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Committee backs bill granting limited liability protection to landowners who allow emergency access
Summary
A narrowly drafted bill would protect private landowners from civil liability when they voluntarily allow people or emergency responders to cross their property in an emergency; sponsors said the change encourages use of secondary egress and shelter‑in‑place sites during wildfires, floods or other disasters.
House Bill 1053 would create a limited civil‑liability immunity for landowners who voluntarily allow entry or exit across their property during an emergency. Sponsors said the intent is to reduce a legal barrier that currently discourages property owners from permitting evacuation routes or temporary sheltering in place.
Representative Weinberg, a co‑sponsor, described the measure as narrowly tailored: the immunity applies in an emergency and does not remove liability for gross negligence or willful misconduct. “It doesn’t authorize trespassing,” Weinberg said in committee; rather the bill is intended to ensure landowners who act as good Samaritans are not later sued for collateral damage such as a sprained ankle or a vehicle damaged while escaping a disaster.
Testimony in favor included farmers’ groups and residents from wildfire‑prone foothill neighborhoods who have been working on secondary egress routes that cross private property. Tim Miller of the Colorado Farm Bureau said such secondary routes are increasingly vital in mountain communities with single access roads. Community members from the Conifer/Quarry Fire area described projects to create fuel breaks and an alternate road crossing private parcels; several witnesses said liability concerns slowed legal agreements with landowners.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Association of Realtors supported the bill as amended. CPW asked for—and sponsors accepted—an exemption for CPW‑provided game‑damage fences that CPW installs under existing statute, so those fences would not be delayed by the local review process. The committee adopted no additional amendments and voted 12–0 to report the bill favorably to the Committee of the Whole.
Ending: Supporters said the bill is a targeted fix to encourage landowner cooperation for secondary evacuation routes and sheltering during emergencies; committee approval was unanimous and the bill now goes to the full House for further consideration.
