SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) introduced six pieces of legislation at the nexus of wildfire resilience, housing affordability, and community resiliency. Together these bills advance Bennett’s 7-Step Framework to reduce fire losses.
“For years, we have worked on cultivating an enhanced sense of urgency in how Sacramento discusses wildfire prevention in the built environment,” said Asm. Bennett. “We remain committed to pursuing and supporting proven methods that reduce loss of life and property and give our communities greater chances in surviving fast-moving blazes. I’m proud to author a bill package that focuses on community resilience and is informed by firsthand experience of AD-38 residents following the Mountain and Thomas fires.”
AB 1934 requires the State Fire Marshal’s Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee to develop a home hardening certification program. This bill is co-authored with Asm. Harabedian, who represents the community of Altadena.
“I’m proud to serve as Principal Coauthor for AB 1934. As the state representative for Altadena, we are always thinking about how we recover and heal from the Eaton Fire. This bill gives homeowners guidance on how to rebuild and how insurance companies will recognize our collective efforts to increase resiliency,” said Assemblymember Harabedian
AB 1960 incentivizes homeowners and communities to harden by providing prioritizing grant opportunities for wildfire prevention grants for communities where at least 50% of the homes have earned home hardened certification.
“AB 1960 aligns state policy with our longstanding commitment to community-scale wildfire resilience. California homeowners are stepping up not just to protect their own homes, but to strengthen the safety of their entire neighborhoods, and it is critical that we make hardening homes both encouraged and accessible. The science is clear: as more homes in a neighborhood are hardened, community-wide protection increases exponentially,” said Ventura County Fire Safe Council Board President Andy Ortega and Executive Director Stephen Watson.
AB 1964 bridges a knowledge gap by requiring a survey of homes in fire risk areas that still need to be hardened and the general degree of hardening steps that remain in the State.
“Assemblymember Bennett is at the forefront of an emerging movement to confront megafire crisis where it hits hardest—our homes and communities. His legislative package elevates preparedness at the household and neighborhood level. AB 1964 brings clarity to the scale of the challenge and helps align state strategy and resources with real, verified risk,” said Megafire Action California Director Eric Horne.
AB 1971 further incentivizes home hardening by exempting such upgrades from increased property tax reassessments.
AB 1986 would show homeowners two prices when inquiring for property insurance premiums: 1) for the property as is, and 2) if the homeowner voluntarily got state certification that their home was fully hardened.
AB 2103 would require water suppliers serving fire hazard zones to establish emergency preparedness plans for emergencies that pose a threat to providing water service.
“This package makes preparedness a priority, using insurance incentives, tax relief, and community-wide hardening to drive action. It’s a practical shift toward aligning markets, policy, and people around reducing wildfire risk,” said Horne.
Assemblymember Bennett will present his bills in a wildfire prevention legislative package press conference in partnership with Megafire Action, Assembly, and Senate colleagues scheduled for Wednesday, March 4 at 1:00 PM in Sacramento. Fact sheets are available to view and download at this Google Drive folder.
— Steve Bennett represents the 38th Assembly District, which includes Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, and Ventura. He is chair of the Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on Climate Change, Natural Resources, and Transportation.