By Brandon Rittiman
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — PG&E declared bankruptcy in 2019 because it said it didn’t have enough money to pay damages to tens of thousands of Californians for killing their loved ones, burning down their homes, and destroying their livelihoods.
Those 83,000 people had to settle for being paid partly in shares of PG&E stock because the company said it didn’t have enough cash to pay them. Despite this, PG&E found millions last year to spend on what was apparently a higher priority: influencing California politics.
Politicians and campaigns took a total of $2.1 million from PG&E, according to ABC10’s analysis of state campaign finance data, both during the company’s bankruptcy and after it pleaded guilty to 85 more felonies. The company’s 2020 political donations went to current California officeholders, political party organizations, and campaigns for ballot propositions.
“The money they’re taking is blood money,” said Phillip Binstock, whose father Julian was killed by PG&E in the Camp Fire. “They’re just as guilty as PG&E is.” PG&E committed 84 felony counts of manslaughter and another felony for sparking the 2018 fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, pleading guilty last June. A few months after those convictions, 17 current members of […]
FILE – This Nov. 15, 2018, aerial file photo shows the remains of residences leveled by the Camp wildfire in Paradise, Calif. The California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan is a state-mandated insurance pool required to sell insurance policies to people who can’t buy coverage through no fault of their own. FAIR Plan policies are often limited to fire damage. Homeowners must purchase an additional policy to cover other hazards. Last month, state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara ordered the FAIR Plan to begin selling comprehensive plans next year, an order aimed at helping people who have lost their coverage because of the growing threat of wildfires. Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, the California FAIR Plan Association sued Lara, arguing his order was illegal because state law only requires the plan to sell basic property insurance. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
