Los Angeles wildfire recovery package has strong bipartisan support ahead of lawmakers’ vote
Special session bill hearings on Wednesday were a rare show of bipartisanship as California lawmakers advanced $2.5 billion to expedite cleanup and recovery of the Los Angeles fires.
Gov. Gavin Newsom initially called the special session after the November election in an effort to help the state Department of Justice prepare for anticipated legal battles against the Trump administration. The governor later expanded the session to include the wildfire package after devastating wildfires near Los Angeles burned thousands of homes in just a few days.
A Senate committee also approved, by a party-line vote, legislation to beef up resources to challenge policies expected under President Donald Trump. The Assembly is expected to take up the Trump-related bills as soon as next week.
“I was very, very encouraged by the tone of the conversation today,”Assembly Budget Committee chairman Jesse Gabriel, D-San Fernando Valley, said after the hearing. “As we look to help impacted communities recover – hopefully in concert with our federal (and) local partners – it shouldn’t be an issue of partisanship.”
Gabriel, who said his family was under evacuation order for six days as the Palisades Fire threatened his community, confirmed the Assembly will wait to vote on the funds to fight Trump until at least next week.
Both chambers are expected to frontburner the wildfire recovery funding for floor votes Thursday morning.
“I hope that they will pass with unanimous, bipartisan support and we will send those to the governor,” Gabriel said. “Hopefully he will act on them very quickly, and we will get those dollars flowing as quickly as possible.”
The $2.5 billion in state funds would be used to expedite cleanup and home assessments, provide shelter for displaced residents and pay for other emergency response measures. They do not include funding for fire mitigation projects.
Los Angeles-area lawmakers in particular stressed the importance of recovery for communities like Pacific Palisades, which now “looks like a war zone,” as Assemblymember. Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, said.
But some rural lawmakers pointed out that communities like Paradise did not get immediate funding to help cleanup and recovery after the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed the town.
“I really don’t want the message of this special session to be felt, in the north especially, that some homes and some communities are more valued than others just because of where they are in our state,” said Assemblymember Heather Hadwick, R-Alturas.
If the bills are approved, the Department of Finance will be required to post monthly reports tracking the spending.
The fire aid package didn’t just draw bipartisan support: lawmakers of both parties clamored to point out what the state needs to do to prevent more destructive fires, including stronger emphasis on fuels management, greater incentives for home hardening and making Cal Fire firefighters year-round employees.
“I think we have a very unique time in history right now to make some massive changes on how we deal with these types of incidents,” said Assemblymember Heath Flora, R-Lodi. “I’m encouraged by the conversations, I’m encouraged by the bipartisanship. I’m encouraged by calling this extraordinary session on this issue.”
The sheer devastation in the nation’s most populous county promises to keep the issue top-of-mind for lawmakers long after the flames are extinguished in Los Angeles.
Gabriel said he expects “that we will be discussing wildfire issues after midnight on the last night of session. This is going to be an ongoing conversation.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 5:53 PM.
