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Committee adopts amendments narrowing liability and adding municipalities in prescribed burning bill, then passes measure
Summary
House Bill 15-57, governing prescribed burns, was amended to limit liability to ordinary negligence (not gross negligence), cap recoverable damages to actual damages, and add municipalities to the statute; the bill passed the committee 8–0 (1 excused).
The Senate Natural Resources Committee considered three amendments and passed House Bill 15-57, the prescribed burning bill, adopting changes that alter liability exposure for landowners and managers and expanding applicability to municipalities.
Kyle (committee staff) summarized committee amendment number 3, which removes immunity for prescribed burn managers only for damages resulting from ordinary negligence (rather than gross negligence) and limits recoverable damages to actual damages, and it provides that the DNR division of forestry would be removed from tort claims related to prescribed burns. The committee adopted that amendment by consent.
Senator Yoder presented amendment number 5, which inserts the word “municipality” into the statute; witnesses indicated the change was requested by the group Save the Dunes and that the Department of Natural Resources had no objection. The committee adopted amendment 5 by consent.
After adopting the amendments, the committee moved and seconded passage of House Bill 15-57 as amended. The committee recorded passage with eight yeas, no nays and one excused vote. The changes narrow liability exposure to ordinary negligence, limit damages to actual damages, and explicitly include municipalities in the prescribed burning provisions.
