Date: 03/05/2014

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB14-097

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 14-097 to the Committee of the WPASS



01:30 PM -- SB14-097

Representative Hamner, sponsor, presented and summarized the reengrossed Senate Bill 14-097 concerning the immunity of public agencies against liability arising from the wildfire mitigation activities of insurance companies. The bill provides that public agencies are not liable for the actions of private insurance companies and their agents. The bill also clarifies that private insurance companies and their agents are not protected from liability under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. Under the bill, private insurance companies are still under the command of the local county sheriff, fire chief, or incident commander. However, in the event of an emergency, private insurance companies may engage in activities to protect the insurable private property of policyholders, including access to evacuated areas. No public agency will be liable for the actions of private insurance companies.

01:32 PM -- Paul Cooke, Director, Division of Fire Prevention and Control, spoke in favor of the bill.

Representative Hamner answered questions from the committee regarding the relationship between local firefighters and insurance companies.

Director Cooke discussed the frequency of the suppression of fires by hired firefighters for insured homes in restricted areas.

01:36 PM -- Pat Ratliff, Colorado Counties Inc., spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed the background of the bill.

01:38 PM -- Peg Ackerman, County Sheriffs of Colorado, spoke in favor of the bill. Ms. Ackerman answered questions from the committee regarding the structure of command for the oversight of private firefighter groups.

Ms. Ratliff answered questions from the committee regarding communication between private firefighters and local governments in restricted areas.

01:41 PM -- Robert Ferm, American Insurance Association, spoke for information purposes only.

Representative Hamner provided closing comments.
BILL:SB14-097
TIME: 01:42:42 PM
MOVED:Singer
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 14-097 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:Wright
VOTE
Dore
Yes
Exum
Yes
Garcia
Yes
Gardner
Yes
Landgraf
Yes
Lebsock
Yes
Navarro
Yes
Rankin
Yes
Rosenthal
Yes
Vigil
Yes
Wright
Yes
Singer
Yes
Fields
Yes
FINAL YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS