1999 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 360 – Rights-of-way, federal lands

HOUSE BILL NO. 360

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Daily Data Tracking History



H0360...............................................by REVENUE AND TAXATION
RIGHTS-OF-WAY - Amends existing law to further define "expense of the
public"; and to provide for validation of federal lands rights-of-way by
counties and highway districts.

03/09    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/10    Rpt prt - to Transp
03/15    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/16    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/17    3rd rdg - PASSED - 58-0-12
      AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bieter, Boe, Bruneel,
      Callister, Campbell, Chase, Clark, Crow, Deal, Denney, Ellsworth,
      Field(13), Field(20), Gagner, Geddes, Hadley, Hammond, Hansen(29),
      Henbest, Hornbeck, Judd, Kellogg, Kempton, Kendell, Kunz, Limbaugh,
      Linford, Loertscher, Mader, Marley, McKague, Meyer(Duncan),
      Mortensen, Moyle, Pischner, Pomeroy, Reynolds, Ringo, Robison, Sali,
      Schaefer, Smith, Smylie, Stevenson, Stoicheff, Stone, Taylor, Tilman,
      Tippets, Trail, Williams, Wood, Zimmermann, Mr Speaker
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Black, Cuddy, Gould, Hansen(23), Jaquet, Jones,
      Lake, Montgomery, Ridinger, Sellman, Watson, Wheeler
    Floor Sponsor - Wood
    Title apvd - to Senate
03/17    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Transp
03/18    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/19    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
    Rules susp - FAILED - 11-16-8
      AYES--Branch, Bunderson, Darrington, Hawkins, Ingram, Richardson,
      Riggs, Risch, Sorensen, Thorne, Whitworth
      NAYS--Andreason, Boatright, Burtenshaw, Davis, Dunklin, Geddes,
      Ipsen, Keough, King, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh, Sandy, Schroeder, Stegner,
      Stennett
      Absent and excused--Cameron, Crow, Danielson, Deide, Frasure, Parry,
      Twiggs, Wheeler
    Filed with Chief Clerk

Bill Text


H0360


                                                                        
 ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature                 First Regular Session - 1999
                                                                        

                             IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 360

                            BY REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE

 1                                        AN ACT
 2    RELATING TO HIGHWAYS; AMENDING SECTION 40-106, IDAHO CODE, TO  FURTHER  DEFINE
 3        "EXPENSE  OF  THE  PUBLIC" AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AND AMENDING
 4        SECTION 40-204A, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR  VALIDATION  OF  FEDERAL  LAND
 5        RIGHTS-OF-WAY  AS  HIGHWAYS  BY COUNTIES AND HIGHWAY DISTRICTS, TO PROVIDE
 6        FOR FILING OF RECORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND AN INDEX AND TO  MAKE  TECHNICAL
 7        CORRECTIONS.

 8    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

 9        SECTION  1.  That  Section  40-106, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
10    amended to read as follows:

11        40-106.  DEFINITIONS -- E.
12        (1)  "Erect" means to construct, build,  raise,  assemble,  place,  affix,
13    create,  paint,  draw  or  in any other way bring into being or establish, but
14    does not include any of the foregoing activities when  performed  incident  to
15    the  change of an advertising message or customary maintenance of a sign. With
16    respect to certain easements held by the state  restricting  the  erection  of
17    structures  on  certain  lands, the state of Idaho and the department shall be
18    deemed to have waived such restrictions with regard only to each sign  erected
19    prior to October 22, 1965.
20        (2)  "Expenditure"  means the awarding of a contract, franchise or author-
21    ity to another by a district, and every manner and means whereby  the  highway
22    district  disburses  district  funds  or obligates itself to disburse district
23    funds. "Expenditure" does not include disbursement of district funds to  regu-
24    larly  employed  highway  district  employees, officials or agents, or for the
25    acquisition of personal property through a contract  that  has  been  competi-
26    tively bid by the state of Idaho, one of its subdivisions, or an agency of the
27    federal government.
28        (3)  "Expense  of  the  public" means the expenditure of funds for roadway
29    maintenance by any governmental agency, including funds expended by any agency
30    of the federal government, so long as the agency allows public access over the
31    roadway on which the funds were expended .   and  such  
32     Providing however, that expenditure of funds for  roadway  is
33    not  located  on      maintenance by a  federal or state
34    -owned land   agency shall not obligate a county  or  highway  dis-
35    trict  to accept such roadway into the county or highway district highway sys-
36    tem .

