Senate BillChaptered/SignedGovernment
SB 904: Recovery from a state of emergency.
What SB 904 does, verified October 1, 2026
This bill aims to improve disaster recovery efforts in California by imposing specific duties on the Department of Housing and Community Development. If the Governor declares a state of emergency due to a wildfire, the department must consult with other state entities and local governments to identify requirements and procedures that can be suspended or revised to support recovery efforts. The bill also requires state agencies and local governments involved in post-disaster response to accept electronic submissions for applications, forms, and plans related to recovery efforts. Additionally, the bill provides for reimbursement for costs mandated by the state, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains such costs.
Bill journey
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 771, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-29)Alert me
Author and sponsors
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| Sep. 29, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 771, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep. 29, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Aug. 30, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 6 p.m. |
| Aug. 25, 2026 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug. 24, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 71. Noes 1. Page 6389.) Ordered to the Senate. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, September 29, 2026 · 1,703 words
Senate Bill No. 904
CHAPTER 771
An act to add Sections 8608.2, 8608.3, and 8608.4 to the Government Code, relating to disaster recovery.
[ Approved by Governor September 29, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State September 29, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 904, Seyarto. Recovery from a state of emergency.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist, and authorizes the Governor to exercise certain powers in response to that emergency, including, but not limited to, suspending specified statutes, ordinances, orders, regulations, or rules.
This bill would impose specific duties on the Department of Housing and Community Development if the Office of Emergency Services makes a written determination, within 10 days after the date that the Governor declared a state of emergency relating to a wildfire, that the wildfire caused substantial structural damage requiring significant rebuilding efforts, as defined. The bill would require the department, under this condition, to consult with other specified state entities and local governments to identify state permitting requirements and local procedures that could be suspended or revised to support recovery and rebuilding efforts as a result of the wildfire, as specified. The bill would require the department to prepare and submit initial and periodic reports to the Governor and Legislature with the information and recommendations.
This bill, on or before July 1, 2028, would require the Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with other specified state entities, to convene a workgroup to review and provide a report to the Governor and the Legislature with recommendations regarding any provision of the California Building Standards Code that should be suspended for specified types of projects to facilitate rapid, safe, disaster-resilient, and cost-effective rebuilding and recovery guidance for any future state of emergency. The bill would require the workgroup to review and update the report to the Governor and Legislature after the release of every update to the California Building Standards Code.
This bill, starting January 1, 2028, would require, upon the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency relating to a wildfire, every state agency or political subdivision, as defined, involved in postdisaster response, debris removal, reconstruction, housing, or land-use permitting to accept electronic submission of any application, form, plan set, appeal, or request for state agency or political subdivision action related to recovery efforts for that state of emergency, as provided. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 8608.2 is added to the Government Code, to read:8608.2.
(a) (1) This section shall only apply if the Office of Emergency Services makes a written determination, within 10 days after the date that the Governor declared a state of emergency relating to a wildfire, that the wildfire caused substantial structural damage requiring significant rebuilding efforts. The office may make the written determination based on an estimation of the data and preliminary damage assessments available at the time of the determination.(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “substantial structural damage requiring significant rebuilding efforts” means the destruction of 25 or more residential or commercial structures.
(3) Nothing in this section shall include building standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal that relate to panic safety and fire safety as standards to be considered for suspension.
(b) (1) The Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, the Office of Emergency Services, and the Department of General Services, shall, within 30 days of a written determination made pursuant to subdivision (a), provide a report to the Governor and the Legislature identifying state permitting requirements that may unduly impede efforts to rebuild properties or facilities destroyed as a result of the wildfire that should be considered for suspension, and shall update that report every 60 days, as appropriate, and as recovery and rebuilding efforts proceed, to identify any additional permitting requirements that are posing barriers to rebuilding and that should be considered for suspension.
(2) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall coordinate with local governments to identify and recommend procedures, including, but not limited to, exploring the use of preapproved plans and waivers of certain permitting requirements, to establish rapid permitting and approval processes to expedite the reconstruction or replacement of residential properties destroyed or damaged by the wildfire. The recommended procedures shall have the ultimate goal of issuing all necessary permits and approvals within 30 days of submission.
(3) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall, within 60 days of a written determination made pursuant to subdivision (a), provide a report to the Governor and the Legislature identifying recommended updates to local government procedures that achieve the goals described in paragraph (2), and shall update the report every 60 days, as appropriate, to identify any additional permitting and approval requirements that are barriers to recovery and rebuilding efforts that should be removed.
(c) (1) The Department of Housing and Community Development may incorporate by reference any report prepared by a governmental entity, in whole or in part, into a report the department prepares pursuant to this section.
(2) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall submit a report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 2.
Section 8608.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:8608.3.
(a) On or before than July 1, 2028, the Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with the Department of General Services, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, shall convene a workgroup to review and provide a report to the Governor and the Legislature with recommendations regarding any provision of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) that should be suspended for the projects described in subdivision (b) to facilitate rapid, safe, disaster-resilient, and cost-effective rebuilding and recovery guidance for any future state of emergency.(b) Subdivision (a) applies to projects to repair, restore, demolish, or replace substantial structural damage requiring significant rebuilding efforts, as described in Section 8608.2, caused as a result of a state of emergency and are situated in substantially the same location as, and do not exceed 110 percent of the footprint and height of, the residential or commercial structures that were legally established and existed immediately before the state of emergency.
(c) After the release of every update to the California Building Standards Code, the workgroup shall review and update, as necessary, the report required by subdivision (a).
(d) Nothing in this section shall include building standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal that relate to panic safety and fire safety as standards to be considered for suspension.
(e) Every report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this section shall be in compliance with Section 9795.
SEC. 3.
Section 8608.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:8608.4.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, and except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (g), upon the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency relating to a wildfire, every state agency or political subdivision, as those terms are defined in Section 8557, involved in postdisaster response, debris removal, reconstruction, housing, or land-use permitting shall accept electronic submission of any application, form, plan set, appeal, or request for state agency or political subdivision action related to recovery efforts for that state of emergency.(b) The electronic submission system may include any of the following features:
(1) Allow submission through a web-based application portal.
(2) Allow email submission of a document in PDF or other standard digital format.
(3) Allow electronic signatures, which shall be deemed valid under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Title 2.5 (commencing with Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).
(4) Allow submission of digital plan sets or drawings at any scale accepted by the state agency or political subdivision for paper plans.
(c) A state agency or political subdivision shall not require physical, in-person filing of an application unless the state agency or political subdivision determines, in writing, that electronic submission is not technically feasible for that specific application type. A state agency or political subdivision that makes a written determination pursuant to this subdivision shall publicly post that written determination within 48 hours of making the determination.
(d) A state agency or political subdivision shall not reject an application or other document solely because it was submitted electronically.
(e) Within 30 days of the declaration of a state of emergency for a wildfire, every affected state agency or political subdivision shall publish on its internet website all of the following:
(1) Information regarding the electronic filing method that may be used to submit documents to the state agency or political subdivision relating to disaster recovery efforts, including the email address to submit documents, a link to the web-based application portal, or both.
(2) Information regarding required file formats.
(3) Contact information for electronic filing support.
(f) This section does not prohibit a state agency or political subdivision from also accepting paper submissions.
(g) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) A county with a population of less than 100,000.
(2) A city within a county that meets the requirements of paragraph (1).
(3) A city with a population of less than 50,000.
(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2028.
SEC. 4.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.Text of SB 904 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions