RCRC has expressed its support for Assembly Bill 1249, authored by Assembly James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), which provides an exemption through January 1, 2028 for wildfire survivors from paying state taxes on settlement monies received from investor-owned utilities related to specific catastrophic wildfire events.
Communities in RCRC member counties have suffered devastating losses due to high-severity wildfires where investor-owned utilities (IOUs) have been found negligent. In each case, hundreds of homes were destroyed and in the 2018 Camp Fire, 89 lives were needlessly lost in Butte County. Many of these communities are still struggling to rebuild, with residents battling delays in insurance payouts and ever-changing regulations driving up rebuilding costs. Most importantly, families who lost homes and loved ones will never fully recover from the emotional and mental toll these fires take on their victims.
While some of the past decade’s wildfires have resulted in settlements from IOUs, victims of these preventable tragedies could be further assisted by simply making the income from those settlements exempt from state taxes. AB 1249 would provide such an exemption for a number of IOU-caused wildfires, thereby ensuring victims the maximum compensation possible.
AB 1249 is set for hearing in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. RCRC’s letter of support is available here. For more information, please contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, Staci Heaton.