Disasters

Disaster Relief Legislation

Disaster Relief Legislation

Go to Index

SB 39* (Benoit-R) Personal liability immunity: disaster service workers
Revises existing immunity protections for disaster service workers who perform disaster services during a state of emergency to clarify that such workers are not liable for civil damages resulting from an act or omission while performing disaster services anywhere within the jurisdiction covered by the emergency other than an act or omission that is willful.
Chapter 27, Statutes of 2009

SB 305 (Corbett-D) School facilities: construction: seismic mitigation
Requires the Office of the State Architect, within its existing resources, to update the seismic safety inventory of school buildings and related report to more accurately identify building deficiencies in school facilities currently being used for public school purposes. Requires the State Allocation Board to use the information from this updated inventory and report to inform the development of eligibility criteria for the Seismic Mitigation Program, as defined.
Vetoed

SB 499 (Ducheny-D) Hospitals: seismic safety
Revises and extends, under specified conditions, hospital seismic safety construction and reporting requirements.
Chapter 601, Statutes of 2009
Similar bills are SB 289 (Ducheny-D) which is on the Assembly Inactive File, and AB 411 (Garrick-R) which is in Senate Rules Committee.

SB 824 (Senate Revenue And Taxation Committee) Governor-declared disaster: property tax relief
Specifies that taxpayers are eligible for a base-year transfer on properties damaged by a Governor-declared disaster if the value of either the land or improvements (such as buildings) are diminished in value by more than 50%. Currently the 50% requirement applies to the combined value of the land and improvements.
Chapter 67, Statutes of 2009

SCR 21 (Kehoe-D) Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management
Continues in existence the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security, renames it as the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management, comprised of seven members of the Senate and seven members of the Assembly, as specified, and authorizes the Joint Committee to act until 11/30/10, and to address California's emergency management issues. Authorizes the Senate Rules Committee to make monies available from the Senate Operating Fund, as it deems necessary, to pay the expenses of the Joint Committee.
Resolution Chapter 36, Statutes of 2009

SCR 51 (Corbett-D) Earthquake preparedness: the Great California ShakeOut
Supports the Earthquake Country Alliance's annual Great California ShakeOut and its earthquake education and outreach programs, and endorses this year's 10/15/09 Great California ShakeOut.
(In Assembly Governmental Organization Committee)

AB 43 (Blakeslee-R) California Earthquake Authority: employees
Authorizes the California Earthquake Authority to employ a chief mitigation officer and removes the restriction that the Authority hire no more than 25 civil service employees.
Vetoed

AB 54 (Jeffries-R) California Emergency Management Agency
Requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the State Board of Fire Services, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Office of Traffic Safety, the California Conservation Corps, and the Emergency Medical Services Authority to create a working group, by 3/1/10, to prepare a Governor's Reorganization Plan that would transfer the authorities and duties of those departments, offices, and entities to the California Emergency Management Agency.
(In Assembly Governmental Organization Committee)

AB 83* (Feuer-D) Emergency care: personal liability: immunity
Provides that no person who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency shall be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.
Chapter 77, Statutes of 2009

AB 157* (Anderson-R) Governor-declared disasters: property tax relief
Increases, from five years to seven years, the time frame a property owner has to acquire or construct a property to replace one damaged or destroyed in certain Governor-declared disasters and remain eligible to receive a base-year value transfer. Applies to property damaged in disasters occurring after 9/30/07 and the Cedar Fires in San Diego County of 2003.
(In Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee)

AB 280 (Blakeslee-R) California Earthquake Authority: retrofit programs: grants
Authorizes the California Earthquake Authority to establish a grant or loan program to retrofit specified "soft-story" buildings. Soft-story building are those with a ground floor less stable than upper floors, most often due to commercial or parking spaces at the first floor.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 303 (Beall-D) Seismic safety requirements: hospitals
Allows specified county and University of California disproportionate share hospitals that contract with the California Medical Assistance Commission to serve Medi-Cal patients to receive supplemental Medi-Cal reimbursement from the Construction and Renovation Reimbursement Program for new capital projects to meet state seismic safety deadlines for which plans have been submitted to the state after 1/1/07, and before 12/31/11.
Chapter 428, Statutes of 2009

