California will require large cold-storage warehouses to set up an emergency contingency fund before getting a building permit, under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The fund would cover community needs during a declared state of emergency. Operators can buy insurance instead, according to FreightWaves.
The law initially applies only to the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles. It expands statewide on July 1, 2028. From that date, any cold-storage operator seeking a building permit will need to fund the reserve or buy the required coverage first.
A second bill, SB 716, raises local fines for health and safety violations at nonresidential buildings of at least 20,000 square feet. Fines can reach $50,000 per violation when the violation leads to a governor’s emergency declaration or federal disaster declaration. The higher fines apply in Los Angeles County first and statewide from July 1, 2028.
Both bills follow a fire at a 500,000-square-foot Lineage cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights that burned for eight days in June. Cleanup cost more than $100 million and removed 89 million pounds of spoiled food. Lineage is suing Altus Power and Pearce Services for more than $1 billion, alleging rooftop solar work started the fire. Both companies dispute the allegations.
CREDA SoCal, a commercial real estate group, asked Newsom to veto SB 716. It called the bill a “sweeping statewide penalty structure affecting nearly every nonresidential building in California that is 20,000 square feet or larger,” per Bisnow.
The Global Cold Chain Alliance said cities could set the required fund anywhere “from zero to $20 million as a permit condition,” FreightWaves reported.
