Bill > S119

Introduced Session

This bill provides that the closure of a business due to an order declaring a public health emergency is a public purpose for which the State may have to pay the business owner just compensation. Under the bill, the owner of a business may bring an action to compel the State to exercise condemnation and to pay just compensation for either:· loss of income during, and for a reasonable time after, a temporary partial or complete closure of the business, if the business would not have closed but for compliance with the order; or· loss of going concern, including the loss of real property, if the closure of the business results in the owner going out of business and the owner proves the owner would not have gone out of business but for compliance with the order. The bill would assign to the business owner: the burden of proving that the alleged loss is due to the public health emergency; and the burden of proving the amount of compensation for losses. The bill provides that it's provisions would apply to a public health emergency declared on or after January 1, 2020. An action to compel condemnation and the payment of just compensation brought under the bill must be filed within one year of the expiration of the order that declared or renewed the public health emergency.

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Jim Holzapfel (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document