Order directs FEMA and SBA to create rules allowing federal preemption of local permitting and self‑certification by builders

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directive

FEMA and SBA promulgate and publish regulations that preempt specified state/local procedural permitting and establish a self‑certification process.

Source summary
President Trump signed an Executive Order to accelerate rebuilding in Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon after wildfires destroyed nearly 40,000 acres. The Order directs FEMA and the SBA to issue regulations that can preempt state and local procedural permitting, allow builder self-certification to federal designees, expedite reviews under federal environmental and historic laws, and propose legislation to address local recovery delays. The Order also instructs FEMA to audit California’s nearly $3 billion in unspent Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds to determine whether funds were awarded improperly.
Latest fact check

Section 3(a)(i)–(ii) of the Executive Order (Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters) directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (acting through FEMA) and the Administrator of the SBA to consider promulgating regulations that would preempt State or local permitting processes that have impeded use of federal emergency-relief funds and to replace those regimes with a requirement that builders "self‑certify to a Federal designee" that they have complied with applicable substantive State and local health, safety, and building standards. Independent news reports (AP, Reuters) summarize the order in the same terms. Verdict — True: the Executive Order text explicitly directs FEMA and the SBA to pursue regulations preempting procedural permitting requirements and enabling builders to self‑certify compliance with substantive standards.

Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 28, 2026, 01:47 AMTrue
    Section 3(a)(i)–(ii) of the Executive Order (Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters) directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (acting through FEMA) and the Administrator of the SBA to consider promulgating regulations that would preempt State or local permitting processes that have impeded use of federal emergency-relief funds and to replace those regimes with a requirement that builders "self‑certify to a Federal designee" that they have complied with applicable substantive State and local health, safety, and building standards. Independent news reports (AP, Reuters) summarize the order in the same terms. Verdict — True: the Executive Order text explicitly directs FEMA and the SBA to pursue regulations preempting procedural permitting requirements and enabling builders to self‑certify compliance with substantive standards.
  2. Update · Jan 28, 2026, 01:02 AMTrue
    The Executive Order ("Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters") directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (acting through FEMA) and the Administrator of the SBA to consider promulgating regulations that would preempt State or local permitting processes that have unduly impeded the use of federal emergency-relief funds and to replace such processes with a requirement that builders self‑certify to a federal designee that they have complied with applicable substantive State and local health, safety, and building standards (Sec. 3(a)–(b)). The order also sets timelines for publication of proposed regulations (within 30 days) and final regulations (within 90 days), a point echoed in the White House fact sheet summarizing the order. Verdict: True — the Executive Order explicitly directs FEMA and the SBA to pursue regulations to preempt procedural permitting requirements and allow builder self‑certification, though the EO frames this as agency rulemaking (it instructs the agencies to "consider promulgating" and includes "if any" when describing publication), rather than an immediate unilateral nullification of all state or local permitting authority.
  3. Original article · Jan 27, 2026

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