Elected Leaders Call on Governor Newsom to Sign Legislative Package to Hold Corporations Accountable

Elected Leaders Call on Governor Newsom to Sign Legislative Package to Hold Corporations Accountable

LOS ANGELES - In response to the devastation Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles endured due to the Lineage fire, Senator María Elena Durazo, Assemblymember Mark González, and Mayor Karen Bass held a press conference at Proyecto Pastoral on Wednesday morning calling on the Governor to sign AB 817 and SB 716. These two bills are part of a legislative and budget package sponsored by the Mayor of Los Angeles and were introduced in mid-August.

"For 84 days, residents lived through the unimaginable, exposed to smoke and toxic chemicals, living beside 88 million pounds of rotting food, and battling infestations of rats and flies during the hottest time of the year," said Senator María Elena Durazo. "The fines on the books were not a deterrent for a multi-billion-dollar corporation running a slow cleanup. The fines were a rounding error to them. That is why I introduced SB 716, to let cities and counties impose fines that actually scale with the harm and prevent a crisis like this from happening again. We stand here today, united in one voice, to urge Governor Newsom to sign SB 716 and AB 817."

"Today, we ask the Governor to stand with the neighbors of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles and sign AB 817 and SB 716," said Assemblymember Mark González. "Our communities have endured the unimaginable, and all they are asking for is the State to have their back. These bills will never undo what has happened, but they can ensure that no community in California is left with the same unanswered questions. They will ensure that our community is heard - and our demands are answered."

"I'm proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Assemblymember González, Senator Durazo, and so many community leaders to urge Governor Newsom to sign these bills to hold cold storage companies accountable if something goes wrong and to help ensure communities are protected," said Mayor Karen Bass. "This is a community that has lived with the impacts of industrial incidents like this for far too long. It's part of a pattern of environmental injustice that the people of Boyle Heights know all too well. But we are turning this moment into action, accountability, and stronger protections for Boyle Heights and all communities."

"Boyle Heights and surrounding communities have been impacted by the Lineage fire in countless ways-unhealthy air in their homes, families unsure if it was even safe to stay, workers who lost their jobs, and small businesses that lost the customers they depend on," said Raquel Román, Executive Director of Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission. "The community showed incredible resilience, but resilience should never mean facing a disaster alone. AB 817 and SB 716 are about accountability and preparedness so that the next time disaster strikes, Boyle Heights-and communities like it-aren't left to recover by themselves. We thank Senator Durazo, Assemblymember Gonzalez, and Mayor Bass for standing with us, and we urge Governor Newsom to sign both bills into law."

Overview of the Legislation Package:

AB 817 will ensure that Lineage cannot rebuild without being accountable to the local community. Specifically, this bill will:

1. Prevent the city and county from issuing a new building permit for cold storage facilities like Lineage, unless they maintain a contingency fund that can be accessed in states of emergency. This fund will ensure substantial funding is available for food assistance, housing assistance, air quality monitoring, environmental cleanup, and remediation of any hazardous materials.
2. Ensure any settlements that residents get from this incident are tax-free. That money is not income. It is compensation for suffering. They have been through enough - they shouldn't have to worry about paying state taxes on money that is rightfully owed to them.

SB 716 raises the ceiling on city and county ordinance fines for large non-residential structures so that penalties scale with the severity of the violation. The current cap of $2,000 per day, regardless of the scope of the harm, is not sufficient to propel action. An escalating structure and the ability to multiply fines by a factor of 10, up to $50,000 per violation, gives locals meaningful leverage to compel rapid remediation.

Sending Millions of Dollars to Boyle Heights and East LA:

Alongside these legislative efforts, Assemblymember Gonzalez and Senator Durazo successfully secured millions of dollars in state funding that will support long-term cleanup and recovery efforts, as well as critical support services. This includes:

• $1 million for Mobile Asthma Clinics and Testing
• $2 million to the LA County Federation of Labor for Emergency Response
• $2 million to LA County Department of Public Health for Lineage Fire Cleanup and Remediation
• $3 million to LA County Department of Public Health for Additional Environmental Cleanup
• $4.5 million to the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles to Support Ongoing Programs like Feed LA and Social Safety Net Programs

A recording of the press conference can be found here.

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Senator María Elena Durazo represents the 26th Senate District which includes Central Los Angeles, Northeast Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, and the City of Vernon.

Assemblymember Mark González is the Assembly Majority Whip. He serves on the Committees on Appropriations, Health, Public Safety, Rules, and Utilities & Energy. He represents the 54th District, composed of the cities of Los Angeles, Commerce, Montebello, and Vernon.