Newsom Drops Utility Wildfire Cost Shift After 50 Survivors Protest
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Aug 30
Newsom Drops Utility Wildfire Cost Shift After 50 Survivors Protest
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Aug 30
Summary
A late-night deal scrapped Gov. Gavin Newsom’s bid to shift more utility-sparked wildfire costs to property insurers and to cut compensation for fire victims.
More than 50 Eaton fire survivors protested in Sacramento, while critics and some lawmakers attacked the proposal as a corporate bailout that would raise insurance premiums and push more costs onto local governments.
The 96-page SB 492 package kept narrower changes instead, including limits on insurer lawyers’ fees, a ban on hedge funds and private equity profiting from claims, and a faster payment program for victims.
Utilities had pressed Sacramento for stronger liability shields after the 2025 Eaton fire; Southern California Edison faces suits from more than 11,000 households over the blaze that killed 19 people.
The revised bill was printed less than 72 hours before the session deadline, forcing the Legislature to extend work until Tuesday under California’s voter-approved timing rules.