California legislation · 2025-2026 Regular Session
California AB706: Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation (FOREST) and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act.
Status: Chaptered, September 30, 2026
What the bill says
An act to amend Sections 4629.6 and 4629.8 of, and to add Article 12 (commencing with Section 4773) to Chapter 10 of Part 2 of Division 4 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to forestry. forestry Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation (FOREST) and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act. Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL-FIRE) and makes CAL-FIRE responsible for, among other things, fire protection and prevention, as provided…
From the chaptered text, September 30, 2026:
An act to amend Sections 4629.6 and 4629.8 of, and to add Article 12 (commencing with Section 4773) to Chapter 10 of Part 2 of Division 4 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to forestry. forestry Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation (FOREST) and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act. Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL-FIRE) and makes CAL-FIRE responsible for, among other things, fire protection and prevention, as provided. Existing law establishes the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection in CAL-FIRE to represent the state’s interest in the acquisition and management of state forests and requires the board to maintain an adequate forest policy. Former Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., issued a proclamation of a state of emergency on October 30, 2015, that required CAL-FIRE, the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), among other things, to identify areas of the state that represent high hazard zones for wildfire and falling trees, known as Tier 1 and Tier 2 high hazard zones. Existing law creates the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund (Timber Fund) in the State Treasury and imposes an assessment on the purchase of a lumber product or an engineered wood product for storage, use, or …