California Legislature Protects Wildfire Survivors' Rights and Rejects Higher Insurance Costs, Says Consumer Watchdog

Legislature Stands Up to Governor Newsom and His Utility Allies, Delivering a Major Victory for Wildfire Survivors and Consumers

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Every Fire Survivor's Network and Consumer Watchdog praised the California Senate and Assembly today for rejecting Governor Newsom's attacks on wildfire survivors' and insurance policyholders' rights to recover damages from utilities that start fires.

The Legislature refused to make insurance policyholders pay more for fires caused by utilities. Lawmakers rejected the Governor's plan to limit subrogation payments and refused to cap the damages wildfire victims can recover. The Governor's proposal to limit how much insurance companies could recover would have cost policyholders hundreds of dollars per year and homeowners in high-risk areas thousands of dollars per year.

"We are profoundly grateful to the legislators who stood up for the real fire survivors," said Joy Chen, Executive Director of Every Fire Survivor's Network. "They have rejected nearly all of the Governor's original bailout terms, including his attacks on survivors' rights to recover economic and noneconomic damages and his devastating proposal to deny recovery to smoke-damage survivors outside an artificial fire-perimeter line. Preserving these rights is an enormous victory for all Californians."

"The Legislature listened to Californians and rejected the majority of the Governor's end-of-session bailout, which would have cost them both their money and their rights," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "This appears to be a big victory for consumers and survivors. The leadership of the Senate and Assembly deserves enormous credit for standing up to the Governor and his utility allies. Under intense political pressure, they did the right thing and stood with the real wildfire survivors and insurance policyholders who would have been harmed by the Governor's policies."

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog