California Legislature Advances SB 492, Bill Preserves Wildfire Survivors’ Rights

California lawmakers released amended text of SB 492 early Saturday morning, a bill that consumer advocates say preserves the legal rights of wildfire survivors rather than shielding utility companies from liability. The revised language, published at 7:26 a.m. by the Legislature, strips out provisions that had alarmed fire victims and their allies throughout the summer legislative session.

The bill, authored by state Senator Josh Becker and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, was reworked through a “gut-and-amend” process after weeks of public pressure. Advocacy groups Every Fire Survivor’s Network and Consumer Watchdog said the final version reflects direct input from survivors who traveled to Sacramento to lobby against what they characterized as a bailout for California’s investor-owned utilities.

According to the groups, the amended bill does not cap economic or noneconomic damages available to survivors, and it does not exclude people who suffered smoke damage outside a designated fire perimeter from seeking compensation. It also leaves intact the ability of local governments, private businesses and insurance companies to pursue claims against utilities found responsible for starting fires, and it does not restrict contingency fees for attorneys representing individual survivors. Instead, the legislation creates a “Fast Pay” program designed to speed up compensation, while still permitting survivors to file lawsuits and pursue discovery to establish how a fire began before any limited stay in litigation takes effect.

Organizers said more than 4,700 individuals and organizations, representing roughly 3.5 million Americans, joined an online campaign opposing earlier drafts of the bill. Joy Chen, executive director of Every Fire Survivor’s Network, credited lawmakers for resisting pressure from what she called some of the most powerful interests in the state, singling out Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón for her role in shaping the outcome. Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, echoed that sentiment, saying legislators refused to shift the financial burden of utility-caused fires onto ordinary policyholders and families.

The debate over SB 492 unfolds against a backdrop of mounting financial and legal exposure for California’s investor-owned utilities, which have faced billions of dollars in claims tied to catastrophic wildfires in recent years. State policymakers have repeatedly grappled with how to balance utility solvency, ratepayer costs and survivor compensation, including through the creation of a wildfire fund intended to help cover future claims. Insurance markets in fire-prone regions have also tightened considerably, with several major carriers scaling back coverage or raising premiums, adding urgency to questions about who ultimately bears the cost of utility-linked disasters.

Utility companies have long argued that expansive liability exposure threatens their financial stability and, by extension, their ability to invest in grid hardening and fire-prevention infrastructure. Consumer advocates counter that without strong accountability measures, utilities lack sufficient incentive to invest adequately in prevention, pointing to a pattern of major fires linked to power infrastructure over the past decade. The tension between these positions has shaped wildfire liability legislation in Sacramento for years and is expected to continue.

Advocates acknowledged that SB 492 does not resolve the state’s broader wildfire prevention challenge. Consumer Watchdog and Every Fire Survivor’s Network said they intend to press lawmakers when the Legislature reconvenes in January to consider additional measures aimed at ensuring utilities properly spend the billions of dollars collected annually for wildfire mitigation efforts. The groups pointed to their own “Survivor-First Proposal” as a framework for future accountability legislation.

This report is based on a press release distributed by Consumer Watchdog; further details are available in the original announcement.