CA AB1659

Enacts the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Act of 2020 to establish a dedicated fund and financing mechanism for wildfire risk reduction and community resilience projects through revenue bonds and ratepayer charges.

Establishes the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund with an initial $500,000,000 loan from the Surplus Money Investment Fund to be repaid within the 2020-21 fiscal year, with interest calculated quarterly.

Authorizes the Department of Water Resources to issue up to $3,000,000,000 in bonds to support the fund, with repayment commencing after January 1, 2036 or when previous Wildfire Fund bonds are paid off, whichever is later.

Requires the Public Utilities Commission to impose nonbypassable charges on large electrical corporations (250,000+ customer accounts) to collect revenues for bond repayment and fund support, with charges fixed until January 1, 2051.

Allocates $500,000,000 for immediate workforce training, defensible space, home hardening, emergency medical technician expansion, and other fire prevention projects in electrical corporation service areas, with priority given to disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.