California Democrats are giving an 11th hour reprieve to utility companies responsible for deadly wildfires across the state.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announced on Tuesday that lawmakers will not move forward with Senate Bill 492, a major wildfire reform proposal, before the end of the legislative session — saying the measure falls short of providing enough relief for survivors or accountability for utilities.
“We will continue to tackle the difficult but critically important issue of wildfire reform,” Rivas, a Democrat from Hollister, said in a statement. “Sacramento shouldn’t settle when wildfire survivors lost everything.”
SB 492 is at the center of an increasingly contentious fight over California’s wildfire liability system and how much financial responsibility utility companies should bear when their equipment causes catastrophic fires.
Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed lawmakers to reach a deal on wildfire reforms before the end of session, prompting weeks of negotiations involving lawmakers, utilities, wildfire survivors, consumer advocates, trial lawyers and labor groups.
The Democrats’ decision to not pass SB 492 effectively ends the bill’s chances of advancing before lawmakers leave Sacramento this week.
Joy Chen, leader of the Eaton Fire Survivor’s Network, and Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court issued a joint statement ripping legislators.
“SB 492 was a negotiated leadership compromise. Now it is dead because the utilities wanted even more,” the statement says. “Corporate special interests and utility lobbyists would rather kill the bill than accept a compromise that rejected the bailout they sought.”
Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Edison International shares plunged Monday by 20% and 23%, respectively, after California Democrats gutted Newsom’s proposal, which sought to change who pays when utility equipment sparks catastrophic wildfires.
Rivas said talks failed to produce legislation that lawmakers were prepared to approve.
“Over the past several weeks, we have spent hundreds of hours at the table with Californians from every side of this fight, and the verdict is clear: The proposal before us does not yet deliver the relief, accountability or meaningful reform that Californians deserve,” Rivas said.
The collapse represents a significant setback for consumer watchdogs as well as Newsom’s end-of-session push, leaving the debate over wildfire costs and utility accountability to next year.
“We should not privatize the profits and socialize the risk,” Chen and Court said in their joint statement.
“California does not need to restore Wall Street’s confidence in Edison and PG&E. Edison and PG&E need to earn it by making California safer.”
The fight may not be over quite yet, though.
On Monday, Newsom said he could call a special legislative session to resume the debate.
“This is a consequential moment and you’re seeing the consequences play out in real time,” Newsom said, according to KCRA 3. “We’ve got work to do.”
