Memorandum
Date: August 18, 2026
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Jessica Pyska, Vice Chair, District 5 Supervisor
Brad Rasmussen, Chair, District 4 Supervisor
Subject: Approve Addition of the County of Lake Seal to the Public Agency Coalition Letter on Proposed Wildfire Liability Reforms
Executive Summary:
As you will be aware, Governor Newsom’s Administration has released a Proposal framed as “Wildfire Recovery Reform,” noting, “Without reform, future fire victims have no reliable path to compensation for their losses, and electricity rates continue to climb.”
While many elements of the Proposal are meritorious, a Coalition of Counties and Cities, facilitated by the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and The League of California Cities (The League), have expressed significant concerns, in three categories:
1) Limitations to public property and infrastructure damages would frustrate the work of Public Agencies tasked with rebuilding their communities;
2) The Proposal, as currently understood, would prevent public agencies from recovering emergency response and mutual aid costs, potentially forcing agencies to absorb costs and financing risk while awaiting FEMA reimbursement; and
3) As currently framed, the Newsom Administration’s Proposal would eliminate the ability for public agencies to bring claims for lost Property Taxes.
Each of these elements has the potential to significantly affect County finances and further affect local governments’ capacity to support our constituents’ wildfire recovery needs. Administration has reviewed, and found signing onto this Coalition letter is consistent with the County’s Legislative Priorities, particularly in that a major Investor-Owned Utility-caused wildfire event or compounding disasters, (e.g., 2015-2020), could seriously affect both general resilience to wildfire events and capacity to fund infrastructure needs.
We recommend our Board authorize addition of the County of Lake Seal to the attached Public Agency Coalition Letter.
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Estimated Cost: ________ Amount Budgeted: ________ Additional Requested: ________ Future Annual Cost: ________
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Consistency with Vision 2028 <http://www.lakecountyca.gov/Government/Directory/Administration/Visioning/Vision2028.htm> (check all that apply): ☐ Not applicable
☒ Well-being of Residents ☒ Public Safety ☒ Disaster Prevention, Preparedness, Recovery
☒ Economic Development ☐ Infrastructure ☐ County Workforce
☒ Community Collaboration ☐ Business Process Efficiency ☐ Clear Lake
Recommended Action: Approve Addition of the County of Lake Seal to the Public Agency Coalition Letter on Proposed Wildfire Liability Reforms.