Community Hardening Commission: wildfire mitigation program.

Senators Rubio, Cortese, and Stern have proposed establishing a Community Hardening Commission within California's Department of Insurance to develop comprehensive wildfire mitigation standards and improve access to fire insurance coverage. The commission, chaired by the Insurance Commissioner, would include representatives from fire safety, natural resources, housing, emergency services, and energy infrastructure agencies, along with appointed legislative members.

The commission would create new community hardening standards addressing home protection guidelines, infrastructure improvements, evacuation routes, and vegetation management requirements. Working with an advisory council of scientific experts, insurance industry representatives, local officials, and fire chiefs, the commission would align existing regulations across state departments while developing data-sharing protocols to track wildfire risks and mitigation efforts. The commission must complete initial standards by July 2027 and conduct regular reviews incorporating current science and risk data.

The legislation authorizes the commission to investigate major fire events, analyze the performance of hardening measures, and issue recommendations for reducing future losses. To support these duties, the Department of Insurance would establish guidelines for aggregating parcel and community-level wildfire data, though participation in data sharing would remain voluntary. The bill requires legislative appropriation for additional mitigation program funding and includes provisions for reimbursing local agencies' implementation costs if determined necessary by the Commission on State Mandates.