This bill allows electric utilities, electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and wholesale electricity generators to create wildfire mitigation plans that detail their efforts to prevent or reduce wildfire damage. The plans must be approved by each utility's board or city council (for cooperatives and municipal utilities) or filed with the Public Utilities Commission (for other utilities), and the commission will publish them on its website. The bill establishes a framework for these plans but also appears to include liability protections for utilities that follow approved wildfire mitigation plans, though the excerpt cuts off before detailing those protections.
This bill does not directly amend codified state law.
The amendment changed the definition of "wildfire" from "unintentional" to "unwanted," extended the annual compliance report deadline from April to June, and added a requirement that utilities update their wildfire mitigation plans at least once every five years—STRENGTHENING the bill by tightening the definition and ensuring plans remain current.
The amendment removes filing fees for wildfire mitigation plans and annual reports ($500 and $250 respectively) that utilities were required to pay to the Public Utilities Commission, which WEAKENS the bill by eliminating a revenue stream for the state while keeping all other regulatory requirements intact.
The amendment shifts oversight of wildfire mitigation plans from the Public Utilities Commission to local approval authorities (board of directors for electric cooperatives, city council for municipal utilities) for cooperative and municipal utilities, while requiring non-cooperative utilities to submit plans to the Commission—narrowing the Commission's direct oversight role. Additionally, it tightens the required plan update cycle from every five years to every two years, strengthening the bill's mitigation requirements.
This amendment is a technical enrollment change that updates the bill's internal section numbering from 26.558.19 to 26.558.20 and removes legislative markup language (underscores and strikethrough indicators), making no substantive changes to the bill's wildfire mitigation plan requirements or liability protections.
Other amendments
Signed by the Governor S.J. 541
Delivered to the Governor S.J. 510
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 543
Signed by the President S.J. 485
Senate Concurred in amendments Passed, YEAS 31, NAYS 3. S.J. 456
House of Representatives Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 63, NAYS 2. H.J. 473
Commerce and Energy Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 11, NAYS 0.
Commerce and Energy Motion to amend
Commerce and Energy Scheduled for hearing
First read in House and referred to House Commerce and Energy H.J. 194
Senate Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 29, NAYS 4. S.J. 146
Senate Motion to amend S.J. 145
Commerce and Energy Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 6, NAYS 3. S.J. 2
Commerce and Energy Motion to amend S.J. 1
Commerce and Energy Scheduled for hearing
First read in Senate and referred to Senate Commerce and Energy S.J. 10
Prime sponsor · Sen.
R
Prime sponsor · Rep.
R
Cosponsors
Concurred in amendments
Do Pass Amended
Commerce and Energy — Do Pass Amended
Do Pass Amended
Commerce and Energy — Do Pass Amended