{"id":5972,"date":"2026-08-25T16:42:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T16:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5972"},"modified":"2026-08-25T16:42:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T16:42:06","slug":"newsom-pitches-faster-wildfire-payouts-but-youd-lose-your-right-to-sue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5972","title":{"rendered":"Newsom pitches faster wildfire payouts, but you\u2019d lose your right to sue"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The\u00a0most destructive wildfire\u00a0in state history, a blaze that killed 85 people and destroyed more than 18,000 buildings in Northern California, started two days after Newsom won the governorship in 2018. Investigators determined it was caused by Pacific Gas & Electric equipment. Facing\u00a0tens of billions of dollars\u00a0in liability, the giant utility\u00a0filed for bankruptcy\u00a0just weeks after Newsom\u2019s inauguration.<\/p>\n

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Months later, Newsom signed a law creating a\u00a0$21 billion fund, paid for by utility shareholders and ratepayers, to help utilities pay for wildfire damages if they take certain safety measures.<\/p>\n

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Now, as the final legislative session of his governorship ends, Newsom is trying to broker a deal with lawmakers aimed at further shielding utilities from financial trouble if their equipment sparks a wildfire. His push comes as another major utility, Southern California Edison, faces claims from the state\u2019s second-most destructive blaze, a 2025 fire that killed 19 people outside of Los Angeles. Investigators ruled this month that it was sparked by\u00a0one of the company\u2019s transmission towers.<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s plan could limit the amount electric and gas companies have to pay victims and attorneys. One of the goals is to stabilize the state\u2019s electricity rates, which are\u00a0among the highest in the nation\u00a0and have continued to climb in recent years. Utilities have raised rates to pay for wildfire prevention and recovery as climate change has made the blazes more intense and frequent. Six of the state\u2019s\u00a010 most destructive wildfires\u00a0have been caused by utility equipment.<\/p>\n

Newsom says the state needs to act quickly because he expects the wildfire fund to run out soon. His plan would require survivors to get paid by utilities sooner.<\/p>\n

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\u201cStatus quo is not going to work,\u201d Newsom recently told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to work for victims, who consistently are last in line. And that\u2019s at the core of this reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

But some of those victims are pushing back. They\u2019ve said Newsom\u2019s plan prioritizes utilities over the needs of fire survivors. Meanwhile, insurance companies are concerned they would foot more of the bill for property damage. A coalition including the state\u2019s major utilities \u2014 PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric \u2014 has been urging lawmakers to pass the plan. The last-minute legislative battle could help shape Newsom\u2019s legacy as he considers a run for president in 2028.<\/p>\n

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Newsom says his plan strikes a fair balance<\/h4>\n

Under California law, utilities have to pay damages for fires ignited by their equipment, even if a judge doesn\u2019t find them negligent. Home insurers that pay for policyholders\u2019 rebuilding expenses can try to get reimbursed by utilities.<\/p>\n

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Newsom\u2019s plan could change that by making insurance companies cover more of the cost of property damage. The proposal would also require utility CEOs to forfeit bonuses if their company sparks a wildfire resulting in more than $1 billion worth of damage. And utility shareholders could be fined up to $10 million for violating wildfire prevention requirements, according to the governor\u2019s office, which hasn\u2019t released the full details.<\/p>\n

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Personal Insurance Federation of California, a group representing property insurers across the state, said insurance rates will increase if the plan is implemented. The onus should remain on utilities to pay, said Rex Frazier, the federation\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing responsible for your actions is something that parents tell children,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cHopefully the Legislature will tell this to the utilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fire survivors are also frustrated with the plan, which could limit their payouts. Joy Chen, executive director of Every Fire Survivor\u2019s Network, a group of survivors of the 2025\u00a0Los Angeles-area fires, blasted it at a virtual town hall this month.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is overall a massive transfer of liability for the three for-profit utility monopolies that have continued to burn down communities across California,\u201d Chen said.<\/p>\n

The California Professional Firefighters sent a letter to Newsom on Monday expressing its support for his proposal.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe stability of the state\u2019s utilities, insurance plans, and recovery funds must all be balanced with ensuring that wildfire victims and impacted communities are able to recover and rebuild,\u201d the union wrote.<\/p>\n

The Legislature has until Aug. 31 to pass a plan. If they don\u2019t, Newsom could call them back for a special session.<\/p>\n

Democratic legislative leaders say the state needs to address the issue but haven\u2019t specified what a deal could include. Newsom proposed another $18 billion last year to supplement the wildfire fund, which the Legislature approved.<\/p>\n

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An economist says the state should reduce utility liability<\/h4>\n

California\u2019s longstanding requirement that utilities cover the cost of wildfire damages regardless of whether they were negligent is based on the fact that they are providing a public service, said Meredith Fowlie, an economist who co-directs an energy institute at the University of California, Berkeley.<\/p>\n

But as climate change has fueled more frequent and destructive fires, the state should rethink how to distribute the ballooning costs of recovering from those blazes, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUtilities can start fires, but they don\u2019t by themselves create catastrophe,\u201d Fowlie said.<\/p>\n

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Other factors make wildfires turn into catastrophes, such as failing to\u00a0clear vegetation\u00a0or\u00a0upgrade homes\u00a0to make them more fire-resistant, she said. The question of who should be held responsible \u2014 and by how much \u2014 is \u201ca critical, core issue that we have not dealt with and is not going away,\u201d Fowlie said.<\/p>\n

Newsom says he\u2019s prepared to tackle the issue he\u2019s kept revisiting since he took office.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m not going to walk away and hand a real mess to the next governor,\u201d he said last week.<\/p>\n

Read more Republicans squirm as Trump escalates trade war with Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

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The California governor says the status quo “is not going to work.” One critic blasted it as a “massive transfer of liability.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california"],"yoast_head":"\nNewsom pitches faster wildfire payouts, but you\u2019d lose your right to sue - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5972\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Newsom pitches faster wildfire payouts, but you\u2019d lose your right to sue - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The California governor says the status quo "is not going to work." 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