Bennett Unveils Six-Bill Package to Boost Wildfire Resilience, Insurance Transparency, and Community Preparedness

Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) last week introduced six bills aimed at strengthening wildfire resilience, advancing housing affordability, and bolstering community preparedness — a package he says advances his 7-Step Framework to reduce fire losses.

“For years, we have worked on cultivating an enhanced sense of urgency in how Sacramento discusses wildfire prevention in the built environment,” Bennett said, noting the proposals are informed by lessons from the Mountain and Thomas fires in his district. “We remain committed to pursuing and supporting proven methods that reduce loss of life and property and give our communities greater chances in surviving fast-moving blazes.”

The bills focus on home hardening, community-scale incentives, insurance clarity, and water system readiness:

• AB 1934: Directs the State Fire Marshal’s Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee to develop a statewide home hardening certification program. Assemblymember Harabedian, who represents Altadena, is a principal coauthor. “This bill gives homeowners guidance on how to rebuild and how insurance companies will recognize our collective efforts to increase resiliency,” Harabedian said, citing recovery from the Eaton Fire.
• AB 1960: Prioritizes state wildfire prevention grants for communities where at least 50% of homes have earned home-hardening certification. “As more homes in a neighborhood are hardened, community-wide protection increases exponentially,” said Ventura County Fire Safe Council Board President Andy Ortega and Executive Director Stephen Watson.
• AB 1964: Requires a statewide survey identifying homes in fire-risk areas that still need hardening and assessing the remaining steps. “AB 1964 brings clarity to the scale of the challenge and helps align state strategy and resources with real, verified risk,” said Megafire Action California Director Eric Horne.
• AB 1971: Exempts home-hardening upgrades from increased property tax reassessments to encourage mitigation work.
• AB 1986: Requires insurers to display two premium quotes to homeowners seeking coverage: one for the property “as is” and another if the home is fully hardened and state-certified.
• AB 2103: Requires water suppliers serving fire hazard zones to establish emergency preparedness plans for threats to water service.

“This package makes preparedness a priority, using insurance incentives, tax relief, and community-wide hardening to drive action. It’s a practical shift toward aligning markets, policy, and people around reducing wildfire risk,” Horne added.

Bennett presented the package at a wildfire prevention press conference with Megafire Action and legislative colleagues on Wednesday, March 4 in Sacramento. 

Bennett represents the 38th Assembly District, including Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, and Ventura. He chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on Climate Change, Natural Resources, and Transportation.