After many months of uncertainty regarding the status of wildfire resilience funding for this year’s budget, the legislative session ended on September 1 with a deal that allocates funding from the two sources we’ve been focused on this year: the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) and Prop 4.
First, a huge thank you to all of our Coalition members who joined us in advocating for increased wildfire resilience funding this budget cycle, including those who made calls to their legislators in recent weeks. The Coalition also wants to recognize the organizations that took the time to meet with key legislators and staff in-person leading up to the close of session: Association of California Water Agencies, California Council of Land Trusts, California Forward, Rural County Representatives of California, Sierra Business Council, and The Nature Conservancy.
In an 11th-hour deal, the legislature reversed some of the proposed cuts to GGRF wildfire resilience funding and increased wildfire resilience investments from Prop 4 in California’s Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget. The final budget includes meaningful increases to both funding sources, reflecting the impact of our collective advocacy over the past nine months. We’re grateful to everyone who helped make the case for these critical investments and helped secure additional funding in the final budget.
Here’s where wildfire resilience funding landed:
- GGRF: $118 million (up from $38 million)
- Prop 4: $329.5 million (up from $314 million)
- Combined: $447.5 million (up from $352 million)
Despite these increases, this year’s commitment of $447.5 million is the state’s second- smallest investment in wildfire resilience since 2019. Even as the cost of wildfire disasters continues to outpace investment in preventative measures, there’s no plan to increase wildfire resilience funding in upcoming budgets. Especially after recent changes to the GGRF, it’s clear that an alternative revenue source is needed to implement the state’s own wildfire resilience strategies and protect California’s communities and landscapes from catastrophic wildfire.
Sustained and increased investment in wildfire resilience is necessary to break California’s cycle of catastrophic wildfire. Failure to act, even in tough budget years like this one, will have severe and lasting consequences on Californians’ livelihoods, health, and wallets. The Wildfire Solutions Coalition looks forward to working with state, federal, and local leaders to generate the investment in wildfire resilience that all Californians deserve.