May 01, 2026

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management House Passes the Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act

On April 28, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act

Apr 17, 2026

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management House Passes Bill to Expand Disaster Aid for Farmers and Forest Landowners

On April 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act (H.R. 1011), by a vote of 395-10

Apr 10, 2026

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management U.S. Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill on Wildland Firefighter Pay and Rest Standards

On Thursday, April 2, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT), co-chairs of the Senate Wildfire Caucus, introduced the Support Our Firefighters Act, which would establish mandatory rest and recuperation periods for federal wildland firefighters and permanently remove the annual compensation cap that limits their pay during peak fire season

Mar 20, 2026

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management Homeland Security Nominee Markwayne Mullin Commits to End ‘Micromanaging’ Policy on FEMA Money

On March 19th, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security advanced Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be the next Secretary of Homeland Security by a vote of 8-7.

Mar 13, 2026

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management Rep. Fong Re-Introduces Bill Supporting Wildfire Victims in Honor of Doug LaMalfa

Last week, Congressman Vince Fong (CA-20) introduced the Doug LaMalfa Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act. Re-introduced in memorial to the late Mr. LaMalfa, this bill would exempt wildfire relief payments made...

Feb 12, 2026

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management After Deadly Wildfires, California Utility Regulator Suggests Exploring Avenues to Limit Utility Liability and Shift Mitigation Costs to the State

On January 30, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released recommendations on wildfire mitigation and victim compensation.  The document makes sweeping and transformative recommendations

Feb 06, 2026

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management Interior Announces $20M Available to Strengthen Local Wildfire Response

On February 2, the Department of the Interior announced that up to $20 million is available to strengthen local governments’ wildfire response capacity in another round of funding for the Slip-on Tanker Pilot Program.

Jan 30, 2026

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management Bill of the Week: Senate Bill 899 (Grove) – Wildfire Smoke Health Assessment

RCRC is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 899, authored by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). This measure seeks to require the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force to create a wildfire smoke health assessment, intended to provide important data that would better align public health and wildfire resilience efforts

Dec 19, 2025

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management Joint Local Governments Submit Comments on Wildfire Liability, Insurance Accessibility, and Strategies to Reduce Wildfire Risk

On December 12, RCRC, CSAC, and the League of Cities jointly responded to a solicitation from California Earthquake Authority seeking stakeholder input on a variety of topics related to the accessibility and affordability of

Dec 19, 2025

Advocacy   |   Public Safety and Emergency Management Bipartisan Wildfire Bill Would Expand Federal Support for Post-Fire Cleanup

On December 16, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced the Post-Wildfire Environmental Assistance Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow the federal government to help pay for hazardous debris cleanup following wildfires, even when damage does not meet the threshold for a major disaster declaration