PARADISE, CA (KMJ) – Governor Gavin Newsom visited Paradise to help communities that were impacted by wildfires.
The Governor signed Assembly Bill 73 to provide emergency funding to local governments rocked by recent deadly California wildfires.
This is the second bill Newsom is signing as the state’s new governor, to back-fill local property taxes, allowing schools to reopen and local government to begin the process of rebuilding infrastructure.
He already signed his first bill, AB 72, to bring emergency water to areas of the Central Valley.
Both AB 72 and AB 73 are early action budget bills that provide immediate, urgent assistance.
“When I came to the Valley on multiple occasions in the last few years, I made that point, I’m coming back, I care about this community I listened, learned more and I want to be held to my rhetoric,” said Newsom.
On Wednesday, before he signed AB 72, Governor Gavin Newson spoke to students who could not drink the dirty water at their school in Parlier.
Hundreds of water systems across the state are contaminated by lead, arsenic, or uranium.
“The appropriation is for $131.3 million dollars, and it’s part of a package that included more money to address the immediate needs for safe drinking water and that’s bottled water and emergency supplies,” said Gov. Newsom, on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Gov. Newsom was speaking to students at Pine Ridge Elementary School, who were uprooted by the Camp Fire.
Their school was relocated to a church.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
