The California State Senate Judiciary Committee recently rejected S.B. 222, a proposed Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act, which aimed to empower climate disaster victims to sue oil companies for losses. Sponsored by Senator Scott Wiener, this legislation sought to make oil companies accountable for misleading the public on fossil fuel impacts. Despite hopes of setting a precedent for other states, it failed to secure enough votes to pass the committee. Opponents argued it would raise utility costs and disrupt supply chains, while supporters emphasized the ongoing devastation from climate-related incidents in California.
"Californians are paying a devastating price for the climate disasters that have and will continue to wreak havoc on our state. Tens of thousands of people in Southern California have lost their homes and large swaths of their community in the recent fire that was the most destructive in the recent history of our state," Wiener stated in a press event earlier in the day.
"Had it passed, S.B. 222 would have allow victims of climate disasters their insurers or the California FAIR Plan (a publicly supported 'insurer of last resort') to sue oil companies to recoup losses. This legislation points to energy companies that have intentionally misled the government and the public about the impacts that fossil fuel consumption has on creating the current climate disaster."
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