WILDFIRE UTILITY MITIGATION & LIABILITY ACT

HB0267

HOUSE BILL 267

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Meredith A. Dixon
and
Pat Woods

AN ACT

RELATING TO ELECTRIC UTILITIES; ENACTING THE WILDFIRE UTILITY
MITIGATION AND LIABILITY ACT; PROVIDING FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
PLANS, APPROVALS AND ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORTS; ALLOWING FOR
COST RECOVERY; ESTABLISHING LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY; PROVIDING
ACCESS TO GRANTS FOR COOPERATIVES TO IMPLEMENT MITIGATION
PLANS; CREATING A STATUTE OF LIMITATION; AMENDING SECTION
30-32-4 NMSA 1978 (BEING LAWS 1882, CHAPTER 61, SECTION 7, AS
AMENDED) AND SECTION 37-1-4 NMSA 1978 (BEING LAWS 1880,
CHAPTER, 5, SECTION 4, AS AMENDED) TO CREATE EXCEPTIONS FOR
DAMAGES AWARDED FOR STARTING A FIRE AND ACTIONS FOR PERSONAL
INJURY; MAKING APPROPRIATIONS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 12 of
this act may be cited as the "Wildfire Utility Mitigation and
Liability Act"."

SECTION 2.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Wildfire
Utility Mitigation and Liability Act:

A. "commercially sensitive information" means
nonpublic business data that, if disclosed, could give
competitors an advantage or cause significant financial harm,
and includes pricing, customer lists, financial models and
strategic plans;

B. "commission" means the public regulation
commission;

C. "confidential information" includes:

(1) information that identifies an electric
utility's customers personally;

(2) trade secrets, as defined by law, or
commercially sensitive information; and

(3) sensitive information regarding facilities
or operations of the electric utility, the protection of which
is necessary for public safety or the security of the electric
utility;

D. "division" means the forestry division of the
energy, minerals and natural resources department;

E. "electric utility" means:

(1) an electric public utility regulated by
the commission pursuant to the Public Utility Act; or

(2) a utility owned or operated by a
municipally owned corporation that is exempt from commission
regulation pursuant to Section 62-6-4 NMSA 1978;

F. "mitigation plan" means a wildfire mitigation
plan that is submitted to the commission for review and
approval;

G. "national wildfire coordinating group" means the
interagency working group originally formed by the United
States department of agriculture and the United States
department of the interior in 1976 to establish a formalized
system of standards of training, equipment, aircraft,
suppression priorities and other operational issues affecting
fire management, which currently includes various state and
tribal land management and other entities concerned with fire
management;

H. "public safety power shutoff" means a temporary
cut in power by an electric utility to an area experiencing
extreme wildfire risk to prevent the utility's equipment from
causing a fire;

I. "public safety power shutoff plan" means a plan
developed by an electric utility to implement a public safety
power shutoff, including how a power shutoff decision is made
and who is authorized to make the decision;

J. "qualified wildfire civil action" means a civil
action against an electric utility:

(1) in which a plaintiff seeks damages
resulting from a wildfire that originated from the operations,
facilities or equipment of the electric utility; and

(2) that has received a certificate of
compliance from the commission;

K. "rider" means a separate charge or credit on an
electricity service bill used to recover specific costs or
provide specific adjustments not covered in the standard base
rates for electricity service; and

L. "wildfire" means:

(1) a fire that orginated from an unplanned
ignition, such as lightning, geothermal activity or an
unauthorized or accidental human-caused fire; or

(2) a prescribed fire that is declared a
wildfire by the federal, state or tribal agency with
jurisdiction over the land where the fire originated."

SECTION 3.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] MITIGATION PLAN--APPROVAL--DURATION--EFFECT.--

A. An electric utility may submit a mitigation plan
to the commission for review and approval. If the electric
utility demonstrates substantial compliance with the approved
mitigation plan within one year, pursuant to Section 5 of the
Wildfire Utility Mitigation and Liability Act, the commission
shall issue the utility a certificate of compliance. A
certificate of compliance shall serve as proof of an electric
utility's reasonable and prudent preparation for, and
mitigation of, wildfire risk in a qualified wildfire civil
action.

B. Beginning August 1, 2026, an electric utility
may submit a mitigation plan to the commission for review and
approval.

C. The commission shall approve or reject a
mitigation plan in writing within one hundred eighty days of
submission of the plan. If the commission does not approve or
reject a mitigation plan within one hundred eighty days, the
plan shall be deemed approved.

D. An electric utility that has an approved
mitigation plan shall submit an updated mitigation plan upon
the commission's request. The commission may request an
updated mitigation plan from an electric utility no more than
once every five years from the date a mitigation plan is
approved.

