Minimum easement standards.
Establish minimum standards for easements acquired through eminent domain, including notice requirements, liability clauses, and compensation provisions.
Full legal title
AN ACT relating to eminent domain; requiring notice of condemnation as specified; requiring clauses relating to liability, abandonment and reclamation; providing requirements for existing easements; providing compensation standards; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.
Co-sponsors: Representative(s) Allemand, Senator(s) Laursen, D, Steinmetz
Establishes minimum standards for easements acquired through condemnation, including notice requirements, liability protections, reclamation obligations, and compensation standards.
- Requires a person to comply with minimum easement standards before acquiring property by condemnation. (W.S. 1-26-517(a))
- Requires the condemnor to provide notice to the county board of commissioners and any local city or town governing body at least 30 days before commencing a condemnation action. (W.S. 1-26-517(b))
- Requires any easement to include a clause limiting the original landowner's liability to intentional acts, excluding vicarious liability for use of the land under the easement. (W.S. 1-26-517(c))
- Makes the condemnor responsible for reclamation of the property after the easement is no longer needed. (W.S. 1-26-517(d), W.S. 1-26-714)
- Restricts existing easements to their stated purpose unless the easement document provides methods for enlargement, amendment, or renegotiation. (W.S. 1-26-517(e))
- Requires that improvements to property be included in the fair market value when calculating compensation for an easement. (W.S. 1-26-517(f))
- Provides that if an easement is abandoned, the land reverts to the original landowner and must be reclaimed by the condemnor at the condemnor's expense. (W.S. 1-26-517(g), W.S. 1-26-515, W.S. 1-26-714)
- Limits the bill's application to condemnation actions initiated on or after July 1, 2025, and preserves existing contracts. (Sec. 2)
Effective: Immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for the bill to become law
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