Governor Signs Bill Strengthening State Wildfire Fund

Alerts
A firefighter in yellow protective gear stands among trees and low flames in a forest.

California Chamber of Commerce-supported legislation to replenish and fortify California’s Wildfire Fund was signed last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Senate Bill 254 (Becker; D-Menlo Park) took effect immediately when the Governor signed it on September 19.

“The state Wildfire Fund bolsters California’s preparedness for the devastating fires we know are coming. This year, Governor Newsom and the Legislature took decisive action for wildfire survivors by providing the essential resources needed to recover and rebuild,” said CalChamber President and CEO Jennifer Barrera. “This legislation ensures families and communities can access the support they need while also protecting customers from higher electricity costs.”

CalChamber was part of Sustainable Wildfire Fund CA, a diverse coalition of first responders, businesses, labor unions, local chambers of commerce and community organizations supporting SB 254.

Critical Updates

Authored by Senators Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) and Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), SB 254 builds on the framework of the 2019 legislation that created the Wildfire Fund (AB 1054), and introduces updates to ensure the Fund remains stable and sufficiently capitalized to meet the increasing demands of today’s wildfire threats.

SB 254 will address two critical priorities:

  • Strengthen the State Wildfire Fund to ensure there are adequate resources available to help families and communities recover and rebuild after future wildfires.
  • Address electricity affordability to reduce costs for customers.

Utilities Investment

California’s three investor-owned utilities (IOUs) have committed $9 billion in new shareholder contributions to strengthen the Fund. Importantly, SB 254 does not raise utility customer rates.

In addition, the legislation commits the IOUs to funding $6 billion for wildfire prevention investments without earnings — including undergrounding power lines — to improve electricity affordability and safety this year.

Share with Others!

Schedule a Demo

CalChamber is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, and we’ll only use your personal information to administer your account and to provide the products and services you requested from us. From time to time, we would like to contact you about our products and services, as well as other content that may be of interest to you. If you consent to us contacting you for this purpose, please tick below to say how you would like us to contact you:

You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices, and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy.

By clicking Schedule my demo below, you consent to allow calchamber.com to store and process the personal information submitted above to provide you the content requested.

Website Feedback