Harabedian’s Resolution Urging Federal Fire Aid Clears Key Senate Committee

Nearly 18 months after the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena and left more than 9,400 structures in ruins, California’s Legislature moved one step closer Tuesday to issuing a formal call on the federal government to deliver the disaster aid fire survivors are still waiting for.

Assembly Joint Resolution 27, authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D–Pasadena), passed the state Senate Committee on Emergency Management on a unanimous 9-0 vote on June 16, according to a press release from Harabedian’s office and confirmed by California legislative records. The bipartisan tally — seven Democrats and two Republicans — sends the resolution to the full Senate floor, where it will appear on the Consent Calendar.

Harabedian represents the 41st Assembly District, which includes Pasadena, Altadena, La Cañada Flintridge, and Sierra Madre — communities at the center of the Eaton Fire’s devastation. The fire killed 19 people and burned 14,021 acres beginning January 7, 2025, according to Cal Fire and Los Angeles County data.

“The Eaton Fire changed lives across our district in a matter of hours, and many families are still facing an uncertain road to recovery,” Harabedian said in a statement. “AJR 27 calls on federal leaders to put politics aside and stand with the communities that continue to rebuild from this devastating disaster.”

The resolution calls on the President to submit a supplemental disaster declaration to Congress that would unlock additional funding for fire recovery. It also calls on Congress to approve supplemental aid to Los Angeles County regardless of whether the President makes the request, according to the bill text.

The measure has drawn broad bipartisan sponsorship — 70 state legislators, including nine Republicans, have signed on. It was jointly authored with Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin. The full Assembly approved AJR 27 on February 26 by a vote of 68-0.

The committee vote arrives as fire survivors continue to face a prolonged gap between the state’s request for supplemental federal aid and congressional action. Governor Gavin Newsom submitted a revised request for approximately $33.9 billion in supplemental disaster funding in December 2025. As of spring 2026, Congress had not acted on the request, according to CalMatters reporting. Newsom requested a 12-month extension of FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program in May 2026, citing the scale of the ongoing recovery.

The January 2025 fires — the Eaton and Palisades blazes combined — killed 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures across Los Angeles County. President Biden issued a Major Disaster Declaration on January 8, 2025, and FEMA, SBA, and state agencies have provided billions in initial assistance. But the supplemental funding request — intended to cover long-term rebuilding of schools, infrastructure, housing, and economic recovery — remains outstanding.

Fire survivors face the end of mortgage forbearance periods, according to the resolution’s text, and as of May 2026, nearly 29,500 households were still navigating insurance claims, according to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

Joint resolutions do not require the Governor’s signature. If adopted by the full Senate, AJR 27 would represent an official statement of the California Legislature urging federal action.

Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, who represents Senate District 25 — which includes Pasadena and Altadena — was among the committee members who voted in favor.

“This is something that should have happened a long time ago, and every Californian congressional representative, Democratic and Republican, has called on this for months,” Harabedian said during the Assembly floor debate in February. “If the president isn’t willing to do it, Congress must step up and provide Los Angeles with its money right away.”