Electric security fences like this one from AMAROK can now be permitted much more quickly.
FBAC, our Statewide Sponsor AMAROK, and other installers of electric fences won a great victory at the Capitol last year when our sponsored bill AB 2371 was signed into law. AMAROK installs 10-foot-high electric fences inside the fence of an outdoor storage facility. These electric fences aren’t lethal, but it is virtually impossible to get past them.
The bill was needed because the average time it took to get a permit in California for this simple concept was 372 days. Some local governments dragged the process out for as much as five years. Our bill provided that, if certain requirements were met, these fences could be installed without going through the permitting process.
With some good lobbying, the bill had unanimous support in both houses of the Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor on an urgency basis, so it went into effect on September 14, 2024. Since that time, in just five months, 450 fences have been installed and another 50 are in the pipeline. Approval times have dropped from that 372-day average to an average of just 16 days!
If this kind of reform could be done in more areas, it would really improve the business environment in our state. Kudos to AMAROK and our lobbying team for a job well done.