California's Wildfire Liability Bill Died Last Week. Utility Stocks Had Already Started Recovering.
Edison International and PG&E clawed back some of their losses in the hours before and after lawmakers let the compromise measure expire without a vote, a sequence that only makes sense once the bill's actual fate becomes clear.
FinancialMarkets.com
A compromise wildfire-liability measure in the California legislature, Senate Bill 492, died without an Assembly vote on the final day of the 2026 legislative session. The bill, as negotiated, would have imposed no cap on wildfire survivors' compensation or attorneys' contingency fees, preserved insurers' rights to seek reimbursement from utilities, and barred private-equity investment in wildfire claims. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said the proposal "does not yet deliver the relief, accountability or meaningful reform that Californians deserve."
Utility executives had cited a collective $20 billion in market-value losses in the days leading up to the bill's failure. Edison International and PG&E shares began recovering some of those losses in the hours before and after the bill's death, a sequence consistent with, though not formally confirmed as caused by, the legislation's failure.
The bill's failure does not resolve how California ultimately allocates wildfire liability between utilities, insurers and survivors; it only closes out this particular legislative attempt. Whether lawmakers revisit the issue in a future session, and under what terms, is the question utility investors are left watching.