Two California representatives in Washington are trying to combat the state’s home insurance crisis that has left many residents without coverage as wildfires tear through the Los Angeles area.
Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) reintroduced on Thursday the Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act, which calls for an assessment of the home insurance market in communities with high wildfire risk. The bill easily passed the House Financial Services Committee with bipartisan support last Congress, but was pulled from consideration before getting a vote by the full House.
The bill’s return comes after a week of desperate firefighting in Southern California, where entire neighborhoods have been reduced to ash and rubble. The fires have claimed thousands of homes and businesses in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena and other communities.
Before the fires sparked, the home insurance market in California was already in crisis as insurers opted not to renew thousands of policies in areas deemed to be at high risk of fires, including those that were hit by the current blazes. Some homeowners who didn’t have their coverage canceled saw their rates rise sharply.
“Over the years we’ve watched insurance companies raise premiums, reduce coverage, and abandon wildfire coverage in high-risk areas altogether,” Waters said in a statement. “This leaves families and businesses throughout the state of California without the resources they need to recover.”
The Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act would require the Government Accountability Office to examine the availability and affordability of home insurance in fire-prone areas. The GAO would also gather data on disparities in access to wildfire coverage and make recommendations for federal actions to stabilize insurance markets.
“The devastating fires in my district and the greater Los Angeles area underscore the need for Congress to focus on the availability and cost of fire insurance coverage,” Sherman said.
Although insurance is a state-regulated industry, Waters said her bill would “help Congress and the federal government better understand what federal tools are available to respond to the risks posed by wildfires.”
The bill also calls for an inquiry into the role climate change plays in exacerbating wildfires.
Also this week, California lawmakers introduced legislation they hope will fill gaps in support for renters and homeowners affected by the fires, as well as the inmate firefighters the state relies on.
On Wednesday, Rep. Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) proposed a bill to raise the pay for inmate firefighters during the hours that they are “actively fighting a fire” to match the rate of the lowest professional state firefighter wage.
California has long relied on incarcerated firefighters on the front lines, with hundreds of prison firefighters deployed in Los Angeles in recent days. The practice has drawn criticism from some for the meager pay these inmates receive for the potentially life-threatening work.
The firefighters make between $5.80 and $10.24 daily as well as an additional $1 hourly wage on the front lines, for shifts that can last as long as 24 hours, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“We are seeing our incarcerated folks putting their lives in harm’s way and protecting whole communities,” Bryan said in an interview. “We bring up how they are doing this work for slave wages, but we never do anything about it.”
Rep. John Harabedian (D-Riverside) introduced this week AB 238, a bill aimed at delivering financial relief to Californians forced to shoulder payments for both temporary housing and mortgages simultaneously.
Another bill, AB 246, calls for a rent freeze across Los Angeles County and would create a civil penalty for landlords who violate it. The effort comes as L.A. City Council moved to bar evictions for some tenants and pets amid the emergency.
