An agreement that is entered into pursuant to this article shall do all of the following:

(a) Vest in the director the final authority to determine the time during which wildland fuel and structural fire hazards may be burned to minimize the risk of escape of a fire set in a prescribed burning operation and to facilitate maintenance of air quality.

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(b) Designate an officer of the department or a burn boss certified pursuant to Section 4477 as the burn boss with final authority to approve and amend the plan and formula applicable to a prescribed burning operation, to determine that the site has been prepared and the crew and equipment are ready to commence the operation, and to supervise the work assignments of departmental employees and all personnel furnished by the person contracting with the department until the prescribed burning is completed and all fire is declared to be out.

(c) Specify the duties of, and the precautions taken by, the person contracting with the department and any personnel furnished by that person.

(d) Provide that any personnel furnished by a person contracting with the department to assist in any aspect of site preparation or prescribed burning or other hazardous fuel reduction shall be an agent of that person for all purposes of workers’ compensation. However, any volunteer recruited or used by the department to suppress a wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation is an employee of the department for all purposes of workers’ compensation.

(e) (1) Provide that the department may, in its discretion, purchase a third-party liability policy of insurance that provides coverage against loss resulting from a wildland fire sustained by any person or public agency, including the federal government. The amount of the policy, if purchased, shall be determined by the director. The policy shall name the person contracting with the department and the department as joint policyholders. A certificate of insurance, if purchased, covering each policy shall be attached to or become a part of the agreements. If the department elects not to purchase insurance, with respect to liability arising out of performance of the agreement, the department shall, in the agreement, either (A) indemnify and hold harmless the person contracting with the department, (B) provide a maximum dollar amount of liability for the department, or (C) provide for the proportionate share of liability between the department and the person contracting with the department.

(2) If the department chooses to use option (B) or (C) as allowed pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall determine the maximum amount of liability or proportionate share of liability for each prescribed burn conducted pursuant to this article using factors including, but not limited to, department involvement with the planning and conducting the prescribed burn, fire hazard severity, assets at risk from a wildfire without the prescribed burn being conducted, wildlife habitat, and watershed values. When using a proportionate share of liability as allowed in (C) pursuant to paragraph (1), the maximum percentage of liability for the person contracting with the department shall be 75 percent. This section does not preclude the department from purchasing an insurance policy to cover the maximum amount of state liability or state proportionate share of liability in the contract.

(f) Provide that the department shall be fully responsible for prescribed burns initiated at the department’s request, with the consent of the landowner, for training or other purposes on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 624, Sec. 12. (SB 1260) Effective January 1, 2019.)