Attachment A
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—2025-26 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 239
Introduced by Assembly Members Harabedian and Irwin
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Bryan, Caloza, Fong, Mark Gonzalez, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Schiavo, Schultz, and Zbur)
January 13,2025
An act to add Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 50350) to Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 239, as inta-oduced, Harabedian. State-led County of Los Angeles disaster housing task force.
Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and sets forth its powers and duties, including updating and revising the California Statewide Housing Plan, as provided. Existing law establishes the Of&ce of Emergency Services (OES), which is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services for naftjral, technological, or human-induced disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters on people and property.
This bill would require HCD and OES to jointly convene a state-led County of Los Angeles disaster housing task force, as specified, for the purpose of coordinating and streamling efforts between HCD, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, OES, and local governments to rebuild housing in communities impacted by the wildfires that began on January 7,2025, in the County of Los Angeles. The bill would require 99 AB 239—2—
the task force to appoint a state disaster housing coordinator to accelerate the delivery of resources to communities impacted by the wildfires.
The bill would require the task force to report to the Legislature on the status of rebuilding housing in communities impacted by the wildfires, on April 1, 2026, and every quarter thereafter, as specified.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 50350) 2 is added to Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, 3 to read:
4 5 CHAPTER 11. STATE-LED COUNTY OF Los ANGELES DISASTER 6 HOUSING TASK FORCE
7 8 50350. (a) The Department of Housing and Community
9 Development and the Office of Emergency Services shall jointly 10 convene a state-led County of Los Angeles disaster housing task 11 force for the purpose of coordinating and streamlining efforts 12 between the Department of Housing and Community Development, 13 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Office of 14 Emergency Services, and local governments to rebuild housing in 15 communities impacted by the wildfire.
16 (b) The task force shall include representatives of all of the 17 following:
18 (1) The Department of Housing and Community Development. 19 (2) The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
20 (3) The Office of Emergency Services.
21 (4) Local governments.
22 (c) The task force shall appoint a state disaster housing 23 coordinator to accelerate the delivery of resources, including, but 24 not limited to, funding and technical assistance, to communities 25 impacted by the wildfire.
99 —3—AB 239
1 (d) (1) On April 1, 2026, and every quarter thereafter, the task 2 force shall report to the Legislature on the status of rebuilding 3 housing in communities impacted by the wildfire.
4 (2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under 5 paragraph (1) is inoperative on April 1, 2030, pursuant to Section 6 10231.5 of the Government Code.
7 (3) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be 8 submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government 9 Code.
10 (e) For the purposes of this section, "wildfire" means the 11 wildfires that began on January 7, 2025, in the County of Los 12 Angeles.
13 SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute 14 is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable 15 within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California 16 Constitution because of the unique need to coordinate and 17 streamline efforts to rebuild housing in communities in the 18 Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura impacted by the wildfires 19 that began on January 7, 2025, in the County of Los Angeles. 20 SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the 21 immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within 22 the meaning of Article TV of the California Constitution and shall 23 go into immediate effect. The facts constiftiting the necessity are:
24 The immediate need to coordinate and streamline efforts to 25 rebuild housing in communities in the Counties of Los Angeles 26 and Ventura impacted by the wildfires that began on January 7, 27 2025, in the County of Los Angeles.
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