37        SECTION 2.  That Section 40-204A, Idaho Code, be, and the same  is  hereby
38    amended to read as follows:

39        40-204A.  FEDERAL  LAND  RIGHTS  - OF - WAY. (1) The
40    state recognizes that the act of construction and  first  use  constitute  the
41    acceptance  of  the  grant  given to the public for federal land rights -


                                      2

 1    of - way, and that once acceptance  of  the  grant  has  been
 2    established, the grant shall be for the perpetual term granted by the congress
 3    of the United States.
 4        (2)  The   only   method  for  the  abandonment  of  these  rights  -
 5    of - way shall be that of eminent domain proceedings in which
 6    the taking of the public's right to access shall be justly  compensated.  Nei-
 7    ther  the  mere passage of time nor the frequency of use shall be considered a
 8    justification for considering these rights - of - way to
 9    have been abandoned.
10        (3)  All of the said rights -  of  -  way  shall  be
11    shown by some form of documentation to have existed prior to the withdrawal of
12    the federal grant in 1976 or to predate the removal of land through which they
13    transit  from the public domain for other public purposes. Documentation 
14    shall   may  take the form of  at least    a  map,
15       and   an    affidavit  ,    .  S    s
16    urveys,  books    and      or     other   historic
17    information .   may also be included. 
18        (4)  These rights - of - way shall not require main-
19    tenance  for  the  passage  of  vehicular  traffic, nor shall any liability be
20    incurred for injury or damage through a failure to maintain the access  or  to
21    maintain any highway sign. These rights - of - way shall
22    be  traveled  at  the  risk  of  the  user and may be maintained by the public
23    through usage by the public.
24        (5)  Any member of the public, the state of Idaho and any of its political
25    subdivisions, and any agency of the federal government may choose to seek val-
26    idation of its rights under law to use granted rights -  of  -
27    way  either  through  a process set forth by the state of Idaho, through
28    processes set forth by any federal agency or by proclamation  of  user  rights
29    granted under the provisions of the original act, Revised Statute 2477.
30         These rights of way shall not be required to possess centerline sur-
31    veys  typical  of  publicly  maintained  roads, but shall be surveyed prior to
32    being accepted into the maintained public highway system    Persons
33    seeking  to  have these federal land rights-of-way, including those which fur-
34    nish public access to state and federal public lands and waters, validated  as
35    a highway or public right-of-way as part of a county or highway district offi-
36    cial  highway  system  shall follow the procedure outlined in section 40-203A,
37    Idaho Code .
38        Neither  the  granting  of  the  original  right  -  of  -
39    way nor any provision in this or any other state act shall be  construed
40    as  a  relinquishment of either federal ownership or management of the surface
41    estate of the property over which the right - of  -  way
42    passes.
43        (6)  Persons   seeking  acknowledgement  of  federal  land  rights  -
44    of - way shall file with the county recorder the request  for
45    acknowledgement  and  for  any  supporting  documentation. The county recorder
46    shall  place the acknowledgement on the official county road  system  map
47       record acknowledgements, including supporting documentation, and
48    maintain an appropriate index of same .

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                             RS09195

This bill amends the definition of 'Expense of the Public" to
provide that road maintenance expenditure by a federal or state
agency shall not obligate a county or a highway district to accept
such roadway into their highway system.

The bill also provides that federal lands rights-of-way may be
accepted as a highway when validated as provided in existing code
and provides that acknowledgments of federal lands rights-of-way
shall be recorded and indexed by county recorders.




                           FISCAL NOTE

There will be no impact of the General Fund, nor on the Highway
Distribution Account or the Restricted Highway Account.








CONTACT: Rep. JoAn Wood
                                            332-1000



STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL NOTE   Bill No.    H 360