08/31/2009 GAAS:488:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Executive Order to Assist Wildfire Victims Recovery Efforts
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed Executive Order S-16-09 to
waive fees and help recovery efforts for the victims of wildfires in Los
Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Placer, Santa Cruz and Yuba Counties.
Today, the Governor announced the establishment of a Local Assistance Center to help victims of the 49 fire
in Placer County. The center will open on Tuesday, September 1 at 9 a.m. and
will provide information on state and local services to assist those who have
been impacted by this event.
Yesterday,
the Governor proclaimed a
state of emergency in Placer County due to wildfire. Last week, the Governor proclaimed a state of
emergency in Los Angeles and Monterey Counties due to wildfires. On Saturday,
the Lieutenant Governor proclaimed a state of emergency in Mariposa County.
In
May, Governor Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-05-09, mobilizing
the CAL FIRE to secure and deploy the additional resources and personnel
necessary to save lives and protect homes from wildfires in this fire season.
Full text of the Executive Order S-16-09 is below:
EXECUTIVE
ORDER S-16-09
WHEREAS due to
the destruction caused by numerous wildfires in August 2009, I and the
Lieutenant Governor have proclaimed a State of Emergency to exist in the
Counties of Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Placer, Santa Cruz and Yuba; and
WHEREAS these
fires caused harm to people and property, burned over 100,000 acres, damaged or
destroyed numerous homes and other structures, caused evacuations, and caused
damage to resources and watershed; and
WHEREAS these
fires caused the loss of valuable personal and business records; and
WHEREAS the
people who lost or sustained damage to their homes, property, businesses or
places of employment, may need to obtain or replace important government
records such as certificates of birth, death, fetal death, or marriage, as well
as marriage dissolution records, driver's licenses, identification cards,
vehicle registration certificates, and certificates of title, to obtain
assistance from federal, state and local governmental agencies, make claims for
and collect insurance, find new employment, and for other purposes related to
losses suffered in the fire; and
WHEREAS those who
need to obtain or replace important government records to mitigate their losses
and rebuild their lives as a consequence of the fires require immediate
assistance from state and local governmental agencies to replace those records;
and
WHEREAS existing
law requires the Office of Vital Records of the Department of Public Health,
along with local registrars, county recorders and county clerks, to impose fees
upon persons requesting copies of certificates of birth, death, fetal death,
and marriage, and marriage dissolution records, and existing law requires the
State Department of Motor Vehicles to impose fees upon persons requesting
replacement driver's licenses, identification cards, vehicle registration
certificates, and certificates of title; and
WHEREAS existing
law requires the State Department of Motor Vehicles to impose late fees on
persons who are late in renewing their vehicle registration or late in
transferring ownership of a vehicle; and
WHEREAS the State
Department of Housing and Community Development administers the Manufactured
Housing Act pursuant to which the Department has adopted regulations imposing
fees for plan checking, inspections and related fees; and
WHEREAS the State
Department of Housing and Community Development administers the Mobilehome
Parks Act pursuant to which the Department has adopted regulations imposing
fees for inspections and related fees; and
WHEREAS the
suspension of statutory and regulatory requirements for imposition of fees
would assist fire victims; and
WHEREAS the State
Employment Development Department and the California Emergency Management
Agency estimate that numerous workers are, or will be, unemployed as a result
of the fires and are in need of immediate financial assistance; and
WHEREAS the
suspension of the statutory one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance
applicants who are unemployed due to the fires would provide these unemployed
workers with immediate financial assistance.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD
SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the State of
California, including the Emergency Services Act and in particular Government
Code sections 8567 and 8571, do hereby issue this Executive Order, effective
immediately, to mitigate the effects of the emergency due to the wildfires in
the Counties of Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Placer, Santa Cruz and Yuba
(hereafter referred to as the "Counties"):
1. The provisions of
Health and Safety Code sections 103525.5 and 103625, and the provisions of Penal
Code section 14251, requiring the imposition of fees, are hereby suspended with
regard to any request for copies of certificates of birth, death, fetal death,
and marriage, or marriage dissolution records by any resident of the Counties
who suffered a loss of a family member, or who suffered loss or damage to
property, business, or employment, as a result of the wildfires. Copies of
certificates of birth, death, fetal death, and marriage, and marriage
dissolution records, shall be provided to such persons without charge.
