U.S.
Consumer Watchdog Reports: Assembly Kills Landmark Legislation Requiring Independent Audits of Utility Wildfire Spending, Rebuke to Wildfire Survivors As Utilities Seek Bailout Worth Billions
The California Assembly Appropriations Committee failed to advance Assembly Bill 1774 (Boerner), which requires independent audits of Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) spending before additional funding is approved.
About this update from Duke Energy Corporation (holding Company)
[{"type":"text","content":"SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Assembly Appropriations Committee failed to advance Assembly Bill 1774 (Boerner), which requires independent audits of Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) spending before additional funding is approved.","length":261,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"Consumer Watchdog Logo (PRNewsfoto/Consumer Watchdog)","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"Consumer Watchdog Logo (PRNewsfoto/Consumer Watchdog)","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":133,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/c4ad563364f235a2315e48f9bf8a0f3f"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/FxxTS51lObgOZ0IN4ztgUQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTIzNA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/c4ad563364f235a2315e48f9bf8a0f3f","width":400,"height":133},"resize_sm":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/lgJlg6mJOGkLoECRCNV6lg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTIxMw--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/c4ad563364f235a2315e48f9bf8a0f3f","width":400,"height":133}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/804328/consumer_watchdog_logo_Logo.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":"AB 1774 passed the Assembly Energy Committee 11 – 0 with the support of the Chair. The bill was aimed at confirming the appropriate use of the $9 billion in annual utility wildfire mitigation spending, while utilities seek a multi-billion dollar bailout of their responsibility to wildfire survivors when they start fires.","length":322,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"The bill was the subject of testimony at hearings over the last two days about the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) report recommending limits on wildfire survivors' rights and removing accountability for wildfires from for-profit electric utilities.","length":259,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":""The fact that Assembly leadership doesn't want to account for the $9 billion in annual wildfire mitigation spending at the time that they are considering a multi-billion dollar bailout for utilities that start fires shows that the utilities control the Assembly, not sound public policy," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "This is a slap in the face to wildfire survivors and ratepayers and it proves the $20 mi...