Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed two bills aimed at supporting residents impacted by the July 17 cold-storage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights and to prevent a similar disaster from occurring elsewhere across California, the Governor’s Office said Monday.
“Boyle Heights showed us the lasting impact a major facility emergency can have on a community,” Newsom said in a statement. “These laws strengthen the tools, resources and accountability needed to protect residents and help communities respond when emergencies happen.”
Senate Bill 716, authored by state Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, increases fines for violations of local ordinances involving specified nonresidential structures of 20,000 square feet or more when the violations pose a threat to health and safety. Violations that result in a governor-declared state of emergency or federal disaster declaration may reach up to $50,000. The enhanced penalties apply in Los Angeles County, then expand to qualifying areas elsewhere in the state beginning July 1, 2028.
Assembly Bill 817, authored by Assemblyman Mark González, D-Los Angeles, establishes new contingency-fund requirements for specified community needs for certain large cold storage facilities. Until July 1, 2028, the requirement applies to facilities within the boundaries of the Boyle Heights Community Plan in the city of Los Angeles, and applies statewide beginning July 1, 2028.
“Families in Boyle Heights and East LA were exposed to toxic smoke and lived with the stench of millions of pounds of rotting food for months. They could not open their windows and could not let their kids play outside,” Durazo said. “Their health suffered, while the company responsible faced fines too small to matter. Today, Governor Newsom sent a clear message: Corporations that put our communities at risk will finally face consequences that reflect the harm they cause. Alongside AB 817, SB 716 exists because this community endured this crisis, organized in response to it, and demanded better because of it. This is their victory.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also welcomed the signings.
“I appreciate Governor Newsom signing this critical legislation that Assemblymember Mark González, Senator María Elena Durazo, and I worked on and got across the finish line to help the people of Boyle Heights and East LA,” she said Sunday. “These pieces of legislation ensure cold storage companies take responsibility for the impacts of their operations, provide critical protections for residents in the event of an emergency, and allow cities and counties to impose higher fines when the health and safety of communities are threatened. I will continue doing everything in my authority to connect residents to critical assistance and to demand the answers and accountability this community deserves.”
The fire erupted June 17 at the Lineage Logistics facility at 1400 S. Los Palos St. It raged for days and led to millions of pounds of rotting food, impacting nearby residents. Lineage eventually completed a massive cleanup effort at the site.
The cause of the fire remains officially undetermined, but investigators found that the blaze originated on the roof at or near a section of solar panels. Lineage has sued Altus Power Inc., owner of the solar array on the building’s roof, and contractor Pearce Services, alleging they were responsible for starting the fire.
A representative of Los Palos Street Operating, an Altus subsidiary, has disputed Lineage’s allegations and said the company would contest the claims in court.