(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the Natural Resources Agency and requires the department to coordinate programs of fire protection, fire prevention, pest control, and forest and range maintenance and enhancement. Existing law requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to establish a working group on expanding wood product markets that can utilize woody biomass, especially biomass removed from high fire hazard zones, as determined by the department.

This bill would enact the Biomass Innovation Parks Act, which would establish the Biomass Innovation Park Grants and Financing Program, to be administered by the agency. The bill would require the agency, in coordination with the Department of Food and Agriculture, to identify one or more biomass innovation parks. The bill would require the agency to develop guidelines and facilitate a planning process for the purposes of identifying the parks and guidelines for purposes of soliciting proposals from an eligible applicant, as defined, as provided. The bill would require the guidelines to include specified things, including, among other things, that each park shall only process wood waste, as defined, that originated in California, that each park only host projects that use a noncombustion technology to convert wood waste into carbon-beneficial products or end uses, and that each park establish a community benefits program.

This bill would additionally require the agency, in coordination with the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, to, among other things, develop regional wood availability assessments and to adopt a tracking system to trace and authenticate forest biomass origins. The bill would require the State Air Resources Board, among other things, to publish on its internet website an assessment of life-cycle emissions from alternative uses of California-sourced wood waste. The bill would require the Strategic Growth Council and the Department of Housing and Community Development to consider incorporating the use of durable wood products in housing grant programs. The bill would require the California Building Standards Commission to identify and adopt new measures that incentivize durable wood products. The bill would require the agency to deliver a report to the Legislature on or before December 31, 2027, containing information pertaining to the identified parks.

(2) The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (bond act), approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. Of these funds, the bond act makes $50,000,000 available for projects in California that provide long-term capital infrastructure to use forest and other vegetative waste removed for wildfire mitigation for noncombustible uses that maximize reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, provide local air quality benefits, and increase local community resilience against climate change impacts, as specified.

This bill would appropriate an unspecified sum of money from the $50,000,000 made available as described above to the agency for the agency to support the Biomass Innovation Park Grants and Financing Program, as provided, thereby making an appropriation.