SB 326 would have required “the Office of the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to prepare, and regularly update, a Wildfire Risk Mitigation Planning Framework (Framework), a Wildfire Risk Baseline and Forecast (Forecast), and a Wildfire Mitigation Scenarios Report (Report).” It also would have required “the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to provide local assistance to local governments to achieve wildfire risk reduction to achieve wildfire risk reduction consistent with the aforementioned plans” and to comply with “ember-resistant zone (known as zone zero) regulations.”
It would have required expenditures estimated in the tens of millions of dollars annually — to save, potentially, hundreds of billions of dollars in damage caused by wildfires. It passed both houses of the state legislature unanimously.
But Newsom vetoed the bill, citing the cost, claiming that it would disrupt his balanced budget for the state:
The requirements of this bill would trigger substantial, ongoing costs that are not accounted for in the budget. In partnership with the Legislature this year, my Administration has enacted a balanced budget that recognizes the challenging fiscal landscape our state faces while maintaining our commitment to working families and our most vulnerable communities. With significant fiscal pressures and the federal government’s hostile economic policies, it is vital that we remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications that are not included in the budget, such as this measure.
In reality, the state had a $12 billion deficit. Despite that fact, Newsom is spending an estimated $250 million on Proposition 50, his proposal to set aside the congressional districts drawn by the state’s constitutionally-mandated independent redistricting commission, and to approve gerrymandered districts drawn behind closed doors by Democrats to eliminate up to five of the existing nine Republican seats from California.
Many residents, notably reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the Palisades Fire, were outraged:
The issue received virtually no coverage in local media. The “zone zero” regulations are controversial because they require homeowners to remove certain kinds of vegetation and to clear space within a certain distance of their homes. But that was not the reason Newsom vetoed the bill.
SB 326 now goes back to the legislature for a possible override, but California legislators rarely attempt to override a veto, even when they have the votes.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You, now available on Amazon. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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