California legislators discuss wildfires, home insurance and homelessness

The Public Policy Institute of California facilitated the conversation amongst Republican representatives on California’s most pressing issues

 

By RORY CONLON — city@theaggie.org 

 

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) hosted a discussion with James Gallagher, the California State Assembly Republican leader, and Brian Jones, the California State Senate Republican leader, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel on Feb. 6. The event, which is part of PPIC’s 2025 speaker series, covered topics like California’s future, wildfire recovery, home insurance and homelessness. 

Rusty Areias, a board member on PPIC’s board of directors, introduced the event. 

“One of the truly great legislators of modern California, the late speaker Bob Reddy, was asked what politicians do, and [he said], ‘They shape destiny,’” Areias said. “The subject today is the future of California. In answering the questions about what awaits us, it is important to remember that history has accorded our guests extraordinary authority and responsibility.” 

Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the president and chief executive officer of PPIC, moderated the discussion. She asked the two legislators to list the biggest issues facing Californians today. 

Jones cited ongoing concerns about the rising cost of living in California and a range of current issues brought up by the 2025 Southern California fires.

“I think the two biggest [issues] for the last several years have been affordability, cost of living and public safety,” Jones said. “And then, of course, in the last couple of weeks, wildfires, insurance and recovery have come to the top as issues as well.” 

In addition to the rising cost of living, Gallagher said fire prevention was another key issue that needed to be addressed. 

“We have to reduce devastating fuel rates on our lands,” Gallagher said. “Vegetation, shrubs, chaparral, thinning, forested lands — those are all things that we really need to put some focus on because that is the No. 1 cause of these catastrophic fires.” 

Cantil-Sakauye asked what the state could do to aid victims in rebuilding their homes in the aftermath of the fires. 

Gallagher cited Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order streamlining the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Coastal Act regulations as a positive step forward in removing barriers to people rebuilding their homes. He said that local governments also need to work with non-profit organizations to provide more aid. 

“You probably don’t have enough public staff at the building inspection office to handle permits,” Gallagher said. “You’re probably going to need to utilize the public sector non-profits and [see] what they can bring to the table. I think it’s going to be a huge thing, because there are so many things the government just can’t cover, and non-profits could step in and help with recovery.” 

Jones said officials needed to be held accountable for mistakes they made in fighting the fire. 

“Why was there no water in a fire hydrant?” Jones said. “Why are fire hydrants being stolen? Why were the fire trucks not able to get to where they needed to be? We all should expect accountability from our government. An elected official or appointed person made these decisions that exacerbated and made the wildfire worse, and those people need to be held accountable.” 

Discussion turned to how the legislature could stabilize the home insurance market in California in light of recent fires. Jones said the problem lies in over-regulating the home insurance market. 

“The legislature telling insurance companies what they have to cover, in my opinion, is a command and control economy that is inappropriate for a free-market system,” Jones said. “We need to back off the regulations a little bit and give the insurance commissioner more authority […] and then bring the insurance companies to the table and tell us what they need to stay in business. Not one single person in California benefits if one insurance company leaves the market.” 

Gallagher said the state should also mitigate risk for insurance companies by conducting prescribed burns and thinning in certain locations. 

“The governor and the president, a while back, came to an agreement where they said they were going to [burn] 500,000 acres a year,” Gallagher said. “They haven’t even come close. In fact, the governor got caught in a lie a few years ago when he said he did 90,000 acres and it turned out he really did 11,000 — the bottom line is, we haven’t been doing the job.” 

Cantil-Sakauye asked what the legislators would do to help the 180,000 unhoused people in the state. 

Gallagher alleged that, as of last year, the governor’s office has not been collecting metrics on the money spent by non-profits and government agencies to combat homelessness. He said that instead of taking a top-down approach, the state should have local regions submit their own plans for addressing the issue. 

“We already have counties and local governments who do a lot of great work getting people connected to resources,” Gallagher said. “And then we fund regional plans that have been brought together, as opposed to just sending out money and saying, ‘I hope they spend it well.’”

Gallagher said the state also needs to change its strategy to empower people out of homelessness. 

“Some of the policies have changed,” Gallagher said. “We’re saying, ‘Look, some people with severe mental illness, for example, you have to get them off the street and get them medicated, and that requires conservatorships.’ We supported that legislation. It was actually bipartisan to finally do that.” 

Audience members were invited to ask the legislators questions. One audience member asked how the legislators, who represent minority parties in both the California State Senate and the California State Assembly, lead in their roles. 

Gallagher said he lobbies everyone in the committee to find common ground on policies. He gave the example of securing one billion dollars’ worth of funding in the aftermath of the 2021 Dixie Fire. 

“I think that was a lot to do with the minority party pushing the issue and also finding alignment with Democrats to get that through,” Gallagher said. “The negative is, ever since that time, the budget has slowly decreased and we need to get it back up. But there’s definitely those opportunities, even in the minority, to be a part of moving substantive change.” 

 

Written By: Rory Conlon — city@theaggie.org