
YEAR, SPECIFICALLY, WAS TO
EVALUATE THE ONGOING TRAINING
NEEDS FOR CAL FIRE, AND REALLY
WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE FOR MEETING
THOSE NEEDS. SO WE THINK THAT'S
GOING TO BE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR
YOU TO HAVE BEFORE YOU MAKE A
DECISION ABOUT WHETHER YOU WANT
TO ACQUIRE PROPERTY AND MOVE
FORWARD WITH A PROJECT, SO WE
EXPECT THAT THAT WILL COME SOON
AND PROBABLY BEFORE YOUR, YOUR
FINAL BUDGET ACTIONS, SO THOSE
WERE REALLY MY COMMENTS. I'M
HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M
GOING TO MOVE PROMPTLY INTO
THESE QUESTIONS. WE ARE FIGHTING
TIME HERE NOW, HOW MANY CAPITAL
OUTLAY PROJECTS? IS THE
DEPARTMENT CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
CAL FIRE CURRENTLY HAS 43 ACTIVE
CAPITAL OUTLAY PROJECTS THAT ARE
IN VARIOUS PHASES OF THE PROJECT
LIFE CYCLE. AND HOW MANY HAS THE
LEGISLATURE APPROVED FOR FUNDING
IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, THE
LEGISLATURE HAS APPROVED 57
CAPITAL OUTLAY PROJECTS TO
ASSIST IN FACILITY REPLACEMENT
TO OUR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE,
SOME OF THESE ARE RELOCATIONS,
AND THERE ARE SOME NEW
FACILITIES AS WELL. GREAT. HOW
MANY FACILITIES OVERALL DOES THE
DEPARTMENT MAINTAIN? WE HAVE
OVER 3000 STRUCTURES AND OVER
635 FACILITIES, OF WHICH, AS YOU
PREVIOUSLY HEARD, 63% WERE
CONSTRUCTED PRIOR TO 1960 AND
80% CONSTRUCTED PRIOR TO 1970.
ALL RIGHT. AND THIS IS A HARDER
QUESTION. CAN YOU PROVIDE A
RANKING WITH, OF WHICH OF THE
NEW AND IN-PROGRESS CAPITAL
OUTLAY PROJECTS ARE THE MOST
MISSION CRITICAL? SO SORRY. GO
AHEAD, THAT IS QUITE A
COMPLICATED REQUEST. ALL OF OUR
PROJECTS IDENTIFIED IN THE 24 TO
25 GOVERNOR'S BUDGET HAVE BEEN
DEEMED ESSENTIAL FOR CAL FIRE TO
SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTE OUR
MISSION, WE HAVE SUBMITTED THEM
AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION
BASED ON PRIORITY NEEDS, GIVEN
THE BUDGET CONDITIONS, EACH
PROJECT IS UNIQUE AND THEY'RE
STRATEGICALLY LOCATED THROUGHOUT
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. SO IT'S
A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO WEIGH
THEM AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. SO
EVEN IF WE ASKED BY FACILITY
TYPE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE SAID, IS
THIS FIRE STATION RELOCATION
MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS ONE?
YOU STILL WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO
DO THAT. YOU'D JUST SAY THEY'RE
ALL MISSION CRITICAL. WE CAN
CERTAINLY TRY TO IDENTIFY A
PRIORITY ORDER FOR YOU. BUT
AGAIN, I DO WANT TO JUST SAY
ONCE MORE THAT ALL OF THESE ARE
MISSION CRITICAL FOR THE EXTENT
THAT YOU CAN AND ARE WILLING TO
DO THAT, WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THAT. WHEN'S
THE STUDY EXPECTED TO BE
COMPLETED FOR THE NEW CAL FIRE
TRAINING FACILITY? SO WE HAVE
RECEIVED THE STUDY FOR THE
TRAINING FACILITY, AND IT'S
CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. SO YOU
DON'T HAVE A YOU DON'T HAVE A
TIME. THERE ARE TWO STUDIES. ONE
STUDY IS ON THE CAPITAL OUTLAY.
ONE STUDY IS ON THE FEASIBILITY
OF THE EXISTING TRAINING CENTER
IN IONE. THE, STUDY OF THE
EXISTING TRAINING CENTER IN IONE
IS NOT COMPLETE. THE INITIAL
DRAFT STUDY OF, A FUTURE
TRAINING CENTER WAS JUST
RECEIVED. I HAVEN'T EVEN
DIGESTED IT YET. TO BE ABLE TO
TALK TO OUR CAPITAL OUTLAY
FOLKS, THE DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE, THANK YOU FOR THE
HAYFORK FIRE STATION RELOCATION.
WHEN THE LEASE EXPIRES IN 2030,
COULD THE PROJECT BE DELAYED AND
STILL BE COMPLETED WITHIN THE
REQUIRED TIME FRAME? AND IF SO,
BY HOW MUCH? IT'S HIGHLY
UNLIKELY. SO RIGHT NOW, THE
PROJECT IS SCHEDULED TO BE
COMPLETED JUNE OF 2030. HOWEVER
OUR LEASE ACTUALLY EXPIRES MAY
2030, SO THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT
LIFE CYCLE, THERE'S POTENTIAL
FOR DELAYS AS WELL, WHICH WOULD
PUSH US FURTHER PAST THAT. THANK
YOU. AND COULD YOU PROVIDE MORE
DETAIL ABOUT WHY IT WASN'T
POSSIBLE TO OBTAIN INSURANCE
COVERAGE? THE INSURANCE COVERAGE
NECESSARY TO SELL THE BONDS TO
FINANCE THE ISHI CONSERVATION
CAMP KITCHEN REPLACEMENT
PROJECT. VICTOR LOPEZ,
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE. SO THE
INSURANCE COMPANIES WERE NOT
INTERESTED IN SELLING INSURANCE
POLICIES DUE TO THE HIGH
WILDFIRE RISK WITHIN THE AREA,
AND THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE
OPTIONS, SUCH AS THE CALIFORNIA
FAIR PLAN, DOESN'T PROVIDE
SUFFICIENT COVERAGE, TO MEET THE
REQUIREMENTS TO SELL THOSE
BONDS. SO THAT COULD BE A GREAT
HEADLINES THAT CAL FIRE COULDN'T
GET FIRE INSURANCE. RIGHT, FROM
THE INSURANCE COMPANIES. SO
SOMEBODY, SOMEBODY COULD DO
SOMETHING GOOD WITH THAT. THAT
THAT'LL BE INTERESTING, IS THE
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE CONCERNED
THAT THEY MAY RUN INTO SIMILAR
BOND FINANCING ISSUES, WITH
OTHER CAPITAL OUTLAY PROJECTS?
