California legislators are considering a bill to help those affected by the Garden Grove chemical emergency over Memorial Day weekend.
With a threat that a compromised tank at the GKN Aerospace plant could leak or explode, sending dangerous and toxic chemicals over a section of Orange County, more than 50,000 people from six cities were evacuated late last month. Residents have since been able to return home, albeit accompanied by new fears about the nearby aerospace plant.
To help those affected, Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, is behind a bill that would let residents and businesses exempt legal settlement payments from their income taxes. At this point, the bill applies to legal settlements or payouts, not judgments, related to the chemical emergency.
“When families are compensated for expenses caused by an evacuation, that money should stay with the people who were affected,” Ta said.
“The goal of this bill is simple: make sure disaster victims can keep every dollar intended to help them move forward,” he added. “The state should not be taking a share of those funds through income taxes.”
Assembly Bill 760 is backed by Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein, Stanton Mayor David Shawver and Westminster City Councilmember Amy Phan West.
“At a time when families are struggling with an affordability crisis, this legislation is the right approach,” bill co-author Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, said. “Throughout and after the hazmat incident, I heard directly from residents and business owners about the financial strain they faced as they worked to recover.”
At a recent Garden Grove City Council meeting, a GKN executive apologized on behalf of the company, saying he understood how “disruptive” and “unsettling” the incident was to the community.
Late last month, several lawsuits against GKN Aerospace quickly began showing up in state and federal courts. They generally alleged negligence on the part of the United Kingdom-based company and described it as being a public nuisance following the apparent failure of emergency systems involving the compromised chemical tank. Most of the lawsuits sought class action status.
Ta’s bill was only amended last week and has been referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
