Governor Hair GelNewsom
...mayor of San Franciscoas it transformed itself into Poopville, currently governor of Californiaas it transforms itself into Cinderland...(D) quietly signed legislation last month that will shield local utility companies from responsibility for wildfires and pass billions of dollars in costs to consumers and victims.
The Los Angeles Times noted that ''fine print'' in a 254-page bill known as SB 254 — a massive bill compared to most state legislation — lets Southern California Edison and other utilities charge consumers for wildfire damage that exceeds $21 billion, which is likely in the case of the Eaton Fire that burned much of Altadena and Pasadena on January 7.
''Other amendments in the 231-page bill known as SB 254 helped not just Edison, but all three of the state's biggest for-profit utilities, further limiting the costs that they and their shareholders would face if the companies' equipment ignited a catastrophic wildfire,'' the Times notes.
Safeguards in the bill, such as a review of costs by the Public Utilities Commission, are essentially toothless ad would require victims of wildfires and consumers to cover wildfire costs for years before being compensated.
The legislation has revived concerns about the fact that Newsom and other politicians in the state have taken large campaign contributions from the utilities. Consumer advocates also complained that SB 254 and a 2019 law, AB 1054, that limited utility companies' liability were both rushed through the legislature without careful review or debate.
Former Breitbart News editor Jon Fleischman noted recently that California politicians also prevent close scrutiny of legislation by passing hundreds of bills that the governor signs in giant batches every year.
SB 254 was one of those, passed before the public could analyze what Newsom was signing and why.
Southern California Edison is widely believed to have caused the Eaton Fire, which allegedly resulted from faulty power lines that sparked and spread flames in high winds that also burned Pacific Palisades that day.