E. The commission may promulgate rules to govern
the process for submission, review and approval of mitigation
plans.

F. Neither the commission nor the state shall be
liable for monetary damages in a claim based upon the
commission's approval or denial of a mitigation plan."

SECTION 4.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] MITIGATION PLANS--REQUIREMENTS.--A
mitigation plan shall include the following:

A. the electric utility's service territory and a
description of the methods by which the electric utility will
assess wildfire risk within the electric utility's service
territory;

B. the electric utility's situational awareness
program, including weather monitoring;

C. the procedures, standards and schedules that the
electric utility will use to inspect, maintain and operate its
transmission and distribution infrastructure;

D. the procedures and standards that the electric
utility will use to perform vegetation management;

E. the proposed mitigation measures, modifications,
replacements and upgrades to facilities and preventive programs
that the electric utility will implement to reduce the risk of
its electric facilities causing a wildfire, including pole and
right-of-way inspections;

F. how the electric utility will coordinate with
other electric utilities regarding any shared facilities;

G. if the electric utility has a public safety
power shutoff plan, a description of how the electric utility
will implement the plan; how the electric utility will
communicate with the public, other utilities and emergency
responders regarding power shutoffs; and the electric utility's
procedures for restoring power upon the conclusion of a public
safety power shutoff;

H. the procedures that the electric utility will
use to restore its electrical system in the event of a
wildfire;

I. the community outreach and public awareness
efforts that the electric utility will use when implementing a
public safety power shutoff;

J. the electric utility's emergency response
procedures in the event of a wildfire, including procedures for
coordination with emergency managers before and during an
active wildfire; and

K. procedures for coordination with first
responders and government agencies and officials, including
forest managers, wildland firefighters and local fire
departments, during a wildfire."

SECTION 5.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] COMPLIANCE REPORTS--CERTIFICATE OF
COMPLIANCE--NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE--RECOVERY ACTION.--

A. On or before June 1 of the calendar year
following the approval of a mitigation plan, and on or before
June 1 of each year thereafter, an electric utility shall
submit a compliance report to the commission detailing the
electric utility's compliance with its approved mitigation
plan, including any modifications and updates made to the
mitigation plan.

B. No later than one hundred eighty days after the
submission of a compliance report, the commission, in
consultation with the division, shall determine whether the
electric utility substantially complied with the electric
utility's mitigation plan during the preceding year, and:

(1) if the commission determines that the
electric utility is in substantial compliance, the commission
shall issue a certificate of compliance to the electric
utility; or

(2) if the commission determines that the
electric utility is not in substantial compliance with its
mitigation plan, the commission shall issue a notice of
noncompliance to the electric utility that identifies the
specific areas of noncompliance.

C. Upon receiving a notice of noncompliance, an
electric utility may undertake corrective action to come into
compliance with its mitigation plan and, upon completing the
corrective action, submit a report to the commission detailing
the corrective action.

D. Within sixty days of receiving a report of a
corrective action from an electric utility, the commission
shall determine whether the electric utility is in substantial
compliance following the corrective action.

E. If, after reviewing a corrective action report,
the commission finds that an electric utility remains out of
substantial compliance with the utility's mitigation plan, the
commission shall notify the electric utility of that finding
and the electric utility may either undertake further
corrective action or seek judicial review pursuant to Section
39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.

F. If the commission fails to make a determination
within a time period prescribed by this section, the electric
utility shall be deemed to be in substantial compliance with
its mitigation plan.

G. The commission shall revoke a certificate of
compliance when an electric utility fails to:

(1) take corrective action to come into
compliance with a mitigation plan; or

(2) update a mitigation plan as requested by
the commission.

H. Neither the commission nor the state shall be
liable for monetary damages in a claim based upon the
commission's issuance or denial of a certificate of
compliance."

SECTION 6.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] POSTING OF MITIGATION PLANS--CONFIDENTIALITY.--

A. The commission shall post on the commission's
website and make publicly available an electric utility's
current mitigation plan, compliance report and, as applicable,
certificate of compliance or notice of noncompliance; provided
that the commission shall not post or make publicly available
any information designated as confidential in accordance with
this section.

B. If an electric utility includes confidential
information with its mitigation plan or compliance report, the
confidential information shall be marked "CONFIDENTIAL – NOT
FOR PUBLIC RELEASE", and the confidential information shall be
attached as a separable appendix to the mitigation plan or
annual report."

SECTION 7.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] MITIGATION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION--PROPERTY
ACCESS.--

A. If an electric utility requires access to
private, state or local government-owned property to implement
an approved mitigation plan, the electric utility shall submit
a written request to access the property to the property owner
through post-prepaid mail or electronic message to an email
address known to belong to the property owner. If the property
owner does not grant or deny access within thirty days of
submission of the request, the property owner shall be deemed
to have agreed to the request to access the property for the
limited purpose of performing work necessary to the approved
mitigation plan.

