Gov, Gavin Newsom signed four bills into law Tuesday, surrounded by survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires who cheered the action as necessary to wildfire recovery.
Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, authored three bills that he said provides essential relief to wildfire survivors: one setting a first-of-its-kind standard for clearing homes for occupancy after a wildfire, and requiring insurers to cover qualifying smoke-damage testing and remediation; another creating a national model for granting mortgage relief to future disaster survivors and a third extending the Mortgage Relief Act for a year for survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires.
“These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most,” Newsom said. “As fire seasons across the West become a year-round reality, California’s commitment to recovery must be just as enduring.”
Newsom signed the package of bills in Altadena, meeting with fire survivors, advocates, community leaders, and the bill authors, including Harabedian, state Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, D-Pasadena, and Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson, D-Carson.
Harabedian lauded AB 1642 as setting first-in-the-nation science-based standards for testing and addressing wildfire contamination, and for clearing residential properties for occupancy. The law also provides guidance for schools affected by wildfires.
“Going forward, the question of whether a family can safely return home should be answered by science, not by an insurance company’s guesswork,” Harabedian said. “Families should not have to fight for the testing they need or be left trying to figure out on their own whether their homes are safe.”
This law is a sweet victory for Jane Lawton Potelle, executive director of Eaton Fire Residents United (EFRU) and owner of a standing home in the Eaton fire impact zone. Potelle, who has yet to return to her home, said the legal protections Newson signed grew directly out of the experiences and advocacy of Eaton and Palisades fire survivors. The group sponsored AB 1642, which will take effect on Jan. 1.
“Families deserve science-based answers about whether their homes and their schools are safe, and until today no state in the nation had any to give them,” Potelle said. “That changes now. Here is what we want every family to hear: if your home was left standing in or near the burn scar, test it for lead and asbestos. Contamination is not something you can see, and it does not stop at the edge of the burn area.”
The new standards will also protect renters.
“Under SB 610 authored by Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, landlord are responsible for remediating disaster contamination, and AB 1642 now gives them the standard they have to meet,” Potelle said.
The legislation directs the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the California Air Resources Board to develop the state’s first protections for testing, remediation, and restoration of lead and asbestos contamination from wildfire smoke.
Gipson authored AB 1642’s companion bill, AB 1795, which would require insurance companies to pay for lead and asbestos testing and remediation in smoke-damaged homes, cover full cleanup and restoration to pre-loss condition and prevent insurers from ending additional living expense coverage until a home is safe to occupy.
“Insurers, not survivors, must bear the responsibility of proving that a home is safe,” Gipson said.
The law would also require two state agencies to investigate the Lineage Logistics warehouse fire that broke out in Boyle Heights on June 17. The Department of Insurance must now examine the coverage gaps revealed post-fire and report to the governor by Dec. 1, 2027. The Office of Emergency Services and the California Environmental Protection Agency must study agency response to the warehouse fire, and report by July 31, 2028.
The two mortgage relief bills, AB 1842 and 1847 permanently extends forbearance protections to homeowners impacted by a major disaster. The law ensures homeowners can pause mortgage payments temporarily without late fees, penalties, or foreclosure risk, and with protections for credit reporting, Harabedian said.
Newsom said the new laws, coupled with the CalAssist Mortgage Fund, gives homeowners more breathing room as they continue to pay a mortgage on a home that they can’t live in or doesn’t exist. The mortgage fund provides survivors with up to 12 months and $100,000 in mortgage relief that never has to be repaid. The recently appropriated $100 million Disaster Rebuilding Fund will also make rebuilding loans more affordable, Newsom administration officials said.
Maggie Cortez, 46, owner of El Patrón in Altadena, told Newsom about the stress she carries as she deals with two insurance companies: one for her 16-year-old business on Lake Avenue and another for her standing residence about two miles away, home to her three children, two grandchildren, two dogs, one cat and her son’s turtle.
“I thought the insurance will help everyone, and it’s like we have to fight with them to help us,” Cortez said. “I have a lot of faith, but I am getting tired. I am struggling. All the businesses need help.”
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger helped Cortez celebrate El Patrón on Aug. 28, as a way to launch county initiatives supporting Altadena businesses. Barger was also on hand at the bill-signing and touted it as meaningful progress.
“But we must collectively remember that Eaton Fire survivors will need sustained support and accountability for years to come,” she said in a statement.
It is a sentiment echoed by Nic Arnzen, chair of the Altadena Town Council, who witnessed the signing and called it a promising milestone.
“This one is particularly meaningful as it doesn’t just impact our community but potentially sets a national standard,” Arnzen said. “That reflects the amazing perseverance and expanded community care Altadena is known for.”
Aside from Eaton Fire Residents United, the coalition that pushed for wildfire-related changes include the Eaton Fire Collaborative, Dena Rise Up, Every Fire Survivor’s Network and other nonprofits working in Altadena.
What comes next, 20 months after the second most destructive wildfire in California history killed at least 19 and destroyed more than 9,000 structures? Arnzen said the new legislative session will bring renewed work on issues ranging from “further protection from predatory developers, a reasonable and solid solution to the wildfire fund depletion and sustainable plan for our utilities, increased pressure on insurance failures and bad players.”
“As always, top of mine remains the fact that Altadena has now become the most neglected disaster in U.S. history in terms of federal relief,” Arnzen added.