GRIFTING WILL WAIT: CA Bill creating LA fire rebuilding agency on hold over backlash.

A controversial California bill that would have created a powerful “Resilient Rebuilding Authority” for the Los Angeles fires was put on temporary hold by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, in response to widespread community concerns.

“I appreciate the input of the folks who have weighed in about the bill, and along with legislative colleagues have decided that it would be best for us to pause the bill until next year to give us more time to see if we can get it right,” said Allen in a statement on SB 549.

At the Assembly Local Government Committee hearing on Wednesday night, Allen conceded the bill’s lack of clear path for community input into the RRA’s decision making, while hinting at future changes to the legislation in 2026.

“I’m not looking to jam this down people’s throats,” said Allen. “On the community input question, it doesn’t cut out community input. It just doesn’t specify one path or another, so we’re going to have to build significant community input into the governance structure in order for this to pass the smell test with the locals.”

Translation: Dems got caught with their hand so deep in the cookie jar that even the locals noticed