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House approves SB 80 to penalize abandoned campfires and clarify railroad fire liability
Summary
The Utah House passed Fourth Substitute Senate Bill 80 addressing penalties for abandoned campfires and clarifying railroad-related fire liability, citing recent costly wildfires and multi-agency suppression expenses; the measure passed 71–1 and will be returned to the Senate for signature.
The Utah House of Representatives on the floor passed Fourth Substitute Senate Bill 80, a fire-liability measure that adds a penalty for abandoning campfires and clarifies application of existing railroad-fire liability provisions. Representative Noel, the House sponsor, said the bill is aimed at preventing wildfires and cited agency cost figures and local incidents in support.
"One of them is campfires," Representative Noel said, citing that in 2008 state and county firefighters responded to roughly 50 campfire-caused fires with an average suppression cost of about $1,500 per incident, and a recent abandoned campfire that led to a large wildfire. Noel also described a separate problem from railroad-related fires and said the bill clarifies liability for railroad activities known to cause fires, such as sparks or rail grinding.
Representative Hutchings questioned a specific drafting change, asking why the bill's language on page 41 removes a reference to the railroad or company and instead refers to a "person," which Hutchings said is a "pretty significant change of liability" that would shift responsibility away from companies. Representative Noel responded that the bill moved from strict liability to a standard where evidence must show the train caused the fire, and that the railroads had negotiated and accepted the current substitute language.
The sponsor described aggregate suppression costs tied to railroad fires between 1998 and 2008: about $2,081,842 for state and county responses, roughly $4,000,000 for BLM, and $1,400,000 for the U.S. Forest Service, which Noel cited to underline potential savings from clearer liability rules. The bill's sponsor said several substitutes were negotiated with railroad representatives during drafting.
Voting was opened for final passage and the House clerk announced the tally: 71 yes and 1 no. The Speaker signed the bill and it will be returned to the Senate for the President's signature and enrollment.
The bill's amendments and the sponsor's description position the measure as both a prevention tool for abandoned campfires and a clarification of how existing railroad fire liability provisions apply; the House debate focused on the shift from strict to evidence-based liability language and on the bill's negotiated language with railroads.
Next steps: the measure will be sent back to the Senate for the President's signature and enrollment after the Speaker's signing on the House side.
