answers a new factor in california's growing home insurance crisis. could people's dogs be costing them desperately needed coverage? california state treasurer walking the catwalk in fabulous fashion at

one of the bay area's most historic mansions. how this will benefit homeless families but first p-g-and-e's sticker shock as rates continue to soar. why did lawmakers not take a vote on a bill to regulate a particular fee increase? you're watching. getting answers. i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. part of building a better bay area is looking at building a more affordable bay area. many people are concerned by a recent decision by the california public utilities commission to fundamentally change how we pay for electricity, that includes a new fixed fee and quietly last week, state lawmakers killed a bill that would have set some limits on how that fee increases. joining us live now to talk about this is mark toney, executive director of turn. that's the utility reform network, a consumer advocacy organization headquartered in san francisco. mark, thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> look, before we dive in, there is a reason everyone,

including, you know, on social media, on reddit, in person, everywhere is talking about this. how much p-g-and-e's bills have gone up recently? give us some numbers so we can understand why this is such a big issue in california right now. >> in 2023 alone, p-g-and-e's bills went up 33, and since beginning of the year, it's gone up even more. people have a right to be upset at the california public utilities commission for approving all these increases and for p-g-and-e's for overspending its budgets. >> well, let's talk about that, right. the cpuc, that's the agency that regulates utilities drastically. and recently, they made a decision that really drastically changed how customers will be billed going forward, including allowing a new fixed fee. explain that to us. >> the cpuc did a good thing by

adding a fixed charge that will end up reducing the usage charge, so that most customers will end up saving money. most people's bills will actually go down because more customers who haven't been paying before. we're talking about rooftop solar. customers are going to start paying a little bit more for the grid that they use night and day, and also this will provide relief to customers are low income and hot summer climates, like in the central valley. and a lot of people are really going to be thankful when the summer heat waves come. >> okay, so the general plan is to reduce rates by 11, right? and as you said, there are some limits and some people will pay less and save money. so what's

all this hubbub about? ab 1999 that was supposed to regulate the new so-called, you know, the fixed fee thing and how quickly that can increase. talk to us about what that bill would have done. and then also, why did it die >> ab 1999, which would have prevented the puc from adopting the more progressive billing structure? ab 1999 died because legislators started to realize there was a lot of misinformation being spread about the bill. and the a lot of the people who were supporting ab 1999 were claiming that the fixed charge was an increase on top of what people were already paying. and that's simply not true, because of the decrease in use. okay. it is confusing. >> it is confusing, right?

because there's so many things that we pay. when you look at the bill, your heads like so big you can't figure it out. but this fixed charge that was supposed to offset, i mean, that's supposed to offset the loss to the utility from the lowered rates. is that right? >> so that the at the end of the day, because the usage rate goes down when there's a fixed charge, utilities will not collect a single penny more. this is in fact not a rate increase. what has been a rate increase is all the previous increases that the puc has approved, and all the increases. p-g-and-e's probably has a dozen rate increases sitting on the table at the public utilities commission right now. and so if people are interested in fighting higher rates, we need to stop all these future rate increases and not be diverted by a change in rate design that doesn't actually raise rates for most people.

>> can we talk about what the cpuc is explanation to the public when they approve each of these asks by pg and e for rate increases, especially in the past few years, because, as you know, you know, people will show up and they'll complain. they'll say, you know, this is too much and it is a lot. it is too much for a lot of people, especially middle and low income families. so what has the explanation been ? >> the last rate increase that the puc approved was in march of this year, and they put it on the consent calendar, which means there was no debate, no explanation. it was voted with three dozen other decisions in a single vote. and i think that's dead wrong. the commissioners o an explanation why more rate increases on top of record

breaking profits that pg and e is recording, why more increases when so many people are falling behind in their bills being shut off, people not wanting to buy electric vehicles or electric appliances because the electric bills are too doggone high? >> well, i was just going to say, right, we're all being pushed for environmental reasons, for good reason, to move to electricity and give up our gas guzzling cars. but now you're looking at paying these really high rates. but of course, on the side of the utilities, to be fair, they talk about the need to improve the grid, the infrastructure there, right, to mitigate the wildfire risk. and those do, in fact cost money. so if not this, then what? >> through the high cost pathway and a low cost pathway, pg and e has chosen to bury underground lines, which are very expensive. when they could pick insulating

overhead lines, which is faster and cheaper. it's one fifth of the cost of undergrounding them. so utilities like pg and e have a choice when they have a budget of $5 billion and spend $14,000,000,009 billion over spend. guess who pays for the over spend ratepayers turn has a bill that would require shareholders to pay 50% of all over spending. i guarantee you that will make a difference. if they knew shareholders had to pay along with ratepayers as well. >> all right. look you know, californians, as i understand, you tell me if my math is right, but i think we pay the sixth highest utility rates or, you know, for electricity out of all the states in the nation, maybe it's even higher now. i don't know, but where do you is it more pg and e pg and e rates and

california electricity rates are higher than any state except hawaii, okay. >> so let me ask you, where do we go from here? now that 1099 is dead, there were regulations to kind of, you know, regulate the amount of the increase for the fixed fee, what do you think could happen now? >> what needs to happen is we need to fix the broken system where there are no limits to how much or how many times a year pg and e can ask for rate increases and no limit to how much the public utilities commission can authorize an increases. customers need a cap, a limit no higher than the cost of living increase provided by social security. that should be the cap for rate increases in any year, not the sky is the limit.

