SACRAMENTO – With wildfire season off to an early start, a pair of bills advanced on Monday from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would help local government deal with preemptive electric power shutoffs and create a new office to foster emergency equipment innovation.

“The wildfire threat is not going away and we must take decisive action to protect life and property,” Sen. Dodd said. “The passage of these bills ensures our communities have adequate resources to respond when power is turned off and that we are working on new and better ways to prevent and respond to wildfire. I thank committee members for seeing the value in these proposals and look forward to approval by both houses of the Legislature.”

Senate Bill 52 follows a series of de-energizations from PG&E over the past two years that were intended to prevent fallen power lines and damaged equipment from sparking fires. It makes clear that such public safety power shutoffs are eligible for official emergency declarations, freeing financial assistance for local government under the Emergency Services Act.

SB 52 is supported by Napa County, California Fire Chiefs Association, Fire Districts Association of California, Regional Council of Rural Counties, Disability Rights California and the California Association of Public Authorities.

SB 109 Creates the Office of Emergency Technology Research and Development to study, produce and test new equipment to battle wildfires and other emergencies. Public, private and non-profit organizations and companies would join forces and become a state hub for firefighting advancements. SB 109 is supported by numerous groups including the California Fire Chiefs Association, the League of California Cities, Breathe California and the counties of Napa and Yolo.

Both bills passed the Assembly Utilities and Energy committee on Monday with overwhelming support after previously being approved by the full Senate. SB 52 heads to the Assembly floor and SB 109 goes to Assembly Appropriations.

Dodd represents the Third Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Yolo, Sonoma, Solano, Sacramento and Contra Costa counties. Visit his website for more information.