State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > California > Prc > 4740-4741PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 4740-4741
4740. The Legislature hereby finds and declares: (a) The department has extensive technical expertise in wildland fire prevention and vegetation management on forest, range, and watershed lands. When appropriately applied, this expertise can have significant public resource benefits by decreasing wildland fire hazards, increasing rangeland production, improving watershed yields, and increasing wildlife habitat. (b) Because of limited fiscal resources, local government needs assistance in preventing future problems resulting from inadequate fire prevention planning and vegetation management. (c) The state's taxpayers will benefit if existing state expertise is made available to local governments, thereby eliminating the need for duplicating such services at the local level. 4741. In accordance with policies established by the board, the department shall assist local governments in preventing future wildland fire and vegetation managment problems by making its wildland fire prevention and vegetation management expertise available to local governments to the extent possible within the department's budgetary limitations. Department recommendations shall be advisory in nature and local governments shall not be required to follow such recommendations. Nothing in this section shall alter the existing obligations of any local government or affect the existing liability of any local government.
