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California Legislature Moves Toward Approving Aid for Wildfire Recovery and Legal Battles

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Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers a briefing of his proposed 2025–26 state budget at California State University, Stanislaus, in Turlock on Jan. 6, 2025. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)

California’s Legislature took the first steps on Wednesday toward approving accelerated funding to assist with wildfire recovery in Los Angeles and prepare the state for court battles with the Trump administration.

The Senate Budget Committee approved four bills as part of a special session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a move that allows proposals approved by the Legislature to be fast-tracked into law. The bills allocate $2.5 billion for emergency response and disaster recovery after the fires and $50 million to fund lawyers working for the state and nonprofits for potential lawsuits against the federal government.

“This budget move is largely to protect our most vulnerable community members across the board,” said Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward. “Whether we’re talking about immigration, whether we’re talking about defending the rights we currently have, and going above and beyond for the victims who are currently dealing with some of these crises.”

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Newsom initially called the special session in November to budget for lawsuits against the federal government. Last week, he expanded the session to include proposals related to the fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena that have killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.

The Trump-related legislation passed on a party-line vote, with the committee’s two Republican members in opposition.

Half of the legal aid money — $25 million — will go to the state’s Department of Justice for anticipated lawsuits against the White House. On Tuesday, Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the first — a lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive action to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are not citizens or permanent residents.

A second bill would set aside $25 million for nonprofit legal service providers to defend Californians at risk of deportation or detention as a result of federal action.

“These dollars — although we would love to have triple the amount, quadruple the amount — will go a long way,” said Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D–Long Beach.

Members of both parties rallied around the fire aid legislation, which passed the Senate Budget committee on a unanimous vote.

The plan negotiated by Newsom and legislative leaders would allocate $2.5 billion for sheltering evacuees and preventing post-fire disasters like debris flow and flooding. Under a federal emergency declaration signed by former President Joe Biden, much of the cost could be reimbursed by the federal government.

“Given the scale of the devastation, it will be a massive undertaking to rebuild these communities,” Assembly Budget Committee Chair Jesse Gabriel (D–Encino) said at an informational hearing on Wednesday morning to discuss the contours of the wildfire relief. “So today, we are acting with urgency to deliver emergency aid, but this is only the first of many actions that will be required.”

Both bills debated on Wednesday will draw from reserves set aside in the budget that the Legislature approved last June. Gabriel said the full Assembly would consider the bills on Thursday.

“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 Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chair Heath Flora, R–Ripon. “I’m encouraged by the conversations, I’m encouraged by the bipartisanship, I’m encouraged by calling this extraordinary session on this issue.”

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