How Does the Expedited Authorization Process Differ from the 2025 Emergency Proclamation?
On September 29, 2026, Governor Newsom signed SB 1370 establishing a consolidated regulatory review process of covered (i.e., eligible) wildlife mitigation projects, called “expedited authorization” in the statute. This process takes the place of a similar approach to streamlining wildfire mitigation projects authorized under the previous March 2025 State of Emergency Proclamation and subsequently extended by Executive Order N‑38‑25. The deadline for application under the Emergency Proclamation order passed as of May 1, 2026. As described in a press release, the SB 1370 expedited review process will quicken the pace that wildfire mitigation projects are implemented to protect California communities.
The statute’s expedited authorization process is similar to the Emergency Proclamation in several ways, including use of the same application process, the same consolidated reviewing agencies, and a requirement to comply with the Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan (most current version). The expedited authorization process also retains a CEQA exemption for covered projects, as well as the waiving of state statutes, rules, regulations, and requirements within the jurisdiction of the reviewing agencies, with specified exceptions. However, the new process differs from the previous process in several ways.
The Emergency Proclamation authorized a wide range of projects; fewer projects may qualify under the SB 1370 consolidated review process. To be covered by the new consolidated review process, projects need to be in one of the following categories of activities undertaken for the purpose of reducing wildfire risk:
- Required by law
- Identified in a utility’s wildfire mitigation plan or in a community wildfire preparedness plan or adopted by a local agency
- In a plan proposed by CAL FIRE
The list of activities that qualify for a covered activity is extensive but is more limited than those included under the Emergency Proclamation. Limitations on qualifying projects include a prohibition on use of pesticides (including herbicides), substantial restrictions on activities allowed in chaparral and coastal sage scrub, and exclusion of projects that require incidental take permits under the California Endangered Species Act or Native Plant Protection Act. In addition, there are new acreage limits on projects eligible to be covered under the expedited authorization process:
- Projects that maintain right-of-way and maintain existing fuel breaks along utility infrastructure shall be less than 3,000 acres
- Projects in forests to improve ecosystem health shall be less than 1,000 acres.
- Projects in chaparral, shrubland, grassland, and coastal sage scrub to remove flammable nonnative grasses and herbaceous plants shall be less than 50 acres
The process also codifies a 60-day review period for applications and adds a requirement to post applications on a website for a 20-day public review and comment period during the consolidated review, which is an additional provision compared to the Emergency Proclamation. The consolidated review agencies are required to consider all timely submitted public comments, including consideration of whether comments warrant modification of the project before approval.
For proponents of wildfire-risk-reducing vegetation treatment projects, SB 1370 adds substantially to the suite of streamlining strategies available to accelerate the environmental review, permitting, and implementation of eligible projects. Also, consider the provisions of SB 131 (Statutes of 2025) for several exemptions available to critical wildfire safety projects and the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) Environmental Impact Report and Project-Specific Analysis (PSA) tool, which is designed to expedite larger projects, landscape-scale projects, and regional or countywide wildfire resilience planning. Please check out our previous AscentShare that summarized other streamlining options: Streamlining Synopsis for Expedited Environmental Review Opportunities for Wildfire Safety Projects.
If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to Ted Thayer, Lara Rachowicz, Heather Blair, or Curtis Alling at Ascent.
