Friday, July 17, 2026

Pasadena Assemblymember Highlights Wildfire Mortgage Laws as Newsom Presses Lenders

Assemblymember John Harabedian, a Pasadena Democrat whose district includes fire-scarred Altadena, is highlighting state laws and pending legislation he authored to protect wildfire survivors, after Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 14 warned mortgage lenders not to deny or delay survivors’ access to the insurance proceeds they need to rebuild.

The response links a Sacramento policy fight to the heart of the San Gabriel Valley: Harabedian’s 41st District covers Altadena, where the Eaton Fire destroyed 9,418 structures, and neighboring Pasadena. More than 18 months after the January 2025 firestorms, financial barriers remain the most-cited obstacle to rebuilding, with 39% of surveyed survivors citing high out-of-pocket costs and 30% pointing to delayed or insufficient insurance payouts, according to state figures.

In a July 16 press release, Harabedian’s office said the Governor’s announcement reinforces the need for lenders to ensure homeowners have fair and timely access to insurance proceeds. Among the measures it cited is AB 493, which since taking effect August 29, 2025 requires financial institutions that make or purchase loans secured by one-to-four-unit homes, and that hold hazard insurance proceeds during rebuilding, to pay homeowners at least 2 percent simple annual interest on those funds. The release dated that law to 2024, but state records show it was signed in 2025.

A second law, AB 238 — the Mortgage Forbearance Act, signed September 22, 2025 — allows eligible wildfire borrowers to pause mortgage payments for an initial 90 days, extendable in 90-day increments up to a maximum of 12 months, and bars lenders from demanding a lump-sum payment when forbearance ends.

The release also pointed to AB 1847, which Harabedian’s office said builds on California’s recovery efforts. Unlike the other two measures, AB 1847 is not yet law: it would extend wildfire forbearance from 12 months to as much as 24 months and move the request deadline to January 7, 2029, and it remains pending in the Senate after a June 30 committee vote. The bill is sponsored by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and county Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted in April to advocate for it.

The measures target homeowners in communities burned by the Eaton and Palisades fires, which a Senate Judiciary Committee analysis said scorched 37,469 acres and damaged or destroyed almost 18,000 structures. Across Los Angeles County, more than 11,000 single-family homes and 13,000 housing units were severely damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2,500 homes are now under construction.

Newsom’s July 14 action directed the Business and Consumer Services Agency and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to collect complaints about delayed or denied access to funds and warned that such practices may violate consumer protection laws. The state separately told insurers that a home’s classification in CAL FIRE’s damage-inspection database is not a basis to delay or deny access to insurance proceeds.

Harabedian’s office has framed AB 493 as directing insurance money back to homeowners, and has described the broader package as an effort to give survivors financial stability while they rebuild. In the release, the assemblymember said the state must continue ensuring those protections translate into real relief for the families who need them most, and pledged to keep working with the Governor, state agencies, local leaders and community partners to remove barriers to recovery.

AB 1847 awaits further action in the Senate.