Senate BillPassed first housePublic Resources
SB 899: Fire prevention: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force: wildfire smoke.
What SB 899 does, verified August 15, 2026
The bill aims to improve wildfire prevention and resilience in California. The task force will develop an assessment of the health costs and impacts of wildfire smoke by July 1, 2028. This assessment will include analyzing existing data and developing a model to estimate the health benefits of achieving the goals identified in the action plan. The task force will also make recommendations to increase the action plan's health benefits and reduce the health impact of smoke. Additionally, the task force will include this assessment and additional actions in the next update to the action plan.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. (2026-08-13)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions21 total · showing 5
| Aug. 13, 2026 | August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. |
| Jun. 24, 2026 | June 24 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. |
| Jun. 09, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| May. 26, 2026 | Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. |
| May. 20, 2026 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
Latest bill textAmended version, May 14, 2026 · 883 words
| Amended IN Senate May 14, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate March 18, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate March 02, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 899
| Introduced by Senator Grove (Coauthors: Senators Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Jones, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Richardson, Seyarto, and Valladares) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Alanis) |
January 20, 2026 |
An act to add Section 4772 to the Public Resources Code, relating to fire prevention.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 899, as amended, Grove. Fire prevention: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force: wildfire smoke.
Existing law requires the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force to develop a comprehensive implementation strategy to track and ensure the achievement of the goals and key actions identified in the state’s “Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan,” as provided. Existing law requires, on or before March 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, the task force to update the action plan.
This bill would require the task force, on or before July 1, 2028, and in cooperation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Assessment, the State Air Resources Board, and the State Department of Public Health, to assess the health costs and impacts of wildfire smoke using existing wildfire smoke and health data, as provided. The bill would require the task force, in developing this assessment, to, among other things, develop a model to determine the approximate health benefits of achieving the goals identified in the action plan and make recommendations on how the action plan can increase its health benefits. The bill would authorize the task force to enter into contracts with an independent group to assist with this assessment. The bill would require the task force to include this assessment and additional actions to reduce the health impact of wildfire smoke in the next update to the action plan, as provided.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has published several studies that consistently indicated that exposure to wildfire PM 2.5 increased the risk of emergency room visits and hospital admissions related to respiratory issues, particularly among people of color, elderly populations, outdoor workers, children, and other vulnerable populations.
(2) Rural and tribal populations, who are generally physically closest to wildfires, often lack resources such as easy access to health care, food and emergency supply centers, and multiple means of transportation that can help them escape fire more quickly.
(3) Findings suggested that PM 2.5 during the wildfire periods may contain more toxic chemical constituents than during nonwildfire periods. For instance, wildfire often straddles the wildland-urban interface, meaning plastics, finished wood products, and other human-made materials from homes can burn and let off volatile organic compounds that are especially toxic to humans.
(4) According to the Bay Area Council, wildfires across California in 2018 produced $7,800,000,000 in estimated health costs in the San Francisco Bay area, a rise in hospital admissions, and an increase in polluted air.
(5) According to the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, by some measures, increased wildfire smoke has reversed gains in air quality created by improved emission standards in transportation and other sectors in parts of California. Evidence also suggests that smoke’s public health effects are even more significant than the tragic burns and deaths caused directly by wildfire in California.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to better understand the health costs and impacts associated with wildfire smoke to better value the importance of investing in achievement of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan goals established pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 4770) of Chapter 10 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code.
SEC. 2.
Section 4772 is added to the Public Resources Code, immediately following Section 4771.6, to read:4772.
(a) On or before July 1, 2028, the task force, in cooperation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard(1) Estimate the number of emergency room visits and deaths from the smoke of wildfires in California since July 1, 2018.
(2) Develop a cost estimate for the health care costs of the smoke of wildfires in California since July 1, 2018.
(3) Develop a model to determine the approximate health benefits, both for cost and human health impacts, of achieving the goals identified in the state’s “Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.”
(4) Make recommendations on how the “Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan” can increase its health benefits.
(b) The task force may enter into contracts with an independent group to assist with the assessment required pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) The task force shall include the assessment required in subdivision (a) and additional actions to reduce the health impact of wildfire smoke in the first update, pursuant to Section 4771, to the state’s “Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan” that occurs after the completion of the assessment.
Text of SB 899 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions