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SB 1370

Covered wildfire mitigation projects: consolidated and expedited review.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Ben Allen and 3 co-sponsors

The bill requires a 2026 report evaluating new models to distribute catastrophe costs (wildfires, etc.) among insurers, customers, utilities, and government to improve insurance ac

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
#coveredwildfiremitigationprojects #consolidatedandexpeditedreview
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Bill Summary · SB 1370

Overview

SB 1370, introduced by Senator Stern and coauthors, seeks to extend and require a comprehensive report from the Wildfire Fund Administrator on reforming or replacing aspects of the wildfire risk-financing system in California. The bill builds on existing Wildfire Fund structures and directs the administrator to deliver a detailed, multi-faceted set of recommendations to the Legislature and Governor by April 1, 2026, with continuing guidance to specified Senate committees. The measure also provides for a sunset repeal date of January 1, 2030.

Main purpose and intent

  • Evaluate and propose new models or approaches to mitigate damage from natural catastrophes (in particular wildfires), accelerate recovery, and equitably allocate the costs across stakeholders.
  • Complement or potentially replace the current Wildfire Fund through diverse structural options, aiming to improve insurance accessibility and affordability while maintaining reliable energy service.

Key provisions and changes

  • Section 719 (Public Utilities Code) amended to require:

    • On or before April 1, 2026, the Wildfire Fund Administrator, in consultation with the CPUC, Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, Department of Insurance, Office of Emergency Services, and Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, plus stakeholder feedback, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature and Governor.
    • The report must evaluate and set forth recommendations on new models or approaches for distributing burdens from natural catastrophes (including wildfires, earthquakes, and other disasters) among insurers, communities, homeowners, landowners, governments, electrical corporations, and local publicly owned utilities.
    • The report should complement or replace the fund and address a broad set of topics (described below).

  • Specific topics the report must address (examples of required content):
    1) Accessibility and affordability of property insurance in California amid climate-change-driven and other natural disasters.
    2) Evaluation of alternative structures to socialize risk and maintain access to insurance and reliable energy.
    3) Additional mitigation measures and technology solutions to reduce ignition risk and wildfire damage.
    4) Financing and mechanisms to expedite recovery and compensation for property loss.
    5) Ways to benefit ratepayers by reducing fiscal-uncertainty costs while holding utilities accountable for safety.
    6) Options for a streamlined, low-cost mechanism to provide full compensation for wildfire damages.
    7) Impacts of reasonable limitations on wildfire-litigation recoveries (e.g., attorney’s fees, damages, public/entity claims, perimeter-based claims, aggregate liability caps).
    8) Programs to reduce wildfire spread risk, including prevention, vegetation management, and community hardening.
    9) Measures to reduce economic damages from wildfires and other disasters (insurance requirements, rate impacts, infrastructure funding, land-use planning).
    10) New models to complement or replace the Wildfire Fund (e.g., state-supported property insurance, reinsurance, mutual funds, public safety nets) and improvements to fund durability.

  • Administrative and procedural details:

    • The administrator may retain consultants and other professionals as needed and may compensate them using Wildfire Fund assets.
    • The administrator must present the report’s recommendations to five Senate committees: Emergency Management; Energy, Utilities and Communications; Insurance; Judiciary; Natural Resources and Water.

  • Compliance and sunset:

    • The report must be submitted in compliance with Government Code section 9795.
    • The section is repealed on January 1, 2030, meaning the requirement is time-limited unless extended or renewed by subsequent legislation.

Who would be affected

  • Wildfire Fund Administrator and staff (primary implementers of the report).
  • State agencies referenced for consultation: California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, Department of Insurance, Office of Emergency Services, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
  • Stakeholders and interest groups: ratepayer advocates, insurance policyholders, electrical corporations, insurance companies, claimant attorneys, homeowners, landowners, local publicly owned electric utilities, and other communities affected by natural disasters.
  • Legislature and Governor (receiving the report and considering future policy changes).

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Due date for the report: on or before April 1, 2026.
  • Follow-up: the administrator must present recommendations to specified Senate committees upon completion.
  • Reporting and compliance: the report must comply with Government Code requirements (9795).
  • Sunset: the relevant statutory provision repeals on January 1, 2030, unless otherwise extended.

Potential impact

  • Could broaden policy options beyond the current Wildfire Fund, including state-supported insurance or reinsurance mechanisms.
  • Aims to improve insurance affordability and resilience by examining mitigation, funding, and regulatory changes.
  • Opens pathways to potential reforms in how wildfire risk is socialized and recovered, with cost-sharing implications for ratepayers, insurers, utilities, and governments.
  • Establishes a formal, multi-stakeholder, data-informed process to reimagine risk financing for wildfires and other catastrophes in California.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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