SB 901 Summary

• Establishes funding of $165 million annually through 2023-24 from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for forest health and fire prevention programs, and $35 million annually for prescribed fire and fuel reduction projects.

• Creates exemptions from timber harvesting plan requirements for small timberland owners (up to 100 acres) and for fuel reduction activities, with specific conditions on tree removal sizes and forest management standards.

• Requires electrical corporations to annually prepare and submit wildfire mitigation plans to the Public Utilities Commission with specific elements including vegetation management, infrastructure hardening, and workforce adequacy assessments.

• Prohibits electrical corporations from recovering fines or penalties through customer rates and prevents recovery of officer compensation from ratepayers; establishes a financing mechanism for utilities to recover catastrophic wildfire costs through fixed recovery charges.

• Requires protection of utility employee jobs during ownership changes, mandating successor employers retain covered employees for 180 days with no compensation reduction and limiting workforce reductions for two years thereafter without PUC approval.