SO, VICTOR LOPEZ, DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST
TIME THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED.
THIS IS ACTUALLY QUITE
INFREQUENT, WE CLOSELY MONITORED
THESE TYPES OF ISSUES WITH
DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL SERVICES
AS WELL AS CAL FIRE, JUST TO
UNDERSTAND AND TRY TO IDENTIFY,
IF THIS ISSUE WERE TO COME AGAIN
JUST BEFORE IT'S PUT INTO PLAN.
RIGHT. AND THE FINAL QUESTION,
HOW WILL THE TIMING OF THIS
PROJECT COMPARE TO THE TIMING OF
THE STATE'S RECEIPT OF THE
C-130S AND THE RAMONA AIR ATTACK
BASE? CAL FIRE RECEIVED TITLE
AND TRANSFER FROM THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT OF SEVEN C-130S IN
DECEMBER OF 2023, UPON A
SIGNATURE OF THE NATIONAL
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT. THOSE
SEVEN C-130S ARE CURRENTLY BEING
RETROFITTED AT MCCLELLAN AIR
BASE HERE IN SACRAMENTO, WITH
THE FIRST ONE CURRENTLY BEING
RETROFITTED, AND IT'S
ANTICIPATED THAT IT WILL BE IN
SERVICE WITHIN THE FIRST THREE
MONTHS OF FISCAL YEAR 2024. NOW,
I RECOGNIZE THAT THAT FIRST AIR
TANKER WILL GO TO MCCLELLAN,
WHERE IT CAN BE MONITORED WHILE
THE SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH AND
FIFTH AIR TANKERS GET
RETROFITTED AT THE SAME TIME.
RAMONA AIR ATTACK BASE SITS AT
THE SOUTHERNMOST PART OF THE
STATE. IT CAN CURRENTLY HAS A
RUNWAY LENGTH THAT IS CAPABLE OF
RECEIVING LARGE AIR TANKERS.
ASIDE FROM CAL FIRE'S C-130S.
WITH THAT SAID, THERE ARE SOME
STRUCTURAL ISSUES AT THE RAMONA
AIR ATTACK BASE, NOT ONLY FOR
OUR OWN AIRCRAFT, BUT FOR LARGE
AIR TANKERS THAT ARE FLYING INTO
RAMONA, SHOULD THEY GO INTO
THOSE PITS DUE TO CONCRETE AND
PIT CONFIGURATION? IF RAMONA WAS
NOT AVAILABLE, THE NEXT CLOSEST
AIR ATTACK BASE THAT CAN TAKE A
LARGE AIR TANKER IS IN SAN
BERNARDINO. OKAY. THANK YOU, AND
WITH THAT, I THINK WE'RE
FINISHED, WE HAVE NO OTHER
QUESTIONS. WE APPRECIATE ALL THE
TIME. I DO WANT TO EMPHASIZE,
THE GOING BACK TO THE LAST
PROGRAM. THE LAO HAS A
RECOMMENDATION THAT IF WE DO
APPROVE IT, THAT THERE BE SOME
KIND OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS,
THOSE WILL BE QUESTIONS THAT
WE'LL BE ASKING ABOUT IN TERMS
OF POTENTIAL REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS, ETC, AND WANTING
TO GET THAT ON THE RECORD WITH
YOU, TOO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
REALLY APPRECIATE IT, CHIEF.
TAKE CARE. THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN.
ALL RIGHT. CONSERVATION CORPS,
NEW RESIDENTIAL CENTER IN
ALBURY.
WHENEVER YOU'RE READY,
GENTLEMEN. ALL RIGHT. GOOD
AFTERNOON, JERRY BENNETT. GOOD
TO BE WITH YOU, MY NAME IS J.P.
PATTON. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE
CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS.
TO MY RIGHT, I HAVE LARRY
NOTICE, WHO SERVES AS OUR SENIOR
DEPUTY DIRECTOR. THANK YOU FOR
CONSIDERATION OF THIS BUDGET
REQUEST OF $5,951,000 IN PUBLIC
BUILDINGS, CONSTRUCTION FUNDS
FOR THE APPROPRIATION OF WORKING
DRAWINGS FOR THE, TO BUILD A NEW
FACILITY AT THE AUBURN AUBURY
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, A NEW
RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL CENTER
IN THE CITY OF AUBURN IN FRESNO
COUNTY. TO MEET PROGRAM NEEDS,
INCLUDING ESSENTIAL SERVICES TO
SUPPORT TYPE ONE FIRE CREWS FOR
THE C.C.C. LIKE OUR TEN OTHER
RESIDENTIAL CENTERS, WHICH HAVE
A WAIT LIST OF ABOUT SIX MONTHS
FOR ENTRY FOR CORPS MEMBER
RECRUITS, THE FOCUS OF THE CS
AUBURY RESIDENTIAL CENTER IS FOR
CORPS MEMBERS TO GAIN WORK
EXPERIENCE, ADVANCED EDUCATION
THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA
PROGRAMS AND DEVELOP A CAREER
PATH WHILE HELPING TO ENHANCE
CALIFORNIA'S NATURAL RESOURCES
AND ITS COMMUNITIES. AS A
RESIDENTIAL CENTER IS CRITICAL
IN THIS AREA TO RECRUIT AND
RETAIN CORPS MEMBERS. THE MOST
RECENT RECESSION HAS
SIGNIFICANTLY HIT THE
SURROUNDING AREA, INCLUDING
TULARE, KERN, AND MADERA
COUNTIES. ECONOMICALLY CORE
MEMBERS HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES,
PARTICULARLY THE ABILITY TO
AFFORD A VEHICLE TO REACH THE
FRESNO CENTER. CURRENTLY LOCATED
IN OUR RURAL AREA. AS PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION HAS LIMITED
AVAILABILITY DUE TO HIGH
POSITIVE ATTRITION AT OUR
NON-RES CENTER, FRESNO DOES NOT
HAVE ENOUGH CORPS MEMBERS TO
ADDRESS THE ABUNDANT
CONSERVATION AND EMERGENCY
PROJECTS AVAILABLE IN THE
GREATER FRESNO AREA. BUILDING A
NEW FACILITY WILL ENABLE THE
C.C.C. TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS
THE NEEDS OF THEIR PROGRAM. OF
OUR PROGRAM BY PROVIDING A SAFE
AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL
CORPS MEMBERS AND STAFF. THE
C.C.C. DESIRES TO REMAIN IN THIS
AREA DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY TO
PROJECT WORK AND THE CULTIVATION
AND EXPANSION OF ONGOING SPONSOR
BASE THAT WE HAVE FOSTERED SINCE
THE 1980S. IN ADDITION, THIS
AREA IS IDEAL FOR CORPS MEMBER
DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE THE AREA
SURROUNDING FRESNO PROVIDES
AMPLE OPPORTUNITY FOR CORPS
MEMBERS TO WORK ON VARIOUS
CONSERVATION PROJECTS. AND I
WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE
ABOUT THIS PROJECT. THANK YOU.
