AB 1795 & AB 1642 Signed: What Sacramento Restoration Contractors Should Check on Smoke Claims

On September 15, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1795 (Chapter 240, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act) and companion AB 1642 (Chapter 239). The Governor’s announcement and the same-day CDI press release frame the pair as first-in-the-nation standards for testing, remediating, and clearing residential properties damaged by wildfire smoke — including homes that never burned. CDI estimates more than 13,000 of roughly 40,000 claims after the January 2025 fires involved that kind of smoke damage.

Lions & Coventry Insurance Services is an independent brokerage at 7816 Uplands Way, Ste C in Citrus Heights. We place construction insurance for Sacramento–Loomis contractors on rebuild and remediation work. This is a field note on signed statutes, not legal advice.

Why restoration contractors should care

Homeowner headlines dominate the signing coverage. The contractor angle is quieter. Under new Insurance Code section 2060.2, if a residential smoke-damage claim settles on an insurer’s written scope, that estimate must restore the property to no less than preloss condition and clear it for occupancy under the AB 1642 standards — and the policyholder keeps the right to select the vendor or contractor who performs the restoration. Insurer-hired or insurer-referred vendors preparing scopes or doing the work must hold the license, training, and certification the state requires for residential wildfire smoke restoration. Labor Code section 6713 also directs Cal/OSHA to propose worker certification regulations for residential smoke/fire remediation by July 1, 2029.

For a Sacramento GC or specialty remediator, that means clearer scopes tied to scientific clearance, more documented sampling, and a longer path before Additional Living Expense cuts off on covered residential smoke claims inside a wildfire impact zone. Claim volume and documentation discipline — not a marketing coupon.

What the statutes actually do

Both bills are mutually contingent; both are now chaptered, so that contingency is met. Chaptered status does not list an urgency clause, so the ordinary California effective date for non-urgency legislation is January 1 of the following year (January 1, 2027). Confirm operative dates section-by-section in the chaptered text. AB 1642’s interim lead and asbestos clearance floors apply until DTSC adopts fuller regulations.

• Presumption and ALE. Section 2060.1 creates a rebuttable presumption that wildfire smoke, ash, soot, char, or combustion byproducts present in a surviving residential property in the wildfire impact zone resulted from that wildfire. An insurer generally may not terminate ALE on a covered residential smoke claim in that zone until the property is restored to preloss condition and cleared for occupancy under AB 1642 standards or guidance, subject to policy limits.
• Testing and timelines. Section 2060.2 makes the insurer responsible for necessary sampling and testing costs to restore and clear the property under those standards, subject to policy terms. If the insurer inspects, it generally must do so within 30 calendar days after notice of claim (or after access is granted).
• AB 1642 science track. DTSC has until December 31, 2028 for lead/asbestos testing and remediation regulations, and until December 31, 2029 for broader contaminant guidance. The State Air Resources Board has until December 31, 2028 for indoor-air guidance after residential wildfire smoke damage.
• What it is not. This package centers on residential property insurance smoke claims after wildfire. It is not an automatic commercial property rewrite, not builders risk by another name, and not a guarantee that industrial smoke events (AB 1795’s separate Lineage Logistics study track through 2027–2028) trigger the same residential ALE rules tomorrow. Keep builders risk on its own rail.

Checklist for Sacramento–Loomis rebuild shops

• Confirm CSLB classification and specialty remediation licenses match the scopes you bid. When DTSC and Cal/OSHA certification tracks mature, map crew training against those deadlines.
• On residential smoke jobs inside a CAL FIRE–mapped wildfire impact zone, ask who ordered the sampling, which standard the hygienist used, and whether the homeowner or the carrier selected the remediator. Keep that paper trail with the COI file.
• Align general liability, workers compensation, and pollution or remediation endorsements with the subcontract work description — especially lead, asbestos, and indoor environmental work. See our Sacramento construction insurance hub if certificate wording is the friction.
• Do not confuse Zone 0 defensible-space rules for new builds with smoke-claim clearance standards. Related wildfire calendars; different statutes.

Talk through scopes before the next smoke bid

If you are bidding residential smoke remediation or habitational repair around Sacramento, Loomis, or the foothills and want a clean read of liability, workers comp, and certificate wording against these claim rules, call Lions & Coventry at (916) 967-7715. Office: 7816 Uplands Way, Ste C, Citrus Heights, CA 95610. License #0G22084. Monday–Friday 9am–5pm. Or use our contact form. Bring the address ZIP, claim type, and any insurer scope. This is not legal advice — it is how local contractors stay oriented when the insurance calendar and the fire calendar move together.