>> all right. well, we'll see where things go from here. but mark toney, executive director of tern, thank you for joining us today. >> thank you very much for having me. >> coming up, as if it's not hard to hard enough, if you will, for many bay area residents to keep their homeowners insurance now, even their pets can cause them to lose coverage and a specific breed. we'll explain what's going

but for many, it's hard to even get coverage and major carriers make cutbacks. but now it seems there's a surprising variable making it even more difficult. and that's the breed of dog that

people own. joining us live to talk about this is janet ruiz, communication director for the insurance information institute, which is an industry association that represents the interests of insurance companies. janet, thanks for your time. >> thank you. kristen. >> i'm here in wildfire prone california. janet. we know that living in a wildfire area can make it harder to get or keep home insurance, but i hadn't heard about dogs before as an obstacle until now. why? what's going on there? >> well, it's always been something that you're supposed to let your insurance company know if you have a dog and what type of dog you have. there are different companies that some will insure any dog, but they will check the history to find out if the dog has bitten people . and then there are some companies who restrict certain breeds of dogs and don't cover them. and then you have to get a separate type of policy or shop

for an insurance company that will cover your dog. but it's important to know up front because you're liable if your dog should bite or trip someone and they get injured, these are really important considerations in insurance. >> so the restrictions are motivated by liability, right. so give us an idea of how expensive those claims may be. >> well, those claims can cost an average of country, and so it depends on, of course, the injury. we talk a lot about dog bites, but oftentimes to a dog might, surprise someone and they might trip, elderly people especially are vulnerable to getting hurt when they fall, the price of medical care has gone up. so again, really important to check

in with your insurance carrier and be honest, when you get a dog, what kind of breed is it, because again, if they don't cover it, you do want to get coverage for your liability aspect. >> yeah, i want to talk about options in a little bit. but right now, can you tell us which breeds are most restricted here in california and which specific insurance companies ban them? >> i don't know which specific insurance company is, because it does vary so much by carrier, many of the large companies don't ban breeds, so that's the good news, but if they do, it's sometimes the larger dogs because they tend to cause, bigger injuries. they bite harder, they trip people, you know, or they might jump on somebody and they fall down, so it can tend to be larger dog breeds that are restricted, like

dobermans or pit bulls or things like that, or any others. >> you can think of, yeah, a lot of the wolf type dogs, german shepherds, pit bulls, dobermans, those are the types, that may be restricted if a company does have a restriction. >> did the insurance companies, you know, the ones who have restrictions, use data to kind of justify that? >> they do. and the experience can be different from one insurance company to another because of the losses they've experienced. so that's why you see a variation in which type of dogs might be restricted. >> all right. so since you weren't able to tell us because there's so many where can people go to find out, hey, i've got this kind of dog. you know, i've got this company or i'm looking at these companies. do they restrict what are their rules? what can people go to get that kind of information, you can

talk to an insurance agent or broker that handles more than one company, and they'll probably be aware, i say start with the company you're with and find out. you know, maybe you're covered. fine no issues. don't worry about it. so start there. but then. yes, if you need to shop, go to a broker who handles several companies, and they'll have a good idea of which ones to go with. >> and janet, critics say this is discriminatory. what is your industry's response to that, it's not discriminatory to have an exclusion on a pet, that's been common practice since insurance has been around, so it's nothing new, it's always been, something that you have to consider. and it's, losses underwriting. you get your choice of who to insure with, so

if they, you know, don't take the type of dog you have again, look for another company or there are, some pet insurance companies who specialize in dog insurance. so you can always add on. so you know, instead of getting the coverage on your homeowner's, you can get specific pet coverage. >> i see, i see what are the names of some of the ones that are out there that are reputable, most of the ones that i've seen on the internet are i don't have their specific names, but there they are, you can read the reviews. they're pretty good. and other animals other than dogs that are subject to this. >> other pets, there are some type of pets. any pets who would bite or or cause injury, those kind of pets are all looked at. some exotic animals, you know,

there are people who want to have a tiger or, you know, some type of other what we would call an exotic animal. and, that that can definitely be, excluded on your homeowner's insurance. >> i'm sorry, yeah. i mean, this comes at a time, of course, when insurance is already very difficult to keep and very expensive for many californians because companies are pulling out due to the wildfire dangers. right, i just wonder, you know, how much tougher is it for consumers here in california to and what is the industry doing to work with californians as we are looking to the department of insurance and working with them very closely, governor newsom is as well. and we have many things in the works to help with wildfire mitigation, to help with the way that the department reviews and approves rates, to

