Bill > HB1638

This bill modifies laws related to property damage claims from wildfires, specifically "covered catastrophic wildfires," which are defined as wildfires that may have been caused or worsened by an electric utility's equipment and that destroy at least 500 structures (or 50 for an electric cooperative). It limits claims for property damage to actual damages, prohibiting punitive damages, and establishes a fixed aggregate liability limit of $1,000,000,000 per occurrence for electric utilities, with this limit not applying to insured property beyond its policy coverage. The bill requires the Director of Emergency Management to officially designate a wildfire as a "covered catastrophic wildfire," and all such claims must be filed within one year of the wildfire. It also clarifies that insurance companies' rights to recover costs from responsible third parties (subrogation) are not affected when an insured person receives compensation through a judgment or settlement. Additionally, the bill repeals a previous law that allowed the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to set liability limits and instead sets the $1 billion cap directly in the law, while also requiring electric utilities to have an approved wildfire mitigation plan to benefit from these liability limitations.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1638&year=2026