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Senate committee recommends due pass for bill expanding arson and endangerment liability to protect joint owners and first responders
Summary
House Bill 1528 would close a gap in state arson law by allowing criminal charges when a person intentionally burns jointly owned property even if no insurance claim is made, and would add emergency first responders to the endangering-by-fire statute; the committee voted 4-0 (1 absent) to recommend the bill.
Representative Matt Ruby, District 40, told the Senate Industry and Business Committee that House Bill 1528 was drafted with input from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the attorney general’s office to address situations in which a person intentionally burns property shared with another party and existing arson law does not allow criminal charges.
Craig Zachmer, a BCI agent who submitted written testimony, told the committee that under current North Dakota law (North Dakota Century Code § 12.1-21-01, arson) a person who burns property they own may not be criminally charged if they do not seek an insurance payment. House Bill 1528…
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