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE. VICTOR
LOPEZ, DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, WE
HAVE NOTHING TO ADD AND WE'LL BE
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
LEO. SO THE HIGH LEVEL COMMENTS
I PROVIDED PREVIOUSLY, ALSO
APPLY TO THIS PROJECT SINCE THIS
WOULD BE FUNDED, WOULD WOULD PUT
SOME PRESSURE ON THE GENERAL
FUND, WE'D ALSO NOTE THAT IN
ADDITION TO THE BOND REPAYMENTS,
THAT WILL LIKELY HAVE TO COME
FROM THE GENERAL FUND, ACTUALLY
STAFFING THIS NEW FACILITY WILL
ALSO, COST SOME GENERAL FUND
DOLLARS LIKELY. I BELIEVE THE
BCP MENTIONED ABOUT $7 MILLION
ONGOING ANNUAL GENERAL FUND. SO
THAT'S SOMETHING JUST TO KEEP IN
MIND. AS WELL AS THE
LEGISLATURE'S WEIGHING ITS
PRIORITIES. GREAT. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH, COULD YOU PROVIDE,
MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE TOTAL? WHY
THE TOTAL PROJECT COST WENT FROM
$60 MILLION TO $123 MILLION.
YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO THE THERE
ARE THREE DRIVERS FOR THE COST
INCREASE, ABOUT 20 MILLION OF
THAT 60 MILLION IS DEDICATED TO
THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANS
REQUIRED TO STAND UP THE FIRE
CREWS CAPACITY THERE AS IT WAS
ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED, FIRE WAS
NOT PART OF THE PROGRAM. AND
WE'VE DECIDED TO ADD THAT IN
WHICH I THINK IS GOING TO BE A
GREAT INVESTMENT. THE REMAINING
$40 MILLION ALL RELATES TO
INFLATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN
ISSUES, SPECIFICALLY TO
CONSTRUCTION, TRADE, LABOR
SERVICES, COSTS THAT HAVE
INCREASED. THANK YOU. WILL THE
DETERMINATION OF WHETHER THE
DEPARTMENT RENOVATES A SCHOOL OR
BUILDS A NEW FACILITY HAVE AN
IMPACT ON THE TOTAL COST OF
CONSTRUCTION, YES IT WOULD. THE
ABILITY TO RENOVATE THE SITE IS
NO LONGER FEASIBLE. AND SO WE'RE
GOING WITH A NEW BILL
ALTOGETHER. WE HAVE DETERMINED
THAT IS GOING TO BE THE MOST
COST EFFECTIVE ROUTE. OKAY. NOW
WHEN'S CONSTRUCTION EXPECTED TO
BEGIN? IF THE FUNDING IS
APPROVED ON SCHEDULE, WORKING
DRAWINGS WOULD COMPLETE IN 2025.
AND ONCE UPON BID, WE WOULD
START CONSTRUCTION 2526. GREAT.
AND WHEN WOULD DEBT SERVICE
PAYMENTS BEGIN ON THE PROJECT?
IF FUNDING WAS APPROVED, THE
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE. GOOD
MORNING, MIKE MCGINNIS,
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE. DEBT
SERVICE PAYMENTS TYPICALLY BEGIN
SHORTLY AFTER THE FACILITY IS
MADE AVAILABLE FOR OCCUPANCY BY
THE DEPARTMENT. TYPICALLY, THIS
WOULD BE THREE YEARS AFTER
APPROPRIATION OF THE
CONSTRUCTION PHASE OF THE
PROJECT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO PUBLIC
COMMENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
GENTLEMEN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. AGAIN AND THE RACE
FOR THE MICROPHONE. ARE YOU
READY TO START WITH THE MOMENT.
SORRY GOOD AFTERNOON. HOLD ON
ONE SECOND. OKAY. OUR TIMING SET
UP HERE. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE CLOSE
ENOUGH. GO AHEAD. OKAY. GOOD
AFTERNOON. I'M ISABELLA GONZALEZ
POTTER, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR WITH
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, SPEAKING
ON ISSUE ONE, WHICH WAS A GREAT
PANEL, BY THE WAY, DESPITE
RECORD BREAKING STATE BUDGETS,
CALIFORNIA'S INVESTMENT IN
NATURAL RESOURCES AND NATURE
BASED CLIMATE SOLUTIONS HAS NOT
MATCHED THE PACE AND SCALE OF
THE NEED. HISTORICALLY, LESS
THAN 5% OF THE STATE BUDGET HAS
BEEN DEDICATED TO NATURAL
RESOURCES. THE GOVERNOR'S 20
2425 BUDGET PROPOSAL WOULD
REDUCE STATE SPENDING FOR
NATURAL RESOURCES TO LESS THAN
3% OF THE STATE'S BUDGET, DUE TO
THE PROPOSED CUTS TO NATURAL
RESOURCES AND CLIMATE
INVESTMENTS, PARTICULARLY
CONCERNING TO US IS THE NEARLY
50% CUT TO THE COASTAL
RESILIENCE PACKAGE, WHICH WAS
DISCUSSED AT LENGTH TODAY, WHICH
PROPOSES IN THE JANUARY BUDGET
TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE FUNDING
TO THE STATE COASTAL CONSERVANCY
AND THE OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL
TO ADDRESS SEA LEVEL RISE AND
INCREASE COASTAL PROTECTION AND
OCEAN RESILIENCE. THIS IS A
MAJOR CONCERN TO US, SO TNC
WOULD LIKE THE ASSEMBLY TO
SUPPORT THE SENATE'S EARLY
ACTION BUDGET PLANS WITH
SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO THEIR
APPROACH IN PRESERVING AND
RESTORING THE COASTAL RESILIENCE
PACKAGE, AND MAINTAINING
CRITICAL INVESTMENTS THAT ARE
NEEDED TO PROTECT OUR COASTAL
RESOURCES UP. THANK YOU. ALL
RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON, EDDIE
ROMERO, ON BEHALF OF THE
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL
CONSERVATION CORPS, JUST HERE TO
EXPRESS OUR DEEP GRATITUDE TO
THE LEGISLATURE AND THE
ADMINISTRATION FOR YOUR ONGOING
COMMITMENT TO MAINTAIN CLIMATE
