Bill expands definition of state of emergency to include landslides and conditions due to climate change
Torrance, CA - Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi's AB 986 passed the Assembly Emergency Management Committee. The bill expands the definition of disasters constituting a state of emergency or a local emergency under the California Emergency Services Act to include landslides and conditions exacerbated by climate change. By doing so, the bill enables local governments to declare a state of emergency and access to disaster assistance funds.
The bill comes in the wake of a major landslide in the Rancho Palos Verdes area of the Palos Verdes Peninsula last year that affected many families in the South Bay and cost the city millions in repair. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services offered residents a $42 million voluntary buyout in response to the disaster.
"The families affected by the landslide have been through so much over the last year. As a result, homes and neighborhoods were destroyed, and families were displaced. The movement of the land continues, creating continued uncertainty for the residents. As a resident of the Peninsula, this hits home to me," said Assembly Muratsuchi. "Climate change is exacerbating the problem. This bill remedies this by clearly including landslides and climate-exacerbated conditions in the definition of disaster in order to access disaster assistance funds."
Since the 1950s, the Palos Verdes peninsula has been experiencing a slow-moving landslide. That slow rate of movement has greatly increased in recent years, with some locations experiencing four inches of movement a week. This increase in movement is largely driven by extreme weather patterns linked to climate change, including intense rainy seasons preceded by prolonged droughts and repeated atmospheric river events.
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi represents California's 66th Assembly District, which includes El Segundo, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, San Pedro and Torrance. Muratsuchi is Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, and a member of the Committees on Budget, Budget Subcommittee on Education, Higher Education and Natural Resources.
CONTACT: Kerry Jacob, (310) 806-0893, Kerry.Jacob@asm.ca.gov