Assembly backs wildfire resilience loan program to pay for home hardening

The Assembly passed SB 894, a bill to establish the California Wildfire Resilience Loan Program that the author said would help homeowners finance defensible‑space and home‑hardening improvements. Presenting on behalf of Senator Allen, Assemblymember Bennett noted that while such measures reduce structure fire risk, upfront costs can be a barrier and the bill seeks to leverage public dollars to obtain favorable private lending terms.

Supporters described the public‑private financing mechanism as a way to increase uptake of home‑hardening investments and reduce insurer exposure. The Assembly recorded the vote (I 64, No 0) and the bill will move to the subsequent chaptering/enactment steps. The floor summary emphasized outreach to lenders and the potential to reduce losses from wildfires by encouraging resilience upgrades at the household level.