2. Health and Safety Code section 18031 and
California Code of Regulations Title 25, section 4044, requiring the imposition
of fees, are hereby suspended for any registered owner of a manufactured home
whose home was damaged or destroyed as a result of the wildfires, and it is
hereby ordered that the required inspections or plan checking be performed
without charge by the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
3. Health and Safety Code section 18503 and
California Code of Regulations Title 25, section 1020.1, requiring the
imposition of fees, is hereby suspended for any registered owner of a
manufactured home located in a jurisdiction for which the State Department of
Housing and Community Development is the enforcement agency and whose home was
damaged or destroyed as a result of the wildfires, and it is hereby ordered
that the required inspections or plan checking be performed without charge by
the Department.
4. Health and Safety Code sections 18114 and
18116, requiring the imposition of fees, and California Code of Regulations
Title 25 section 5660 subsections (b),(c), (f), and (g) relating to fees for
salvage transfers, transfer penalties and duplicate certificates of title or
registration are hereby suspended with regard to any late renewal of
registration certificate or certificate of title for a manufactured home by any
registered owner who lost those documents as a result of the fires. Those
documents shall be replaced without charge.
5. The provisions of Vehicle Code sections
9265(a), 9867, 14901, 14902 and 15255.2, requiring the imposition of fees, are
hereby suspended with regard to any request for replacement of a driver's
license, identification card, vehicle registration certificate or certificate
of title by any resident of the Counties who suffered a loss of such documents
as a result of the wildfires. A replacement driver's license, identification
card, vehicle registration certificate, or certificate of title shall be
provided to such persons without charge.
6. The provisions of Vehicle Code sections
4602 and 5902, requiring the timely registration or transfer of title, are
hereby suspended with regard to any registration or transfer of title by any
resident of the Counties who suffered a loss of such registration or title
documents as a result of the wildfires. The time covered by this suspension
shall not be included in calculating any late penalty pursuant to Vehicle Code
section 9554.
7. The provisions of Unemployment Insurance
Code section 1253 imposing a one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance
applicants are suspended as to all applicants who are unemployed as a result of
the wildfires in the Counties, who apply for unemployment insurance benefits
during the time period beginning August 26, 2009 and ending on the close of
business on September 26, 2009, and who are otherwise eligible for unemployment
insurance benefits in California.
8. The California Emergency Management Agency
shall coordinate assistance programs offered by all relevant federal, state and
local agencies and departments, including, but not limited to, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, the California Conservation Corps, the Department
of Public Health, the Department of Health Care Services, the California
Emergency Medical Services Authority, the Department of Mental Health, the
Department of Social Services, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the
Employment Development Department, the Department of the Highway Patrol, the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of Veterans Affairs,
the Department of Aging, the Department of Transportation, the Department of
Insurance, and the Franchise Tax Board.
9. All State agencies with responsibility,
regulatory authority or expertise related to recovery efforts in connection
with these fires shall cooperate fully and act expeditiously in coordination
with the California Resources Agency and the California Environmental
Protection Agency, to facilitate the mitigation of the effects of the fires and
the environmental restoration of the affected areas.
10. State agencies shall, as necessary for the
protection of public health and the environment, assist local governments to
enter into contracts and arrange for the procurement of materials, goods, and
services necessary to quickly remove dangerous debris, repair damaged
resources, and restore and protect the impacted watershed. Because strict compliance with the provisions
of the Government Code and the Public Contract Code applicable to state
contracts would prevent, hinder, or delay these efforts, applicable provisions
of those statutes, including, but not limited to, advertising and competitive
bidding requirements, are suspended to the extent necessary to address the
effects of the fires.
11. The Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and
the California Conservation Corps, shall use employees, corps members, inmate
and ward labor, where appropriate, to protect public health, safety, and water
quality on public lands or where otherwise requested by private property
owners.
IT IS FURTHER REQUESTED that the Franchise Tax Board and the Board of
Equalization consider using their administrative powers where appropriate to
provide those individuals and/or businesses impacted by the wildfires with
extensions for filing, audits, billing, notices, assessments and relief from
subsequent penalties.
IT IS ALSO
REQUESTED that the Public Utilities Commission
direct utility companies with transmission lines in the affected areas to
ensure that all dead and dying trees and vegetation are completely cleared from
their utility right-of-ways to mitigate the potential threat to human health
and safety and public property.
This Executive Order is not intended
to, and does not, create any rights or benefits, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity, against the State of California, its agencies,
departments, entities, officers, employees, or any other person.
I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this Order
shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread
publicity and notice be given to this Order.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed
this 31st Day of August 2009.
ARNOLD
SCHWARZENEGGER
Governor
of California
ATTEST:
DEBRA
BOWEN
Secretary
of State