AB 472 (Blumenfield-D) Earthquake and emergency preparedness
Requires any state agency, beginning 7/1/10, to maintain on its homepage a link that will direct a user to earthquake and emergency preparedness information for the home and workplace.
Vetoed

AB 523* (Huffman-D) Hospitals: seismic safety
Permits the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to grant the Marin Healthcare District a two-year extension to the current 2013 seismic safety deadline to retrofit or rebuild hospital buildings at risk of collapse in an earthquake (so-called Structural Performance Category-1 buildings).
Chapter 243, Statutes of 2009

AB 611 (Fong-D) Emergency services: limited English proficiency issue
Requires the California Emergency Management Agency to take measures to help people with limited English proficiency prepare for emergencies and understand information conveyed during emergencies, such as utilizing bilingual persons in public contact positions, and coordinating with organizations that represent the needs of limited English proficiency persons in order to disseminate guidance to local and regional governmental entities.
Vetoed

AB 865 (Price-D) Emergencies: communication
Requires the California Emergency Management Agency, in cooperation with the Office of the State Chief Information Officer, to develop and operate a full-time wireless communications system providing the public with emergency information that is accessible by cellular telephone, text pager, or computer.
(In Assembly Governmental Organization Committee)

AB 866 (Niello-R) California Earthquake Authority
Revises the due date of the California Earthquake Authority's annual report from May 1st of each year to August 1st of each year, and provides for its publication on the Authority's Web site.
Chapter 480, Statutes of 2009

AB 928 (Blakeslee-R) Earthquake early warning system
Requires the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop an earthquake early warning system and coordinate development of that system with the California Emergency Management Agency, the California Department of Education, and the Public Utilities Commission. Requires the earthquake early warning system to be designed to protect the lives of high-speed train passengers and schoolchildren, and protect critical infrastructure in this state by providing advanced earthquake warning and by enabling preventive measures seconds before an earthquake.
(In Assembly Rules Committee)

AB 1175 (Torlakson-D) Transportation seismic retrofit program
Adds the Antioch and Dumbarton Bridges to the Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program and grants authorization for voter-approved toll increases.
Chapter 515, Statutes of 2009

AB 1197 (Torrico-D) Public safety: radio communications
Requires the Public Safety Radio Strategic Planning Committee to ensure that its recommendations for radio or other technology are compatible with recommendations and standards established by the United States Department of Homeland Security or the Federal Communications Commission, or both. Replaces the Committee with the California Emergency Management Agency as the responsible entity authorized to make recommendations to any other federal, state, regional, or local entities with the responsibility for developing, operating, or monitoring interoperability of the public safety spectrum.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1235 (Hayashi-D) Seismic safety: hospitals
Extends, for a hospital building that is owned or operated by the County of Alameda on the Alameda County Medical Center's Fairmont Campus, the deadline for submitting a facility master plan until 7/1/10.
(On Senate Inactive File)

AB 1568 (Salas-D) Disaster relief: 2008-09 wildfires
Adds the following wildfires to the list of disasters eligible for beneficial homeowners' property tax exemption treatment, and special "carry forward" treatment of excess disaster losses: (1) the wildfires that commenced in the County of Santa Barbara in November 2008, (2) the wildfires that commenced in the Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura in October 2008 or November 2008, (3) the wildfires that commenced in the Counties of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino in November 2008, and (4) the wildfires that commenced in the County of Santa Barbara in May 2009.
Chapter 299, Statutes of 2009
Similar bills are AB 15 (Fuentes-D) and AB 50 (Nava-D) which are on the Senate Third Reading File, and AB 79 (Duvall-R) which is in Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 12XXXX* (Evans-D) Seismic safety
Among other provisions, extends the funding source for the Seismic Safety Commission to 7/1/12. Establishes that when funds for compensation to disaster service workers are temporarily unavailable for disbursement, the State Compensation Insurance Fund may provide compensation to, and benefits for, eligible claimants who have injuries that have previously either been accepted or found to be compensable by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Payments made from the Fund must be reimbursed, as specified.
Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009-10, Fourth Extraordinary Session

ACR 37 (Torres-D) California Public Safety Telecommunicators Week
Makes the week beginning 4/12/09 as California Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
Resolution Chapter 35, Statutes of 2009

Return to Top

Return to Top