INVESTMENTS THAT SUPPORT YOUNG
PEOPLE'S WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
AS WELL AS OUR CLIMATE
PRIORITIES, PARTICULARLY JUST
WANT TO FLAG, OUR SUPPORT FOR
MAINTAINING THE INVESTMENTS AT
THE C.C.C. FOR THE FORESTRY
CORPS PROGRAM, AS WELL AS, I
THINK, DIRECTOR ECKERLE
MENTIONED, THE INVESTMENTS IN
THE OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL
THAT HAVE ALSO RECENTLY
SUPPORTED UPLIFTING IN OCEAN
CORPS PILOT PROGRAM THAT ARE
INVOLVED. NGUYEN. SO THANK YOU
SO MUCH, THANK YOU FOR BEING
BRIEF. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND
STAFF. NICHOLAS MAZZOTTI, ON
BEHALF OF EAST BAY REGIONAL
PARKS DISTRICT, MIDPENINSULA
REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
LAND TRUST OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY,
SOME OF IRONS FUND SAVE THE
REDWOODS LEAGUE AND THE
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS
FOUNDATION, ALL EXPRESSING
STRONG CONCERN AROUND THE
PROPOSED CUTS TO THE COASTAL
RESILIENCE FUNDING. IN LIGHT OF
THE DISCUSSION OF THE SCC
FUNDING EARLIER TODAY, WE WANTED
TO POINT OUT THAT THESE DOLLARS
WERE ALSO ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
LAST YEAR, LIMITING THE TOTAL
NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT COULD BE
FUNDED THROUGH THE CONSERVANCY,
THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF COASTAL
RESILIENCE PROJECTS THAT THESE
DOLLARS COULD SUPPORT, AS
MENTIONED EARLIER, THESE THESE
ARE HISTORIC INVESTMENTS, BUT WE
HAVE TO ALLOW THE FUNDING TO BE
STABLE IN ORDER TO FLOW. THANK
YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON,
CHAIRMAN BENNETT. PAUL MASON
WITH PACIFIC FOREST TRUST,
THANKS FOR WHOPPER OF A HEARING
TODAY. FIRST IN THE CLIMATE
SECTION OF THE AGENDA TODAY. I
JUST WANT TO FLAG THAT THE
INDICATIONS OF THE AMOUNT OF
FUNDING REMAINING FOR A LOT OF
THOSE PROGRAMS IS PRETTY
MISLEADING, BECAUSE THAT MONEY
IS REALLY ALREADY SPENT OR
OTHERWISE COMMITTED. THERE'S NOT
REALLY $45 MILLION LEFT IN
FOREST LEGACY, FOR EXAMPLE. I
THINK ALL OF THAT REALLY POINTS
TO THE NEED FOR A ROBUST CLIMATE
BOND TO COVER THE FACT THAT
OTHERWISE, THERE'S NO MONEY FOR
THIS STUFF. SECOND, I JUST WANT
TO SPEAK TO THE HOME HARDENING
PROGRAM AND THAT DISCUSSION AND
REALLY HIGHLIGHT THAT. I DON'T
THINK THAT THE PAST PERFORMANCE
OF THAT PROGRAM IS A GOOD
INDICATION OF ITS FUTURE
POTENTIAL. IN PART BECAUSE
THERE'S BEEN SOME REALLY KEY
LEADERSHIP CHANGES THERE THAT
REALLY FREE THINGS UP. GOING
FORWARD. AND LASTLY, ON THE
CONVERSATION ABOUT SORT OF
MONITORING THE OUTCOMES OF OUR,
WILDLAND RESTORATION RESILIENCE
PROJECTS FOR FIRE, THERE HAVE
BEEN THERE'S BEEN PROGRESS ON
DOING SOME MONITORING. WE'RE
STILL NOT AT THE POINT WHERE
WE'RE ASSESSING ALL OF THE
PROJECTS FOR THEIR OUTCOMES. ARE
WE ACTUALLY MAKING A DIFFERENCE?
SO LET'S NOT GET LOST IN THE
DETAILS. BUT WE STILL NEED TO
GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE
ACTUALLY LOOKING AND SEEING, ARE
WE MAKING AN ACTUAL DIFFERENCE
WITH THE MONEY, NOT JUST WHERE
IS IT GOING? THANKS. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. MR. CHAIR, BRIAN RICE
FROM THE CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL
FIREFIGHTERS, AND I WANT TO JUST
SPEAK ON THE 66 HOUR WORKWEEK,
FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANT TO
THANK GOVERNOR NEWSOM FOR
INCLUDING IT IN THE BUDGET, AND
PARTNERING WITH US. I BELIEVE
THAT THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES, TO HIS
PRIORITIES IN THIS BUDGET AND
HIS TENURE AS OUR GOVERNOR,
CERTAINLY REFLECTS THAT IN
WILDFIRE MITIGATION AND
PREVENTION. AND NOW IS THE TIME
TO MODERNIZE THE WORKFORCE,
ASSEMBLY MEMBER, AS A CHAIR, I
WANT TO THANK YOU AND THE ENTIRE
LEGISLATURE FOR, UNDERSTANDING
WHY WE'RE HERE AND WHAT WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT, AND THAT
MODERNIZING, CAL FIRE'S WORKWEEK
FROM 72 TO THE 66 AND ULTIMATELY
THE 56, IS A LONG TIME COMING.
WE'VE BEEN AT THIS WORK SCHEDULE
SINCE 1977. ALL OF OUR MUNICIPAL
PARTNERS WORK 56 HOURS. AND THE
ONE THING THAT I KNOW THAT YOU
KNOW, THIS CAL FIRE IS AN ALL
RISK FIRE DEPARTMENT. THEY DO
EVERYTHING. AND WE KNOW THAT
THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE AN EASY
LIFT. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU
AND I WANT TO THANK OUR SENATE
AND I WANT TO THANK ESPECIALLY
CHIEF TYLER AND MAURICE FOR
REALLY UNDERSTANDING THIS AND
CARRYING THE POINT. THANK YOU
SIR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MR.
CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS AARON REED,
REPRESENTING CAL FIRE LOCAL
2881. I IDENTIFY WITH EVERY
SINGLE WORD MENTIONED BY BRIAN
RICE, PRESIDENT OF CPF. AND
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, FOR
YOUR COMMENTS HERE THIS MORNING.
