Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass an amended bill that establishes a compensation fund for wildfire victims, effective immediately.

Highlights:

• Establishes a new Wildfire Safety Division to ensure safe operations by electrical corporations and the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board to ensure that broad expertise is available to develop best practices for wildfire reduction (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board will advise the Wildfire Safety Division (Sec. 4). 

• Requires the first $5 billion in safety investments by large electrical corporations to be made under this act without return on equity that would have otherwise been paid by ratepayers (Sec. 2). 

• Establishes a Wildfire Fund to provide funds for participating electrical corporations to satisfy eligible claims arising from a covered wildfire (Sec. 16). 

• Requires each electrical corporation to construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment (Sec. 17).

• Requires each electrical corporation to annually prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan to the Division for review, and must include all of, but not limited to, the following preparations (Sec. 17):

• Protocols for disabling reclosers and deenergizing portions of the electrical distribution system in consideration of the impact on public safety;

• Appropriate and feasible procedures for notifying a customer who may be impacted by the deenergizing of electrical lines; and

• Plans for inspections of the electrical corporation’s electrical infrastructure.

• Defines “eligible claims” as third-party damages against an electrical corporation resulting from covered wildfires exceeding the greater of $1 billion in any calendar year, or the amount of the insurance coverage required to be in place for the electrical corporation (Sec. 16).

• Defines “covered wildfire” as any wildfire ignited on or after the effective date of this act, caused by an electrical corporation as determined by the government agency responsible for determining causation (Sec. 15).

Full Bill Text