SF0017 - Railroad regulation-amendments.
|
2001 |
State of Wyoming |
01LSO-0110 |
SENATE FILE NO. SF0017
Railroad regulation-amendments.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Barton and Geis and
Representative(s)
Diercks, Eyre, Hageman and
Hines
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to
railroads; amending provisions relating
2 to
the regulation of railroads; amending times for
3
providing notices as specified; amending penalties;
4
clarifying provisions; amending archaic language; providing
5
definitions; amending the apportionment of costs for
6
railroad crossings as specified; and providing for an
7
effective date.
8
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
10
11 Section 1. W.S. 37-9-301, 37-9-302, 37-9-304 through
12 37-9-308, 37-10-101(b), 37-10-102(a),
37-10-103 and
13 37-10-104 are amended to read:
14
15 37-9-301. Fireguards.
16
Page 1
1 (a) It shall be
the duty of every railroad
2
corporation operating its line of road, or any part of it,
3
within this state, upon its right-of-way upon each side of
4 its
roadbed, to maintain annually an effective fireguard
5
upon order of and satisfactory to specifications set forth
6 by
the department of transportation so as to prevent fire
7
from spreading to lands adjacent to said the right-of-way.
8 The
fireguards need not be maintained within the limits of
9 any
city or town, nor along that portion of the line of a
10 railroad where the desert or mountainous
character of the
11 adjoining land would render such burning
impractical or
12 unnecessary.
13
14 (b) It shall be the responsibility of every railroad
15 corporation
operating its line of road, or any part of it,
16 within
this state, to notify and supply a schedule to the
17 department
of transportation of any track grinding within
18 the
state. The notice shall be given to the department no
19 later
than thirty (30) days prior to the start of any
20 grinding.
21
22 37-9-302. Fireguards; penalty.
23
Page 2
1 Any
railroad corporation failing to comply with the
2
provisions of the preceding section W.S. 37-9-301 shall be
3
liable to pay a penalty of one hundred
dollars ($100.00)
5 or
fractional mile, of such any strips of land as it
6
neglects to treat as directed by the department of
7
transportation upon either side of the line of its road in
8
this state, in each and every year as stated, the same
10 of competent jurisdiction, in the name of
the state of
11 Wyoming, and when collected it shall be paid
into the
12 school fund of the county where the cause of
action
13 accrued. The action shall be brought within
one (1) year
14 next after
it the
violation of W.S. 37-9-301 occurs.
15
16 37-9-304. Fences and cattle guards; generally.
17
18 (a) All railway
corporations, owning or operating a
19 line of railway within the state, shall
construct, maintain
20 and keep in repair on each side of the track
thereof, a
21 sufficient fence conforming
to the provisions of W.S.
22 11-28-102,
so connected with suitable cattle guards at all
23 public road crossings as to prevent stock
from getting on
24 the railroad track of said the
corporation.,
and such fence
Page 3
1 when of barb wire to consist of four (4) wires securely
fastened to posts set not more than
thirty-two (32) feet
apart, with stays not more than ten
(10) feet apart. Such
4 The fence shall be constructed within nine (9)
months after
5 the
completion of any railroad track or any part thereof;
6
provided, that railway corporations shall not be required
7 to
construct and maintain a fence within the boundaries of
8 any
incorporated city or town.
9
10 (b) Any corporation failing to comply with this
11 section
is subject to a fine of not less than one hundred
12 dollars
($100.00) nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars
13 ($750.00)
for each day during which a violation continues.
14
15 37-9-305. Fences and cattle guards; liability
for
16 damages.
17
18 Any corporation operating a railway and
failing to fence
19 the same and to construct and maintain
suitable cattle
20 guards as required by the preceding section W.S.
37-9-304,
21 shall be liable to the owner or owners of
any livestock
22 killed or injured by reason of its failure
to construct or
23 keep in repair such
the fence or cattle guard in
the manner
24 provided in the
preceding section W.S. 37-9-304,
for the
Page 4
1
full amount of the damage sustained by the owner on account
2
thereof and to make a prima facie case for recovery, it
3
shall only be necessary for such the owner to prove the
4
loss or injury to his property; provided, that no
5 corporation
operating a railroad shall be liable for any
6
damage occasioned by the wilful act of the owner or of his
7
agent or employees or for stock killed or injured on public
8
road crossings unless negligence on the part of such the
9 corporation,
its agents, servants or employees can be
10 shown.
11
12 37-9-306. Injury to stock; definitions.
13
14 For the purpose of this act article
the terms "livestock"
15 and "stock" shall include all
classes of horses, asses,
16 mules, neat cattle, sheep, and swine, buffalo, beefalo,
17 llamas and other
domesticated animals.
18
19 37-9-307. Injury to stock; notice to
owner; procedure
20 if owner unknown.
