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Senate panel advances Wildfire Standard Care Act, 7-2, after debate on damages and utility liability
Summary
State Sen. Jim Woodward told the Senate State Affairs Committee Friday that Senate Bill 1183 would set a regulatory standard of care for electric utilities and link civil liability to compliance with PUC‑approved wildfire mitigation plans; the committee voted 7‑2 to send the bill to the Senate floor.
State Sen. Jim Woodward, sponsor of Senate Bill 1183, told the Senate State Affairs Committee Friday that the Wildfire Standard Care Act would establish a regulatory standard of care for electric utilities and require utilities to submit wildfire mitigation plans to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The committee voted 7‑2 to send the bill to the Senate floor with a do‑pass recommendation.
Woodward said the bill, developed after stakeholder workgroups and the governor’s 2024 wildfire report, defines a standard of care, requires utilities to file wildfire plans with the PUC and conditions civil liability on compliance with a commission‑approved plan. “This proposal…is aimed at preserving our safe, reliable, and affordable power,” Woodward said.
The sponsor described three primary changes since the bill’s earlier draft: the PUC will consider (rather than merely consult) input from the state forester when reviewing vegetation‑management portions of mitigation plans for timberland; utilities must notify counties, fire protection districts, fire protection associations and timber protection associations within the service territory no later than five business days after filing a plan with the PUC; and the civil‑liability standard was changed from “substantial compliance” to a “rebuttable presumption.” The bill points to existing Idaho code on damages and cleanup authority to frame liability limits.
Committee members pressed the sponsor and the bill drafter on whether the statute would allow plaintiffs to recover medical bills and wrongful‑death damages in cases where a utility’s negligence caused fire‑related injury or death. Senator Ruck asked, “Was it the intent to leave medical expenses and wrongful death claims out of this bill?” Ken McClure, an attorney with Givens Pursley who said he drafted the bill and represents the Idaho Consumer Owned Utilities Association, answered: “The damages that you can get are the same damages you can get under current law, and they are accepted here specifically as the limitations in those [code] sections.”
Committee discussion focused on how courts would interpret language that makes the statute’s civil action the “exclusive civil remedies available” for damages related to a commission‑approved wildfire plan. Several senators said they were concerned the phrasing could be read to limit recoverable damages even if a jury awarded them; others said Idaho law already contains damage limitations in several codes and that courts would resolve the scope on a fact‑by‑fact basis.
The committee approved the motion to send SB 1183 to the floor with a do‑pass recommendation. The roll call recorded multiple “aye” votes and the chair announced the motion carried 7‑2.
If enacted as drafted, SB 1183 would change how wildfire liability is litigated in Idaho by making compliance with a PUC‑approved wildfire mitigation plan central to liability determinations, requiring specified post‑filing notice to local response and landowners, and altering the statutory posture for claims against electric utilities. The bill will next be considered by the full Senate.
