The Smoke Damage Recovery Act, Explained

As of September 10, 2026, two bills addressing wildfire smoke damage have passed the California Legislature and are awaiting action by the Governor, who has until September 30 to sign or veto them. If AB 1795 is signed, California becomes the first state in the country with mandatory wildfire smoke testing rules for insurers. This page explains what each bill does in plain language, and what a homeowner with a standing smoke-damaged house should be doing regardless of the outcome.

AB 1795, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson and developed with Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. It does three main things. It requires insurers to pay for chemical testing of homes for smoke damage. It requires them to cover additional living expenses for residents of homes inside a fire perimeter. And most significantly, it creates a rebuttable presumption that smoke, ash, soot and char found in a home located in a ZIP code inside a fire perimeter was caused by that wildfire, unless the insurer proves otherwise. That last provision moves the burden of proof, which is the part that matters most in a disputed claim.

AB 1642, authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian, works on the other side of the problem. It directs the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt health-based standards for detecting and remediating lead and asbestos in wildfire ash by the end of 2028, and standards for additional contaminants including beryllium by 2029. Today there is no health-based cleanup standard for wildfire residue in a home, which is why two qualified people can walk the same house and disagree about whether it is clean.

The reason these bills exist is a backlog that has not cleared. The California Department of Insurance estimates that more than 13,000 of roughly 40,000 claims arising from the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires involve smoke damage. Many are still open. In the Eaton footprint about 1,073 structures were damaged rather than destroyed, and in the Palisades roughly 1,000, and those standing homes are where the smoke claims are concentrated.

The legal picture has moved alongside the legislative one. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that the California FAIR Plan's smoke damage policy was illegal under the state Insurance Code. That policy required damage to be visible to the unaided eye or detectable by the unaided nose, and excluded laboratory testing as a basis for a claim. Insurance Commissioner Lara separately opened a market conduct examination of the FAIR Plan after more than 220 consumer complaints. In September 2026, Los Angeles County sued a major carrier over its handling of smoke damage claims. The Department of Insurance also convened a Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force, whose March 2026 report recommended a tiered remediation system and certification for the firms and inspectors doing the work.

Here is what all of that means for a homeowner today. First, a standing house is a real loss. Smoke, ash and soot enter through the building envelope and settle where nobody cleans, which is attic insulation, ductwork, the tops of door frames, closets and drawers. Los Angeles County public health guidance for returning residents flags wildfire ash as potentially containing asbestos, arsenic and lead, and recommends professional cleaning where soot or odor persists after basic cleaning.

Second, and more urgently, documentation created before any cleanup is the thing these disputes turn on. Photograph every room wide, then close on visible deposits, on window sills, on the tops of door frames, and inside a closet. Photograph the air filter, because a loaded filter is dated physical evidence. Write down the date you first returned and what you observed and smelled. Keep every receipt, including hotel nights, air purifiers and cleaning supplies you bought yourself. Note any health symptom and when it started. If you have already cleaned, document what you did and when, rather than leaving a gap.

Third, be careful about who does your testing. Screening for regulated materials before anything is disturbed, and documenting a specific event for a claim, are two different purposes. Both are better served by an independent party than by the company that would also perform the cleanup. We do not test the jobs we bid, and we will point you at independent parties who do that work.

Fourth, no county or state grant program pays for smoke remediation in a standing home. We looked and it does not appear to exist. The funding mechanism is the insurance claim, which is exactly why the rules above are being fought over.

Our role in this is narrow and worth stating. Major League Response assesses and documents a property, performs the cleaning, and prepares an estimate for our own scope of work. We can bill your carrier directly for our services. We are not adjusters, we do not interpret policies, and nothing on this page is legal advice or a prediction about your claim. If the bills are signed, this page will be updated. If they are vetoed, the FAIR Plan ruling, the market conduct examination and the county lawsuit all still stand.