Dear Friends,

January provided us with many moments to reflect on the anniversary of the Palisades Fire. I was grateful to have joined many of you out in the community as we grieved all of the loss and renewed our commitment to one another in this major recovery effort. In Sacramento, I also joined my colleague from Altadena, Senator Pérez, to honor the 31 lives lost between the Palisades and Eaton Fires.

I am continuing to push Sacramento legislators to keep our recovery effort as a top priority as we move further into 2026. The Governor recently proposed a 2026-27 State Budget, which includes:

• $34.4 million for local schools and child care providers impacted by the fires
• $15 million to rebuild Topanga State Park
• $314 million from Prop 4 to invest in wildfire and forest resilience projects

Governor Newsom also announced recent commitments from banks to extend mortgage forbearance, an expansion of the CalAssist Mortgage Relief Program to reach more homeowners impacted by the fires, and the pursuit of a special fund to bridge lingering gaps between insurance payments and rebuilding costs.

 

New Year, New Bills

 

I just introduced SB 894 to establish a state-backed, low-interest loan program to help homeowners make fire safety upgrades to their homes. The program is modeled on our successful GoGreen energy-finance platform and will increase the affordability of fire retrofitting, improve insurance access for homeowners, and save lives. Read more.

I am also working alongside Senator Pérez (D-Pasadena) on SB 877 and SB 878 to increase transparency and consumer protections for insurance ratepayers. The two bills will require insurers to detail how they calculated a loss estimate for a claim, and penalize unjustified delays with 20% interest payments made to the policyholder.

Meanwhile, we remain committed to addressing the unique challenges facing mobile home residents in the wake of the Palisades Fire. My office is continuing to work closely with the impacted community to finalize a number of bills that will aid in the current and future disaster recoveries.

If you have any questions on these matters or need any assistance, please feel free to contact our Capitol office at (916) 651-4024 or our district office at (310) 414-8190. You can also visit our website for additional legislative and district resources.