HB0043 • 2023

Winter road closures.

AN ACT relating to highways; striking the requirement to willfully fail to observe a road closure notification necessary to be guilty of the criminal offense; increasing the fine amount for failing to observe road closure notifications; and providing for an effective date.

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor: Transportation
Last action: 2023-01-19
Official status: inactive
Effective date: 3/1/2023

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status is 'Did Not Pass', so the proposed changes are not in effect.

Winter Road Closures Law

The bill changes the law about following road closure signs during winter by removing the need to prove someone willfully ignored a sign and increasing fines for not obeying these signs.

What This Bill Does

Removes the requirement that someone must willfully ignore a road closure notice to be guilty of breaking the law.
Increases the fine for ignoring road closure notices from $750 to up to $1,500.

Who It Names or Affects

Drivers who ignore winter road closure notices
Law enforcement officers enforcing road closure laws

Terms To Know

Willfully: Intentionally or on purpose

Limits and Unknowns

The bill did not pass and was not signed into law.
Details on how the fines will be enforced are not provided.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB0043HS001

Standing Committee • House Minerals, Business and Economic Development

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the wording of a bill about winter road closures to make it clearer that disobeying or disregarding closure notices is against the law and increases the fine for not following these notices.

Changes 'fails to observe' to 'disobeys or disregards' when describing actions related to ignoring road closure notifications.
Removes language about increasing fines, but this does not mean fines are no longer increased; it just removes specific wording.
Modifies the requirement for observing road closures by specifying a new term.

The exact impact of removing line 4 on page 1 is unclear without more context.
It's not clear what happens to the fine increase since that language was removed, but it seems fines are still increased based on bill title.

Bill History

2023-01-19 House
H COW:Failed 23-38-1-0-0
2023-01-19 House
H Placed on General File
2023-01-19 House
H09 - Minerals:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 6-3-0-0-0
2023-01-13 House
H Introduced and Referred to H09 - Minerals
2023-01-06 House
H Received for Introduction
2022-12-12 LSO
Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

23LSO-0024
2023
STATE OF WYOMING
23LSO-0024
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0043

Winter road closures.

Sponsored by: Joint Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs Interim Committee

A BILL

for

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

Section 1.

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

24
‑
1
‑
109.

Closing or restricting use; failure to observe signs and markers; exceptions.

(a)

Any person who
willfully
fails to observe any sign, marker, warning, notice, or direction, placed or given under W.S. 24
‑
1
‑
108 is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof by any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be subject to a fine of not
more
less
than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00)
or to
and not more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00),
imprisonment for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days, or
to
both
.

such fine and imprisonment.
Proof of the existence of the sign, marker, warning, notice or direction placed or given under W.S. 24
‑
1
‑
108 located before and in the same direction of travel as the location where the person was cited for violation of this section shall constitute prima facie evidence of a violation of this subsection.

Section 2
.

This act is effective July 1, 2023
.

(END)

1
HB0043