Gallagher Announces ‘Fire Victims Trust’ Legislation

Local Assemblyman James Gallagher announced legislation that would provide financial relief to fire victims by exempting state taxes from payments made to victims out of Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s “Fire Victims Trust,” according to a press release.

Assembly Bill 1239 is co-authored by State Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama), Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), and Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), and Assemblyman Frank Bigelow (R-Madera) and Assemblywoman Megan Dahle (R-Bieber).

PG&E’s “Fire Victims Trust” was created to compensate victims of the Butte (2015), North Bay (2017) and Camp (2018) fires, according to a press release. AB 1249 would clarify California’s tax code to allow all types of filers to be excluded from paying state taxes on advance settlements paid out of the trust.

The legislation was modeled after AB 50 from 2011 that exempted state tax from settlements paid out from PG&E to victims of the San Bruno explosion.
 

“AB 1249 is a straightforward fix that would clarify state tax exemption criteria for victims of three of the most destructive fires in California’s history,” Gallagher said in a press release. “Victims deserve to receive the maximum amount of compensation from PG&E for the tremendous pain and suffering the company has caused.”

By Tri-County News