SACRAMENTO (KRON) – With wildfire season underway and the possibility for more widespread power shutoffs, we’re asking lawmakers if they think a special legislative session is needed on these issues?
There are still two months left before lawmakers come back to the Capitol to start passing new laws.
Governor Gavin Newsom has the power to call back lawmakers for a special legislative session to pass policy to address urgent issues, but he’s said multiple times recently he doesn’t think it’s necessary now with PG&E under the microscope of regulators and a strike team.
“To the extent more is needed, I will continue to pursue that,” Newsom said.
The specific question we posed to lawmakers was would you be supportive of a special session on issues seen now on public safety power shutoffs, investor-owned utilities, and fires?
In the assembly, more than half of the members either refused to comment or respond.
28 members total said they would support one, including Assembly Member James Gallagher, who represents part of an area destroyed by last year’s deadly Camp Fire.
“It should take thought, you have to think through these issues, we could be doing that right now, we don’t necessarily have to wait until January,” Gallagher said.
The situation was similar in the Senate where more than half did not comment or respond while 15 members said they would support a special session.
Two senators flat out said they would not support one right now, including Bay Area lawmaker Jerry Hill.
“We need information first, you don’t bring legislators together to try to define the problems to work out solutions. Nothing worse than having a bunch of legislators coming together with no defined role around the holidays to come up with a solution, it would not be the best result, I can guarantee it,” Hill said.
The leaders of both chambers say they’re in constant contact with the governor on the issues.
A committee of senators will gather Nov. 18 for an oversight hearing on power shutoffs.
See how your representative responded to our poll:
No response = We reached out and they didn’t respond
No comment = We reached out and this was their response
Assembly (in alphabetical order)
DISTRICT 04 (D) Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. -Other: Statement: “I do not know if a special session of the legislature is the correct way to address the complex and urgent issues around wildfires and public safety power shutoffs. What I do know is that they threaten the health and safety of my constituents as well as impose huge economic hardships on working families, low-income residents, seniors, and small businesses. This cannot continue! I’m less concerned with what venue the Governor and Legislative leadership choose to address these widespread blackouts than I am about getting to the bottom of how much of this is absolutely necessary to protect the safety of the public, and how we can hold accountable anyone who would use them to protect corporate profit.”
31 (D) Arambula, Joaquin -No response
16 (D) Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca -Yes
24 (D) Berman, Marc -Yes
05 (R) Bigelow, Frank -No response
50 (D) Bloom, Richard -No
76 (D) Boerner Horvath, Tasha – Yes
18 (D) Bonta, Rob – No comment
73 (R) Brough, William P. -Yes
62 (D) Burke, Autumn R. – No comment
57 (D) Calderon, Ian C. – No comment
51 (D) Carrillo, Wendy -No response
60 (D) Cervantes, Sabrina -No response
49 (D) Chau, Ed – Yes: “If a special session is held, I am more than happy to work with the Governor and my colleagues.”
55 (R) Chen, Phillip – No response
17 (D) Chiu, David – Yes
08 (D) Cooley, Ken -No response
09 (D) Cooper, Jim -Unable to be reached
35 (R) Cunningham, Jordan – No response
69 (D) Daly, Tom -No comment
72 (R) Diep, Tyler – No response
13 (D) Eggman, Susan Talamantes – Yes
12 (R) Flora, Heath – Yes: Statement: “If the state is serious about working with the Feds, the environmentalists, and the business community on better managing California’s forests then I’m all-in for a special session. If it’s the same dog and pony show about who pays for wildfire damages, then it’ll be a waste of everyone’s time. The state’s been standing on a 33 million-acre tinder box trying to discourage people from lighting matches next to it so maybe it’s time to take a look at what’s under our feet.”
