55Mountain View News Saturday, August 29, 2026 
ASM. HARABEDIAN’S WILDFIRE 
RECOVERY PACKAGE CONTINUES
NEWS BRIEFS 

L.A. COUNTY REGISTRAR SEEKS BILINGUAL ELECTION 
WORKERS FOR 2026 GENERAL ELECTION 
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) Dean C. Logan 
announced that the RR/CC is recruiting bilingual community members to 
serve as Election Workers at Vote Centers across the County for the upcomingNovember 3, 2026 General Election. 

Election Workers play a vital role in administering elections by helping open 
and operate Vote Centers, assisting voters, and supporting the voting process 
throughout the election period. 
The RR/CC is seeking individuals who speak English and a high-need language, 
including Japanese, Korean, Khmer, Chinese, Tagalog, Thai, Armenian, Farsi, 
Vietnamese, Russian, Gujarati, Urdu, Hindi, Lao, and Mongolian. 

“Election Workers are essential to delivering an accessible voting experience 
across L.A. County,” said Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan. 
“We encourage bilingual community members to join our team to serve their 
community in a meaningful way, assist voters in their preferred language, and 
help every voter participate in the democratic process with confidence.” 

Election Workers receive training before the election and can earn up to $1,080 
during the election period, with an additional stipend available for bilingual 
workers who speak, read, and write in one of the County’s supported languages. 

Community members interested in serving can apply and learn more at LAVOTE.
GOV. 

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE PROTECTS WILDFIRE 
SURVIVORS' RIGHTS AND REJECTS HIGHER 
INSURANCE COSTS 

Legislature Stands Up to Governor Newsom and His Utility Allies, 

Delivering a Major Victory for Wildfire Survivors and Consumers 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Every Fire Survivor's Network and Consumer 
Watchdog praised the California Senate and Assembly today for rejectingGovernor Newsom's attacks on wildfire survivors' and insurance policyholders' 
rights to recover damages from utilities that start fires. 

The Legislature refused to make insurance policyholders pay more for fires 
caused by utilities. Lawmakers rejected the Governor's plan to limit subrogation 
payments and refused to cap the damages wildfire victims can recover. The 
Governor's proposal to limit how much insurance companies could recover 
would have cost policyholders hundreds of dollars per year and homeowners in 
high-risk areas thousands of dollars per year. 

“We are profoundly grateful to the legislators who stood up for the real fire 
survivors,” said Joy Chen, Executive Director of Every Fire Survivor's Network. 
“They have rejected nearly all of the Governor's original bailout terms, includinghis attacks on survivors' rights to recover economic and noneconomic damages 
and his devastating proposal to deny recovery to smoke-damage survivors 
outside an artificial fire-perimeter line. Preserving these rights is an enormous 
victory for all Californians.” 

“The Legislature listened to Californians and rejected the majority of the 
Governor's end-of-session bailout, which would have cost them both their 
money and their rights,” said Jamie Court, President of Consumer Watchdog. 
“This appears to be a big victory for consumers and survivors. The leadership 
of the Senate and Assembly deserves enormous credit for standing up to the 
Governor and his utility allies. Under intense political pressure, they did the right 
thing and stood with the real wildfire survivors and insurance policyholders 
who would have been harmed by the Governor's policies.” 

ADVANCING THROUGH LEGISLATURE 

Four bills address housing recovery, mortgage relief, insurance protections, and wild-fire 
contamination standards 

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Assemblymember John Harabedian's (D-Pasadena) comprehen-sive wildfire 
recovery package continues to advance through the California Legisla-ture, with all four measures 
moving forward as lawmakers work to address the long-term challenges facing survivors of the Eaton, 
Palisades, and other devastating wild-fires across California. 

The package focuses on four critical areas of recovery: ensuring homes are safe to re-turn to, protectinghomeowners from foreclosure, extending support for families still rebuilding, and preserving access to 
insurance coverage. 

"Recovery from a major wildfire does not end when the flames are extinguished," said Assemblymember 
John Harabedian (D-Pasadena). "Families are still navigating insur-ance delays, rebuilding challenges, 
mortgage obligations, and questions about wheth-er their homes are safe to reoccupy. These bills address 
the real-world barriers survi-vors face and help ensure that Californians can recover and rebuild with 
dignity." 

AB 1642 – Wildfire Contamination Standards 
AB 1642 requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to develop statewide standards for post-
wildfire contamination testing, investigation, and remediation. The bill establishes a first in the nation 
framework for determining when homes, schools, and workplaces are safe to reoccupy following a 
wildfire and addresses growing con-cerns about toxic contamination left behind by urban wildfires. 

AB 1842 – California Mortgage Relief ActAB 1842 creates a statewide mortgage forbearance framework for homeowners whose residences 
are rendered uninhabitable by a major disaster. The bill allows eligible homeowners to temporarily 
pause mortgage payments while protecting them from foreclosure, excessive fees, and negative credit 
reporting as they recover and rebuild. 

AB 1847 – Extending Mortgage Relief for Los Angeles Wildfire SurvivorsAB 1847 extends the protections established under the Mortgage Forbearance Act (AB 238) for 
homeowners impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. The bill recognizes that many families remain 
displaced due to insurance delays, permitting backlogs, labor shortages, and prolonged rebuilding 
timelines, and provides additional time for recovery. 

AB 2038 – Extending Insurance Moratorium ProtectionsAB 2038 strengthens California's insurance protections for wildfire survivors by extend-ing post-
disaster insurance moratorium periods. Specifically, the bill extends the exist-ing one-year moratorium 
on nonrenewals to two years for homes located in or adjacent to a fire perimeter ZIP code and extends 
the existing two-year moratorium to three years for homeowners whose properties were completelydestroyed. The bill recognizes that recovery from a catastrophic wildfire often takes multiple years and 
ensures families do not lose coverage while they rebuild. 

Together, the four bills represent one of the most comprehensive legislative efforts to address the longterm 
impacts of catastrophic wildfires on California families. The measures build upon lessons learned 
from recent disasters and seek to provide survi-vors with greater stability, transparency, and protection 
throughout the recovery process. 

All four bills remain active in the legislative process and will continue to be heard in policy and fiscal 
committees in the coming weeks. 

Assemblymember John Harabedian represents the 41st District composed of the cities of La Cañada 
Flintridge, Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Bradbury, San Dimas, La Verne, Claremont, 
Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Oak Hills, Piñon Hills and Phelan. 

WILDFIRE RECOVERY IN PICTURES: CRANES IN ACTION 


Last week, Altadena 
residents Michael and 
Kelly Davis and their son 
Rowan, whose home was 
destroyed in the Eaton 
Fire while the family was 
overseas. 

On Friday, August 21 
they watched as a crane 
set their new Dvele home 
onto the same lot where 
their previous home once 
stood. The community 
also came together to 
celebrate with food trucks, 
live music, and tours of the 
new home. 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com