Clendaniel: Who should pay for California wildfire damages?
I was intrigued.
"It's always the stories," he told me. "Find a good anecdote, tell it well and keep it simple. People will be interested in practically anything."
Which brings us to the topic of the day: inverse condemnation. A sleep-inducing topic if there ever was one.
But there's a story to be told about how it became part of the state
Billions of dollars are at stake. Utilities such as
The story of inverse condemnation begins in 1879, or roughly 30 years after the Gold Rush and
Article 1, Section 19 was the topic of the day. Thanks to the California State Archives and the 2016 research of UC Davis law student
Wilson objected to the insertion of this sentence: "Private property may be taken or damaged for a public use and only when just compensation ... has first been paid to ... the owner." He argued that the words "or damaged" opened a new arena of liability with uncertain implications.
Hager disagreed.
His argument, Ligtenberg wrote, told the story of the government allowing
The delegates eventually agreed with Hager, voting 62-28 to approve the wording.
Ever since, lawyers and the courts have been fighting over the interpretation of the language and the extent of government and public utilities' responsibility for damages they cause.
Today, in the event of property damage from wildfires, if a utility is found to be negligent, its shareholders pay the damages. The inverse condemnation debate centers on what happens if the utility is not negligent but its actions nevertheless cause harm.
Currently, under inverse condemnation, the utility can pass on the cost of the damages to ratepayers.
"Without inverse condemnation," says
Camacho doesn't fault lawmakers for trying to address the wildfire responsibility issue. But he is critical of their narrow thinking.
"
That means taking a fresh look at how the state and utilities address fire prevention. It should include careful examination of
As Sen.
As of Tuesday, 16 wildfires were burning in
How -- or even whether -- victims are compensated for any damages caused by utilities' equipment depends on how the concept of inverse condemnation is addressed. It may not be the sexiest topic before Californians. But I'll be paying attention. You should, too.
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