As wildfires continued to ravage parts of Los Angeles on Thursday, California lawmakers in Sacramento officially began a special legislative session to prepare the state for President-elect Donald Trump.
Thursday marked the first regular floor session for state lawmakers since the fires began. Those fires are expected to leave Southern California with one of, if not the, most expensive catastrophes in U.S. History. The damage also raises questions about California’s future with the property insurance market, which has been hesitant or refusing to insure residents living in disaster prone parts of the state.
he Democratic-led Assembly and State Senate paused their regular business Thursday to gavel into the Trump-related special legislative session, which Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered days after the presidential election.
That session is meant to quickly provide the California Department of Justice an extra $25 million to prepare for legal battles with the Trump administration. A special session is not required to do this, because budget-related legislation goes into effect immediately with approval anyway in California.
In the Assembly, lawmakers gaveled in briefly with little discussion to set a Tuesday morning hearing on the special session legislation. Many seats were empty as several Southern California lawmakers returned to their districts for the fire response.
Following the floor session, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas dodged questions about gaveling into the special legislative session as the wildfires continued.