I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH. AND
THANK THE GOVERNOR FOR
UNDERSTANDING HOW STRESSFUL THE
CAL FIRE FIREFIGHTERS HAVE BEEN,
PARTICULARLY THIS LAST DECADE
HAS BEEN UNBELIEVABLE IN TERMS
OF LOSS OF LIVES, LOSS OF
PROPERTY, IT'S BEEN VERY TRAGIC
AND VERY HARD ON THE ON THE
FIREFIGHTER, AS I'VE BEEN DOING
THEIR LEGISLATIVE WORK FOR 45
YEARS, 45 YEARS, WE'VE HAD THIS
60 TO 72 HOUR WORKWEEK AND NOT
BEEN ABLE TO MOVE IT AT ALL,
WE'VE NOT THAT WE HAVEN'T TRIED.
WE HAVE, BUT FINALLY, WE HAVE A
GOVERNOR THAT HAS LISTENED AND
HAD AND HAS AGREED. AND WE
APPRECIATE IT. AGAIN, VERY MUCH,
I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT WE'RE
NOT AGAINST DOING FIRE
PREVENTION WORK. I WANT TO MAKE
SURE THAT'S ON THE RECORD THAT
WE DO THAT, WE LOST 400
POSITIONS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.
400 SEASONED FIREFIGHTERS THAT
WERE TRAINED AT LARGE EXPENSE,
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. FOR ONE
MINUTE. LET ME JUST SAY ONE LAST
THING. THE LAO REPORT DOES NOT
MENTION THE 56 HOUR WORKWEEK.
THANK YOU. WISH IT DID. GOOD
AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND STAFF. RICO
MASTRODONATO WITH THE TRUST FOR
PUBLIC LAND. AND I'M HERE TO
EXPRESS CONCERN OVER THE CUTS TO
THE EXTREME HEAT PROGRAMS.
THAT'S URBAN GREENING, URBAN
FORESTRY AND THE GREEN
SCHOOLYARD PROGRAM. WE ARE NOT
KEEPING UP WITH THE PLANET WHEN
IT COMES TO EXTREME HEAT, AND
THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO
SHIFTING FUNDS TO OTHER YEARS OR
CUTTING PROGRAMS ALTOGETHER.
URBAN GREENING IS CUT BY 70. THE
GREEN SCHOOLYARD PROGRAM, WHICH
WAS WILDLY OVERSUBSCRIBED, IS
OUT OF MONEY COMPLETELY AND,
THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO NOT
FUNDING THESE THINGS THAT ARE
GOING TO HAPPEN
CONTEMPORANEOUSLY THIS YEAR.
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE HARMED BY
EXTREME HEAT AND GOING TO DIE.
AND, WE'RE NOT PREPARED FOR
THAT. AND LASTLY, IF THERE IS
ANY ISSUE THAT, DEMONSTRATES THE
INEQUITABLE DISREGARD
DISTRIBUTION OF, OF PROTECTION
TO CLIMATE, IT'S URBAN GREENING
AND URBAN FORESTRY. IF YOU LIVE
IN A HIGH INCOME, HIGH HOUSEHOLD
INCOME NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU HAVE
LESS TO WORRY ABOUT THAN PLACES
THAT ARE LOW INCOME AND THAT IS
NOT FAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TESTIMONY.
GOOD AFTERNOON, KIM DELFINO,
REPRESENTING DEFENDERS OF
WILDLIFE, AUDUBON CALIFORNIA,
CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY,
SIERRA FUND, SIERRA INSTITUTE,
SIERRA FOREST, LEGACY, SONOMA
LAND TRUST, AND MOJAVE DESERT
LAND TRUST, I JUST WANT TO ALIGN
OUR COMMENTS WITH THOSE MADE BY
BOTH THE NATURE CONSERVANCY AND,
PACIFIC FOREST TRUST. TO ANSWER
YOUR QUESTION, ABOUT 30 BY 30
AND FOREST LEGACY. YES, THOSE DO
COUNT FOR 30 BY 30, DON'T CUT
BENEFICIAL FIRE. DON'T CUT THE
5.7 MILLION FOR THE MONITORING
AS ALREADY DESCRIBED. AND
FINALLY, ON ISSUE FOUR, WE HAVE
A VERY SERIOUS, SONOMA LAND
TRUST IS A VERY SPECIFIC ISSUE
WITH RESPECT TO THE SONOMA FIRE
PROJECT. WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE
CRITERIA ENTER, IN, PUT IN TO
MAINTAIN THE WILDLIFE CORRIDOR
THAT IS, RIGHT SMACK, ALONG THE
WHERE THEY'RE PROPOSING TO PUT
THEIR PROJECT, WE CAN FOLLOW
MORE UP WITH YOUR OFFICE AND
WITH CHRISTINE, BUT THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. GOOD
AFTERNOON, CHAIR BENNETT. NICOLE
MOLINA, ON BEHALF OF THE
CALIFORNIA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION,
CAL FOREST SUPPORTS
CONSIDERATION CONTINUING WITH
FUNDING FOR POST-FIRE RECOVERY,
WHICH IS NOT REFLECTED IN THE
CURRENT GOVERNOR'S BUDGET
PROPOSAL. THE FUNDING IS
NECESSARY GIVEN THE MAGNITUDE OF
IMPACTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED TO
FORESTED LANDSCAPES ACROSS THE
STATE FROM EXTREME WILDFIRES.
CAL FOREST UNDERSTANDS THERE ARE
CHALLENGING DECISIONS THAT THAT
HAVE TO BE MADE AS IT RELATES TO
BUDGET CONSTRAINTS, BUT
INVESTMENTS IN ESTABLISHING
THRIVING FORESTS IS A CRITICAL
NEED OF THE STATE FOR WATER
WILDFIRE HABITAT, AIR QUALITY
AND ECONOMIC VITALITY. CAL
FOREST IS ALSO IN STRONG SUPPORT
OF FUNDING THE CAL FIRE SIX SIX
HOUR WORK WEEK INITIATIVE.
WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS ARE
DEDICATED AND COURAGEOUS PEOPLE
THAT HAVE DEDICATED THEIR
CAREERS AND LIVES TO
SAFEGUARDING COMMUNITIES AND
NATURAL RESOURCES. FUNDING. THIS
INITIATIVE WILL NOT ONLY ASSIST
OUR FIREFIGHTERS PHYSICAL AND
MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS, BUT ALSO
MAINTAIN THE AGGRESSIVE
FIREFIGHTING CAPACITY THAT CAL
FIRE IS KNOWN AND RESPECTED FOR.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD
AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS MORGAN
SNYDER AND I'M A VOLUNTEER FOR
THE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION. I'M
HERE TODAY TO EXPRESS THE
IMPORTANCE OF OUR COASTLINES AND
CALL UPON YOU TO RESTORE, THE
COASTAL RESILIENCE BUDGET. OUR
COASTAL AND SLAMMED BY CLIMATE
RELATED STORMS FOR TWO YEARS IN
A ROW NOW RESULTING IN FLOODING
FOR COMMUNITIES AND ROADS. AND
FURTHERMORE, OUR BEACHES, BLUFFS
AND SENSITIVE HABITATS ARE IN
JEOPARDY FROM THE INTENSE
WEATHER PATTERNS. AND THEN SEA
LEVEL RISE IS ANOTHER
ENCROACHING THREAT. SO OUR
COASTS ARE FACING A NUMBER OF,
CHALLENGES. AND AMIDST ALL OF
THIS, THE COASTAL RESILIENCE
BUDGET IS GETTING THE LARGEST
CUT, WAY MORE THAN ANY OTHER
CLIMATE PACKAGE IN THE
GOVERNOR'S BUDGET. WE
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT BUDGET CUTS ARE
PART OF THE GOVERNANCE, BUT WE
CAN'T COMPREHEND THIS LOGIC.
SURFRIDER IMPLORES THE
LEGISLATURE TO BRING BACK SOME
OF THIS FUNDING, SPECIFICALLY
FOR CLASSES OF PROJECTS.
PROJECTS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR
FEDERAL MATCHING FUNDS, PROJECTS
THAT HAVE STARTED BUT ARE NOT
YET COMPLETE, PROJECTS THAT
CENTER ON EQUITY AND JUSTICE
PRIORITIES, AND NATURE BASED
MULTI-BENEFIT PROJECTS WE
UNDERSTAND THE DIRE BUDGET
SITUATION, BUT THESE ARE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE STATE TO
SAVE MONEY AND SUPPORT OUR
BEACHES, WHICH ARE FREE PUBLIC
SPACES FOR EVERYONE AND WHICH
ARE FOUNDATIONAL TO CALIFORNIA'S
ECONOMY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
HI. GOOD AFTERNOON, TASHA
NEWMAN. ON BEHALF OF THE
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF
RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
AND ON BEHALF OF THE CALIFORNIA
COUNCIL OF LAND TRUSTS, WE'D
LIKE TO ECHO THE COMMENTS MADE
BY TNC AND OTHERS ABOUT THE
COASTAL RESILIENCE FUNDING. WE
WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT FUNDING
MAINTAINED AT THE COASTAL
CONSERVANCY, WE WOULD ALSO LIKE
TO, ECHO, PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR
THE REGIONAL FOREST AND FIRE
CAPACITY PROGRAM. THE PROPOSED
SHIFT FROM, FROM GENERAL FUND TO
GRF, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT
HAPPEN. WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS
A VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAM FOR THE
STATE, AND THAT IT SHOULD BE
FULLY FUNDED. THANK YOU. THANK
YOU. MICHAEL. JARED. GOOD
AFTERNOON. ON BEHALF OF CLIMATE
RESOLVE, I'M SPEAKING ON OPRAH'S
EXTREME HEAT AND COMMUNITY
RESILIENCE PROGRAM, EXTREME HEAT
IS THE MOST DEADLY CLIMATE
IMPACT. IT OVERWHELMINGLY
AFFECTS DISADVANTAGED
COMMUNITIES, WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO
SEE THAT THE PROGRAM IS GOING TO
FINALLY START MAKING AWARDS AND
THAT IT'S VERY OVERSUBSCRIBED.
WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL REJECT THE
$40 MILLION GENERAL FUND, CUT TO
THAT PROGRAM AND ALLOW IT TO
CONTINUE MAKING AWARDS, BECAUSE
THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN
HOLISTIC COMMUNITY COOLING
SOLUTIONS THAT GET REALLY LOWER
THE TEMPERATURES IN OUR
COMMUNITY AND HELP DISADVANTAGED
COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR
TIME. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON.
I AM MURAKAMI WITH THE
GREENLINING INSTITUTE HERE TO
SPEAK ON ISSUE TWO AND RESTORING
FUNDING ON TWO CRITICAL CLIMATE
EQUITY PROGRAMS, THE REGIONAL
CLIMATE COLLABORATIVE AND
TRANSFORMATIVE CLIMATE
COMMUNITIES. THE RCC PROGRAM IS
CRITICAL FOR COMMUNITIES, AND
PEOPLE ARE HIGHLY INVESTED. IN
STOCKTON, WE IDENTIFIED CAPACITY
BUILDING AND PARTNERSHIPS ARE
NEEDED TO BE PREPARED FOR STATE
AND FEDERAL CLIMATE FUNDING.
OVER 400 INDIVIDUALS ENGAGED IN
ITS GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT, AND
THE PROGRAM IS OVERSUBSCRIBED BY
8 TO 10 TIMES. OVER 270
ORGANIZATIONS ALREADY SPENT TIME
AND ENERGY APPLYING TO THE 10
MILLION THAT WAS CUT IN THE
JANUARY BUDGET. THOSE AWARDS
WOULD HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED IN
FEBRUARY. MOREOVER, SB 1072
STATES THAT THE RCC PROGRAM MUST
ESTABLISH COLLABORATIVES A
MINIMUM OF TWO TIMES. THE
JANUARY CUT WAS FOR THE SECOND
ROUND OF FUNDING. WE URGE YOU TO
FULLY RESTORE THE 10 MILLION
THAT COMMUNITIES WERE COUNTING
ON AND MEET THE REQUIREMENTS IN
STATUTE FOR THE RCC PROGRAM. WE
ALSO URGE YOU TO RESTORE AS MUCH
AS POSSIBLE FROM THE 200 MILLION
THAT WAS CUT FROM THE TCC
PROGRAM. WE URGE FUNDING FOR TCC
TO COME FROM THE GREENHOUSE GAS
REDUCTION FUND, ITS ORIGINAL
FUNDING SOURCE, TCC PLANNING AND
IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS IN
STOCKTON FUNDED COMMUNITY
PROJECTS AND CATALYZED
ADDITIONAL PROJECTS THROUGH AB
607. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK
YOU. HELLO, MY NAME IS KATE
KENNEDY. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF
PROGRAMS WITH CLIMATE RESILIENT
COMMUNITIES. WE ARE A COMMUNITY
BASED ORGANIZATION WORKING IN
THE REDLINED COMMUNITIES OF EAST
PALO ALTO, BELHAVEN AND NORTH
FAIR OAKS. I'M SPEAKING TODAY TO
ENCOURAGE FUNDING AND RESTORING
FUNDING FOR THE REGIONAL CLIMATE
COLLABORATIVES PROGRAM UNDER OPA
. WE WILL NOT REACH OUR STATE
CLIMATE GOALS WITHOUT CENTERING
FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES,
COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND LOW
INCOME COMMUNITIES. THE STATE
HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THIS AND ASKED
THAT CBOS LIKE OURS PARTICIPATE
IN STATE FUNDED PROGRAMS BECAUSE
WE HAVE THE COMMUNITY TRUST THAT
IS HARD WON AND EASILY LOST. THE
RCC PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED TO
HELP CBOS GET TO THE TABLE AND
ELEVATE THE VOICES OF FRONTLINE
COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND ALLOW US
TO PURSUE FEDERAL SOURCES OF
FUNDS TO CREATE THE
TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE FOR OUR
RESIDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY
FEELING THE DIRECT CONSEQUENCES
OF CLIMATE CHANGE, LIKE EXTREME
HEAT AND AIR QUALITY FOR OUR
COMMUNITIES. IT'S A MATTER OF
HEALTH, AND EACH DAY OF DELAY IS
A DENIAL OF JUSTICE. PLEASE
RESTORE THE FUNDING. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON.