21
22 Any such railroad corporation injuring or killing any
23 livestock, by running any engine, car or
cars, over or
24 against any such
the livestock, shall within ten (10) days
Page 5
1 thereafter, immediately
notify the owner or owners of such
livestock, so killed or injured, of
the fact; provided,
that if the ownership of such stock
so killed or injured,
is unknown, such corporation shall
file in the office of
the county clerk of the county in
which such livestock was
so killed or injured, a brand inspector, highway trooper or
7 county sheriff in the county the
livestock was killed or
8 injured, or the department of
transportation, giving a full
9 description,
including the number, classes and brands, of
10 such the livestock, naming the locality where such the
11 stock was so killed
or injured.;
and such corporation shall
also cause a
notice of the injuring or killing of any such
livestock to be
immediately posted up in a conspicuous
place on the
station house or section house which is
nearest to the
place of killing or injuring, which notice
shall specify
the date and place of such injury or killing,
the kind and
number of animals killed or injured, the color
and brands or
marks of such animals, and the owner's name,
if known. The
carcass of any animal so killed shall not be
buried until
three (3) days after the posting of such
notice. A copy
of the notice so posted shall, in all cases,
be immediately
mailed by the section foreman to the owner
of such animal,
if such owner be known to him, and this
notice shall be
in addition to that named in the first part
Page 6
1 of this section. It
shall be the responsibility of the
2 corporation to retrieve the animal
injured or killed after
3 identification and notification, and
dispose of the animal
4 within ten (10) days from the date of
notification.
5
6 37-9-308. Injury to stock; owner to
make sworn
7 statement of value.
8
9 Any
person or persons owning any livestock
which shall be
the
first
section
of this act W.S. 37-9-307,
within six (6) months
said person
or persons is,
or are,
13 notified of the said
killing or injuring, as provided in
14 the second
section of this act W.S. 37-9-307,
shall furnish
15 the department of
transportation and the corporation having
16 so killed
or injured the livestock, through its
nearest
17 agent, sworn evidence of the value of said the
livestock.
18
19 37-10-101. Highway crossing protection
account
20 established; purposes of account; use in connection with
21 federal funds.
22
23 (b) "Public
highways" As used in W.S. 37-235.1
through
37-235.5 shall be defined this act:
Page 7
1
2 (i) "Public highways"
means as specified in W.S.
3 31-12(k) 24-1-101,
but shall not include private roads;
4
5 (ii) "This
act" means W.S. 37-10-101 through
6 37-10-105.
7
8 37-10-102. Power to close or establish
crossings;
9 establishing priority for
hazardous crossing locations.
10
11 (a) The transportation
commission shall have the
12 power and authority to close or establish
crossings at
13 grade of public highways as specified, or separations over
14 or under
the track or tracks of any railroad corporation or
15 street railway corporation in the state of
Wyoming.
16
17 37-10-103. Apportionment of cost of
grade crossing
18 devices and grade separation structures; between railroad
19 and state, county and city government.
20
21 (a) With respect to the
installation of safety
22 devices or safety equipment at
railroad-highway crossings,
23 under the direction of the affected
railroad, it shall be
24 the duty of the transportation commission to
apportion the
Page 8
1 costs and expenses of
installing or reconstructing such the
2
crossings and safety devices between the railroads and the
3
department of transportation or the county, city or other
4
governmental entity involved in proportion to the
5
respective benefits to be derived, and to make the
6
apportionment of the costs in accordance with justice.; but
that in allocating the cost and dividing it among the
parties involved, the commission shall limit the amount to
be charged against the railroad to a maximum of thirty-
three and
one-third percent (33 1/3%) of the cost of the
total project
for installing or reconstructing such
crossings and
safety devices.
13
14 (b) With respect to the initial
installation of grade
15 separation structures at existing railroad
public highway
16 crossings, a
grade separation structure shall be installed
17 by the railroad
at all new railroad crossings of major
18 public roads or
state highways. Other public roads shall be
19 evaluated by the
transportation commission after
20 notification by
the railroad of its intent to cross the
21 highway.
22
23 (c) With respect to separation structures for
roads
24 over
or under railroads, the commission shall first
Page 9
1
determine that all federal sources of funding have been
2
exhausted, and then apportion the remaining costs and
3
expenses of the initial installation of the grade
4
separation structures between the railroad and the
5
department of transportation or the county, city or other
6
governmental entity involved, the apportionment to be based
7
upon the causes resulting in the need for grade separation
8
structures in accordance with justice. None of the money in
9 the
highway crossing protection account shall be used for
10 payment of grade separation structures.
11
12 37-10-104. Apportionment of cost of
grade crossing
13 devices and grade separation structures; administration of
14 highway crossing protection account.
15
16 (a) The transportation
commission is charged with the
17 administration of the highway crossing
protection program.
18 In order to compensate for the use of
crossings by the
19 public generally, the commission shall also
order that one-
20 half (1/2) of
the part of the cost of installing,
21 reconstructing or improving signals or
devices as will not
23 costs will
be divided between the state highway crossing
24 protection account and the department of
transportation or
Page 10
1 the city, town, county
or other political entity in which
2 the
crossing is located. The commission shall fix in each
3
case the amount to be paid from the crossing protection
4
account and the amount to be paid by the department or by
5 the
city, town, county or other political entity.
6
7 (b) The railroads shall bear all costs of maintaining
8 in
good operating condition all such crossing safety
9
devices.
10
11 (c) The governmental agency or
city, town, county or
12 other political entity having jurisdiction
over the highway
13 and the
separation structures which crosses over or under
14 the railroad track or tracks, shall bear all
cost of
15 maintenance of grade
its own separation structures.
The
16 railroad
corporation shall bear all costs of maintenance of
17 its own
structures over or under a public highway.
18
19 Section 2. W.S. 37-9-202 is renumbered as 37-9-311.
20
21 Section 3. This act is effective July 1, 2001.
22
23 (END)
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