34 (R) Fong, Vince – Yes
11 (D) Frazier, Jim – No comment
43 (D) Friedman, Laura – Yes
45 (D) Gabriel, Jesse – No response
03 (R) Gallagher, James – Yes
58 (D) Garcia, Cristina – No comment
56 (D) Garcia, Eduardo – No comment
64 (D) Gipson, Mike A. – No response
78 (D) Gloria, Todd -No comment
80 (D) Gonzalez, Lorena -No response
21 (D) Gray, Adam C. -No response
14 (D) Grayson, Timothy S. -No comment
41 (D) Holden, Chris R. -No response
44 (D) Irwin, Jacqui – No response
59 (D) Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Reginald -No response
2196 27 (D) Kalra, Ash -Yes
54 (D) Kamlager, Sydney -Yes
06 (R) Kiley, Kevin -No response
36 (R) Lackey, Tom -Yes
10 (D) Levine, Marc -Yes
37 (D) Limón, Monique -No comment
28 (D) Low, Evan -Yes
77 (D) Maienschein, Brian -No response
26 (R) Mathis, Devon J. -Yes
42 (R) Mayes, Chad -Other, statement: “Special Sessions succeed when there is a clear, defined policy solution proposed in bill format. Special Sessions fail when there is not a clear defined policy to debate and oftentimes results in quick, not well thought out legislation that may give us unintended consequences and make the problem worse.”
07 (D) McCarty, Kevin -No comment
61 (D) Medina, Jose -No response
67 (R) Melendez, Melissa – No response
66 (D) Muratsuchi, Al -No comment
46 (D) Nazarian, Adrin -No response
33 (R) Obernolte, Jay -No response
70 (D) O’Donnell, Patrick -No comment
23 (R) Patterson, Jim -Yes
74 (D) Petrie-Norris, Cottie -Yes
20 (D) Quirk, Bill – No
65 (D) Quirk-Silva, Sharon – Yes, “I would be in favor of a special session to address the concerns of the PG&E power shutoffs, the impact of the recent fires, and other legislative matters if found necessary. I feel that most of my colleagues would agree that if a special session was proposed, they would agree.”
40 (D) Ramos, James C. -No comment
63 (D) Rendon, Anthony -Speaker-Statement: “I’ve been in regular contact with Governor Newsom, who is the only one with the authority to call a special session. I’m grateful to Assemblymember Chris Holden, chair of the Utilities and Energy Committee, for joining me in discussing the current wildfire crisis with the Governor.”
47 (D) Reyes, Eloise Gómez – No comment
39 (D) Rivas, Luz M. -No comment
30 (D) Rivas, Robert -Yes, “The Governor is already taking steps needed to develop immediate solutions and ensure that these issues will be addressed when the legislature reconvenes in January. However, one benefit of having a special session is that bills become operative within 90 days, even absent an urgency clause. Special session or not, we must, and I’m confident the legislature will work diligently to address this crisis.”
52 (D) Rodriguez, Freddie -No response
48 (D) Rubio, Blanca E. -Yes
32 (D) Salas, Jr., Rudy -Yes
53 (D) Santiago, Miguel -No response
38 (D) Smith, Christy -Yes
29 (D) Stone, Mark -No response
19 (D) Ting, Philip Y. -No response
71 (R) Voepel, Randy -Yes
75 (R) Waldron, Marie -Yes, “Under a decade of Democratic leadership, our wildfires and utility markets have only gotten worse. We need action – if that means calling a special session, that’s what we should do.”
79 (D) Weber, Shirley N. -Unable to be reached
15 (D) Wicks, Buffy -Yes. “It’s exclusively up to our Governor to decide whether to convene a special session. I stand at the ready to roll up my sleeves and tackle this issue should he make that call.”
02 (D) Wood, Jim -Other, statement: “The overwhelming and numerous impacts of these widespread PG&E power shutoffs, along with the loss and stress people are feeling after another devastating wildfire – apparently caused once again by PG&E equipment – only emphasizes the critical need for solutions. I have met hundreds of people who have gone days without power, not just losing the food in their refrigerators, but unable to work and get paid, small businesses that have lost thousands in income, schools shut down, parents scrambling for childcare, and our vulnerable seniors whose care has been disrupted. It seems to me that PG&E is only interested in protecting itself and recent comments by its CEO have proven him to be tone-deaf to the real-life impacts PG&E’s actions have had on the individuals and families who pay their salaries. Whether or not a special session is called, we are already doing the work by listening to our constituents, sharing thoughts with our colleagues and hearing from experts so that our solutions will acknowledge the urgency of these issues.”