B. Upon request by an electric utility, a local law
enforcement agency may provide personnel, equipment, traffic
control, public safety support or other reasonable assistance
necessary to carry out wildfire mitigation activities.

C. An electric utility shall not be held liable in
a civil action for damage to a property resulting from an
action to implement a mitigation plan unless the electric
utility intentionally or maliciously causes damage to a
property."

SECTION 8.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] COST RECOVERY.--

A. As used in this section, "true-up" means to
conduct an accounting reconciliation of the accruals and
expenses for a business, project or program that replaces prior
estimated figures with actual figures when the actual figures
become available.

B. If the commission approves a mitigation plan for
an electric public utility regulated by the commission pursuant
to the Public Utility Act, the commission shall concurrently
approve a permanent mitigation plan cost recovery rider to
allow the electric utility to recover reasonably incurred
investments and expenditures, including the costs of capital,
made to implement the mitigation plan; provided that the
mitigation plan cost recovery rider is subject to change based
on a subsequent truing-up of the costs of capital investments
and expenses. The commission shall annually true-up a
mitigation plan cost recovery rider upon submission of the
electric utility's compliance reports pursuant to Section 5 of
the Wildfire Utility Mitigation and Liability Act.

C. The commission may expressly disallow specific
costs from being eligible for recovery by an electric utility
through a written order.

D. Costs incurred by an electric utility resulting
from compliance with an approved mitigation plan are deemed
reasonable and recoverable unless expressly disallowed by the
commission pursuant to Subsection C of this section."

SECTION 9.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] QUALIFIED WILDFIRE CIVIL ACTIONS--LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY AND DAMAGES.--

A. In a qualified wildfire civil action, there
shall be a rebuttable presumption that a certificate of
compliance is proof of reasonable and prudent preparation for,
and mitigation of, wildfire risk. A plaintiff may rebut this
presumption only upon proof by clear and convincing evidence
through an origin and cause investigation conducted by a
federal, state or tribal agency pursuant to the national
wildfire coordinating group wildfire investigation standards
that:

(1) the electric utility's operations,
facilities or equipment caused the fire;

(2) the electric utility failed to
substantially comply with its mitigation plan;

(3) the electric utility's failure to comply
with its mitgation plan was the actual and proximate cause of
the plaintiff's claimed damages;

(4) the electric utility was not prevented
from complying with its plan by a federal agency, property
owner, customer or member of the electric utility or local,
state or tribal government; and

(5) the electric utility intentionally or
maliciously disregarded the risk of wildfire posed by its
operations, facilities or equipment.

B. In a qualified wildfire civil action, a monetary
award for damages may only be awarded as follows:

(1) for an economic loss, the award shall be
the lesser of:

(a) the cost to restore damaged property
to the property's condition before the wildfire; or

(b) the difference between the fair
market value of the property before the wildfire and the fair
market value of the property after the wildfire without
restoration; and

(2) for a noneconomic loss, a monetary damage
award shall not be greater than five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000) per plaintiff and may only be awarded for a physical
injury that, as established by the competent testimony of a
health care provider:

(a) creates a high probability of death,
causes serious disfigurement or results in permanent or
protracted loss or impairment of the function of any body part
or organ; or

(b) resulted in death.

C. When an origin and cause investigation conducted
pursuant to the national wildfire coordinating group wildfire
investigation standards determines that a wildfire was caused
by vegetation from outside an electric utility's easement,
property or right of way, the electric utility is not liable in
a civil action for damages resulting from the fire, unless:

(1) the owner of the property on which the
vegetation originated provided the electric utility with a
written demand to remove the vegetation prior to the wildfire's
ignition and the electric utility unreasonably refused to
comply with the written demand; or

(2) a plaintiff proves, by clear and
convincing evidence, that:

(a) the electric utility's equipment,
facilities or operations substantially contributed to the fire;

(b) the electric utility failed to
substantially comply with its mitigation plan with respect to
maintenance of the easement, property or right of way;

(c) the electric utility's failure to
comply with its mitigation plan was an actual and proximate
cause of the plaintiff's claimed damages;

(d) the electric utility was not denied
the ability to comply with its mitigation plan by a federal
agency, property owner, customer or member of the electric
utility or local, state or tribal government; and

(e) the electric utility intentionally
or maliciously disregarded the risk of wildfire posed by its
operations, facilities or equipment.

D. In a qualified wildfire civil action against an
electric utility owned or operated by the state or a political
subdivision of the state, the procedural provisions and the
damages limitations of the Tort Claims Act shall apply.

