{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-28.3","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-16-28.3","heading":"Oklahoma Controlled Burn Indemnity Fund","body":"A. There is hereby created within the Oklahoma Conservation\n\nCommission, the “Oklahoma Controlled Burn Indemnity Fund”.\n\nB. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission shall administer the\n\nOklahoma Controlled Burn Indemnity Fund. The Indemnity Fund shall\n\nbe established for the benefit of landowners who perform controlled\n\nburns. The Indemnity Fund shall compensate landowners for losses\n\nincurred from a fire that spreads beyond the control of the burner,\n\nexcept for losses covered by insurance.\n\nC. In order to participate in the Indemnity Fund, the landowner\n\nshall:\n\n1. Work with the local conservation district office and the\n\nNatural Resources Conservation Service of the United States\n\nDepartment of Agriculture to develop a controlled burn plan based on\n\nthe United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources\n\nConservation Service guidelines; and\n\n2. At the time of filing the completed plan, provide payment of\n\nOne Hundred Dollars ($100.00) to the Conservation Commission.\n\nD. The Conservation Commission shall have authority to invest\n\nthe assessments. All proceeds of the investment shall be placed in\n\nthe Indemnity Fund. Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) from the\n\ninterest income for each year on the total proceeds in the Indemnity\n\nFund shall be paid to the Conservation Commission annually for the\n\ndevelopment of controlled burn plans and for administration of the\n\nIndemnity Fund. The balance of the accrued interest each year shall\n\nremain a part of the Indemnity Fund.\n\nE. When a loss is incurred, the landowner shall present a claim\n\nto the Conservation Commission. To verify the claim, the landowner\n\nshall present any evidence required by the Conservation Commission\n\nincluding, but not limited to, evidence that the landowner strictly\n\nadhered to the plan provided for in subsection C of this section.\n\nAll landowner claim payments shall be made by the Conservation\n\nCommission from the Indemnity Fund as soon as practicable and not\n\nlater than one (1) year following the date of claim. The price per\n\nacre of land shall be established on the day of the loss and shall\n\nbe for the full market value on that day.\n\nF. If there is an insufficient amount of funds in the Indemnity\n\nFund to cover all claims for a certain year, payments shall be made\n\non a pro rata basis up to one hundred percent (100%) of the total\n\nloss of each landowner. If payment is not received in the amount of\n\none hundred percent (100%) of total loss for a certain year, then\n\nadditional amounts shall be paid as funds become available in\n\nsucceeding years until repayment of one hundred percent (100%) of\n\ntotal loss is attained. If, at any time, a landowner receives\n\npayment totaling more than one hundred percent (100%) of total loss,\n\nthe excess payment shall be returned to the Indemnity Fund within\n\nthirty (30) days. Upon final payment of a claim to a landowner from\n\nthe Indemnity Fund, the landowner shall subrogate the interest to\n\nthe Conservation Commission in a cause of action against any and all\n\nparties, to the amount of loss that the producer was reimbursed by\n\nthe Indemnity Fund.\n\nG. The landowner shall, within sixty (60) days of the date of\n\nloss, present the claim to the Conservation Commission. Landowners\n\nmay submit a written request to the Conservation Commission for a\n\nsixty-day extension of the filing period, if the landowner can show\n\nthat the landowner was not provided notification and reasonable time\n\nto file a claim. If the claim of loss is not presented within the\n\ntime and in the manner required, the claim shall be forever barred\n\nand the landowner shall forfeit all rights to remuneration or\n\npayment.\n\nH. If state funds are appropriated to the Indemnity Fund, the\n\nConservation Commission shall establish the rules and procedures\n\nnecessary to ensure that the General Revenue Fund shall be\nime\n\nto file a claim. If the claim of loss is not presented within the\n\ntime and in the manner required, the claim shall be forever barred\n\nand the landowner shall forfeit all rights to remuneration or\n\npayment.\n\nH. If state funds are appropriated to the Indemnity Fund, the\n\nConservation Commission shall establish the rules and procedures\n\nnecessary to ensure that the General Revenue Fund shall be\n\nreimbursed from the assessments in an amount equal to the total\n\nappropriation made to the Indemnity Fund. The reimbursement shall\n\nbe made in a timely manner, provided the intents and purposes of\n\nthis section to compensate landowners for losses incurred shall not\n\nbe adversely affected.\n\nI. The monies deposited in the Indemnity Fund shall at no time\n\nbecome part of the general budget of any state board, commission, or\n\nagency, except the Conservation Commission.\n\nJ. The Executive Director of the Conservation Commission shall\n\ninvestigate all potential civil action claims against persons for\n\nrecovery of any losses paid by the Indemnity Fund.\n\nK. No provision of this section shall preclude any landowner\n\nfrom conducting a lawful burn without participating in the Oklahoma\n\nControlled Burn Indemnity Fund.","path":["OK Code","Title 2"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os2.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"81471bbec095239ccf67dd375489d075ec510eba5685babb8dae5685c5af82e5","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-28.2","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}