By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at cutting bureaucratic red tape and speeding up rebuilding of homes destroyed by last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.
• The order directs federal agencies to preempt state and local permitting requirements and allow builders to self-certify compliance with health, safety and building standards.
• It also calls for expedited federal waivers and approvals that may be required under environmental and historic preservation laws.
• Fewer than a dozen homes had been rebuilt in the county as of early January; hundreds more are under construction.
• California officials have urged approval of state disaster funding, saying permitting is not the primary barrier to reconstruction.
LOS ANGELES, CA — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday intended to cut through bureaucratic red tape and accelerate reconstruction of homes destroyed by the January 2025 Los Angeles area wildfires, federal officials said.
Jae C. Hong/AP
The order directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration to develop rules that would preempt state and local permitting requirements, allowing builders to self-certify compliance with substantive health, safety and building standards.
It also directs federal agencies to expedite waivers, permits and approvals under federal environmental, historic preservation and natural resource laws that may otherwise delay rebuilding work.
As of early January, local officials said fewer than a dozen homes had been rebuilt in Los Angeles County, although hundreds more were under construction following the wildfires that destroyed tens of thousands of residential properties.
California’s governor and Los Angeles city leaders have called for expedited federal disaster funding and faster reimbursements, saying financial barriers and insurance issues remain major obstacles to rebuilding.