Bill Commons

CA SB 1079

enacted

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: Fire Innovation Unit.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

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Quick answers

Did CA SB 1079 pass?

Yes. CA SB 1079 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-29): Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 774, Statutes of 2026.

What is CA SB 1079 about?

Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and establishes various programs for the prevention and reduction of wildfires. This bill, which would be operative until January 1, 2033, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the Fire Innovation Unit within the department to serve as the department's innovation arm for wildfire technology research, coordination, procurement, and deployment for technologies that, among other things, improve ecosystem and landscape scale resilience. The bill would require the unit to consist of the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development, the Innovation, Outreach and Coordination Program, and the Rapid Acquisition and Deployment Program, as provided. The bill would authorize the unit to establish and administer a program to fund early-stage, mature, or dual-use technology projects that enhance wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response through grants, contracts, or both. The bill would also authorize the unit to (1) administer or monitor pilot, prototype, or demonstration projects to evaluate, mature, and validate wildfire-related technologies, (2) collaborate with public and private educational and research institutions on wildfire technology and innovation, (3) establish testbeds to test or evaluate emerging technologies, (4) provide technical assistance to local, state, federal, and international fire agencies to facilitate deployment of wildfire-related technologies, (5) maintain a publicly accessible resource to provide visibility into these wildfire-related technologies, and (6) provide opportunities for participation in demonstrations, pilot programs, and field testing, as provided. This bill would require the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature summarizing certain information related to the unit, including, among other things, the technologies and projects evaluated, tested, or deployed.

Who sponsors CA SB 1079?

Stern is the primary sponsor of CA SB 1079, joined by 6 cosponsors.

Description

Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and establishes various programs for the prevention and reduction of wildfires. This bill, which would be operative until January 1, 2033, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the Fire Innovation Unit within the department to serve as the department's innovation arm for wildfire technology research, coordination, procurement, and deployment for technologies that, among other things, improve ecosystem and landscape scale resilience. The bill would require the unit to consist of the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development, the Innovation, Outreach and Coordination Program, and the Rapid Acquisition and Deployment Program, as provided. The bill would authorize the unit to establish and administer a program to fund early-stage, mature, or dual-use technology projects that enhance wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response through grants, contracts, or both. The bill would also authorize the unit to (1) administer or monitor pilot, prototype, or demonstration projects to evaluate, mature, and validate wildfire-related technologies, (2) collaborate with public and private educational and research institutions on wildfire technology and innovation, (3) establish testbeds to test or evaluate emerging technologies, (4) provide technical assistance to local, state, federal, and international fire agencies to facilitate deployment of wildfire-related technologies, (5) maintain a publicly accessible resource to provide visibility into these wildfire-related technologies, and (6) provide opportunities for participation in demonstrations, pilot programs, and field testing, as provided. This bill would require the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature summarizing certain information related to the unit, including, among other things, the technologies and projects evaluated, tested, or deployed.

Introduced
2026-02-13
Latest action
2026-09-29 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 774, Statutes of 2026.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Sternauthor
  • Allenprincipal coauthor
  • Beckerprincipal coauthor
  • Bennettcoauthor
  • Irwincoauthor
  • Petrie-Norriscoauthor
  • Rogerscoauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-29

    Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 774, Statutes of 2026.

    became-law

  2. 2026-09-29

    Approved by the Governor.

    executive-signature

  3. 2026-09-10

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

    executive-receipt

  4. 2026-08-31

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  5. 2026-08-31

    In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. 2026-08-31

    Unanimous consent granted to take up without reference to file.

  7. 2026-08-31

    Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  8. 2026-08-31

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 7065.) Ordered to the Senate.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  9. 2026-08-28

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  10. 2026-08-28

    Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-3

  11. 2026-08-28

    Read third time and amended.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-3

  12. 2026-08-28

    Joint Rule 61(b)(16) suspended.

  13. 2026-08-28

    Joint Rule 61(b)(16) suspended. (Ayes 57. Noes 1. Page 6819.)

  14. 2026-08-27

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  15. 2026-08-27

    From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 26).

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  16. 2026-08-27

    Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2

  17. 2026-08-25

    Joint Rule 62(a) suspended.

  18. 2026-08-24

    Re-referred to Com. on E.M pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2.

    referral-committee

  19. 2026-08-21

    Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-3

  20. 2026-08-21

    Assembly Rule 69(b)(1) suspended.

  21. 2026-08-21

    Read third time and amended.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-3

  22. 2026-08-21

    Assembly Rule 69(b)(1) suspended. (Ayes 55. Noes 17. Page 6296.)

  23. 2026-08-13

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  24. 2026-08-13

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 13).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  25. 2026-08-13

    Assembly Rule 63 suspended.

  26. 2026-08-05

    August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

  27. 2026-06-30

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  28. 2026-06-23

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E.M with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (June 22). Re-referred to Com. on E.M.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  29. 2026-06-01

    Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and E.M.

    referral-committee

  30. 2026-05-22

    In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

    reading-1

  31. 2026-05-22

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 4418.) Ordered to the Assembly.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  32. 2026-05-20

    Ordered to special consent calendar.

  33. 2026-05-14

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4264.) (May 14).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  34. 2026-05-14

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  35. 2026-05-12

    Set for hearing May 14.

  36. 2026-05-11

    May 11 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  37. 2026-05-04

    Set for hearing May 11.

  38. 2026-04-28

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  39. 2026-04-27

    From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0. Page 3972.) (April 21).

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  40. 2026-04-10

    Set for hearing April 21.

  41. 2026-04-08

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E.M. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 3758.) (April 7). Re-referred to Com. on E.M.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  42. 2026-03-24

    Set for hearing April 7.

  43. 2026-03-04

    Referred to Coms. on N.R. & W. and E.M.

    referral-committee

  44. 2026-02-17

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 16.

  45. 2026-02-13

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    introduction,reading-1,referral-committee

Versions

  • 02/13/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-13Compare
  • 04/28/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-04-28Compare
  • 08/21/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-08-21Compare
  • 08/27/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-08-27Compare
  • 08/28/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-08-28Compare
  • 09/08/26 - Enrolled — 2026-09-08Compare
  • 09/29/26 - Chaptered — 2026-09-29Compare
  • (document, no version)Compare
  • SB1079Compare

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Emergency Management]

    2026-04-07 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Stern: yes
    • Becker: yes
    • Grove: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Allen: yes

  • Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2026-04-21 · pass · 9-0

    Member-level votes (9)
    • Dahle: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Allen: yes
    • Rubio: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Stern: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Ashby: yes

  • Placed on suspense file

    2026-05-11 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Wahab: yes

  • Do pass

    2026-05-14 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Grayson: yes

  • Special Consent SB1079 Stern et al.

    2026-05-22 · pass · 33-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Rubio: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Cortese: yes
    • McNerney: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Strickland: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Archuleta: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Valladares: yes
    • Reyes: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Jones: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Limón: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Grove: yes
    • Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Choi: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • McGuire: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: yes
    • Menjivar: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Becker: other
    • Hurtado: other
    • Padilla: other
    • Alvarado-Gil: other
    • Stern: other
    • Niello: other
    • Allen: other

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Emergency Management] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-06-22 · pass · 14-0

    Member-level votes (14)
    • Zbur: yes
    • Ellis: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Connolly: yes
    • Bryan: yes
    • Garcia: yes
    • Macedo: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Muratsuchi: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Alanis: yes

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-06-29 · pass · 6-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Arambula: yes
    • DeMaio: yes
    • Ransom: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Hadwick: yes
    • Bains: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1079

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-02T18:21:48.879917Z

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