CHAIR. MY NAME IS RICARDO
MENDOZA AND I'M WITH COALITION
FOR RESPONSIBLE COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT. OTHERWISE KNOWN AS
KRCD. WE'RE A COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION BASED IN SOUTH LOS
ANGELES. AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK
ON BEHALF OF THE 100 PLUS
ORGANIZATIONS THAT THE REGIONAL
CLIMATE COMMUNITIES GRANT WOULD
HAVE SUPPORTED AND FURTHER
BUILDING CAPACITY, ALLOWING THEM
TO FURTHER PURSUE FEDERAL, STATE
AND LOCAL AND PHILANTHROPIC
DOLLARS. THE PROPOSED CUTS BY
THE GOVERNOR IN THE JANUARY
BUDGET TO RCC AND OTHER CLIMATE
PROGRAMS SETS BACK THE MOMENTUM
THAT HAS BEEN SLOWLY GAINED BY
UNDERSERVED AND UNDER-INVESTED
COMMUNITIES SUCH AS OURS AND THE
MANY, THE MANY THAT YOU'LL HEAR
ABOUT TODAY. THE STRATEGIC
GROWTH COUNCIL WAS GETTING
PREPARED TO ANNOUNCE THE
PROPOSED GRANT AWARDEES THIS
MONTH. AS THE JANUARY BUDGET
CUT, THIS CRITICALLY NEEDED
FUNDING FOR CAPACITY BUILDING IS
A RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE,
INEXPENSIVE FOR THE STATE TO
INVEST IN AND THEREFORE IS A
STRONG CLIMATE EQUITY INVESTMENT
TO MAKE DURING DEFICIT YEARS.
BECAUSE OF ITS LOW COST AND
INVESTING IN CAPACITY BUILDING.
NOW THANK YOU VERY HELPS TO SET
COMMUNITIES TAXES FOR FUTURE
FUNDING. THANK YOU. GOOD
AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS KENT
ESTRADA. DALI ALSO WITH THE
COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CRC IN
SOUTH L.A. KRCD HAS SERVED THE
SOUTH LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY
SINCE 2005. IN HISTORICALLY
UNDER-RESOURCED AREAS THAT ARE
MOST IN NEED OF THE CLIMATE
RESILIENCY INVESTMENTS, THE
REGIONAL CLIMATE COLLABORATIVES
INITIATIVE IS DESIGNED TO
SUPPORT. WE'RE THE LEAD
APPLICANT ON A RCC APPLICATION,
WHICH WOULD SUPPORT CAPACITY
BUILDING, RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT
AND COALITION BUILDING EFFORTS.
WITH OVER 100 COMMUNITY BASED
ORGANIZATIONS AND THOUSANDS OF
RESIDENTS, AND ALLOW US TO
COLLECTIVELY COMPETE FOR AND
SECURE ESSENTIAL CLIMATE AND
INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED
INVESTMENTS FOR COMMUNITIES THAT
HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY
OVERLOOKED. THE PROPOSED BUDGET
CUTS OF 10 MILLION FOR THE RCC
PROGRAM SET BACK, MOMENTUM, AND
OVER 270 ORGANIZATIONS SPENT
VALUABLE TIME AND ENERGY ON RCC
APPLICATIONS. WE URGE YOU TO
RESTORE THE FULL 10 MILLION SO
THESE ORGANIZATIONS CAN MOVE
FORWARD WITH THIS IMPORTANT
WORK. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. HI. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY
NAME IS AMY WONG, PROGRAM
DIRECTOR WITH ACTIVE SAN GABRIEL
VALLEY. AND WE URGE YOU TO
RESTORE $10 MILLION BACK INTO
THE RCC PROGRAM. AND AS MUCH OF
THE $200 MILLION THAT WAS CUT
FROM THE TCC PROGRAM AS A LOCAL
NONPROFIT IN LA COUNTY, WE
APPLIED TO BOTH RCC AND TCC
GRANTS LAST YEAR IN HOPES OF
MEANINGFUL, MEANINGFULLY
ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITIES OF
COLOR TO PRIORITIZE PROJECTS TO
ADVANCE CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN
OUR REGION. WE DEDICATED
SUBSTANTIAL TIME AND ENERGY INTO
THESE APPLICATIONS, ONLY TO FIND
OUT WE WERE NOT AWARDED FOR TCC
AND RCC AWARDS ARE PENDING.
WITHOUT THIS FUNDING, OUR MOST
VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR
WILL BE LEFT BEHIND IN THE FIGHT
AGAINST THE CLIMATE CRISIS. OUR
COMMUNITIES DESERVE CLEAN AIR
AND WATER, AFFORDABLE HOUSING,
QUALITY JOBS, ACCESS TO PARKS
AND OPEN SPACES, AND SAFER
STREETS. PLEASE RESTORE FUNDING
FOR RCC AND TCC BECAUSE OUR
COMMUNITIES DESERVE IT. THANK
YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD
AFTERNOON, CHAIR BENNETT. MY
NAME IS DALE ZAPATA WITH ACTIVE
SGV. COMMENTING ON ISSUE TWO, WE
I AM URGING THE COMMITTEE TO
RESTORE FUNDING TO TCC AND RCC,
PARTICULARLY CONSIDERING THE
EXTENSIVE APPLICATION PROCESS
FOR CBOS AND THE DISRUPTION AND
THE DISRUPTION THE CUTS CAUSED
TO VITAL WORK NECESSARY TO
MITIGATE EFFECTS OF EXTREME
WEATHER, WHETHER IN LOS ANGELES
COUNTY, THE CUTS STALL MOMENTUM,
DELAYING BENEFITS THESE PROGRAMS
CAN BRING TO INCREASINGLY
VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. IN SOME
CASES, PROJECTS MAY BECOME MORE
EXPENSIVE OR LESS FEASIBLE TO
START THE REDUCTION ALSO SENDS A
DISHEARTENING MESSAGE TO
COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE READY
TO PARTICIPATE, AND WHOSE
INVESTMENT OF TIME AND TRUST IN
THE PLANNING IS INVALUABLE.
