SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate took sweeping and decisive action to protect Californians from devastating wildfires today by advancing the Golden State Commitment package. The package of 13 bills is a comprehensive legislative effort to strengthen California’s wildfire response and recovery efforts, help stabilize the state’s insurance market, streamline rebuilding after disasters and make communities more wildfire safe.

The package, which has bipartisan support, was announced in early February in direct response to the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, which destroyed over 16,000 structures and tragically took 29 lives.

As California continues to face a year-round fire season, with wildfires becoming more devastating and destructive, the Senate is moving with speed to strengthen California’s defenses against future disasters and help Californians rebuild their homes and lives after a disaster.

The Golden State Commitment legislative package will do the following: 

Wildfire Recovery Measures:

• Speed-up residential rebuilds
• Provide property tax relief, post-disaster
• Protect consumers from price gouging
• Expand insurance protections for small businesses
• Expand protections for homeowners, tenants, and mobile home residents
• Expedite the rebuilding of health facilities
• Strengthen penalties against looters and those who impersonate public safety personnel
• 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 ensure that homeowners can secure traditional homeowners insurance
• Advance new policies that require fire-safe landscaping, setbacks, and inspections in high fire hazard zones

“The devastating LA fires were a stark reminder of the harsh new reality we are living in here in the Golden State. With an unrelenting year-round fire season, we must do more to make our communities safe from wildfires, and this comprehensive package of 13 pieces of legislation does just that,” Pro Tem Mike McGuire said. “This package of bills, with bipartisan support, will help California prepare for and prevent the next wildfire and help stabilize communities in the aftermath of a disaster. This hardworking group of Senators came together in our state’s time of need and moved with speed to advance this bold legislative package that will make California more fire safe and resilient for years to come.”

One of the key pieces of the Golden State Commitment is the Fight for Firefighters Act authored by Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-North Coast), which passed the Senate on a 39-0 vote. The Fight for Firefighters Act, SB 581, would allow the state to phase out seasonal firefighters and transition those 3,000 firefighters to full time status. 

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).

A full description of the package with bill numbers is attached.

###

Mike McGuire is President pro Tempore of the California Senate. He represents the North Coast of California, which stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, including Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin Counties. Website of Senate Leader McGuire: https://sd02.senate.ca.gov/