A California wildfire bill aimed at paying survivors faster and limiting compensation for executives at electric companies that ignite destructive infernos unexpectedly died in the state legislature Tuesday.

The bill, which followed furious negotiations last week between Gov. Gavin Newsom and top lawmakers, didn't have enough support to pass the state assembly, legislative staffers said. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in a statement Tuesday that the legislation didn't go far enough.

The bill's death, just as the current legislative session ended, leaves a contentious debate over who should pay for wildfires sparked by utility companies unresolved. In particular, Newsom was at odds with state lawmakers over his preferred reforms, which included reducing investor-owned utilities' wildfire liabilities.

As the session wound down in Sacramento, top lawmakers opted for a narrower set of measures than Newsom had targeted.

"I am disappointed we could not deliver these reforms today," said Democratic state Sen. Josh Becker, one of the bill's authors, in an emailed statement. He said the legislation would have helped victims receive compensation faster, strengthened fire prevention, prevented private-equity firms from buying up claims and held utility executives personally accountable when their equipment causes catastrophic blazes.

Newsom had pushed for other changes to a legal framework that currently enables multibillion-dollar litigation against utility companies when their equipment sparks wildfires, potentially pushing them into bankruptcy. His office argued that bankruptcy proceedings end up hurting victims by forcing them to compete with other creditors for compensation.

"Simply put, this measure did not meet the gravity of this moment," Newsom said in a statement Tuesday after the legislation, which he had previously called "real progress," failed. "The only solution is to return to fix the entire problem, not part of it."

The governor's preferred plan included capping some damages paid to wildfire victims, eliminating the ability of insurance companies to recoup their costs from utilities, curbing reimbursement to local governments for destroyed infrastructure and limiting attorneys' fees in wildfire lawsuits. Fire survivors, insurers and lawyers had objected that Newsom's plan amounted to a bailout of utility companies and their investors.

California's two largest investor-owned power companies, Edison International and PG&E, each shed upward of 20% of their market capitalization on Monday after compromise legislation emerged over the weekend. Newsom pointed to the selloff as evidence that the bill didn't go far enough.

Shares of both firms regained some lost ground on Tuesday as the bill faltered.

A Rivas spokesman said there haven't been any discussions about convening a special session soon to resume the wildfire debate and that he doesn't expect one. Newsom's statement didn't address the possibility of a special session, and his office didn't respond to questions about it.

Rivas said he expects to continue working on wildfire reform. "We will not stop until we have done everything in our power to deliver real results," he said in a statement.