AB2075 - Forestry: safety requirements: fire equipment: internal combustion engines.

Enrolled August 26, 2026 Passed IN Senate August 19, 2026 Passed IN Assembly August 24, 2026 Amended IN Senate August 11, 2026 Amended IN Senate June 29, 2026 Amended IN Assembly April 15, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 2075 Introduced by Assembly Member Bennett February 18, 2026 An act to amend Sections 4427, 4428, 4430, 4431, 4442, 4442.5, 4442.6, and 4443 of the Public Resources Code, relating to forestry. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2075, Bennett. Forestry: safety requirements: fire equipment: internal combustion engines. (1) Under existing law, a person is prohibited from using or operating, on or near specified lands during a time of the year when burning permits are required, a motor engine, boiler, stationary equipment, welding equipment, cutting torches, tarpots, or grinding devices from which a spark, fire, or flame may originate without complying with specified requirements, including the requirement to maintain one serviceable round point shovel and one backpack pump water-type fire extinguisher fully equipped and ready for use at the immediate area during the operation. Existing law prohibits a person, except a member of an emergency crew or except the driver or owner of a service vehicle owned or operated by or for, or operated under contract with, a publicly or privately owned utility, as provided, from using or operating any vehicle, machine, tool, or equipment powered by an internal combustion engine operated on hydrocarbon fuels in an industrial operation located on specified land between April 1 and December 1 of any year, or at any other time when ground litter and vegetation will sustain combustion permitting the spread of fire, without providing and maintaining, for firefighting purposes only, suitable and serviceable tools in a fire toolbox in specified amounts, manners, and locations. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would revise and recast those provisions by, among other things, instead requiring a person to maintain at least one backpack pump-type fire extinguisher fully equipped and ready for use, and a sufficient number of serviceable round point shovels so that each person at the operation can be equipped to fight fire, within the operating area, at a point accessible in the event of fire. The bill would require these fire tools to be no farther than 25 feet from the motor, engine, boiler, stationary equipment, welding equipment, cutting torches, tarpots, or grinding devices, with unrestricted access for the operator. The bill would provide that these requirements do not apply to a person operating a motorized vehicle to work on, clear, or grade any land in or near specified lands during any time of the year when burning permits are required, and would instead require the person to have in or affixed to the motor vehicle and ready for immediate use one serviceable round point shovel and one fully equipped fire extinguisher. The bill would eliminate the above-described exception from these provisions for a member of an emergency crew and the driver and owner a service vehicle owned or operated by or for, or operated under contract with, a publicly or privately owned utility. For these purposes the bill would define a person to mean a natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, for purposes of the above-described requirement to maintain at least one backpack pump-type fire extinguisher and a sufficient number of serviceable round point shovels, require the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (board) to define the terms “operating area” and “point accessible in the event of a fire,” and to develop requirements for the provision of suitable firefighting tools, as applied to rangeland operations on rangeland conducted by a rangeland operator, as provided. This bill would, as applied to timber operations on timberland conducted by a timber operator, require the board to adopt emergency regulations pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act that (A) define the terms “operating area” and “point accessible in the event of a fire,” (B) define the necessary number and types of tools needed in the fire toolbox, and (C) develop requirements for clearing areas around the operation and for the provision of suitable firefighting tools, as provided. (2) Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating on specified lands an internal combustion engine and a handheld portable, multiposition, internal combustion engine, as provided. Existing law prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, leasing, or renting to a person an internal combustion engine unless the person provides a written notice to the purchaser or bailee, at the time of sale or at the time of entering into the lease or rental contract, stating that it is violation of law to use or operate the engine on specified types of land unless the engine is equipped with a spark arrester or the engine is constructed, equipped, and maintained for the prevention of fire, as provided. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law also prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, leasing, or renting any equipment powered by an internal combustion engine unless it has a permanent warning label attached that is in plain view to the operator that includes a specified warning. A violation of this provision is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more $100. This bill would, for purposes of the above-described provisions, define “person” to mean a natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated program. (3) Existing law prohibits a person, during any time of the year when burning permits are required, as provided, from using, operating, or causing to be operated in the area a portable saw, augur, drill, tamper, or other portable tool powered by a gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine on or near specified land within 25 feet of any flammable material, without providing and maintaining at the immediate locations of use or operation of the saw or tool, for firefighting purposes, one serviceable round point shovel or one serviceable fire extinguisher, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would define a person for these purposes to mean a natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law prohibits, during any time of the year when burning permits are required in specified areas, as provided, a person, copartnership, firm, corporation, or company from using or operating in the area a steam-operated engine, machine equipment, mill, or industrial plant, located on specified lands, without providing one adequate force