Electric utilities; creating the Wildland Fire Mitigation Act; defining terms; authorizing development of electrical wildland fire mitigation plan; effective date.

HB2989 HFLR Page 1
BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2989 By: Dobrinski of the House

and

Woods of the Senate

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

An Act relating to electric utilities; creating the
Wildland Fire Mitigation Act; providing short title;
defining terms; authorizing development of electrical
wildland fire mitigation plan; prohibiting certain
considerations in legal proceedings; describing
components of an electrical wildland fire plan;
requiring utility to furnish plan upon request;
allowing utility to recover certain costs;
establishing liability for certain persons for
certain causes of wildland fires, regardless of land
jurisdiction; providing for certain exceptions to
cause determination; allowing property owner to bring
certain action; establishing award for damages;
stating act does not address certain liabilities;
creating the Wildland Fire Mitigation Program Act;
establishing certain programs within the Oklahoma
Conservation Commission; establishing provisions for
program implementation; requiring establishment of
certain annual guidelines; requiring the promulgation
of certain rules; creating the Wildland Fire
Mitigation Program Revolving Fund; stating fund
purpose; providing source of funds; providing for
codification; and providing an effective date.

HB2989 HFLR Page 2
BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 158.11 of Title 17, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Sections 2 through 4 of this act shall be known and may be cited
as the "Wildland Fire Mitigation Act".
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 158.12 of Title 17, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in this act:
1. "Electric cooperative" means a cooperative as defined
pursuant to Section 437.1 of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
2. "Electric utility" means an electric cooperative or other
public utility which produces, transmits, delivers, or furnishes
electric current for light, heat, or power;
3. "Electrical wildland fire plan" means a plan that is
prepared by an electric utility that addresses mitigation of the
risk of equipment causing or exacerbating a wildland fire within the
electric utility's service area;
4. "Injuries arising from the ownership of property" means all
claims for property damage, trespass, nuisance, loss of use,
injuries to timber, loss of employment, or emotional distress
arising from a wildland fire;

HB2989 HFLR Page 3
BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

5. "Person" means an individual, corporation, company,
partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, association,
trust, or any other entity, without limitation; and
6. "Wildland fire" means any uncontrolled fire on forests,
grasslands, fields, croplands, or wildlands; provided, wildland fire
also includes any such fire which damages or destroys improvements
or structures.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 158.13 of Title 17, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. To reduce the risk of electric utility fires, protect
infrastructure, individuals, their property, and communities and to
ensure the reliability of the electric supply, an electric utility
operating in this state may prepare an electrical wildland fire
mitigation plan in accordance with the requirements of this section
as deemed necessary by the utility for the purpose of mitigating
wildland fires. Adoption or nonadoption of a wildland fire
mitigation plan, the content, or implementation of the plan shall
not be considered in any civil action or other legal proceeding
seeking to recover damages arising from ownership of property which
resulted from a wildland fire.
B. An electrical wildland fire plan prepared pursuant to this
section may include a description of:

HB2989 HFLR Page 4
BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

1. Geographic areas within the service area in which certain
operations of the electric utility that may be subject to creating a
heightened risk of wildland fire;
2. The procedures, standards, and time frames that the electric
utility will use to inspect its infrastructure and perform
vegetation management;
3. Proposed modifications or upgrades to facilities;
4. Programs that the electric utility will implement to reduce
the risk of its electric facilities initiating or exacerbating a
wildland fires;
5. The procedures that the electric utility intends to use to
restore its electrical system in the event of a wildland fire; and
6. Plans for vegetation management reasonably necessary for the
mitigation of wildland fires.
C. Any electric utility that prepares an electrical wildland
fire plan under this section shall maintain a copy of such plan and
make it available for public inspection upon request.
D. An electric utility may seek to recover in rates reasonable
prudently incurred investments and expenditures, including capital
costs, as a result of the implementation of an electrical wildland
fire plan.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 158.14 of Title 17, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

HB2989 HFLR Page 5
BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, a person
who negligently, recklessly, or intentionally causes or spreads a
wildland fire shall be liable to a property owner for injury or
damage occurring to the owner's property that resulted from such
wildland fire. A person liable under this subsection shall be
liable regardless of whether the fire begins on federal, tribal,
state-owned, or private land.
B. In any civil action or other legal proceeding by a property
owner seeking to recover damages occurring to the owner's property
that resulted from a wildland fire, an electric utility shall not be
considered to have negligently caused a wildland fire if in the
absence of exceptional conditions, the electric utility's facilities
and operations complied with the requirements of the National
Electric Safety Code, as it may relate to the area of a wildland
fire's origin. An award for damages to a property owner for injury
or damage that resulted from a wildland fire, including loss of
vegetation, shall not include punitive damages or treble damages of
any kind, and shall be the lesser of:
a. the cost to restore the real property to the condition
it was in prior to the wildland fire, or
b. the difference between:
(1) the fair market value of the real property before
the wildland fire, and

HB2989 HFLR Page 6
BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

(2) the fair market value of the real property after
the wildland fire.
C. The lack of an applicable electrical wildland fire plan
shall not be considered in any award for damages against an electric
utility.
D. Nothing in this act shall be construed to address or impact
liability for and recovery of damages for bodily injuries resulting
from a wildland fire.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3-3-121 of Title 27A, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Sections 6 and 7 of this act shall be known and may be cited as
the "Wildland Fire Mitigation Program Act".
SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3-3-122 of Title 27A, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. 1. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission, in consultation
with the Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry shall develop
and implement a wildland fire mitigation program within its existing
conservation programs to reduce the risk and impact of wildland
fires through proactive management and incentivization of mitigation
practices. The Commission shall develop and implement a priority
incentive structure to encourage voluntary adoption of fire

HB2989 HFLR Page 7
BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

mitigation practices by landowners, land managers, and other
stakeholders.
2. The Commission shall establish and may subsequently revise
annual guidelines for the program, including but not limited to,
criteria for eligibility, application processes, incentive
structures, cost-share opportunities, and program administration.
The Commission shall promulgate rules to effectuate the provisions
of this act.
B. 1. The Conservation Commission shall develop a wildland
fire mitigation pilot program to test and refine fire mitigation
strategies developed under subsection A of this section in areas
historically impacted by large-scale wildland fires.
2. The pilot program shall focus on a geographical area
encompassing regions affected by wildland fires of at least forty
thousand (40,000) acres within the past ten (10) years.
C. The Commission shall use data and input from relevant
agencies, local governments, and stakeholders to determine eligible
areas.
D. The Commission shall conduct periodic evaluations of the
programs developed under this section to determine the effectiveness
of the programs and recommend adjustments as necessary.
SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3-3-123 of Title 27A, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

HB2989 HFLR Page 8
BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

There is hereby created in the State Treasury a revolving fund
for the Oklahoma Conservation Commission to be designated the
"Wildland Fire Mitigation Program Revolving Fund". The fund shall
be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal year limitations, and
shall consist of all monies received by the Commission from
appropriations, grants, private donations, or other funding sources
provided for the purpose of implementing the Wildland Fire
Mitigation Program Act. All monies accruing to the credit of the
fund are hereby appropriated and may be budgeted and expended by the
Commission for the purpose provided for in this act. Expenditures
from the fund shall be made upon warrants issued by the State
Treasurer against claims filed as prescribed by law with the
Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for
approval and payment.
SECTION 8. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.

COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
OVERSIGHT, dated 03/04/2026 - DO PASS, As Amended and Coauthored.