SETBACKS LIKE FUNDING CUTS, CAN
UNDERMINE THEIR FAITH IN THE
POSSIBILITY OF POSITIVE CHANGE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
HELLO CHAIR BENNETT AND STAFF.
MY NAME IS ESTHER TAM AND I'M A
PROGRAM COORDINATOR AT ASIAN
PACIFIC ISLANDER FORWARD
MOVEMENT IN LA COUNTY. I'M HERE
TO SPEAK ABOUT ISSUE TWO, THE
RCC PROGRAM. WE ARE VERY
DISAPPOINTED TO SEE $10 MILLION
CUT FROM THE RCC PROGRAM IN THE
JANUARY BUDGET. ÁP FM APPLIED TO
RCC TO FUND OUR SCHOOL GREENING
WORK AT FREMONT ELEMENTARY IN
ALHAMBRA. THIS SCHOOL IS RIGHT
NEXT TO THE I-10 FREEWAY AND A
MAJOR STREET. IT'S ALSO
PRIMARILY ASPHALT WITH MINIMAL
GREENING. THIS RESULTS IN AWFUL
AIR QUALITY FOR GROWING
CHILDREN, PLUS HEAT STROKE
DURING THE SUMMER. HOWEVER, DUE
TO THE BUDGET CUT, WE WERE NOT
SELECTED FOR THIS GRANT, WHICH
HAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED OUR
CAPACITY TO PLAN AND IMPLEMENT
THIS PROJECT AS OUR RESOURCES
WERE SPREAD TOO THIN, WE THEN
HAD TO INVEST MORE RESOURCES
INTO PIECEMEALING A BUNCH OF
SMALL GRANTS JUST TO COVER SOME
WORK INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY DOING
THE WORK ITSELF. HAD WE HAD MORE
FUNDING IN THE FIRST PLACE, WE
COULD HAVE ACHIEVED MORE SOONER
SO THAT WE COULD BE HELPING THE
COMMUNITY NOW, ONCE AGAIN, WE
ARE GREATLY DISAPPOINTED BY THE
IMPACT THE BUDGET CUT HAS CAUSED
US, AND WE HOPE YOU'LL TAKE OUR
OPINIONS INTO CONSIDERATION.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD
AFTERNOON, MR. CHAIR. MY NAME IS
CLANCY TAYLOR. I'M WITH THE
CALIFORNIA COALITION FOR RURAL
HOUSING, AND I'M A TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS MANAGER. I
WAS A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
PROVIDER FOR THE REGIONAL
CLIMATE COLLABORATIVES PROGRAM,
ISSUE TWO. REALLY QUICK, I'M
GOING TO INTERRUPT YOU FOR ONE
SECOND. I JUST WANT TO THANK ALL
THE PEOPLE FROM THE ORGANIZATION
THAT CAME TO SPEAK ABOUT WHAT'S
GOING ON IN LOS ANGELES. SORRY
TO. EXCELLENT. NO PROBLEM. OUT.
I DIDN'T WANT TO MISS IT. YEP.
SO WITH THIS PROGRAM, IT TAKES
YEARS OF WORK TO BUILD TRUST IN
THESE COMMUNITIES BECAUSE THESE
ARE OUR CALIFORNIA'S
DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES. I
PRIMARILY WORK WITH RURAL,
TRIBAL AND FARMWORKER
COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE
STATE. AND HONESTLY, THIS RCC
PROGRAM WAS WITH HAD PROGRAMS IN
EVERY SUBCOMMITTEES DISTRICTS AS
WELL. SO MY POINT HERE IS IT IS
A WORST PRACTICE TO REMOVE
FUNDING IN THE MIDDLE OF A
FUNDING CYCLE. WHAT WE DID HERE
IS WE HAD APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED
AND THEN WE REMOVE FUNDING AWAY.
SO NOW THESE DISADVANTAGED
COMMUNITIES, THEY WERE ALREADY
BEHIND THE LINE IN COMPETING FOR
THESE INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS.
AND NOW WE ARE EVEN FURTHER
BEHIND THE LINE POTENTIALLY
DECADES. SO IN THESE
METHODOLOGIES OF CUTS, I IMPLORE
YOU TO REALLY LOOK AT IF WE HAVE
NO PHASEOUT, LET'S CONSIDER THE
METHODOLOGY BEHIND THESE CUTS,
BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND WE WILL
HAVE TO DO CUTS, BUT LET'S
CONSIDER METHODOLOGY. THANK YOU
FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. LAST
BUT NOT LEAST, MAYBE THE BEST
FOR LAST. JUST KIDDING. GOOD.
GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS FARAH
ZAMANI. I'M FROM HALF MOON BAY,
CALIFORNIA AND I'M ALSO A
VOLUNTEER WITH SURFRIDER
FOUNDATION AND, JUST TO KEEP IT
VERY SWEET AND SIMPLE, LIVING IN
HALF MOON BAY, YOU SEE THE
EFFECTS OF OUR SEA LEVEL RISING
AND JUST CLIMATE CHANGE IN
GENERAL. YOU SEE THE EFFECTS ALL
ALONG THE COAST FIRSTHAND. AND
I'M HERE TO IMPLORE YOU AND TO
URGE YOU, IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO
PUT, PUT OUR MONEY IN PROTECTING
OUR COASTS RESILIENCY PROGRAMS,
NOT ONLY DOES IT AFFECT THE
LOCAL COMMUNITIES ALONG THE
COAST, BUT FOR ALL CALIFORNIANS
TO ENJOY THE BEAUTY THAT IS
CALIFORNIA AND JUST TO KEEP OUR
STATE BEAUTIFUL. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND WITH
THAT, OUR MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU. EVERYBODY I'M
INTERESTED IN