Assembly BillPassed first housePublic Resources
AB 1456: California Environmental Quality Act: California Vegetation Treatment Program.
What AB 1456 does, verified December 13, 2025
The bill requires the state board of forestry and fire protection to update the california vegetation treatment program final program environmental impact report. The update will expand the area that can be treated under the program to include portions of the state suitable for vegetation treatment, regardless of fire suppression responsibility designation. The update will also recognize cultural burning conducted pursuant to a specified law as a covered treatment activity. The state board is required to make the update by January 1, 2027. Additionally, the bill authorizes public agencies to partner with federally recognized california native american tribes to conduct projects under the program in their jurisdiction.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2025-06-03)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions19 total · showing 5
| Aug. 29, 2025 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Aug. 18, 2025 | In committee: Referred to suspense file. |
| Jul. 18, 2025 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jul. 18, 2025 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July 16). |
| Jul. 02, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on N.R. & W. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W. |
Latest bill textAmended version, July 18, 2025 · 656 words
| Amended IN Senate July 18, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 10, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1456
| Introduced by Assembly Member Bryan |
February 21, 2025 |
An act to add Section 21088.1 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1456, as amended, Bryan. California Environmental Quality Act: California Vegetation Treatment Program.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
CEQA authorizes the preparation and certification of an EIR for a program, plan, policy, or ordinance, commonly known as a “program EIR,” and requires a lead agency to examine later activities in the program in light of the program EIR to determine whether an additional environmental document is required to be prepared.
This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to update the California Vegetation Treatment Program Final Program Environmental Impact Report (FPEIR) to, among other things, expand the area that is treatable landscape under the FPEIR to portions of the state suitable for vegetation treatment consistent with the FPEIR, regardless of fire suppression responsibility designation, and recognize cultural burning conducted pursuant to a specified law as a covered treatment activity. The bill would authorize a public agency to partner with a federally recognized California Native American tribe to conduct a project under the FPEIR in the agency’s jurisdiction.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 21088.1 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:21088.1.
(a) For purposes of this section, “FPEIR” means the Final Program Environmental Impact(b) On or before January 1, 2027, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall update the California Vegetation Treatment Program FPEIR, certified by the state board in December 2019, FPEIR in accordance with Section 21166. The update shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
(1) Expand the area that is treatable landscape under the FPEIR to portions of the state suitable for vegetation treatment consistent with the FPEIR, including for the treatment types of ecological restoration, fuel breaks, and wildland-urban interface fuel reduction, regardless of fire suppression responsibility designation.
(2) Require a project under the FPEIR to incorporate in its project description the disposition of biomass generated by vegetation treatments, as necessary, including any commercial sale of biomass for the purpose of cost recovery.
(3) Include provisions that recognize the dual objectives of cultural and ecological restoration through vegetation management activities that integrate indigenous knowledge and tribal ecological knowledge, and recognize cultural burning conducted pursuant to Section 4505 as a covered treatment activity.
(4) Undertake any amendments necessary to implement the objectives stated in the Governor’s Proclamation of a State of Emergency, dated March 1, 2025.
(c) The FPEIR shall remain in full effect and may continue to serve as the basis for later project-specific environmental analyses to support vegetation treatment projects while the update pursuant to subdivision (b) is being prepared.
(c)
(d) A public agency may partner with a federally recognized California Native American tribe to conduct a project under the FPEIR in the agency’s jurisdiction.
Text of AB 1456 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions