Cal. GOV § 8596

This is the official text of Cal. GOV § 8596, part of California’s Government Code — covers the structure and operation of state and local government, including public employment and public records.

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Official statutory text

(a) Each department, division, bureau, board, commission, officer, and employee of this state shall render all possible assistance to the Governor and to the Director of Emergency Services in carrying out this chapter.

(b) In providing that assistance, state agencies shall cooperate to the fullest possible extent with each other and with political subdivisions, relief agencies, and the American National Red Cross, but nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to limit or in any way affect the responsibilities of the American National Red Cross under the federal act approved January 5, 1905 (33 Stat. 599), as amended.

(c) Entities providing disaster-related services and assistance shall strive to ensure that all victims receive the assistance that they need and for which they are eligible. Public employees shall assist evacuees and other individuals in securing disaster-related assistance and services without eliciting any information or document that is not strictly necessary to determine eligibility under state and federal laws. Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent public employees from taking reasonable steps to protect the health or safety of evacuees and other individuals during an emergency.

(d) State personnel, equipment, and facilities may be used to clear and dispose of debris on private property only after the Governor finds: (1) that the use is for a state purpose; (2) that the use is in the public interest, serving the general welfare of the state; and (3) that the personnel, equipment, and facilities are already in the emergency area.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.