California state legislators have introduced a bill that would hold fossil fuel companies liable for climate change damages, much like the current law which holds utilities responsible for fires caused by their equipment.

Scott Wiener, a state senator from the Democratic Party who co-introduced this bill on Monday, stated in a press release that it would shift the burden of climate disasters away from homeowners and onto oil and gas companies.

“Containing costs is crucial to our recovery and the future of our State.” We can stabilize the insurance market by forcing fossil fuel companies to pay their fair shares and compensate the victims of climate catastrophes.

The law would also permit the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan (FAIR), the state’s last-resort insurer, to sue fossil energy companies to recover costs, rather than pass them on to ratepayers.

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Senators from the San Francisco area have accused fossil fuel companies and their representatives of deliberately misleading the public regarding their products’ contribution to climate change. Although he didn’t cite any specific examples, ExxonMobil internal communications suggest that the company was aware of this relationship in the 1970s. Exxon denied accusations that it disseminated misinformation about climate changes, including in testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

The bill was introduced weeks after wildfires ravaged the southern part California. The extreme weather conditions in California were a significant factor in the destruction caused by the fires. After an unusually rainy winter with “atmospheric rivers” and record temperatures, the state experienced a dry summer followed by a record-breaking heat wave.

Long-term, insurance companies are reducing their coverage in California or leaving the state entirely. This is largely due to the high costs associated with natural disasters. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, controversially supported a bill in the past year which sought to discourage insurers from leaving by allowing rate increases.

Wiener said that the passage of this new bill will allow the insurance industry to stabilize, without the insurers having to take a loss by covering the effects of climate disasters.