Sen. Dodd’s Wildfire Safety Bills Move Ahead

SACRAMENTO – A pack of wildfire safety bills from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that will help California prevent and respond to the growing wildfire threat cleared the final policy committees today.

“Getting a handle on the destructive fires we’ve seen across our state over the past few years is an absolute priority,” Sen. Dodd said. “We can’t sit back and let our state burn. These bills take an important step toward helping victims, preventing new fires and ensuring our state has the continued resources to respond. I thank my fellow legislators for their support.”

The following bills were voted out of committee and moved a step closer to clearing the Legislature:

Senate Bill 167 would require electric utilities to reduce the impact of power line de-energization for Californians who rely on life-support equipment.  

SB 209 would establish the California Wildfire Warning Center, a statewide network of automated weather and environmental monitoring stations conducting fire-weather forecasting and threat assessment to aid in wildfire prevention and response.

SB 240 would eliminate the confusion and delays caused by uninformed, out-of-state or multiple insurance adjusters by requiring the state Department of Insurance to produce information on the most significant state insurance laws related to disasters and set training standards for agents handling catastrophic events. It also mandates that insurers provide a single point of contact for customers to make processing claims easier.

SB 290 would authorize the governor, insurance commissioner, and treasurer to enter into an insurance policy that pays out when California has unexpected disaster costs.

“California must respond to the increased wildfire threat and Sen. Dodd’s legislation is a big step toward making our state more safe,” said Stephen Akre, chief of the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority.

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Senator Bill Dodd represents California’s 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Yolo, Sacramento, and Contra Costa counties. You can learn more about Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.