SECTIONS 730-745 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 730-745

730. (a) There is in the department a State Board of Forestry and
Fire Protection consisting of nine members appointed by the Governor,
subject to confirmation by the Senate.
(b) (1) On and after January 1, 1998, wherever any reference is
made in any law to the State Board of Forestry in the department, the
reference shall be deemed to be a reference to, and to mean, the
State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(2) No existing supplies, forms, signs, or logos shall be
destroyed or changed to reflect the name change, and they shall
continue to be used until exhausted or unserviceable.

731. All members of the board shall be appointed and shall be
selected and approved for appointment on the basis of their
educational and professional qualifications and their general
knowledge of, interest in, and experience with, problems relating to
watershed management (including hydrology and soil science), forest
management practices, fish and wildlife, range management, forest
economics, or land use planning. Five members shall be selected from
the general public, three members shall be selected from the forest
products industry, and one member shall be selected from the range
livestock industry. At no time shall a majority of the members, nor
any of the members selected from the general public, be persons with
a direct personal financial interest, within the meaning of Section
1120 of the Government Code, in timberlands. All members of the board
shall represent the general public interest.

731.1. The Legislature declares that some individuals appointed as
members of the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection are
required to be chosen from backgrounds in the forest products and
range livestock industries in order to represent and further the
interests of those industries and that this representation and
furtherance serves the general public interest, as specified in
Section 731. Accordingly, the Legislature finds that, for purposes of
persons who hold that office, the forest products and the range
livestock industries are tantamount to and constitute the public
generally within the meaning of Section 87103 of the Government Code
in those decisions affecting the forest products or range livestock
industries, unless the results of their actions taken as board
members have a material financial effect on them distinguishable from
their effect on other members of their respective industries
generally.

732. Each member of the board shall hold office for four years from
the expiration of the term of his or her predecessor. Vacancies
shall be immediately filled by the Governor.

735. Each member of the board shall receive compensation for each
day during which the member engaged in the performance of official
duties, except that the total number of days for which a member,
other than the chairperson, may be compensated shall not exceed 80
days in any one fiscal year. The chairperson of the board may receive
compensation for not more than 100 days in any one fiscal year. In
addition to the compensation, each member shall be reimbursed for
necessary traveling and other expenses incurred in the performance of
official duties.

736. The board shall maintain its headquarters in Sacramento and
shall hold meetings at such times and at such places as shall be
determined by it. Five members of the board shall constitute a quorum
for the purpose of transacting any business of the board. A majority
affirmative vote of the total authorized membership of the board
shall be necessary to adopt, amend, or repeal rules and regulations
of the board adopted pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section
4551) of Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4. All meetings of the board
shall be open to the public.

737. (a) No member of the board shall participate in any board
action pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 4601) or
Article 9 (commencing with Section 4621) of Chapter 8 of Part 2 of
Division 4 which involves himself or any person with which he is
connected as a director, officer, or employee, or in which he has a
direct personal financial interest within the meaning of Section 1120
of the Government Code.
(b) Upon request of any person or on his own initiative, the
Attorney General may file a complaint in the superior court for the
county in which the board has its principal office alleging that a
board member has knowingly violated this section and the facts upon
which the allegation is based and asking that the member be removed
from office. Further proceedings shall be in accordance as near as
may be with rules governing civil actions. If after trial the court
finds that the board member has knowingly violated this section it
shall pronounce judgment that the member be removed from office.

738. The Governor shall designate the chair of the board from among
the members of the board. The person designated as the chair shall
hold the office at the pleasure of the Governor. The board shall
annually elect a vice chair from among its members.

739. The board may appoint an executive officer who shall be exempt
from civil service pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 4 of
Article VII of the California Constitution.

740. The board shall represent the state's interest in the
acquisition and management of state forests as provided by law and in
federal land matters pertaining to forestry, and the protection of
the state's interests in forest resources on private lands, and shall
determine, establish, and maintain an adequate forest policy.
General policies for guidance of the department shall be determined
by the board.

741. (a) The board shall appoint a Range Management Advisory
Committee and shall consult with the advisory committee on rangeland
resource issues under consideration by the board.
(b) The advisory committee shall consist of 11 members, who shall
be selected as follows:
(1) Two members of the general public, who have an interest and
background in the conservation of range resources or special
knowledge in the protection of range and brushland soils and
watersheds.
(2) One member nominated by the Watershed Fire Council of Southern
California.
(3) One member nominated by the California Association of Resource
Conservation Districts.
(4) Seven members nominated by organizations representing owners
of range and brushlands.
(c) Members of the advisory committee shall serve without
compensation.
(d) The Secretary of the Resources Agency, the Secretary for
Environmental Protection, and the Secretary of Food and Agriculture
shall notify the advisory committee of, and are encouraged to consult
with the advisory committee on, rangeland resource issues that are
under consideration by the Resources Agency, the California
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Food and
Agriculture, respectively.

743. State agencies shall submit to the board plans for, and the
results of, all investigations that relate to, or have an effect
upon, forest resource utilization for review and comment. The board
may, at its expense, contract with any state or local agency to
investigate and report on any technical factors involved in forest
management; provided, that the burden, including costs, of such
reports shall bear a reasonable relationship to the needs for the
reports and the benefits to be obtained from such reports.

745. The board shall implement a public information program on
matters involving forest management and shall maintain an information
file on forest management research and other pertinent matters.