Establishment of public roads.

WORKING DRAFT
2007
STATE OF
WYOMING
07LSO-0554

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0220

Establishment of
public
roads.

Sponsored by:

Representative(s) Olsen and Senator(s) Cooper

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to
the establishment of highways; exempting agriculture roads on public lands from procedure;
and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 24
‑
1
‑
101(a) is amended to read:

24
‑
1
‑
101.

Public highways defined and established; creation by adverse possession.

(a)

On and after January 1, 1924, all roads within this state shall be highways, which have been or may be declared by law to be state or county highways. It shall be the duty of the several boards of county commissioners, within their respective counties, prior to said date, to determine what, if any, such roads now or heretofore
travelled

but not heretofore officially established and recorded, are necessary or important for the public use as permanent roads, and to cause such roads to be recorded, or if need be laid out, established and recorded, and all roads recorded as aforesaid, shall be highways. No other roads
,
except roads located on federal publ
ic lands prior to October, 1976 which provide access for a private residence or agricultural operation,
shall be highways unless and until lawfully established as such by official authority. Except, nothing contained herein shall be construed as preventing the creation or establishment of a public highway right
‑
of
‑
way with reference to state and county highways under the common
‑
law doctrines of adverse possession or prescription either prior to or subsequent to the enactment hereof. If any such board shall resolve the creation or establishment of a public highway right
‑
of
‑
way based upon the common
‑
law doctrines of adverse possession or prescription, it shall, following the filing of a plat and accurate survey required in accordance with the terms and provisions of W.S. 24
‑
3
‑
109, proceed with the publication of the proposed road for three (3) successive weeks in three (3) successive issues of some official newspaper published in the county, if any such there be, and if no newspaper be published therein, such notice shall be posted in at least three (3) public places along the line of the proposed road, which notice shall be exclusive of all other notices and may be in the following form:

To all whom it may concern: The board of county commissioners of .... county has resolved the creation and establishment of a public highway right-of-way under the common-law doctrine of prescription in that the road was constructed or substantially maintained by the (either the state or county) for general public use for a period of (ten years or longer) said road commencing at .... in .... county,
Wyoming
, running thence (here describe in general terms the points and courses thereof), and terminating at ....

All objections thereto must be filed in writing with the county clerk of said county before noon on the .... day of .... A.D., ...., or such road will be established without reference to such objections.

...........
....

County

Clerk

Dated .... A.D.

Section 2.

This act is effective July 1, 2007.

(END)

1
HB0220