Cal. PRC § 4505 — California Code / Code prc / Division 4 / Part 2 / Chapter 7 / Article 4.5 / Section 4505
Section 4505
Status: in_force

(a) (1) The Legislature acknowledges that federally recognized California Native American tribes have inherent sovereignty and authority to regulate their members and cultural practices, including, but not limited to, cultural fire practitioners and cultural burning.

(2) The Legislature finds and declares that in order to meet fuel management and wildfire resilience goals of the state and to address the historical wrongs of criminalizing cultural use of fire, the state must work collaboratively with federally recognized California Native American tribes that engage in cultural burning within their ancestral territories.

(b) (1) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with its departments, commissions, boards, conservancies, and other entities, may enter into written agreements with federally recognized California Native American tribes in support of tribal sovereignty with respect to cultural burning in their ancestral territories. In deference to tribal sovereignty, the secretary may agree in a written agreement regarding cultural burning that compliance with either of the following is not required:

(A) The state permitting or regulatory requirements in Article 3 (commencing with Section 4491).

(B) The burn plan requirements in subdivision (e) of Section 4500.

(2) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall consult with federally recognized California Native American tribes on the implementation of paragraph (1).

(3) (A) Local air districts may enter into written agreements with federally recognized California Native American tribes in support of tribal sovereignty with respect to cultural burning in their ancestral territories.

(B) A local air district may agree in a written agreement regarding cultural burning that compliance with its permitting, regulatory, or administrative requirements is not required.

(C) In the event of a disagreement between a local air district and a tribe in developing or implementing an agreement, the Secretary for Environmental Protection shall assist in resolving the disagreement.

(4) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency or the local air district shall provide a copy of a final written agreement developed under this subdivision to the Deputy Secretary for Tribal Affairs at the Natural Resources Agency. In addition, a local air district shall provide a copy of a final written agreement developed under this subdivision to the State Air Resources Board.

(c)  Nothing in this section provides authorization to enter or burn property without the permission of the landowner.

(d) Any state or local agency operating within a federally recognized California Native American tribe’s ancestral territory, including a local air district and a regional water quality control board, is highly encouraged to collaboratively work together with federally recognized California Native American tribes to create conditions that support cultural burning.

(e) A cultural burn conducted with an agreement developed under this section shall meet the permit requirements of Section 3333.8 of the Civil Code.

(f) This section does not grant immunity from fire suppression or other costs otherwise recoverable pursuant to Section 13009 or 13009.1 of the Health and Safety Code to any person whose conduct constitutes gross negligence.

(g) An agreement reached under this section shall include a clear description of the area covered by the agreement and an attestation that the area is within the boundaries of the tribe’s ancestral territory.

(h) This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.