AB28:v99#DOCUMENTBill Start
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 28
Introduced by Assembly Member Schiavo
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bennett and Hart)
(Coauthor: Senator Stern)
|
December 02, 2024 |
An act relating to emergency services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 28, as introduced, Schiavo.
Relocation assistance: Chiquita Canyon Landfill disaster.
Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services, the director of which is charged with overseeing the administration of disaster assistance under the California Disaster Assistance Act. Existing law creates the Disaster Assistance Fund as a special fund in the State Treasury and makes continuous appropriations to effect the purposes of that act. Existing law authorizes the director to allocate funds to state and local agencies, as provided.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that would appropriate sufficient funds to cover the temporary and permanent relocation costs of those individuals and families impacted by the Chiquita Canyon Landfill disaster, as provided, and would also make related findings and declarations.
Digest Key
Vote:
MAJORITY
Appropriation:
NO
Fiscal Committee:
NO
Local Program:
NO
Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) There are ongoing and continuous health and safety impacts to the communities adjacent to the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.
(2) Since 2022, there has been an underground smoldering event in a closed portion of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. This event has resulted in airborne emissions, as well as leachate and runoff that has entered the surrounding ecosystem and neighborhoods.
(3) It is now clear that, despite millions of dollars spent on mitigation and a multiagency response, the chemical fire will likely be burning for many
years. Toxic chemicals, such as benzene, will poison the air and the individuals who reside in this area for years, thereby placing the public and environment at an unacceptable risk.
(4) The adjacent community is also in crisis, with widespread reports of daily and long-term health symptoms and illness. Doctors are informing their patients who are residents of this area that they must remove themselves from this toxic area to protect the health of their families. Currently, residents are left without resources to support relocation efforts.
(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to do both of the following:
(1) To appropriate sufficient funds to cover the temporary and permanent relocation costs of those individuals and families impacted by the Chiquita Canyon Landfill
disaster.
(2) To appropriate $____ million for the express purpose of moving residents impacted by the Chiquita Canyon Landfill disaster away from this hazardous zone until unsafe conditions have been totally and permanently remediated.