Community-Scale Resilience: We Can and Must Do Better

SACRAMENTO – Senator Ben Allen (D-Pacific Palisades) released the following statement this morning after a policy to improve community-scale resilience was held from advancing in the Legislature this year.

“California’s resilience efforts tend to operate in siloes. This status quo significantly hinders our ability to simultaneously assess the needs of residents, local agencies, utilities, and insurers—those which receive the largest benefits from improved resilience. Our most meaningful improvements come from coordinated efforts; when we all collaborate and come to the table, we can ensure our mitigation work actually meets the needs of impacted individuals and organizations.

I am deeply disappointed that the opportunity to establish these collaborative, public-private partnerships to collectively improve resilience was held in committee today. We need an all-hands approach that breaks down siloes, and we need it urgently. I will continue to work with local stakeholders through available channels to improve how this system can work for everybody.”