/PRNewswire/ -- The California Assembly Appropriations Committee refused to advance Assembly Bill 1774 (Boerner), which calls for independent audits of Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) expenditures prior to granting additional funding.

AB 1774 cleared the Assembly Energy Committee unanimously, 11-0, backed by the committee chair. The measure sought to verify proper use of the roughly $9 billion spent yearly by utilities on wildfire mitigation, even as these companies pursue a multibillion-dollar bailout to shift liability for fires they ignite onto others.

The legislation drew attention during recent hearings on a California Earthquake Authority (CEA) report that proposes curbing wildfire survivors' rights and shielding for-profit utilities from fire-related accountability.

"Assembly leaders' refusal to scrutinize $9 billion in yearly wildfire mitigation costs, especially amid talks of a huge utility bailout, reveals that utility interests dominate the chamber over sensible policy," stated Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "This decision insults fire survivors and customers, underscoring how $20 million in utility campaign donations this session outweigh efforts to oversee that massive spending. Any future Assembly action on wildfire issues will carry this shadow."

Joy Chen, executive director of the Every Fire Survivor's Network (EFSN), representing over 10,000 survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires plus allies, urged support for AB 1774 and greater utility spending oversight - rather than restrictions on victims - in testimony before Senate and Assembly Energy Committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Enact AB 1774 to demand independent audits of utility wildfire mitigation funds," Chen urged the panels. She cited the state's initial and sole audit of such spending from 2021, revealing $6 billion allocated but $2.5 billion untraceable.

A Los Angeles Times probe revealed that Southern California Edison had failed to deploy hundreds of millions in ratepayer-funded work promised to regulators to secure its grid before the blaze.

"If AB 1774 had existed, the Eaton Fire might have been prevented," Chen asserted. "Californians paid for prevention, yet survivors bore the consequences when the promised efforts went undone."

"Families across California already face some of the nation's steepest utility rates for fire prevention. This bill embodied a basic rule: if utilities bill the public for safety measures, they must demonstrate completion. It's disheartening that lawmakers chose for-profit utilities dodging scrutiny over residents whose lives and properties hang in the balance."

The Los Angeles Times covered AB 1774 after its Assembly Energy Committee approval.

Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court highlighted findings from the only three historical audits of utility wildfire funds, showing $2.5 billion of $6 billion in 2019-2020 WMP allocations unaccounted for. The Public Utilities Commission allowed utilities to retain those funds and approved further outlays for 2021-2023.

"California's three major investor-owned utilities devote about $9 billion each year to wildfire mitigation plans, with spending ramping up. Yet details on how, where, or whether it's spent remain unclear," Court noted. "Just three audits exist in recent decades, and their outcomes raise serious doubts about utility oversight."

"When utilities face monitoring, they're inclined to direct mitigation dollars effectively instead of parking them for investment gains," Court added.

"The Eaton fire likely stemmed from an abandoned transmission line - a 'ghost line' - ignited by arcing from a nearby live wire," Court explained. "A Los Angeles Times report showed Edison neglected hundreds of millions authorized for maintaining and decommissioning aging lines. Would accountability have prompted removal of that hazard?"

The following advocacy organizations back AB 1774:

Ballona Wetlands Institute, Bay Area-System Change not Climate Change, California Environmental Voters, California Nurses Association, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), Climate Hawks Vote, Coastal Lands Action Network (CLAN), Consumer Attorneys of California, Courage California, Eaton Fire Survivors Network, Environmental Working Group, Extreme Weather Survivors Action Fund, Food & Water Watch, Long Beach Gray Panthers, Public Citizen, Santa Cruz Climate Action Network, Sierra Club California, SoCal 350 Climate Action, Sunflower Alliance, The Protect Our Communities Foundation, Transition Sebastopol, TURN-The Utility Reform Network.

California's three for-profit electric utilities, including SDG&E parent Sempra, donated $19,377,728 to legislators for 2025-2026 and spent $11,866,570 on lobbying.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog