FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 24, 2025
CONTACT: Nick VaVerka, (916) 651-4614 [email protected]

Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil prioritizes wildfire resiliency, rural issues in 2025 legislative package

Priorities also include making California rural living affordable again, protecting parental involvement in children’s healthcare decisions, and promoting healthy bodies and minds of aging women

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Today, Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) rolled out her 2025 legislative package, featuring five bills focused on wildfire resiliency and rural issues—including two that were killed last year after she switched from Democrat to Republican.

“The devastation from recent fires is a stark reminder of the threat rural Californians face every year. Families are losing their homes, struggling to get insurance, and are potentially facing long-term health conditions due to smoke,” said Senator Alvarado-Gil. “These bills strengthen resources for rural communities, cut through red tape, and bring greater transparency to how we assess and address the impacts of wildfire.”

Senator Alvarado-Gil’s 2025 legislative package includes the following wildfire-related bills:

· SB 223 – Wildfire Smoke and Health Outcomes Data Act: Requires state agencies to develop a comprehensive database to measure the specific health impacts of wildfires and the effectiveness of fuels mitigation investments. *This is a rerun of SB 945, which was killed last year when Senator Alvarado-Gil switched from Democrat to Republican.*

· SB 365 – Insurance Accountability: Requires the Department of Insurance to report annually to the Legislature on the impact of non-renewals within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

· SB 426 – Defensible Space: Provides a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) exemption for projects under Public Resources Code 4291, ensuring property owners can more efficiently meet defensible space regulations to reduce wildfire risk.

· SB 696 – El Dorado Fire Equipment Exemption: Creates a sales and use tax exemption on the purchase of fire equipment such as fire engines and ladder trucks.

· SB 746 – Small Community Drought Relief Program: Expands access to funding for water districts in high fire hazard and very high fire hazard zones to strengthen infrastructure for drought resilience and wildfire response. *This is a rerun of SB 470, which was killed last year when Senator Alvarado-Gil switched from Democrat to Republican.*

In addition to wildfire, Senator Alvarado-Gil’s 2025 priorities include making California rural living affordable again, protecting parental involvement in children’s healthcare decisions, and promoting healthy bodies and minds of aging women. Other notable bills in her 2025 legislative package include the following:

Public Safety

· SB 229 – Peace Officers: Adds Amador and Nevada counties to the list of counties that allow custodial officers to be designated as peace officers.

· SB 589 – Spousal Support Factors: Prevents abusers from receiving spousal support from victims if a domestic violence restraining order is in effect.

Water and Agriculture

· SB 353 – Farm to Food Bank Exemption: Makes permanent an existing exemption that allows farmers who donate food to local food banks to continue doing so without additional regulatory burdens.

· SB 463 – Water Meters: Creates an exemption from SB 552’s requirement for water meters at every service connection for small water service districts with fewer than 500 connections.

Education

· SB 527 – Walk-On Athletic Coaches: Exempts walk-on coaches in K-12 school systems from AB 5 requirements, allowing them to coach sports without being classified as school employees.