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SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB2138 SFLR Page 1
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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 9, 2026
SENATE BILL NO. 2138 By: Murdock of the Senate
and
Newton of the House
An Act relating to forest fire prevention; amending 2
O.S. 2021, Section 16-28.3, which relates to the
Oklahoma Controlled Burn Indemnity Fund; modifying
fund name; prohibiting certain reimbursement;
requiring creation of a prescribed burn plan for
certain landowners; requiring inclusion of certain
information in prescribed burn plan; requiring notice
of scheduled burn plans to landowners and local fire
departments; modifying plan filing fee; providing
limitation on certain reimbursement; defining term;
updating statutory language; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-28.3, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 16-28.3. A. There is hereby created within the
Oklahoma Conservation Commission, the “Oklahoma Controlled
Prescribed Burn Indemnity Fund”.
B. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission shall administer the
Oklahoma Controlled Prescribed Burn Indemnity Fund. The Indemnity
Fund shall be established for the benefit of landowners who perform
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controlled prescribed burns. The Indemnity Fund shall compensate
landowners for losses incurred from a prescribed fire that spreads
beyond the control of the burner, except for losses covered by
insurance. The fund shall not reimburse the participating landowner
for damages incurred on his or her own property.
C. In order to participate in the Indemnity Fund, the landowner
shall:
1. Work with the local conservation district office and the
Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States
Department of Agriculture to develop a controlled burn plan based on
the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service guidelines; and Have a written prescribed burn
plan for the parcel of land to be covered by the Indemnity Fund
prepared by either the local conservation district office, the
Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States
Department of Agriculture, the Department of Wildlife Conservation,
Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service, or other
recognized entity that works with landowners to develop prescribed
burn plans or a prescribed burn plan developed and written by the
landowner of the property to be burned;
2. Include in all burn plans submitted to the Commission for
coverage by the Indemnity Fund, at a minimum, the following
information:
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a. the name and telephone number of the landowner, group,
or organization conducting the burn,
b. the address and legal description of the area to be
burned,
c. the objective and purpose of the burn,
d. a list of all fire departments or sheriffs’ offices
that are required to be notified pursuant to paragraph
5 of this subsection,
e. a list of adjoining landowners required to be notified
pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection,
f. a description of any firebreaks used to define the
boundary of the prescribed burn,
g. a statement of prescribed weather conditions,
h. a description of any smoke-management considerations,
i. a plan for adequate manpower and firefighting
equipment for the control of the fire and a plan
providing for adequate personnel to watch over the
fire until it is extinguished, and
j. an ignition plan for the burn;
3. Notify, in writing or orally, all landowners whose lands
adjoin the owner’s land to be burned at least sixty (60) days prior
to conducting the burn. Such notice shall include the proposed date
and location of the burn and a telephone number where the owner can
be reached for information regarding the prescribed burn. If any
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landowner is burning on a large, consolidated tract of land for
which there are multiple adjacent owners, only those owners with
adjoining land within one (1) mile of the proposed burn area shall
be notified;
4. File with the Commission at least thirty (30) days prior to
conducting the burn a copy of the prescribed burn plan provided for
in this subsection;
5. Notify, in writing or orally, within forty-eight (48) hours
of conducting the burn, the local fire departments whose response
area covers the land to be burned, the local county sheriff’s office
and, if the burn is to be conducted in a forestry service protection
area, a representative of the forestry service. Such notification
shall include the proposed date and location of the burn and a
telephone number where the owner can be reached for information
regarding the prescribed burn; and
2. 6. At the time of filing the completed plan, provide payment
of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00)
to the Conservation Commission.
D. The Conservation Commission shall have authority to invest
the assessments. All proceeds of the investment shall be placed in
the Indemnity Fund. Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) from the
interest income for each year on the total proceeds in the Indemnity
Fund shall be paid to the Conservation Commission annually for the
development of controlled prescribed burn plans and for
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administration of the Indemnity Fund. The balance of the accrued
interest each year shall remain a part of the Indemnity Fund.
E. The maximum amount the Indemnity Fund shall pay for losses
arising from any one prescribed fire event is One Million Dollars
($1,000,000.00). For purposes of this subsection, “losses arising
from any one prescribed fire event” means all activities conducted
pursuant to any one prescribed burn plan and, if required, burn
permit.
F. When a loss is incurred, the landowner shall present a claim
to the Conservation Commission. To verify the claim, the landowner
shall present any evidence required by the Conservation Commission
including, but not limited to, evidence that the landowner strictly
adhered to the plan provided for in subsection C of this section.
All landowner claim payments shall be made by the Conservation
Commission from the Indemnity Fund as soon as practicable and not
later than one (1) year following the date of claim. The price per
acre of land shall be established on the day of the loss and shall
be for the full market value on that day.
F. G. If there is an insufficient amount of funds in the
Indemnity Fund to cover all claims for a certain year, payments
shall be made on a pro rata basis up to one hundred percent (100%)
of the total loss of each landowner. If payment is not received in
the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of total loss for a certain
year, then additional amounts shall be paid as funds become
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available in succeeding years until repayment of one hundred percent
(100%) of total loss is attained. If, at any time, a landowner
receives payment totaling more than one hundred percent (100%) of
total loss, the excess payment shall be returned to the Indemnity
Fund within thirty (30) days. Upon final payment of a claim to a
landowner from the Indemnity Fund, the landowner shall subrogate the
interest to the Conservation Commission in a cause of action against
any and all parties, to the amount of loss that the producer was
reimbursed by the Indemnity Fund.
G. H. The landowner shall, within sixty (60) days of the date
of loss, present the claim to the Conservation Commission.
Landowners may submit a written request to the Conservation
Commission for a sixty-day extension of the filing period, if the
landowner can show that the landowner was not provided notification
and reasonable time to file a claim. If the claim of loss is not
presented within the time and in the manner required, the claim
shall be forever barred and the landowner shall forfeit all rights
to remuneration or payment.
H. I. If state funds are appropriated to the Indemnity Fund,
the Conservation Commission shall establish the rules and procedures
necessary to ensure that the General Revenue Fund shall be
reimbursed from the assessments in an amount equal to the total
appropriation made to the Indemnity Fund. The reimbursement shall
be made in a timely manner, provided the intents and purposes of
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this section to compensate landowners for losses incurred shall not
be adversely affected.
I. J. The monies deposited in the Indemnity Fund shall at no
time become part of the general budget of any state board,
commission, or agency, except the Conservation Commission.
J. K. The Executive Director of the Conservation Commission
shall investigate all potential civil action claims against persons
for recovery of any losses paid by the Indemnity Fund.
K. L. No provision of this section shall preclude any landowner
from conducting a lawful burn without participating in the Oklahoma
Controlled Prescribed Burn Indemnity Fund.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND WILDLIFE
February 9, 2026 - DO PASS