| 1 | 1 | | 25.543.37 100th Legislative Session 134 |
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| 4 | 4 | | 2025 South Dakota Legislature |
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| 5 | 5 | | Senate Bill 134 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Introduced by: Senator Perry |
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| 14 | 14 | | Underscores indicate new language. |
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| 15 | 15 | | Overstrikes indicate deleted language. |
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| 16 | 16 | | An Act to provide limitations on liability and damages caused by a wildfire. 1 |
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| 17 | 17 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA: 2 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 20-9: 3 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Terms used in this Act mean: 4 |
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| 20 | 20 | | (1) "Electric utility," any electric utility, as defined in ยง 49-34A-1, including any entity 5 |
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| 21 | 21 | | that: 6 |
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| 22 | 22 | | (a) Is a generator of electricity at utility scale; or 7 |
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| 23 | 23 | | (b) Operates an electric transmission facility; and 8 |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2) "Wildfire," an uncontrolled, unplanned, and unwanted fire burning in this state 9 |
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| 25 | 25 | | that: 10 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) May impact, damage, or cause harm, including to natural resources, 11 |
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| 27 | 27 | | agricultural resources, homes and property; or 12 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (b) Threatens lives and safety. 13 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Section 2. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 20-9: 14 |
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| 30 | 30 | | In any civil action alleging wildfire-related damages caused by an electric utility: 15 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) A standard of strict liability may not be applied to the alleged actions of the electric 16 |
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| 32 | 32 | | utility; 17 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) A plaintiff may not recover punitive damages unless the electric utility acted with 18 |
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| 34 | 34 | | malice or criminal intent and the electric utility's action was the actual and 19 |
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| 35 | 35 | | proximate cause of damages to the plaintiff; 20 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (3) A plaintiff may not recover noneconomic losses from an electric utility unless the 21 |
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| 37 | 37 | | plaintiff suffered death or bodily injury in the form of a burn; and 22 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (4) A plaintiff may recover damages from the electric utility to compensate for 23 |
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| 39 | 39 | | economic losses, as otherwise provided in chapter 21-1, and for damage to real or 24 |
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| 40 | 40 | | personal property, including vegetation, in an amount that is the least of: 25 25.543.37 2 134 |
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| 41 | 41 | | Underscores indicate new language. |
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| 42 | 42 | | Overstrikes indicate deleted language. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (a) The cost to restore the property to its pre-wildfire condition; 1 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (b) The cost to replace the lost use of the property; or 2 |
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| 45 | 45 | | (c) The difference between the fair market value of the property immediately 3 |
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| 46 | 46 | | before the wildfire and the fair market value of the property after the 4 |
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| 47 | 47 | | wildfire. 5 |
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| 48 | 48 | | An action under this section may not be maintained unless brought within three 6 |
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| 49 | 49 | | years from the date of initial ignition of the wildfire. 7 |
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| 50 | 50 | | Nothing in this section may be construed to limit any defense that an electric utility 8 |
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| 51 | 51 | | is entitled to raise in a civil action for wildfire-related damages. 9 |
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