How California lawmakers and Gov. Newsom plan to change payouts when a utility starts a wildfire

California lawmakers and the governor this weekend agreed to make some changes to the state's wildfire liability system and how it handles payouts when an investor owned utility company causes a catastrophic fire, an issue that could have an impact on utility ratepayers across the state. (Previous coverage in the video player above) While Gov. Gavin Newsom did not get the major overhaul he was pushing for to shift some of the cost burden onto insurance companies , he and Democrats in the State Senate and Assembly found common ground in setting other limits and restrictions. The legislation reflecting that agreement was filed Saturday morning in SB 492 . The bill shows state leaders are prepared to prohibit the CEOs and executives of investor-owned utilities from getting bonuses in the short-term if their company starts a wildfire that destroys at least 500 structures. The compensation would be prohibited for the year the fire happened and the following year.

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