Section 326.1 - California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board(a) There is hereby established the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board. The board shall advise the Wildfire Safety Division established pursuant to Section 326.(b) The board shall consist of seven members. Five members shall be appointed by the Governor, one member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and one member shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. The members of the board shall serve four-year staggered terms. The initial members of the board shall be appointed by January 1, 2020. The Governor shall designate three of the initial members who shall serve two-year terms. Members of the board shall be selected from industry experts, academics, and persons with labor and workforce safety experience or other relevant qualifications and shall represent a cross-section of relevant expertise including, at all times, at least three members experienced in the safe operation, design, and engineering of electrical infrastructure.(c) The board shall meet at least quarterly and alternate meeting locations between northern, central, and southern California, when feasible.(d) Members of the board who are not salaried state service employees shall be eligible for reasonable compensation, not to exceed a per diem of four hundred dollars ($400), for attendance at board meetings.(e) All reasonable costs incurred by the board, including staffing, travel at state travel reimbursement rates, and administrative costs, shall be reimbursed through the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account provided for in Section 402 and shall be part of the budget of the commission. The commission shall consult with the board in the preparation of this portion of the commission's proposed annual budget.(f) Communications by the board, its staff, and individual members of the board are not subject to the commission's ex parte rules set forth in Article 1 (commencing with Section 1701) of Chapter 9.Ca. Pub. Util. Code § 326.1
Amended by Stats 2019 ch 396 (AB 1513),s 15, eff. 1/1/2020.Added by Stats 2019 ch 81 (AB 111),s 8, eff. 7/12/2019.