be able to look at forward looking modeling due to climate risk. in the rate making process. so a lot is in the works right now, and we are looking to get some resolution, before the end of 24. but governor newsom has asked for it to be faster. so possibly july or august even. >> all right. jenna ruiz, communication director for the insurance information institute, thank you so much for coming on the show. >> thank you. kristen. >> up next, a fashion fundraiser will take you to the catwalk where runway looks are about to take center stagin an historic mansion for a goo

historic landmark built in 1916, is so magnificent that it's been considered for use as president

roosevelt's western white house and even as united nations world headquarters. well, today it is privately owned, and the only time the public can see the beaux arts architecture is during one of the seven nonprofits allowed each year. well, tomorrow evening, the glamorous location will play host to a gala chaired by california state treasurer. and it's all for a great cause. joining us live now are state treasurer fiona ma and founder of the welcome home project, mary young. fiona on the right, mary in the middle. welcome, both of you. >> hi, christine. we're very excited to be here at this historic location in. it's going to be an amazing benefit for the welcome home project, as well as catwalk for charitable causes. we're doing a walk through and a dress rehearsal today, so we'll show you that in a little bit before we stop, stop, stop first, can you just let me compliment you on how good you both look? >> this is, like, not your usual, you know, sacramento makeup, hair and looks. but like you said, it's for a great cause

. you're going to be walking that catwalk. in fact, i see people behind you. are they getting ready to do a little something? because i know it's tomorrow. right >> yeah. oh, yeah. we're here. we're getting ready right now. trying to get those shots and, you know, setting up who's going to walk first. and so i'll show you that in a little bit. >> got it. okay now, mary, this benefits a nonprofit launched by the san francisco association of realtors. it's called the welcome home project. tell us about the welcome home project, its mission and work. so the welcome home project was founded by the association of realtors with help from mayor ed lee and then supervisor london breed. >> and the whole thought you know, us being realtors and helping people buy their first homes was that homeless need to feel welcome into their new homes too. so every year we help approximately 2000 homeless individuals, a third of them children, get situated into housing that the city and other nonprofits in the city find for

them. everything. everything that we take for granted when we go home. a nice pillow, clean sheets, clean blankets, towels, a toothbrush, toothpaste, cleaning supplies. those are all provided to make sure that when people are moving from homelessness into a home, they have something to start with. >> i know that you've been doing this for quite a while now, and we here at abc seven report a lot on, trying to resolve the homelessness crisis for so many people in san francisco. in your mind, from what you see, has the need for your work increased? is the need greater than ever? now >> the need the need is different, every year we notice that there is a different focus for the last couple of years, we've noticed that there have been a lot more families and even though we know that the families are being taken care of, there are also new families that are coming into homelessness. a few years ago, our focus was on veterans, when we first began, it was mainly on, homeless individuals. the

program expands according to what the needs are, i see. >> well, that's great work that you're doing. wait, what am i seeing on the right here? fiona, is this the fashion show? am i getting a preview? oh you are getting okay. >> but however, here are some of the amazing models and designers that are going to be in the show tomorrow. okay, wave ladies. >> hi. hi, ladies. you all look so fabulous. uh- for fashion fantasia. this is so dreamy, fiona, i know this is a glamorous event, and it is that way to raise money for this important cause. but i also want to ask you, since you are running for lieutenant governor in 2026, i think it's a fair question to ask. even though campaign season hasn't really started or heated up. but what do you think is the key to solving the homeless crisis in california? >> well, clearly we need housing and other support services, wraparound services, whether it's, you know, for mental health or, drug and alcohol

addiction, all of that does play into, you know, being homeless. and then they need a transition, right? we've got great navigation centers here in san francisco where people can come in off the street with their dog , with their, you know, with their friends, with their goods, their things. and then they can be provided services until they're ready to transition into their first home, which is why we're working with the welcome home project, because when they're ready to transition, that's where welcome home comes into play. to get them into their first home, make sure that they are successful. and so it's a whole host of reasons. we need all of the tools and the tool kit. and of course, you know, just trying to make sure that we can get people off the streets safely, that they want to come in on their own knowing that they can trust the services that are going to be provided. and then all of the nonprofits that are helping them be successful. >> all right, fiona, i just i'm just going to put up the information because i want folks

to learn about welcome home project and its mission. people can learn more at the website, which is welcome home sefora. we are out of time, ladies, but you

tonight, breaking news in new york city. the drama inside the courtroom, what donald trump's lawyers got michael cohen to admit to. then, the judge furious with a defense witness, clearing the courtroom. also tonight, the hardline president of iran dead in a helicopter crash. what we know. and here at home, we're tracking new and