YOUR DUES DOLLARS AT WORK LAWMAKERS ANNOUNCE MORE THAN $600 MILLION IN “EARLY ACTION” WILDFIRE FUNDING by CCA Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur Touring a fire break outside Shaver Lake near the site of 2020’s Creek Fire, Governor Gavin Newsom on April 8 announced an agreement between the Administration and Legislative leadership to appropriate $536 million in “early action” funding for wildfire prevention. “Early Action” denotes that the funds are an augmentation to the current fiscal year (2020-21) budget, meaning that the funds will be available well in advance of 2021-22 Budget, which must be finalized by June 15. The announcement came just over one week after Governor Newsom announced $80.74 million in emergency funding for fire fuels management and wildfire response efforts. That funding was drawn from the Emergency Fund, and will support the hiring of 1,399 additional firefighters, including “early hiring and training of fire crews for fuels management.” The two actions represent just over $616 million in early action funding for wildfire resilience. The April 8 announcement of $536 million in early action funding reflects a negotiated agreement between Governor Newsom, Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood). That agreement augments by more than $200 million the $323 million proposed for early action funding in Governor Newsom’s initial Proposed Budget, released January 8. As of press time neither the Legislature nor the Governor had formally acted on the proposal, but at the April 8 press event Governor Newsom suggested that the Legislature would likely sign the budget bills implementing the early action funding – Assembly Bill 79 and Senate Bill 85 – as early as April 12, with the Governor’s signature to follow the next day. The early action funding includes $198 million for funding wildfire fuel breaks, $283 million for forest health and resilient wildlands and $27 million for home and community hardening, among other funding. $411 million of the early action funding will be drawn from the General Fund, with the remaining $125 appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The move by State lawmakers will allow land managers to immediately begin working to conduct prescribed burns and clear defensible space ahead of what is likely to be another active wildfire season, rather than waiting to fund action until the start of the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1. “With California facing another extremely dry year, it is critical that we get a head start on reducing our fire risk,” said Newsom, Atkins and Rendon in a joint statement. Speaking at the press event announcing the agreement, Newsom added that “fire season’s already started,” underscoring the need to immediately fund wildfire resilience efforts. 18 California Cattleman May 2021
The funding deal is a major victory for CCA, which has advocated for early action funding as part of a diverse stakeholder group informally dubbed the “Resilient Forests Coalition.” Since early November of 2020, CCA and the Resilient Forests Coalition have been advocating for at least $500 million in early action wildfire resilience funding, including at least $50 million earmarked “to expand the use of prescribed fire to be much more proactive about burning under conditions of our choosing, rather than wildfires burning largely on the hottest, driest, and windiest days of the year.” While the State’s early April funding agreement came three months later than the January 2021 goal set by the Resilient Forests Coalition – and after repeated nudging by CCA and like-minded organizations – the funding levels approved by lawmakers exceed those recommended by Coalition members. The Resilient Forest Coalition was quick to hail the announcement, releasing a statement declaring that “We are thrilled that Governor Newsom and the Legislature are making this historic investment in forest and wildfire resilience. Over half a billion dollars in the current fiscal year is an unprecedented commitment to preparing for wildfire, more than double any prior year’s proactive investment.” In a separate statement issued on social media, CCA added: “With these funds, the Governor and the Legislature will make California more fire resilient by bolstering early action to prevent wildfires. To be clear, this is only the beginning. More work needs to be completed to correct the mismanagement of our landscapes over the last 100 years.” CCA will continue to advocate for significant investments in wildfire resilience in the 2021-22 Budget. The Governor has proposed another $677 million in wildfire prevention funds for the next fiscal year, but that figure is subject to change this month with the release of the “May Revise” and as negotiations with the Legislature continue ahead of the June 15 Constitutional deadline to finalize the State’s Budget. And, of course, CCA continues to advocate for significant improvements to California policy to improve the state’s wildfire resilience. CCA-sponsored AB 434 (R. Rivas) seeks to facilitate more expansive grazing on state-owned lands for fire fuels suppression. CCA-sponsored AB 1103 (Dahle) would facilitate county Ag Pass programs to give ranchers access to their livestock during emergency events such as wildfires. And CCA-sponsored SB 332 (Dodd) would incentivize greater application of prescribed fire by minimizing liability risks for state-certified burn bosses. CCA will continue to keep you apprised of any budgetary and policy developments impacting the State’s wildfire resilience.