E. Attorney fees and exemplary or punitive damages
shall not be awarded in a qualified wildfire civil action.

F. In a qualified wildfire civil action, an
electric utility shall not be liable for implementing or not
implementing a public safety power shutoff when the electric
utility acts in conformity with an approved mitigation plan.

G. The provisions of this section shall not limit
the defenses that an electric utility may be entitled to raise
in a qualified wildfire civil action."

SECTION 10.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] STATUTE OF LIMITATION.--A qualified
wildfire civil action shall be brought within one calendar year
after the ignition of the wildfire."

SECTION 11.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] WILDFIRE MITIGATION GRANTS--ELIGIBILITY.--

A. As used in this section, "cooperative" means a

cooperative nonprofit membership corporation organized pursuant
to the Rural Electric Cooperative Act.

B. The division may provide grants to cooperatives
to assist in the implementation of mitigation plans.

C. To be eligible for a grant, a cooperative shall
have a mitigation plan that has been approved by the
commission. A cooperative shall not receive more than one
grant per year, and a single grant shall not be greater than
one million dollars ($1,000,000).

D. The division shall promulgate rules to establish
the criteria, process and application requirements for grants;
provided that:

(1) grants shall be prioritized to achieve the
greatest anticipated mitigation of wildfire risk;

(2) prior to approving a grant, the division
shall make a written determination that the incidental benefit
to the cooperative is outweighed by the benefits to the state
resulting from the reduction in fire in wildfires within the
state; and

(3) grant applicants shall be required to use
the grant money solely for actions to implement an approved
mitigation plan."

SECTION 12.
A new section of Chapter 62 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] RULEMAKING.--The commission may promulgate
rules necessary to implement the Wildfire Utility Mitigation
and Liability Act."

SECTION 13.
Section 30-32-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1882,
Chapter 61, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

"30-32-4. DAMAGES TO PERSON INJURED.--
Except for an
electric utility operating pursuant to a wildfire mitigation
plan approved by the public regulation commission pursuant to
the Wildfire Utility Mitigation and Liability Act
, if a person
sets on fire any woods, marshes or prairies, whether the

property is the
person's own or not, [
so as thereby to
occasion
]
and causes
damage to another person or that
other

person's property, the [
person shall make satisfaction in
double damages to the party injured to be recovered by civil
action
]
responsible party shall pay the injured party twice the
amount of damages, recoverable through a civil action
, unless
the person is conducting a prescribed burn pursuant to the
Prescribed Burning Act."

SECTION 14.
Section 37-1-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1880,
Chapter 5, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

"37-1-4.
ACCOUNTS--UNWRITTEN CONTRACTS--TORTS--FRAUDS--GENERAL PROVISION
.--[
SEC. 4. Those
]
Excepting qualified
wildfire civil actions brought against an electric utility for
damages resulting from wildfire pursuant to the Wildfire
Utility Mitigation and Liability Act, actions
founded upon
accounts and unwritten contracts, [
those
]
actions
brought for
injuries to property or for the conversion of personal property
or for relief upon the ground of fraud and all other actions
not [
herein
] otherwise provided for
in Chapter 37, Article 1
NMSA 1978
and specified
shall be brought
within four years."

SECTION 15.
APPROPRIATION.--One million five hundred
thousand dollars ($1,500,000) is appropriated from the general
fund to the public regulation commission for expenditure in
fiscal year 2027 to purchase equipment and contract for
services to carry out the public regulation commission's duties
pursuant to the Wildfire Utility Mitigation and Liability Act.
Any unexpended balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2027
shall revert to the general fund.

SECTION 16.
APPROPRIATION.--Ten million dollars
($10,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the
forestry division of the energy, minerals and natural resources
department for expenditure in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 to
provide grants to cooperative nonprofit membership corporations
organized pursuant to the Rural Electric Cooperative Act
pursuant to Section 11 of the Wildfire Utility Mitigation and
Liability Act. Any unexpended balance remaining at the end of
fiscal year 2028 shall revert to the general fund.

SECTION 17.
APPROPRIATION.--Seven hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($750,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the
forestry division of the energy, minerals and natural resources
department for expenditure in fiscal year 2027 to purchase
equipment and contract for services to carry out the division's
duties pursuant to the Wildfire Utility Mitigation and
Liability Act. Any unexpended balance remaining at the end of
fiscal year 2027 shall revert to the general fund.

SECTION 18.
EFFECTIVE DATE.--

A. The effective date of the provisions of Section
9 of this act is January 1, 2027.

B. The effective date of the provisions of Sections
1 through 8 and 10 through 17 of this act is July 1, 2026.

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