Speaker of the California State Assembly

The California Assembly declined to vote on a last-minute wildfire compensation bill, with Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats saying it fell short of meaningfully addressing costs from catastrophic blazes. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said lawmakers would take up the issue again this fall. The measure would have sped up payouts to fire victims, barred hedge funds from profiting off wildfire claims, and blocked bonuses for utility executives whose equipment sparked major fires. It followed lawmakers' earlier rejection of a broader Newsom proposal that would have limited utilities' financial liability and blocked insurers from suing electric companies over paid claims, aimed partly at stabilizing electricity rates.

The standoff continues a fight dating to 2019, when Newsom created a $21 billion utility-funded wildfire fund, later supplemented by an $18 billion addition. The failure marks a rare legislative setback for Newsom as he nears the end of his tenure. Utilities PG&E and Edison International said the shelved deal wouldn't have delivered durable rate stability, while survivor advocates called it an imperfect but useful first step. Separately, lawmakers passed the nation's first standards for testing and cleaning toxic contaminants in homes after wildfires.

California's Democratic-led Legislature approved a package of bills aimed at limiting federal immigration enforcement tactics in the state. One measure, authored by Assembly member Mark Gonzalez and dubbed the "Get the Feds Out" Act, would bar agents and contractors involved in immigration enforcement from future employment with state and local government agencies, including police departments, with limited exceptions. A related bill from Assemblymember Isaac Bryan would prohibit law enforcement officers from moonlighting as federal immigration contractors. Lawmakers also passed AB 2760, the nation's first law banning law enforcement from using electric-shock gloves, a response to a Trump administration plan to buy the devices for ICE agents; the Department of Homeland Security has said it won't comply, calling the measure unconstitutional.

Additional bills would bar arrests near courthouses, impose a 25% tax on private immigration detention operators' income to fund immigration services, and let individuals sue federal agents over alleged civil rights violations. Republicans and immigration-restriction groups criticized the measures as legally vulnerable and politically motivated. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bills.