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POLITICO California Playbook · April 16, 2026

RECOVERY REFORMS: New coalition presses for "urgent" wildfire recovery overhaul

Housing construction groups like the state building industry and apartment associations and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 are banding together in a new coalition pressing state lawmakers to urgently adopt changes to the state's electric and insurance systems they argue would improve how California recovers from catastrophic wildfires. Major utilities including PG&E are part of the effort, too.

The coalition group, called "Wildfire Victims First," seized on the California Earthquake Authority's big disaster resilience report from last week to press the Legislature to act "with urgency" on "comprehensive reforms" in a joint statement Tuesday.

Its broad focus includes ensuring faster payouts for victims and criticizing hedge funds and trial attorneys for taking a cut from payouts to victims.

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POLITICO California Climate · April 15, 2026

FEEDING THE FIRE: A new coalition presses Sacramento on wildfire recovery

Special interests are already starting to stake out positions ahead of a possible mega deal on changes to California's wildfire recovery, electric and insurance systems this year.

Housing construction groups like the building industry and apartment associations and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 are banding together in a new coalition called "Wildfire Victims First," according to a joint statement to POLITICO.

They're pressing lawmakers to act urgently, requesting faster payouts for wildfire victims seeking compensation from utilities for damages from wildfires they spark — and for less of that compensation to go to trial attorneys and hedge funds.

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POLITICO California Climate · April 15, 2026

ART OF THE WILDFIRE DEAL: Lawmakers signal a possible "grand bargain"

Lawmakers are beginning to hint that Sacramento may be hurtling toward a major energy deal, reminiscent of last year's energy policy bonanza — in reaction to a highly anticipated California Earthquake Authority study on improving the state's resilience to wildfire risk from the electricity grid.

"Obviously the governor's office has a great deal of interest in a grand bargain that looks at all the elements, from wildfire liability to the implications for our utilities and the way we adjudicate these disputes, our insurance system. I think there's a recognition of the fact that we need to do something big and bold in this area, given how the system's reaching a breaking point."

— Sen. Ben Allen, Clean Energy Affordability Summit

Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris added that she is working with Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, and the pair plan to hold a mid-May hearing to "tee up what we think an initial 2026 package looks like" in response to the report.

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Bloomberg · April 10, 2026

California Utility Bills Are 20% Higher Due to Wildfires

A new government report warns that climate change could upend the state's economy if policy makers don't act.

The escalating cost of wildfires now adds $41 to the average monthly power bill for residential customers of California's largest utility, according to a government report that calls for a systemic overhaul of how the state responds to conflagrations as climate change-driven disasters threaten its economy.

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The Mercury News · April 8, 2026

Does a new report offer a way out of California's home insurance crisis?

Destructive wildfires have prompted insurers to raise rates and cancel coverage for thousands statewide.

As insurers hike rates and cancel policies for thousands of homeowners across California, a new state report has proposed a series of reforms to prevent the property insurance market from cratering amid increasingly catastrophic wildfires — but some consumer advocates say it doesn't go far enough.

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The Current · April 2026

A state agency's blunt warning on wildfire spending

“The status quo is not working,” it says. “Not for consumers, who are paying among the highest energy rates in the country; not for the private insurance market, which is retreating rapidly from making property insurance readily accessible in high-risk areas; and not for survivors, who are often underinsured, and in some cases uninsured, and thus lack access to timely, certain and adequate resources to recover.”

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