Bill > HB490

This bill establishes a comprehensive framework for wildfire mitigation and civil liability protection for electric facilities providers in Montana. It requires all electric facilities providers to prepare and submit a detailed wildfire mitigation plan to their approval authority by December 31, 2025, with updates required every three years. The plan must include strategies for identifying wildfire risks, inspecting and maintaining electric facilities, managing vegetation, preventing wildfires, de-energizing power lines, restoring electrical systems, and conducting community outreach. The bill significantly changes how electric facilities providers can be held liable for wildfire-related damages by establishing that strict liability cannot be applied and creating a new standard of care. Under the new provisions, providers can only be found civilly liable if they fail to exercise the degree of care expected of a reasonable, similarly situated electric facilities provider and if that failure was the proximate cause of the injury. The bill provides a rebuttable presumption of reasonable action for providers who have substantially followed an approved wildfire mitigation plan and limits the types of damages that can be recovered. Additionally, the bill defines key terms such as "electric facilities," "wildfire," and "electric facilities provider," and sets a three-year statute of limitations for civil actions related to wildfire damages.

Justice

https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC0224