SACRAMENTO, California — The California state Assembly and state Senate are both preparing counter bids to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to rework how the state covers the cost of utility-caused wildfires.
What happened: Lawmakers on Wednesday told POLITICO that they are in the process of developing counter proposals to the governor’s laundry list of priorities.
Why it matters: With less than two weeks remaining in the legislative session, policymakers face a tight deadline to reach an agreement on Newsom’s (D) much-touted plan.
Context: State Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D), chair of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee, said that she expected the Assembly working group on the issue will come up with a response that is “similar in many places” to the governor’s proposal. However, “there are definitely some specifics that … we’ll be crossing off when we counter, and replacing with other ideas,” Petrie-Norris said. She declined to specify what those changes would be.