Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Deals To Watch As CA Lawmakers Make Final Sprint

By Lynn La, CALMATTERS

Lawmakers chat during an Assembly floor session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Feb. 23, 2026. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

State lawmakers are returning to Sacramento today for the final month of session, which ends on Aug. 31. In the next few weeks, Democratic legislative leaders will attempt to hammer out deals between themselves, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other stakeholders on bills related to climate policy, speeding up urban development, wildfires and more, write CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu and Maya C. Miller.

Major deals we’re keeping tabs on include:

• Climate funding: By the June state budget deadline, legislators and Newsom failed to agree on how to spend the state’s main climate fund. The parties last year reauthorized the state’s carbon market, which finances climate programs by charging companies that pollute. But that money, which was estimated to generate $4 billion a year, could shrink by half under new rules the Newsom administration adopted this year — putting money for various legislative priorities at risk.

• California Forever: The real estate development group, backed by tech billionaires, wants to turn large parts of Solano County farmland into a new Bay Area city. It is seeking a carveout on environmental rules to speed up this project, but no legislation materialized to help it do so. After a shipyard company chose Texas instead of California Forever’s site for its newest location, the group — which Newsom appears to support — is growing impatient with lawmakers.

• Utilities’ liability: Newsom’s latest proposal to address wildfire risks has consumer advocates, wildfire survivors and insurance companies accusing the governor of trying to reduce utilities’ liability for wildfires they cause. They all allege that the legislative proposal, which doesn’t have a lot of details because there is no bill language yet, would limit compensation for fire victims and eliminate insurers’ right to recover wildfire costs from utilities. Meanwhile, lawmakers have remained mum on the governor’s proposal.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.