Newsom returns to a defining California fight: Who pays for wildfire damage?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The bookends of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's nearly eight years in office have been defined by a crucial question: Who should cover the cost of damage from wildfires caused by utility equipment?

The most destructive wildfire in state history, a blaze that killed 85 people and destroyed more than 18,000 buildings in Northern California, started two days after Newsom won the governorship in 2018. Investigators determined it was caused by Pacific Gas & Electric equipment. Facing tens of billions of dollars in liability, the giant utility filed for bankruptcy just weeks after Newsom's inauguration.

Months later, Newsom signed a law creating a $21 billion fund, paid for by utility shareholders and ratepayers, to help utilities pay for wildfire damages if they take certain safety measures.

Now, as the final legislative session of his governorship ends, Newsom is trying to broker a deal with lawmakers aimed at further shielding utilities from financial trouble if their equipment sparks a wildfire. His push comes as another major utility, Southern California Edison, faces claims from the state's second-most destructive blaze, a 2025 fire that killed 19 people outside of Los Angeles. Investigators ruled this month that it was sparked by one of the company’s transmission towers.

Newsom's plan could limit the amount electric and gas companies have to pay victims and attorneys. One of the goals is to stabilize the state's electricity rates, which are among the highest in the nation and have continued to climb in recent years. Utilities have raised rates to pay for wildfire prevention and recovery as climate change has made the blazes more intense and frequent. Six of the state’s 10 most destructive wildfires have been caused by utility equipment.

Newsom says the state needs to act quickly because he expects the wildfire fund to run out soon. His plan would require survivors to get paid by utilities sooner.

“Status quo is not going to work,” Newsom recently told reporters. “It’s not going to work for victims, who consistently are last in line. And that’s at the core of this reform."

But some of those victims are pushing back. They've said Newsom's plan prioritizes utilities over the needs of fire survivors. Meanwhile, insurance companies are concerned they would foot more of the bill for property damage. A coalition including the state's major utilities — PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric — has been urging lawmakers to pass the plan. The last-minute legislative battle could help shape Newsom's legacy as he considers a run for president in 2028.

Under California law, utilities have to pay damages for fires ignited by their equipment, even if a judge doesn't find them negligent. Home insurers that pay for policyholders' rebuilding expenses can try to get reimbursed by utilities.

Newsom's plan could change that by making insurance companies cover more of the cost of property damage. The proposal would also require utility CEOs to forfeit bonuses if their company sparks a wildfire resulting in more than $1 billion worth of damage. And utility shareholders could be fined up to $10 million for violating wildfire prevention requirements, according to the governor's office, which hasn't released the full details.

Personal Insurance Federation of California, a group representing property insurers across the state, said insurance rates will increase if the plan is implemented. The onus should remain on utilities to pay, said Rex Frazier, the federation's president.

“Being responsible for your actions is something that parents tell children,” he said in a statement. "Hopefully the Legislature will tell this to the utilities.”

Fire survivors are also frustrated with the plan, which could limit their payouts. Joy Chen, executive director of Every Fire Survivor's Network, a group of survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles-area fires, blasted it at a virtual town hall this month.

“This is overall a massive transfer of liability for the three for-profit utility monopolies that have continued to burn down communities across California,” Chen said.

The California Professional Firefighters sent a letter to Newsom on Monday expressing its support for his proposal.

"The stability of the state’s utilities, insurance plans, and recovery funds must all be balanced with ensuring that wildfire victims and impacted communities are able to recover and rebuild," the union wrote.

The Legislature has until Aug. 31 to pass a plan. If they don't, Newsom could call them back for a special session.

Democratic legislative leaders say the state needs to address the issue but haven't specified what a deal could include. Newsom proposed another $18 billion last year to supplement the wildfire fund, which the Legislature approved.

California's longstanding requirement that utilities cover the cost of wildfire damages regardless of whether they were negligent is based on the fact that they are providing a public service, said Meredith Fowlie, an economist who co-directs an energy institute at the University of California, Berkeley.

But as climate change has fueled more frequent and destructive fires, the state should rethink how to distribute the ballooning costs of recovering from those blazes, she said.

“Utilities can start fires, but they don’t by themselves create catastrophe,” Fowlie said.

Other factors make wildfires turn into catastrophes, such as failing to clear vegetation or upgrade homes to make them more fire-resistant, she said. The question of who should be held responsible — and by how much — is “a critical, core issue that we have not dealt with and is not going away,” Fowlie said.

Newsom says he's prepared to tackle the issue he's kept revisiting since he took office.

“I'm not going to walk away and hand a real mess to the next governor,” he said last week.

FILE - The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

FILE - Fire crews watch the devastation from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

FILE - The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom attends the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in Los Angeles, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York was arrested over the weekend in Ohio and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools.

Court records show that York initially was charged with engaging in prostitution, but prosecutors amended that to disorderly conduct. York was charged with possessing criminal tools for using his phone to respond to an undercover online prostitution advertisement, according to prosecutors.

York was arrested Sunday morning at a mobile home community in East Palestine, Ohio, near where he was born and raised in Youngstown. He was released after posting a $5,000 bond. He was sentenced to one day in jail for both offenses to be served concurrently and was credited with one day served when he pleaded no contest Monday morning. He also was fined $1,150.

Records also show that York had his cellphone returned to him and that $160 that was seized was to be given to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force as part of the plea agreement. York also completed an online course.

Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino said most of these prostitution cases typically end in plea agreements.

“Each case is looked at individually and for specific facts of the conduct, what evidence the police provide, and input from the arresting officer,” he said in an email. “You also have to factor in criminal history of the defendant, and whether or not they have committed these types of offenses in the past, and importantly, what the judges will allow.”

The NFL issued a statement saying the league was aware of the arrest and would review it under the personal conduct policy. Owners are subject to possible fines or suspensions for violating the personal conduct policy. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was investigated but not punished by the league after he was arrested in Florida in 2019 for allegedly paying for sex with a woman at a massage parlor. The charge was later dropped after a court ruled that police violated the rights of Kraft and the other customers when they secretly installed video cameras inside massage rooms at the spa.

The team said it would not have any comment on the situation.

“As this is a legal matter, which has been resolved, we will not be providing any further comment at this time,” the team said in a statement.

York took over day-to-day control of the 49ers from his parents in 2008. He became the team's principal owner in 2024. After some initial struggles under York's leadership, the team has been a consistent contender since hiring coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch in 2017.

The Niners have made the Super Bowl three times under York's leadership, losing in the 2012 season under coach Jim Harbaugh and the 2019 and '23 seasons under Shanahan and Lynch.

York also oversaw the building of Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The team moved from San Francisco to the new stadium in 2014. The stadium has hosted two Super Bowls, a World Cup and a College Football Playoff title game.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

FILE - San Francisco 49ers team owner Jed York speaks at a news conference in San Francisco, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)