SB1079 - Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: Fire Innovation Unit.

Amended IN Assembly August 28, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 27, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 21, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 28, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 1079 Introduced by Senator Stern (Principal coauthors: Senators Allen and Becker) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bennett, Irwin, Petrie-Norris, and Rogers) February 13, 2026 An act to add and repeal Article 4 (commencing with Section 785) of Chapter 2.5 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code, relating to fire prevention. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1079, as amended, Stern. Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: Fire Innovation Unit. 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 only upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the Fire Innovation Unit within the department to serve as the department’s innovation arm and the state’s principal hub 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 grant program to fund early-stage, mature, or dual-use technology projects that enhance wildfire readiness, mitigation, or response. 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. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The increasing frequency, severity, and cost of wildfires in California threaten lives, communities, infrastructure, economies, and ecosystems. (b) New wildfire technologies and innovations are rapidly emerging as critical tools to improve wildfire prediction, detection, modeling, suppression, community risk reduction, and land management. (c) The pace of innovation moves more rapidly than current state procurement processes. (d) California’s firefighters and land managers require streamlined access to these innovations and technologies that will enhance early detection, fast fire suppression, decision support tools, community risk reduction, ecosystem and landscape scale resilience, and ignition reduction to more effectively address the wildfire crisis. (e) Although the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development was established to evaluate new tools, the state still lacks a unified structure to identify firefighter needs, source technologies, rapidly prototype solutions, and move the most successful technologies from pilot to scale through flexible procurement mechanisms. (f) A Fire Innovation Unit within the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is therefore necessary to close the innovation gap by coordinating with end users of wildfire technology, connecting technological solutions with operational needs, accelerating pilot-to-scale adoption, and enhancing collaboration across government, educational institutions, industry, and philanthropy. SEC. 2. Article 4 (commencing with Section 785) is added to Chapter 2.5 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code, to read: Article 4. Fire Innovation Unit 785. (a) There is hereby established within the department a Fire Innovation Unit (FIU). (b) The FIU shall serve as the department’s innovation arm and as the state’s principal hub for wildfire technology research, coordination, procurement, and deployment for technologies that improve ecosystem and landscape scale resilience, community risk reduction, ignition reduction, early detection, fast fire suppression, and decision support tools. 786. (a) The FIU shall consist of the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development, the Innovation, Outreach, and Coordination Program, and the Rapid Acquisition and Deployment Program. (b) The Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development shall may do all of the following: following to support department efforts: (1) Perform scientific and technical evaluations of emerging wildfire technologies. (2) Conduct and participate in laboratory and field tests of wildfire technologies within the department and in partnership with local, state, tribal, federal, and international fire agencies. (3) Document operational and technical results of laboratory, field, and operational evaluations of wildfire technologies. (4) Issue recommendations on wildfire technologies regarding adoption and performance standards. (c) The Innovation, Outreach, and Coordination Program shall may do all of the following: following to support department efforts: (1) Coordinate with end users across local, state, tribal, federal, and international fire agencies. (2) Identify innovation gaps. (3) (2) Serve as a liaison between technologists and frontline personnel. (4) Oversee collaborative development efforts between the department and technology developers. (5) (3) Implement the Wildfire Innovation Grant Program pursuant to Section 788. (6) (4) Collaborate with public and private educational and research institutions. (7) (5) Coordinate demonstration events in established testbeds. (8) Provide the requisite firefighting expertise necessary for field trials in operational environments. (9) (6) Facilitate information sharing with local fire agencies and relevant state agencies, including the Office of Emergency Services, regarding wildfire technologies evaluated, piloted, or deployed through the FIU. (d) The Rapid Acquisition and Deployment Program may do all of the following: (1) Pilot and scale wildfire technologies through use of flexible contracting authorities pursuant to this article. contracting methods available to the department under applicable law. (2) Manage the Wildfire Innovation Grant Program pursuant to Section 788. (3) Enter into agreements with local governments, state and federal agencies, tribes, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, utilities, public and private educational institutions, and private companies for purposes of this article. (4) Ensure that all projects carried out pursuant to this article include clear objectives, performance metrics, and audit provisions. 