Assembly BillVetoedPublic Resources
AB 1891: Forestry: Beneficial Fire Capacity Program.
What AB 1891 does, verified October 5, 2026
The bill aims to establish a beneficial fire capacity program in the department of forestry and fire protection. This program will expand training, organizational capacity, and support for community-led beneficial fire programs, including those developed by California Native American tribes, non-governmental organizations, and local districts. The program will provide competitive grants for beneficial fire implementation, capacity building, research, innovation, and training. The department will be required to publish and update information related to the program's implementation on its website. The goal is to maximize the benefits of the program, including expanding the use of prescribed burning for certain public purposes.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
✓Second ChamberComplete
5GovernorCurrent
6ChapteredPending
Last action: Vetoed by Governor. (2026-09-27)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions22 total · showing 5
| Sep. 27, 2026 | Vetoed by Governor. |
| Sep. 04, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6738.). |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.). |
Latest bill textEnrolled version, September 1, 2026 · 1,200 words
| Enrolled September 01, 2026 |
| Passed IN Senate August 27, 2026 |
| Passed IN Assembly August 27, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate June 25, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly May 18, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1891
| Introduced by Assembly Member Connolly (Coauthor: Assembly Member Rogers) |
February 12, 2026 |
An act to add Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 4450) to Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, relating to forestry.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1891, Connolly. Forestry: Beneficial Fire Capacity Program.
Existing law authorizes a person that owns or controls brush-covered land, forest lands, woodland, grassland, and shrubland within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to use prescribed burning for certain public purposes. Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to enter into an agreement for prescribed burning with a person to conduct the prescribed burning operations for certain purposes. Existing law requires the department to develop a training program for prescribed fire users to certify professionals as burn bosses. Existing law requires the department to conduct an experimental program of wildland resources management through prescribed burning and other methods in 2 areas of wildlands.
This bill would require the department, on an annual basis, to allocate not less than 10% of funding appropriated to the department for local assistance and other grant programs where prescribed or beneficial fire is an eligible activity, consistent with the term of the appropriation, to expand training, organizational capacity, and support for community-led beneficial fire programs, including, but not limited to, those developed by California Native American tribes, nongovernmental organizations, universities and colleges, resources conservation districts, volunteer fire districts, and other local or special districts, as provided. The bill would require at least 25% of that allocation be awarded to California Native American tribes or tribally led or indigenous-led organizations, except as specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Beneficial Fire Capacity Act.SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California has taken extraordinary actions to protect residents from catastrophic wildfire in recent years, because effective, ecologically appropriate management of public and private lands across our state is critical to limit dangerous wildfire conditions that threaten life and property and to ensure healthy, resilient ecosystems.
(b) California’s landscapes evolved with both natural ignitions and indigenous use of fire, and past policies that attempted to eradicate wildfire from these landscapes resulted in unintended adverse consequences, including overly dense vegetation and conditions that exacerbate risks of ignitions becoming large, dangerous fires.
(c) Beneficial fire includes practices known as “cultural fire,” “cultural burning,” “prescribed fire,” “prescribed burning,” “good fire,” and “managed fire,” which are practices that enable many types of landscapes to benefit from fire to protect communities and safeguard natural and cultural resources.
(d) Beneficial fire has a proven track record of restoring and maintaining the health and resilience of landscapes impacted by fire deficit, and limiting the intensity and severity of subsequent wildfires, thereby reducing the risk of large, catastrophic wildfires.
(e) California’s use of beneficial fire has expanded in recent years, and beneficial fire treatments doubled between 2021 and 2024 thanks to tribal, state, federal, local, and nonprofit partners. However, to reach state goals for both initial treatment and maintenance, significantly more beneficial fire is needed.
(f) In light of the landscape conditions and risk of catastrophic fires, it is critical that the state take more actions to further expedite and expand beneficial fire projects, where appropriate, enabling practitioners to more effectively implement safe and effective beneficial fire projects. Recognizing this need to increase pace and scale, the funding allocated to the Beneficial Fire Capacity Program created by this act is intended to be additive and complementary to existing funding programs that support but do not focus on beneficial fire.
SEC. 3.
Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 4450) is added to Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:CHAPTER 6.5. Beneficial Fire Capacity Program
4450.
The Legislature finds and declares that increased use of beneficial fire is an essential component of reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire and related emissions of greenhouse gases from the state’s forests and other ecosystems. Investment in training, organizational capacity, and project implementation is critical to meeting and sustaining this longer term goal, regardless of the immediate quantification of emission reductions.4451.
(a) (1) (A) Except as provided in paragraph (2), on an annual basis, not less than 10 percent of the funding appropriated to the department for local assistance and other grant programs where prescribed or beneficial fire is an eligible activity, consistent with the terms of the appropriation, shall be allocated to expand training, organizational capacity, and support for community-led beneficial fire programs, including, but not limited to, those developed by California Native American tribes, nongovernmental organizations, universities and colleges, resources conservation districts, volunteer fire districts, and other local or special districts.(B) Of the allocation described in subparagraph (A), not less than 25 percent shall be awarded to California Native American tribes or tribally led or indigenous-led organizations.
(2) The department may award less than the minimum allocation specified in paragraph (1) only in circumstances where the total funding requested by qualified applicants does not reach the minimum allocation.
(b) The allocation described in subdivision (a) may be delivered through grants, programs, and other mechanisms, including direct awards, block grants, and subawards.
4452.
Both of the following activities shall qualify for the allocation specified in Section 4451:(a) Funding to support and implement community-led beneficial fire programs, including training, and building and maintaining capacity. Organizations with demonstrated effectiveness developing or leading beneficial fire programs shall be prioritized.
(b) Funding to implement beneficial fire projects or projects involving beneficial fire capacity building, research, innovation, or training.
4453.
The department shall collaborate with other relevant state agencies, beneficial fire practitioners, and organizations currently engaged in beneficial fire programs in establishing guidelines governing the implementation of this chapter and the administration of the funding.4454.
To the extent feasible under grants, programs, and other mechanisms, the department shall do all of the following in administering the allocation specified in Section 4451:(a) Allow awarded funds to be used to pay California Native American tribes or tribally designated individuals for consultation or engagement on programs or projects.
(b) Reduce application and reporting requirements.
(c) Develop metrics for program success other than acres treated, such as the number of people trained to engage in beneficial fire and the number of new certified burn bosses, and determine program success based on those metrics.
(d) Use the maximum flexibility provided for by law to allow for longer grant or award terms that support long-term capacity and planning.
4455.
(a) The department may prescribe rules, guidelines, procedures, or other guidance to carry out the purposes of this chapter.(b) Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code shall not apply to any rule, guideline, procedure, or other guidance prescribed by the department pursuant to this section.
Text of AB 1891 as enrolled, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions