A group of Assembly members, many who represent the greater Los Angeles area, unveiled a slate of legislative priorities on Thursday, Jan. 16, which they say will help residents and businesses recover from Southern California’s devastating wildfires.
While most of the proposals have not been filed, some of the suggested bills ranged in scope from removing barriers to accelerate home construction to providing housing stability in short-term rentals for displaced people to financial assistance for affected residents and small business owners.
In addition, the group convened at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, had a message for Angelenos: “Our entire state stands together with Los Angeles,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Salinas.
“We want those affected by these fires to know that immediate help is on the way so that you can begin to recover and rebuild,” Rivas said. “This is a first step, and it’s only the beginning. We will listen to local residents about what they need most. We’re going to act with urgency to ensure that we deliver results.”
The legislators highlighted bills they’ve either already introduced or plan to in the coming weeks to help wildfire victims.
Among them were two filed on Monday, ahead of the press event, by Assemblymembers John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, and Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, whose districts were most impacted by the Eaton and Palisades fires.
AB 238 would allow homeowners experiencing financial hardship due to the wildfires to request mortgage forbearance for up to 360 days without fees, penalties or interest. It would also prohibit a mortgage servicer from initiating a foreclosure process.
And AB 239 seeks to establish a state-led disaster housing task force to coordinate and streamline efforts between state, federal and local governments to rebuild housing in areas impacted by the fires.
“I’ve spoken to many victims and heard their tragic stories of loss, and the Assembly is here to say, ‘We hear you,’” said Irwin, whose satellite office in Pacific Palisades was destroyed by the fire.
Harabedian said that while thousands of people have lost their homes, jobs and places of worship, communities will rebuild.
“It really seems as though the communities of Altadena (and) Pacific Palisades are gone as we know it,” Harabedian said. “But this isn’t the end of our story. We’re not going to let it be the end. We’re going to come out of this darkness and rebuild.”
On Thursday, legislators at the press conference or in press releases announced several other bills they plan to introduce soon. These bills would:
• Place a moratorium on new state or local building standards other than ones required for health and safety reasons or to add fire-resistant technology. This bill, intended to provide better certainty about expectations to homeowners looking to rebuild, will be authored by Assemblymember Nick Schultz, D-Burbank.
• Accelerate state permit review for reconstruction by requiring state agencies to follow specific approval timelines, just as local governments are required to do. Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, D-Santa Clarita, is behind this effort.
• Expedite construction of accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, in the coastal zone by no longer requiring homeowners to obtain a coastal development permit. Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Hollywood, will head up this bill.
• Keep displaced Californians housed and provide stability by lifting an existing L.A. County law that grants tenancy rights to people living in a hotel, motel or Airbnb for over 30 days. Because of this law, some landlords refuse to rent out their places for more than 30 days. This bill will be spearheaded by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, D-Encino.
• Temporarily prohibit a tenant from being evicted if they allow wildfire victims or their pets to move in — so long as they don’t exceed the number of pets allowed under the lease agreement. Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood, will introduce this bill. (McKinnor also said she’d introduce legislation, consistent with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order, to prevent predatory land speculation and prohibit unsolicited offers to property owners in areas damaged by the wildfires for amounts less than the fair market value.)
• Provide cash assistance of up to $1,500 per household to meet basic needs and for grants to help small businesses recover. Assemblymember Jessica Caloza, D-Los Angeles, will champion this effort.
This is not an exhaustive list of bills state legislators could tackle in the coming weeks and months. Earlier this week, for example, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan introduced legislation to increase pay for incarcerated firefighters. His bill did not set hourly wage but instead said inmate firefighters would be paid “an hourly wage equal to the lowest nonincarcerated firefighter wage in the State of California for the time that they are actively fighting a fire.”