Cold storage facilities

The law ties building permits for large, regulated refrigerated warehouses to financial preparations for emergencies that cause community health or safety harms. It also preserves settlement funds for Los Angeles County residents, property owners, and businesses affected by the 2026 Boyle Heights fire.

What the law does ​

• Bars local approval of a building permit for a qualifying cold-storage facility unless its owner, operator, or lessee establishes and maintains a contingency fund of up to $20 million.
• Allows the fund to be a local-government or owner-managed account, surety bond, or insurance policy, and allows local governments to charge facility fees to fund a local account.
• Limits use of the fund to declared emergencies tied to a facility-related health advisory, health alert, or unresolved violation that caused the emergency conditions.
• Requires fund support for food, housing and relocation aid, air-quality monitoring, vector control, and related health care.
• Excludes qualifying settlements from the 2026 Boyle Heights fire from individual and corporate state taxable income for tax years 2027 through 2031.
• Requires settlement entities, upon request, to provide payment records to the Franchise Tax Board, which must report aggregate settlement payments to the Legislature by November 1, 2029.

Who it affects ​

• Owners, operators, and lessees of large refrigerated facilities participating in the accidental-release prevention program.
• Cities, counties, and cities and counties that issue building permits for those facilities.
• Los Angeles County residents, property owners, and businesses receiving qualifying settlements from the 2026 Boyle Heights fire.

Context ​

The permit-fund requirement applies only in the Boyle Heights Community Plan area through June 30, 2028, then applies statewide to qualifying facilities.