Funding Will Combat Newsom’s Fraudulent Wildfire Failure

SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) announced his intention to submit an emergency budget amendment in order to bolster the state’s response to wildfire preparedness. Gallagher’s announcement comes on the heels of a bombshell new report of Gavin Newsom’s overstated, inaccurate wildfire prevention effort claims.

Gallagher, who represents the Town of Paradise and the area devastated by the deadly Camp Fire in 2018, said that Newsom’s deception on wildfire prevention efforts is disturbing. 

“Every politician in Sacramento needs to wake up and get serious about fire prevention. I’ve seen firsthand how these fires can wipe out an entire community. We can’t solve this overnight, but with a serious funding commitment and regulatory changes, we can make a difference,” said Gallagher.

Gallagher’s emergency budget amendment would:

  • Continuously appropriate $200 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for healthy forest and fire prevention projects.
  • Provide regulatory relief by exempting from CEQA any projects or activities funded from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for healthy forest and fire prevention projects.

The proposal is similar to Assembly Bill 297 (Gallagher) which Assembly Democrats prevented from even getting a committee hearing earlier this year.