California Rushes Billions in Aid for L.A. Fire Recovery: ‘The First of Many Steps’

California’s Legislature Passed a Set of Bills Thursday to Expedite $2.5 Billion in 'Bridge Funding' Intended to Help State and Local Agencies Respond to Relief Efforts

By Sameea Kamal, CalMatters Thu Jan 23, 2025 | 04:33pm

The Santa Barbara Independent republishes stories from CalMatters.org on state and local issues impacting readers in Santa Barbara County.

As recovery efforts in the Palisades and Eaton fires begin, California’s Legislature passed a set of bills Thursday to expedite $2.5 billion in “bridge funding” intended to help state and local agencies respond to relief efforts.

The bills passed unanimously in both the Assembly and the Senate as part of an extended special session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to the Los Angeles area wildfires. Newsom signed the bills at a press conference in Pasadena Thursday afternoon, releasing the funds immediately.

“This is about distilling a sense of hopefulness,” he said.

The bills are part of “a much larger conversation that we’re going to need to have about recovery and rebuilding in these devastated communities, and also about how we protect communities across the state of California,” said Jesse Gabriel, chair of the Assembly’s budget committee and one of a few lawmakers who live in neighborhoods that were under evacuated. “This is the first of many steps that we will take on a long journey as we progress through this conversation.”

The two fires — the largest in the recent spate in Southern California, totaling nearly 40,000 acres — killed 27 people, destroyed 12,000 structures and displaced tens of thousands of people. The early estimate of the total damage is more than $250 billion, according to AccuWeather.

The funding is in addition to other state and federal government relief efforts, such as extending tax filing deadlines and placing a moratorium on evictions.

The money will come from the state’s reserve fund dedicated to economic uncertainties, which had about $8.3 billion as of Jan. 10, according to the H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for California’s Department of Finance.

Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire said at the afternoon press conference that he expects the Legislature will pass more bills for relief money within the next few weeks.

Former President Joe Biden said on Jan. 12 that the federal government would reimburse 100% of state funds that are spent within 180 days. State officials expect the $2.5 billion will be reimbursed, though President Donald Trump repeated threats Wednesday to withhold federal aid.

“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,” he said in a Fox News interview, repeating a false claim that the state did not permit water to flow from Northern California for the wildfires.

The funding package includes $2.5 billion for use by state and local agencies for a range of recovery efforts: shelters for those evacuated, hazardous waste removal, air quality testing and to fund safety tests for post-fire hazards, such as mudslides.

The bills also include $4 million for the Department of Housing and Community Development to help local governments expedite building permits, $1 million to school districts to facilitate rebuilding, and an additional $1 million to support construction of schools and other public buildings.

Lawmakers stressed during Wednesday’s hearings that the state must require detailed tracking of how the money is spent, and that those most in need should be prioritized, including the historic Black community in Altadena.

“I am deeply concerned about the vulnerable communities — those on fixed incomes, those that have lost their jobs in addition to losing their homes, those that are not going to be able to advocate for themselves, or wait for a massive payout because they are just renters,” said Sen. Aisha Wahab, a Democrat from Fremont.

Another wildfire broke out near Castaic Lake in Southern California as lawmakers discussed the package this week — underscoring comments from lawmakers that the Legislature must also prioritize prevention. A $10 billion bond approved by voters in November to fight climate change includes funding for some wildfire prevention programs. The bond money can’t be used for recovery efforts, Department of Finance officials said during the hearing.

Heath Flora, a Republican from Ripon and vice chair of the budget committee, recommended that the Legislature reintroduce two wildfire prevention and emergency management bills by Democratic Assemblymembers that Newsom previously vetoed: one would have fully staffed the state fire department year-round versus in the nine-month fire season, and another would have expedited permits for vegetation management.

Lawmakers have proposed a number of other wildfire-related bills this session.

“Like our chair said, we have so much further to go,” said Flora. “And these are not issues that came up just in the last 10 days — we’ve known these issues literally since 2004. It’s time that we do some things, and I think right now we have the motivation and the ability to do so.”