Bill > HB344

This bill allows a property owner to create a private easement, which is a legal right to use another person's land for a specific purpose, even if they own both the land granting the easement (servient estate) and the land benefiting from it (dominant estate). This can be done by recording a document that either gives or keeps this easement right. Importantly, this change overrides a legal principle called the "doctrine of merger," which normally states that if one person owns both properties, any existing easement between them is extinguished. This new provision aims to clarify and facilitate the creation of such easements for any purpose, and it will apply to documents recorded on or after July 1, 2026.