Alan Riquelmy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a pair of bills Thursday providing $2.5 billion in funding for Los Angeles wildfire recovery, just hours after the Legislature sent the legislation to his desk.

Both the Assembly and state Senate suspended legislative rules to quickly pass the bills, both of which had support across the aisle.

"I want to thank everyone that cleared the deck and didn't play politics with this," Newsom said at an afternoon bill signing ceremony. "This money will be made available immediately."

Two unrelated bills allocating $50 million to fund legal efforts against the Donald Trump administration passed the state Senate and now await action in the Assembly.

Democrats, which hold a supermajority in both chambers, urged passage of the wildfire bills during the special session, arguing that they will provide funding for emergency response, land remediation and expediting permits to allow people to rebuild after the Palisades and Eaton fires.

“This is not a partisan moment,” said Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Los Angeles Democrat. “This is a people moment.”

While Republicans expressed support for the wildfire bills, they emphasized the need for fire prevention.

Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher, of Yuba City, sought to add $1 billion for fuel reduction to Assembly Bill 4 — one of two bills that provide the wildfire funding. Gallagher argued that $1 billion specifically for removing fire fuels would save hundreds of billions of dollars in the future.

“Some may say that we can’t afford it,” Gallagher added. “The next fire is not just around the corner, it’s already burning. We can’t control the wind, but we can control the fuel.”

The Assembly shelved the amendment in a 58-to-19 vote.

“Wildfire prevention is a glaring omission from the relief package being passed today,” Gallagher said in a statement. “We can’t keep underfunding fire prevention and waiting to respond until after a disaster.”

The Assembly bill, along with the companion Senate bill, will pull money from state reserves for the recovery efforts. Lawmakers on Wednesday heard that the state would receive a 100% federal reimbursement of the funding for emergency protective measures and debris clearing. However, that comes with a six-month deadline, when reimbursement will drop to 75%. Other recovery and rebuilding efforts, like infrastructure, are at 75%.

Speaking in support of the bill package, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat and chair of his chamber’s Budget Committee, said lawmakers could consider additional funding before May.

Many Republicans argued that the $2.5 billion wouldn’t be enough. Assemblymember Bill Essayli, a Corona Republican, said fires erupt every day. He called the money approved Thursday not insignificant, but insufficient.

“This problem is ongoing,” Essayli said.

The wildfire bills stemmed from a special session Newsom invoked days after Trump’s November win at the polls. Initially meant to fund legal efforts to defend California in court, the special session was expanded this month by Newsom to include wildfire recovery efforts.

Some state Senate Republicans argued Thursday that providing $50 million for legal efforts against Trump while asking the federal government to reimburse California’s wildfire efforts was counterintuitive.

“We already have a tenuous relationship with the federal government,” said state Senator Kelly Seyarto, a Murrieta Republican. “We’re poking them with a stick in the eye with one hand and asking them for money with the other.”

The money will go to the state’s Department of Justice, as well as legal aid services for Californians and local legal service centers.

State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, a Los Angeles Democrat, said the bills protected state residents. She pointed to statements Trump and his allies have made about deporting people as a reason for their passage.

Trump, who took office Monday, tried in an executive order to end birthright citizenship. A federal judge on Thursday blocked that order.

State Senator Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and one of the authors of the Trump-proofing bills, argued that Trump has threatened to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

“That is what’s causing fear,” he added.