HB0290 - Posting of access to public lands.

 

2001

State of Wyoming

01LSO-0509

 

 

 

HOUSE BILL NO.  HB0290

 

 

Posting of access to public lands.

 

Sponsored by:  Representative(s) Paseneaux, Childers and
Eyre

 

 

A BILL

 

for

 

 1  AN ACT relating to public lands; prohibiting the posting of
 2  unlawful signs restricting access to public lands as
 3  specified; providing for enforcement; providing
 4  definitions; providing a penalty; and providing for an
 5  effective date.

 6 

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

 8 

 9         Section 1.  W.S. 36-1-119 is created to read:

10 

11         36-1-119.  Posting of signs restricting access to
12  public lands on public lands and roads; enforcement;
13  penalty.

14 

15         (a)  No person shall post a notice on public or
16  private land purporting to restrict access to public land

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 1  unless the restriction has been approved by the governing
 2  body having jurisdiction over the public land.

 3 

 4         (b)  No person shall post a notice on public or
 5  private land purporting to restrict the use of a public
 6  roadway across public land, or across private land for
 7  which a legal governing body has secured a public easement
 8  or right-of-way written agreement for public access from
 9  the owner of the land.

10 

11         (c)  The governing body having jurisdiction over the
12  land or roadway to which access is alleged to have been
13  unlawfully restricted shall investigate any claim to
14  determine its validity. Any person found by the governing
15  body to have improperly posted a notice restricting access
16  in violation of subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall
17  be notified of the violation by the governing body in
18  writing by certified mail return receipt requested and
19  shall be directed to remove the posted notice within five
20  (5) days of receipt of the notice. Any person who fails to
21  correct the violation within five (5) days shall be guilty
22  of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to
23  a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00).
24  Any person convicted of a subsequent violation of this

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 1  section within three (3) years from the date of the first
 2  conviction shall be subject to a fine of not less than
 3  three hundred dollars ($300.00), nor more than seven
 4  hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), imprisonment for not more
 5  than six (6) months, or both.

 6 

 7         (d)Nothing in this section shall be construed to
 8  require a private landowner to grant public access to or
 9  across any private land or road to which no legal public
10  access otherwise exists.

11 

12         (e)  As used in this section:

13 

14              (i)  "Public land" means any land legally owned
15  by the United States, the state of Wyoming, a local
16  governmental entity or any agency thereof;

17 

18              (ii)  "Public roadway" means any passageway
19  located on public land or private land to which the private
20  landowner has granted lawful public access without
21  obtaining prior permission, which has been graded or
22  constructed to carry vehicular traffic or on which repeated
23  vehicular traffic over successive years has created
24  well-defined tracks.

 

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 1 

 2         Section 2.  This act is effective July 1, 2001.

 3 

 4                         (END)

 

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