Newsom signs bills strengthening protections near large-scale facilities after Boyle Heights warehouse fire

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills over the weekend that aimed at strengthening accountability for large-scale facilities and increasing support for communities in the event of an emergency like the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights in June. 

"Boyle Heights showed us the lasting impact a major facility emergency can have on a community," Newsom said in a statement after signing Senate Bill 716 and Assembly Bill 817. "These laws strengthen the tools, resources and accountability needed to protect residents and help communities respond when emergencies happen."

SB 716, which was penned by Senator María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), will increase fines for violations of local ordinances involving "specified nonresidential structures of 20,000 square feet or more when the violations pose a threat to health and safety," a news release shared by Newsom's office said. 

Violations that result in a state of emergency declared by the California Governor or a federal disaster declaration can increase fines up to $50,000 per violation, the release said, noting that the enhanced penalties go into effect statewide in July 2028. 

Durazo thanked Newsom for signing both bills into law in a statement, which said the new legislation sends a clear message to corporations that "put our communities at risk."

"Families in Boyle Heights and East LA were exposed to toxic smoke and lived with the stench of millions of pounds of rotting food for months," Durazo's statement said. "They could not open their windows and could not let their kids play outside. Their health suffered, while the company responsible faced fines far too small to matter."

AB 817 was authored by Assemblymember Mark González (D-Los Angeles), and calls for new contingency fund requirements for specified community needs for large cold storage facilities, Newsom's release said, noting that the requirement applies to facilities in the Boyle Heights Community Plan border and then statewide in July 2028. 

"When disaster strikes, people should never have to fight just to be heard—their government should already be standing beside them," González said in a statement. "Today, with the signing of AB 817 and SB 716, we demand accountability and make sure our communities are never left to face a crisis alone. The Lineage fire left a deep wound in Boyle Heights, Montebello, Commerce, and the surrounding communities, one that will take a long time to heal."

González also spoke with CBS LA on Monday, stating that he hopes the bills will help prevent another city from ending up like Boyle Heights. 

"We don't want your neighborhood to be the next Boyle Heights," he said. "If a disaster like Lineage should happen in your area, in your backyards, that you have plans to put money back into the community to pay them back for their suffering, for the lost wages."

Both bills were written in the wake of the June 17 fire that broke out at the Lineage Logistics facility on Los Palos Street, which burned for nearly a week. In the weeks after, more than 85 million pounds of rotting food being kept at the cold storage facility began to rot, leaving a putrid stench lingering over the area that led to infestations of rats, flies and other rodents. 

The 500,000-square-foot facility took weeks to clean, with food removal and relocation of debris caused by the fire lasting until late August. Earlier in September, the Los Angeles Fire Department released its report on the potential cause of the fire, which they said was undetermined but likely started on the extensive array of solar panels on the roof of the warehouse.

Mayor Karen Bass also thanked Newsom for signing the legislation. 

"These pieces of legislation ensure cold storage companies take responsibility for the impacts of their operations, provide critical protections for residents in the event of an emergency, and allow cities and communities to impose higher fines when the health and safety of communities are threatened," Bass' statement said, in part.