Climate disasters: civil actions.

Senator Wiener's climate disaster accountability legislation establishes new civil action pathways for Californians who suffer physical harm or property damage from climate-related events. The bill authorizes individuals with damages exceeding $10,000 to pursue claims against large fossil fuel companies that meet specific revenue thresholds and operational criteria.

The legislation creates a framework for strict liability, allowing courts to hold multiple responsible parties jointly and severally liable for damages from events where climate change contributed to their frequency, severity, or extent. These events include wildfires, heatwaves, floods, and other extreme weather incidents that trigger state emergency declarations. Plaintiffs must file claims within three years of discovering harm.

For the insurance sector, the bill expands subrogation rights, enabling insurers and the California FAIR Plan Association to recover claims paid for climate disasters. The FAIR Plan must pursue subrogation when presented with a qualifying petition from 25 or more policyholders showing evidence of rate increases following a climate event. Member insurers' assessment obligations adjust based on their participation in subrogation actions - decreasing by 10% for those who file claims and increasing by 10% for those who do not.

The measure includes specific findings documenting recent climate impacts, including the January 2025 fires that caused 24 deaths and an estimated $50 billion in economic damages. These impacts, combined with growing insurance non-renewal rates and premium increases, form the basis for the bill's urgency status and immediate implementation upon passage.