California Governor Newsom Under Attack for Utility Bailout

California’s Consumer Watchdog — like insurers, consumers, attorneys and wildfire victims — is against California Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to limit utility company liability for wildfires they cause.

Late last week the group issued the report from an investigation into Newsom’s, and other legislators and political group, relationships with these utilities. The report is titled: The Disinformation Echo Chamber: How California’s For-Profit Utilities Built Political Support for a Wildfire Utility Bailout.

It alleges the three largest, for-profit, utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison and Sempra Energy, spent over $366 million to influence the state’s politicians and the governor.

It is this spending, Consumer Watchdog contends, that has pushed the governor to propose the liability limit. Or — as some are calling it — the utility company bailout.

Of the $366 million, $127.6 million has been used to influence those running the state’s government. Campaign contributions to candidates and political committees amounted to $66.8 million.

Another $60.8 million was spent for lobbying.

Governor Newsom picked up $962,500 for his campaign and campaign initiatives. Legislative leadership picked up $1,989,511.

Consumer Watchdog Organizing Director Alex Nagy is the author of the report. He said a big part of the spending is what the group calls a “disinformation echo chamber.” It attempts to give the appearance of support for wildfire victims, homeowners, insurance policyholders, taxpayers and local governments.

“The utility bailout idea didn’t happen overnight,” Nagy said. “For years, utilities have invested hundreds of millions of dollars building a political echo chamber designed to win bailout protections from Governor Newsom and lawmakers that make very profitable utilities no longer accountable for the devastating wildfires they cause.”

Here are some of the findings in the report:

Governor Newsom: $962,500

• $639,500 to Newsom’s campaign committees, and the committees opposing the 2021 recall election

• It also funded Newsom’s housing initiative, Proposition 1

• $293,000 went to the annual political fundraiser, the Governor’s Cup Foundation

• Between 2016 and 2018, over $290,000 in PG&E contributions went to First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, The Representation Project

Legislative Leadership: $1,989,511

• Direct campaign contributions of $1,764,861 were strategically placed with legislators in charge of California’s policies on utilities, wildfires and insurance

• Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas received $148,700 in combined utility contributions through his campaign

• It is way more than the $48,200 received by Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón.

Other political contributions

• $145,400 to Assembly Utilities & Energy Committee Chair Cottie Petrie-Norris

• $97,000 to Assembly Insurance Committee Chair Lisa Calderon

• $66,750 to Senator Josh Becker

• $24,500 to Senator Henry Stern

• $5 million to leadership caucus PACs and foundations

• Legislative leadership and caucus committees picked up $3.6 million

• $1.4 million was spent to strengthen the political infrastructure for California’s legislative leaders

Lobbying

• $60.8 million was spent to lobby the governor, the Legislature and the California Public Utilities commission

There’s a lot more, including millions to charities designed to get utility companies good PR. You can read more by clicking the link below.

Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court said the information found in the report is shocking.

“It’s outrageous that the three for profit utilities spent more than a third of a billion dollars, including nearly $1 million to Governor Newsom, to buy a bailout of their obligations to wildfire survivors whose homes they burned down,” court said. “This bailout is all politics, no policy. Utilities are reporting billions in profits, winning repeated rate increases, paying billions to shareholders and rewarding executives with compensation packages worth tens of millions of dollars. They’re not in financial trouble. They’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars convincing politicians they are. California should protect wildfire survivors — not the companies responsible for the disasters that displaced them.”

Source link: Consumer Watchdog — https://bit.ly/4xcZdiE