SB 90: Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024: grants: improvements to public evacuation routes: mobile rigid water storage: electrical generators.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. The act makes $135,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Office of Emergency Services for a wildfire mitigation grant program to provide, among other things, loans, direct assistance, and matching funds for projects that prevent wildfires, increase resilience, maintain existing wildfire risk reduction projects, reduce the risk of wildfires to communities, or increase home or community hardening. The act provides that eligible projects include, but are not limited to, grants to local agencies, state agencies, joint powers authorities, tribes, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and nonprofit organizations for structure hardening of critical community infrastructure, wildfire smoke mitigation, evacuation centers, including community clean air centers, structure hardening projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities, water delivery system improvements for fire suppression purposes for communities in very high or high fire hazard areas, wildfire buffers, and incentives to remove structures that significantly increase hazard risk.

This bill would include in the list of eligible projects grants to the above-mentioned entities for improvements to public evacuation routes in very high and high fire hazard severity zones, mobile rigid dip tanks, as defined, to support firefighting efforts, prepositioned mobile rigid water storage, as defined, and improvements to the response and effectiveness of fire engines and helicopters. The bill would also include grants, in coordination with the Public Utilities Commission, to local agencies, state agencies, special districts, joint powers authorities, tribes, and nonprofit organizations for backup electrical generators for water reservoirs.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Republican 11

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. February 2, 2026Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
2. May 23, 2025May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
3. May 16, 2025Set for hearing May 23.
4. May 5, 2025May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
5. April 25, 2025Set for hearing May 5.
6. April 23, 2025From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 838.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
7. April 4, 2025Set for hearing April 22.
8. March 12, 2025Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
9. March 11, 2025From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on N.R. & W. (Ayes 13. Noes 0. Page 352.) (March 11).
10. February 26, 2025From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on G.O.
11. February 25, 2025Set for hearing March 11.
12. January 29, 2025Referred to Coms. on G.O. and N.R. & W.