New bill aims to allow California AG to sue oil companies for disaster costs

Stephen Hobbs, The Sacramento Bee on Feb 5, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California legislator wants the state to be able to sue oil companies to pay for costs from wildfires and other disasters.

The proposed bill from state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, aims to allow the attorney general to bring lawsuits for losses suffered by insurance policyholders and the California FAIR Plan, a backup provider for residents who can’t find fire coverage.

Wiener argues that oil companies should be on the hook because major wildfires, heatwaves, droughts and other severe weather events — and the insurance challenges they have caused — are the result of the corporations hiding the risks of using their products.

“The climate disasters underlying the insurance crisis in California are the result of a decades-long, coordinated campaign of deception launched and orchestrated by major fossil fuel companies,” the proposal, Senate Bill 982, said.

Insurance companies have restricted business and dropped large numbers of California customers in recent years due to losses from past wildfires and concerns about the rising risks of major ones in the future.

“This bill is about getting Big Oil to the table to help pay their fair share,” said Mary Creasman, CEO of California Environmental Voters, a supporter of the proposal.

The FAIR Plan is funded by insurance companies that sell homeowner policies in the state. It has seen rapid growth in recent years as traditional insurance companies have decided not to renew the coverage of many of their policyholders, leaving Californians with few or no other options. It is now one of state’s largest insurance providers, with more than 668,000 policies at the end of last year.

The plan was allowed to seek $1 billion from insurance companies that do business in the state following the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires last year. Half of that amount may ultimately be covered by policyholders. It was the first time the plan was able to recoup money in that way in 30 years.

Under the proposed bill, the attorney general could use money collected from civil lawsuits to pay restitution for policyholders, make payments to the FAIR Plan and to support grants for Californians to make their properties more resistant to fires.

Wiener planned to hold a press conference about the bill Thursday.

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