The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

(a) California is situated on the rim of the Circum-Pacific seismic belt and it is inevitable that earthquakes along the state’s numerous faults will cause extensive property damage and endanger the lives of people nearby. The risk to life and property is especially significant near the San Andreas fault where rapid growth and population increases have occurred in our largest urban centers over the last several decades. With each passing year, the potential for an earthquake-caused catastrophe increases as California’s growth continues and the time lengthens since the last great earthquake.

(b) Earthquakes have caused and can cause in the future enormous loss of life, injury, destruction of property, and economic and social disruption. With respect to future earthquakes, that loss, injury, destruction, and disruption can be reduced substantially by developing and implementing earthquake hazards reduction measures, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Improving design and construction methods and practices.

(2) Rehabilitating hazardous buildings.

(3) Coordinating emergency planning for response by the government and private sectors.

(4) Implementing land use and redevelopment planning.

(5) Developing public information and education programs.

(6) Improving emergency response capabilities and emergency management systems.

(7) Developing long-term social and economic recovery strategies.

(8) Upgrading the strong motion instrumentation system.

(9) Improving basic research of physical and social earthquake phenomena.

(c) While the major responsibility for dealing with earthquakes before and after they happen is firmly fixed with local government, state government also has fundamental responsibilities to take all reasonable measures to reduce the seismic hazards to which the citizens of California are exposed. The state should assume a leadership role by influencing the direction of existing and future national earthquake hazard reduction programs and should serve as a model for local hazard reduction measures.

(d) Earthquake hazard reduction measures often benefit many state programs and bring about improvements in buildings, dams, transportation facilities, communications, fire safety, toxic materials handling, and emergency response preparations.

(e) Over the past 10 years, numerous studies have been completed by the Seismic Safety Commission, the Office of Emergency Services, the California Division of Mines and Geology, the Governor’s Earthquake Task Force, the federal government, and private sector organizations recommending improvements in hazard mitigation programs to reduce the earthquake threat in California. Implementing recommendations from these studies will reduce earthquake hazards, improve earthquake disaster response, and guide reconstruction and recovery efforts.

(Added by renumbering Section 8870 by Stats. 1991, Ch. 188, Sec. 2.)