State Senate Unveils Major Wildfire Package: ‘The Golden State Commitment,’ Investing in a More Fire-Safe California
SACRAMENTO, California – February 12, 025 – Senator Laura Richardson (D-South Bay) joined Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) and a broad coalition of Senators from across the Golden State in announcing a sweeping legislative effort to strengthen California’s wildfire response and recovery, and to make communities more wildfire safe.
Following the devastating Los Angeles firestorm, the Senate is charging ahead with the Golden State Commitment—a major legislative package that will expand the state’s response efforts, streamline fire recovery, rebuilding, and prevention efforts, help stabilize the state’s insurance market, and expand protections for homeowners and renters. These comprehensive solutions will also deliver desperately needed financial resources for school and community college districts that have been impacted by devastating wildfires.
Senator Richardson has co-authored a bill that helps remove barriers to rebuilding of residential homes while ensuring safe and mindful rebuilds.
The Golden State Commitment embodies the Senate’s longstanding promise to make communities more fire safe and builds upon record investments by the State in wildfire prevention and response.
“We’re living in a new harsh reality. With California and the West burning at historic rates and an unrelenting year round fire season, we must buckle down to make our communities safer from wildfires. The 13 bills and accompanying budget investments in the Golden State Commitment package do just that,” Pro Tem Mike McGuire said. “The Senate is advancing an ambitious slate of policies to help California prepare for and prevent the next destructive wildfire, all while helping thousands in the greater LA region recover and rebuild strong. Every one of the bills in this package is essential to helping communities stabilize in the aftermath of a tragic natural disaster. These solutions will make the Golden State more fire-ready and resilient for decades to come.”
“The impact of the fires on homeowners, renters, and small businesses has been devastating. As a legislative body, we are compelled to extend our support to fellow Californians in their time of need. Our focus must remain steadfastly on people, not politics,” said Senator Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro). “Having personally met with community members and business owners in the affected areas, I am confident that the Senate’s wildfire package will address their immediate needs to rebuild their homes, businesses, livelihoods, and most importantly, their communities. I am proud to sponsor these bills and uphold our Golden State commitment.”
As California continues to face a year-round fire season, the Senate is forging a path forward to harden California’s defenses against future disasters. The Golden State Commitment legislative package includes 13 initial bills that target:
Wildfire Recovery Measures:
· Speed-up residential rebuilds
· Provide property tax relief
· Protect consumers from price gouging
· Expand insurance protections for small businesses
· Expand protections for homeowners, tenants, and mobile home residents
· Support the rebuilding of health facilities
· Strengthen penalties against bad actors following disasters
· Provide desperately needed resources for impacted school districts
Fire Prevention and Response Measures:
· Transition all 3,000 seasonal CAL FIRE firefighters to full-time, permanent status
· Establish an insurance community hardening commission that will ensure more fire-safe communities and homeowners get the financial credit they deserve
· Advance new policies that require fire-safe landscaping, setbacks, and inspections in high fire hazard zones
The Golden State Commitment package includes bills authored by Pro Tem McGuire and Senators Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley), Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento), Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton), Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena), Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro), Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles), Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), and Aisha Wahab (D-Silicon Valley).
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