Legislative Fixes to Benefit Wildfire Victims

June 3, 2025

By Jeff Prang • Los Angeles County Assessor

When disaster strikes suddenly and severely, people rightly look to government for help. The recent wildfires in Los Angeles County have been devastating, with more than 200,000 residents evacuated, over 23,000 structures damaged or destroyed, and 29 lives lost. The impact of this unprecedented event will be felt for years to come.

At the Assessor’s Office, we have been working proactively to support affected property owners. We are evaluating every property in the disaster zones—regardless of whether the owner has filed an application for disaster relief. So far, we have completed assessment reductions for 18,000 of the 23,500 impacted parcels. About 60% of those reductions were based on Misfortune and Calamity (M&C) claims submitted by property owners. The remaining 40% were completed through our own proactive reassessments even though claims had not yet been filed. The remaining 5,500 parcels require further review and will be addressed in the coming months.

Because existing laws impacting property assessment and taxes can often be inflexible and unforgiving, I am sponsoring several pieces of legislation aimed at providing more flexible and meaningful support to disaster victims. Here are several key bills currently moving through the State Legislature:

• Senate Bill 663
  Would extend the M&C claim filing deadline from 12 to 24 months.  It would also extend the period in which property owners are able to rebuild their substantially damaged or destroyed property and retain their pre-fire property tax base from 5 to 8 years.  Finally, it would preserve pre-fire use-based exemptions (non-profits, religious institutions, etc.) for properties affected by the disaster until they are replaced, rebuilt,or returned to their prior exempt use.
  Sponsored by Senator Sasha Perez with Senators Ben Allen, Jerry McNerney.

• Assembly Bill 245
  Would similarly extend the period in which property owners are able to rebuild their property and retain their pre-fire tax base from 5 to 8 years.  Additionally, it would allow assessors to consider factors like damage, depreciation, removal, and other circumstances related to the fires when determining a property’s 2025 taxable value, whereas current law does not allow for such factors to be considered until 2026.
  Sponsored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson.

• Senate Bill 293
  Some homeowners inherited property from their parents without ever recording the change on the title. Failure to make required changes may prevent those homeowners from accessing tax relief and subject them to back taxes. SB 293 would extend the filing period for Propositions 58 and 19 parent-child transfer property tax exclusion claims needed to resolve inheritance-related title issues for properties damaged by an M&C from 6 months to 3 years.
  Sponsored by Senator Sasha Perez.

• Assembly Bill 1253

I am profoundly disappointed that AB 1253, authored by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), a common-sense fire relief bill I proudly sponsored, was ‘held’ in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and will not move forward this legislative session.

AB 1253 was crafted to bring fairness and clarity to wildfire victims who are attempting to rebuild their lives after devastating losses. Under current law, property owners who choose to rebuild using the emergency building codes that allow up to a 110% replacement of their original structure—may face an unanticipated property tax increase simply for complying with construction standards designed to help fire victims.

Normally, under California law, rebuilding a structure beyond what is deemed “substantially equivalent,” would result in an assessment change and a property tax increase. AB 1253 would have aligned assessment standards with these disaster-related building code provisions, protecting these homeowners from an added financial burden during an already traumatic recovery process.

AB 1253 was endorsed by California Assessors Association, of which I serve as President, and received the support from the Los Angeles City Council and the Mayor of Pasadena.

The failure to approve this bill is a setback for disaster recovery efforts in Los Angeles County and across California. Wildfire survivors deserve compassion and support, not penalties for rebuilding in conformance with the Governor’s Disaster Proclamation. We should be doing everything in our power to ease their path to recovery—not making it harder.

I remain committed to pursuing legislative solutions that provide fairness and stability to property owners in times of crisis. AB 1253 was an important step toward that goal, and I will continue to fight for the protection our residents need and deserve.

While we look forward to the changes proposed in our sponsored legislation, there are currently several programs available through our office that can help to ensure that property owners are receiving the most up-to-date information related to their properties. 

The first is our Homeowner Alert program, which will notify a property owner via email that a document has been recorded in connection with their property, within 48 hours of the recording.  This tool gives property owners the ability to identify and address title fraud and other fraudulent or improper activity almost as soon as it occurs. 

The second is our E-Service program, which enables property owners to submit Change of Mailing Address requests online.  This is especially important for property owners affected by the fires, who may need to receive property tax notices and bills at a different address. Both programs are available when a property owner creates an E-Service account on our website. 

Finally, to enhance property owner access to information about their disaster relief benefits through our office, we have updated the Property Search tool on our website to allow property owners to see the status of the review of their M&C claim. 

While we have made great headway in providing property tax relief to property owners impacted by the January wildfires, there is still much work to be done.  The Assessor’s Office remains committed to supporting and advocating for affected property owners to receive meaningful disaster relief in as streamlined a manner as possible.