In Altadena Ceremony, Newsom Signs Wildfire Smoke Cleanup, Mortgage Relief Laws

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed a package of bills in Altadena to expand mortgage protections, strengthen insurance coverage, improve testing and remediation standards, and create a permanent framework to accelerate wildfire recovery in light of last year’s Eaton and Palisades fires. 

The four new laws create standards for testing and remediating hazardous wildfire smoke contamination for future fires and require insurers to cover qualifying smoke-damage testing, remediation and restoration. The bills also permanently extend mortgage forbearance protections for disaster-affected homeowners. 

The governor signed the bills at a meeting with fire survivors, advocates, community leaders and the bill authors. The legislation was developed and drafted with considerable input from these communities, according to the governor’s office. 

“California will not leave survivors to navigate recovery alone,” Newsom said in a statement. “In the wake of the 2025 firestorms, we are continuing to listen, act, and stand alongside the families and communities rebuilding after the Eaton and Palisades fires. These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most. As fire seasons across the West become a year-round reality, California’s commitment to recovery must be just as enduring.” 

The smoke provisions are aimed at homes that did not burn but were damaged by smoke. The California Department of Insurance estimates that more than 13,000 of the roughly 40,000 insurance claims filed after the January 2025 fires involve smoke damage to homes that never burned, according to the governor’s office. 

Assembly Bill 1642, authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, directs the Department of Toxic Substances Control, or DTSC, 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 for homes within a fire’s ZIP codes.

Its companion, AB 1795, authored by Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson, D-Carson, requires insurers to pay for lead and asbestos testing and remediation in smoke-damaged homes within a wildfire zone and to cover full cleanup and restoration to pre-loss condition, according to the governor’s office. It also bars insurers from cutting off Additional Living Expense coverage until a home is actually remediated and safe to occupy. AB 1795 also creates a legal presumption that smoke damage in a fire zone came from the fire, CalMatters reported. 

“Science, not an insurance company’s opinions, will determine whether a home is safe,” Harabedian said in the governor’s release. 

“Insurers, not survivors, must bear the responsibility of proving that a home is safe,” Gipson said. 

In written responses to Pasadena Now, Harabedian said AB 1642 becomes operative Jan. 1, 2027, when lead and asbestos standards also become effective, and that DTSC and the Air Resources Board will develop permanent standards and guidance by the end of 2028. Until the new standards are created, existing federal and state standards for lead and asbestos exposure will apply, CalMatters reported. 

Asked what he would tell families deciding this fall whether to move back in, Harabedian said he would not tell them to guess. 

“If there is a question about a home’s safety, it should be properly tested and cleared before anyone moves back in,” he wrote. “Families deserve a science based answer not conflicting opinions.” 

Survivors who believe their insurer is violating the law can file a complaint with the California Department of Insurance, Harabedian said. 

The legislation also requires DTSC to issue guidance to help schools recover after a wildfire. Harabedian said that guidance on testing, remediation and reopening is due by July 1, 2028, and that Altadena campuses are already in contact with DTSC on current guidance for school remediation. 

Harabedian also authored both mortgage bills, AB 1842 and AB 1847. AB 1842 establishes mortgage forbearance protections for homeowners affected by future federally declared disasters, according to a statement from Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. AB 1847 extends the Mortgage Relief Act, AB 238, for an additional year for Los Angeles fire survivors, Harabedian said, doubling the forbearance window available by law from 12 months to 24 months. The legislation also requires servicers to offer borrowers the option to defer repayment of missed payments until the end of the loan, unless prohibited by investor contract terms or servicing guidelines, according to the governor’s office. 

Barger said she sponsored AB 1847 alongside Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. 

“Homeowners should not have to repeatedly prove that a wildfire caused smoke damage or fight over what constitutes adequate remediation,” Barger said. 

The state also continues to offer the CalAssist Mortgage Fund, which provides survivors up to 12 months and $100,000 in mortgage relief that never has to be repaid, according to the governor’s office. 

Nic Arnzen, chair of the Altadena Town Council and facilities director of The Collaboratory Survivor Hub, attended the signing. He told Pasadena Now that survivors in the room raised issues beyond the new laws. 

“They did cover our frustration with federal funds still not coming through,” Arnzen said. He said survivors also pressed the governor on fears that disaster case managers may be left in limbo because the funding has run out and allocated FEMA funds are not being put forward. 

Arnzen said the smoke bills matter beyond Altadena. 

“They’re an indicator of how Altadena doesn’t just look out for our own, but we think about the next disaster to come,” he said. 

Dena Rise Up Coalition from Altadena and Pasadena thanked the governor in a statement and said it had worked for months to move four disaster-response bills through the Legislature. The group said one of those four bills has now been signed and listed AB 113, SB 878 and SB 1301 as the other bills it supports. 

“We are a united community, Black, brown, Asian, white, rich, poor, young, old, immigrant and native-born. For months we mobilized and spoke with one voice to win justice for all survivors. And our voice was heard by legislators in Sacramento! Yesterday’s signage of wildfire bills is a slow step forward in the recovery process.”

“The lives of fire survivors remain the same despite this legislative progress,” the group said. “Dena Rise Up will never stop fighting until all of them get the justice that they deserve. 

“To all the home owners, tenants, day laborers, organizers and legislators who dedicated time, love and energy to get these bills on the Governor’s desk we thank you. We will celebrate when the Governor signs all of our bills. Our work is not done yet but we keep getting stronger as we build community and power. We will keep fighting to honor those who perished during and in the aftermath of the fires. Because when we fight, we win!” 

Barger said the work is not finished.

“These laws are meaningful progress, but we must collectively remember that Eaton Fire survivors will need sustained support and accountability for years to come,” she said.