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<ns0:Id>20250AB__164299INT</ns0:Id>
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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-01-27</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
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<ns0:MeasureType>AB</ns0:MeasureType>
<ns0:MeasureNum>1642</ns0:MeasureNum>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Harabedian</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:AuthorText authorType="PRINCIPAL_COAUTHOR_OPPOSITE">(Principal coauthor: Senator Allen)</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:AuthorText authorType="COAUTHOR_ORIGINATING">(Coauthor: Assembly Member Irwin)</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:AuthorText authorType="COAUTHOR_OPPOSITE">(Coauthor: Senator Pérez)</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Legislator>
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<ns0:House>ASSEMBLY</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Harabedian</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Contribution>PRINCIPAL_COAUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>SENATE</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Allen</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Contribution>COAUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>ASSEMBLY</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Irwin</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Contribution>COAUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>SENATE</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Pérez</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title> An act to add Part 3 (commencing with Section 13980) to Division 12 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to wildfires, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>wildfires, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately</ns0:RelatingClause>
<ns0:GeneralSubject>
<ns0:Subject>Wildfires: contamination standards.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law establishes the Office of the State Fire Marshal in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and establishes the Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation within the office. Existing law makes the deputy director responsible for fire preparedness and mitigation missions of the department, as provided. The Department of Toxic Substances Control regulates the handling and management of hazardous waste and hazardous materials.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt, no later than July 1, 2027, emergency regulations specifying the standards for investigation, environmental testing, and removal of contaminants inside and outside of homes, schools, and workplaces in residential areas after a wildfire. The bill would require the adopted standards to include health-based
clearance standards, as specified.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.</html:p>
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<ns0:VoteRequired>TWO_THIRDS</ns0:VoteRequired>
<ns0:Appropriation>NO</ns0:Appropriation>
<ns0:FiscalCommittee>YES</ns0:FiscalCommittee>
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<ns0:ImmediateEffect>YES</ns0:ImmediateEffect>
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<ns0:Urgency>YES</ns0:Urgency>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
<ns0:Content>
<html:p>This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Wildfire Environmental Safety and Testing Act.</html:p>
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<ns0:BillSection id="id_1A372146-7365-4272-A447-EA8905306323">
<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>The Legislature finds and declares the following:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
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Wildfires are increasingly frequent and severe, exposing Californians to hazardous smoke, ash, debris, and toxic contamination that pose serious short- and long-term health risks.
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<html:p>
(b)
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Following wildfires, residents, workers, students, and vulnerable populations are often compelled to return to homes, schools, and workplaces without adequate environmental testing, remediation, or health-based clearance standards.
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(c)
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Existing law does not provide a uniform statewide framework to address postwildfire habitability and reoccupancy based on public health
exposure.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 3.</ns0:Num>
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Part 3 (commencing with Section 13980) is added to Division 12 of the
<ns0:DocName>Health and Safety Code</ns0:DocName>
, to read:
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<ns0:LawHeading type="PART" id="id_ED8BFE05-3E2B-4BC0-B5EB-83441E1E4CDB">
<ns0:Num>3.</ns0:Num>
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<ns0:LawHeadingText>Wildfires Contamination</ns0:LawHeadingText>
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<ns0:Num>13980.</ns0:Num>
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(a)
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The Department of Toxic Substances Control shall, no later than July 1, 2027, adopt emergency regulations specifying the standards for investigation, environmental testing, and removal of contaminants inside and outside of homes, schools, and workplaces in residential areas after a wildfire. The adopted standards shall include health-based clearance standards to help ensure that residents can safely reoccupy their homes, schools, and workplaces.
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<html:p>
(b)
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The adoption and readoption of regulations consistent with this section shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the
department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe facts showing the need for immediate action.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 4.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:</html:p>
<html:p>Because of the immediate need to remediate contamination and rebuild housing in communities in the Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura impacted by the wildfires that began on January 7, 2025, in the County of Los Angeles, it necessary that this act take effect immediately.</html:p>
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