786.5. (a) Nothing in this article shall preclude the FIU from collaborating with the Office of Emergency Services, the FIRESCOPE Program established pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 13070) of Part 1 of Division 12 of the Health and Safety Code, or other state, local, tribal, federal, or private entities on shared initiatives that best meet the interests of the state. (b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit, supersede, or otherwise affect the authority of the Office of Emergency Services to administer, coordinate, and operate the Mutual Aid System pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 8600), Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 8607), and Article 11 (commencing with Section 8615) of Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code. 787. (a) The FIU may enter into memoranda of understanding, cooperative research and development agreements, contracts, and grant agreements with public agencies, private sector entities, nonprofit organizations, educational and research institutions, tribal governments, and philanthropic partners for purposes of this article. (b) In carrying out activities pursuant to this article, the FIU may consult with and invite participation from relevant state agencies, including the Office of Emergency Services, for technologies under evaluation that may support the state agencies’ department’s operational missions or impact cross-agency technology integration. 788. (a) The FIU may establish and administer a Wildfire Innovation Grant Program. Program to support department efforts. In administering the grant program, the FIU may issue solicitations, conduct a merit-based award process, and oversee grant performance. award implementation. The grant program shall fund early-stage, mature, or dual-use technology projects that enhance wildfire readiness, mitigation, or response. prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response through grants, contracts, or both grants and contracts. (b) Eligible entities include, but are not limited to, local, state, and federal agencies, tribal entities, nonprofit organizations, public and private academic and research institutions, and private sector technology developers. (c) In administering the Wildfire Innovation Grant Program, the FIU shall, to the extent practicable, encourage projects that evaluate technologies across diverse operational environments and geographical conditions within the state to assess performance under varying terrain, fuel types, and weather conditions. (d) All grants awarded awards pursuant to the Wildfire Innovation Grant Program shall align with statewide wildfire resilience goals and include clear metrics for success that are informed by end-user input. 789. (a) The FIU may administer or monitor pilot, prototype, or demonstration projects involving public agencies, private technology companies, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, tribal governments, and philanthropic partners to evaluate, mature, and validate wildfire-related technologies. (b) If the FIU administers or monitors a pilot, prototype, or demonstration project pursuant to subdivision (a), the FIU shall consider if the wildfire-related technology meets the criteria for formal validation. The FIU shall establish technical and operational criteria for formal validation. (c) (1) The FIU may award a technology vendor that completes an FIU-administered or FIU-monitored pilot, prototype, or demonstration project and receives a formal validation a follow-on contract for operational fielding without a separate competitive solicitation process, if the scope of the follow-on contract is substantially similar to the wildfire-related technology that received a formal validation. (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), “substantially similar” means that the follow-on award is limited to the same use case, operational context, and performance characteristics that were evaluated during the pilot, prototype, or demonstration project pursuant to subdivision (a). (d) The FIU may use flexible contracting authorities to acquire proven technologies for pilot, prototype, and demonstration projects pursuant to subdivision (a) and to award follow-on contracts pursuant to subdivision (c) to support pilot-to-scale transitions. 790. (a) The FIU may collaborate with public and private educational and research institutions on wildfire technology and innovation. innovation to support department efforts. (b) The FIU may enter into partnerships, memoranda of understanding, or cooperative research agreements with the University of California, the California State University, community colleges, independent nonprofit institutions of higher education, and other accredited research centers to support wildfire technology and innovation. innovation to support department efforts. (c) The FIU may provide technical expertise, operational data, field testing environments, and appropriated funding to ensure the technologies developed in the collaborations are transitioned into wildfire operations. 791. The FIU may establish testbeds to test or evaluate emerging technologies. The FIU shall establish or designate testbeds where technologies can be safely deployed and evaluated under real-world conditions. 792. The FIU may provide technical assistance to local, state, tribal, federal, and international fire agencies to facilitate deployment of wildfire-related technologies. 793. The FIU may maintain a publicly available resource, including, but not limited to, an information bulletin, to provide visibility into technologies evaluated, piloted, or deployed pursuant to this article. 794. (a) The FIU may provide opportunities to participate in demonstrations, pilot programs, and field testing pursuant to this article. (b) If the FIU provides opportunities for participation pursuant to subdivision (a), the FIU shall seek operational feedback from participating local, state, tribal, federal, and international fire agencies, and where appropriate, state agencies. 795. (a) Participation by a private entity in any FIU-authorized pilot, prototype, testing, demonstration, or research activity pursuant to this article shall not by itself constitute a conflict of interest, create an unfair competitive advantage, be considered a gift of public funds, or disqualify the private entity from any simultaneous or subsequent procurement, solicitation, or contracting opportunity with the state or a local agency. (b) Information, data, or predecisional materials exchanged during activities conducted pursuant to this article shall be treated as nonprocurement sensitive and shall not be used as a basis to exclude or disadvantage any participant in future competitive procurement. 796. On or before January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the department shall submit to the Governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, a report summarizing all of the following information: (a) Technologies and projects evaluated, tested, or deployed under the FIU. (b) Results and findings regarding cost-effectiveness and operational performance of the FIU. (c) Partnerships and funding sources leveraged to support innovation activities pursuant to this article. 797. (a) The Except as provided in subdivision (b), the director shall implement this article only upon an app [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]