Accessibility to emergency information and services: evacuations: pets.

Assembly Member Zbur's legislation establishes protocols for pet rescue during emergency evacuations, requiring California cities and counties to incorporate specific procedures into their emergency management plans. The measure creates a framework for authorized individuals to rescue pets from evacuation zones, subject to incident commander approval, while maintaining public safety through controlled reentry procedures.

Upon their next emergency plan update, local jurisdictions must designate contacts for pet evacuation assistance and establish guidelines for rescuing animals believed to be alive when evacuation orders were issued. Cities and counties must post these designated contacts online, along with resources for reuniting owners with pets rescued from evacuation zones. The legislation permits local governments to require liability waivers from residents or their representatives who reenter evacuation zones to rescue pets under incident command supervision.

The bill institutes a 30-day holding period for pets rescued from evacuation areas, during which animals cannot be euthanized, adopted, or transferred from local animal control custody except in cases of irremediable suffering. After this period, agencies must notify local rescue and foster partners before euthanizing or transferring any rescued pets. These provisions aim to address scenarios documented in recent Southern California fires where jurisdictions lacked coordinated procedures for animal rescue during evacuations.