pump or water under pressure equivalent to a pump, and not less than 200 feet of hose, as provided. Under existing law, a violation of this provision is a crime. This bill would instead apply the above-described prohibitions to a natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (6) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4442 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 1167 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1167 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 4427 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 4427. (a) (1) During any time of the year when burning permits are required in an area pursuant to this article, a person shall not use or operate any motor, engine, boiler, stationary equipment, welding equipment, cutting torches, tarpots, or grinding devices from which a spark, fire, or flame may originate, which is located on or near any forest-covered land, brush-covered land, or grass-covered land, without doing both of the following: (A) First clearing away all flammable material, including snags, from the area around that operation for a distance of 10 feet. (B) Maintaining at least one backpack pump-type fire extinguisher fully equipped and ready for use, and a sufficient number of serviceable round point shovels with an overall length of not less than 46 inches so that each person at the operation can be equipped to fight fire, within the operating area, at a point accessible in the event of fire. The required fire tools shall not at any time be farther than 25 feet from the motor, engine, boiler, stationary equipment, welding equipment, cutting torches, tarpots, or grinding devices with unrestricted access for the operator. (2) (A) Paragraph (1) does not apply while a person operates a motorized vehicle to work on, clear, or grade any land in or near any forest-covered land, brush-covered land, or grass-covered land, during any time of the year when burning permits are required in an area pursuant to this article. (B) A person operating a motorized vehicle to work on, clear, or grade any land in or near any forest-covered land, brush-covered land, or grass-covered land, during any time of the year when burning permits are required in an area pursuant to this article shall have in or affixed to the motor vehicle and ready for immediate use one serviceable round point shovel with an overall length of not less than 46 inches and one fully equipped fire extinguisher. (C) Paragraph (1) shall apply to any person working away from the motorized vehicle described in subparagraph (B), whether or not they were at any time a passenger of the motorized vehicle. (3) (A) For purposes of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), for a rangeland operation on rangeland conducted by a rangeland operator, the board shall define the terms “operating area” and “point accessible in the event of a fire,” and shall develop requirements consistent with that subparagraph for the provision of suitable firefighting tools, based on the type and scale of the rangeland operation, the terrain and topography, the vegetation and fuel type, the nature of the equipment or machinery in use, and the proximity to the nearest residential dwellings and communities. (B) Before adopting regulations pursuant to subparagraph (A), the board shall consult with the Range Management Advisory Committee established pursuant to Section 741 and shall consider the committee’s recommendations regarding appropriate tool-proximity standards for rangeland operations, including standards that account for all of the following: (i) The operational characteristics of tractors, graders, and other ground-disturbing equipment used in vegetation management and land clearing on rangeland. (ii) Seasonal burning permit periods and fuel conditions typical of California’s annual and perennial rangeland types. (iii) The practical limitations on tool access created by terrain, slope, and the distance between equipment operators and vehicles during active rangeland operations. (iv) Existing industry standards, insurance requirements, or voluntary fire safety protocols applicable to rangeland operators. (C) The board shall adopt the regulations described in subparagraph (A) as emergency regulations that the board considers necessary to implement and to obtain compliance with this section. The emergency regulations shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, or general welfare. (D) In the period before the finalization of emergency regulations described in subparagraph (A) and adopted pursuant to subparagraph (C), a rangeland operator conducting rangeland operations shall comply with all requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2). (E) For purposes of this paragraph, the following definitions apply: (i) “Rangeland” has the same meaning as defined in Section 4789.2. (ii) “Rangeland operation” means the use or operation of any motorized vehicle, machine, tool, or equipment powered by an internal combustion engine for the purposes of vegetation management, land clearing, grading, cultivation, or other agricultural land management activities conducted on rangeland. (iii) “Rangeland operator” means a person, firm, corporation, or company that directs, supervises, or is responsible for a rangeland operation, including any contractor retained to perform those operations. (b) This section does not apply to portable powersaws and other portable tools powered by a gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine. (c) (1) This section does not apply to timber operations on timberland conducted by a timber operator. For those timber operations exempt from this section pursuant to this subdivision, the board shall define the terms “operating area” and “point accessible in the event of a fire” in the forest practice rules and develop requirements for the creation of any areas to be cleared around the operation and for the provision of suitable firefighting tools, based on the size and complexity of the timber operation, topography, and proximity to the nearest residential dwellings and communities. (2) The board shall adopt the regulations described in paragraph (1) as emergency regulations that the board considers necessary to implement and to obtain compliance with this section. The emergency regulations shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, or general welfare. (d) In the period before the finalization of emergency regulations described in subdivision (c), a timber operator conducting timber operations on timberland shall comply with the requirements of this section. (e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Person” means a natural person, [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]