Senate (in alphabetical order)
26 (D) Allen, Benjamin -No response
32 (D) Archuleta, Bob -No response
39 (D) Atkins, Toni -Pro Tem- Statement: “The Senate will be holding a hearing on Nov. 18 to discuss California’s response to wildfires and utility public safety power shutoffs. We will continue to work closely with the Administration to properly respond to this crisis.”
36 (R) Bates, Patricia -Yes
15 (D) Beall, Jim -No comment
08 (D) Borgeas, Andreas -Yes
35 (D) Bradford, Steven -Yes
12 (D) Caballero, Anna -No comment
29 (R) Chang, Ling Ling -Yes: “Blackouts and fires caused by bad power lines are unacceptable. The legislature and Governor need to address this problem as soon as humanly possible. I support the call for a special session as soon as we develop solutions to a problem that has take a decade to create.”
01 (R) Dahle, Brian -Yes, has publicly urged the Governor to call a special session
03 (D) Dodd, Bill -Yes
24 (D) Durazo, Maria Elena – No response
05 (D) Galgiani, Cathleen -No comment
07 (D) Glazer, Steven -Yes “If there is a proposal to enact immediate health and safety protections from fires and utility breakdowns and it requires a special session of the legislature to put it into effect, I would support such a session.”
33 (D) Gonzalez, Lena-Yes
16 (R) Grove, Shannon – Yes: “I support a special session because the Legislature needs to take immediate action and provide real solutions. Instead of diverting money to expensive renewable energy contracts, we need to focus on real priorities such as mitigating and preventing wildfires, hardening and providing a secure energy grid. Over the years, Senate Republicans have introduced commonsense legislation to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, invest in vegetation and forest management, and secure a reliable energy grid. Unfortunately, these measures have been ignored by the Democrats. This is the 21st Century, recurring power outages and destructive wildfires cannot be the new normal. California deserves better,” said Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield).
18 (D) Hertzberg, Robert -No comment
13 (D) Hill, Jerry -No
40 (D) Hueso, Ben -Other- Supports having November 18th oversight hearing
14 (D) Hurtado, Melissa -No comment
19 (D) Jackson, Hannah-Beth – No response
38 (R) Jones, Brian – Yes
20 (D) Leyva, Connie – Referred us to Governor’s office
02 (D) McGuire, Mike – No response
30 (D) Mitchell, Holly -No comment
17 (D) Monning, Bill– No comment
37 (R) Moorlach, John -Yes, “I would attend a special session because my constituents deserve reliable power and protection from wildfires. The current legislature rejected common-sense solutions to this issue when I authored SB 1463, so I’m not confident a new solution would be crafted quickly.”
23 (R) Morrell, Mike -Yes “I would support a special session as long as it focuses on the issues surrounding utility power shutoffs, wildfires, and homeowners insurance policy cancellations. It cannot become a free-for-all for legislative Democrats to create laws on unrelated topics outside the normal policymaking process.”
04 (R) Nielsen, Jim -Yes
06 (D) Pan, Richard– No comment
25 (D) Portantino, Anthony -No response
31 (D) Roth, Richard-No response
22 (D) Rubio, Susan -Yes
09 (D) Skinner, Nancy -No response
27 (D) Stern, Henry -Other-“As a member of the Senate EU&C Committee, Senator Stern will be taking part in the November 18th hearing on the PSPS events. As for what happens next, the Senator looks forward to working with the Senate Pro Tempore and the Administration.”
34 (D) Umberg, Thomas -Other- Will wait to see what happens with oversight hearing
10 (D) Wieckowski, Bob-No
11 (D) Wiener, Scott -No comment
21 (D) Wilk, Scott – Yes, publicly urged Newsom to call special session
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