Committee backs change to traffic code creating rebuttable presumption for open‑range livestock collisions

The House Transportation Standing Committee on Feb. 20 voted unanimously to pass Senate Bill 113 (second substitute), which alters civil liability rules for collisions with livestock on open range.

Senator Sandoval, the bill sponsor, said the measure responds to increasing disputes between livestock owners and insurers over collision claims on roads that cross open grazing. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that, when livestock drift onto a highway from open range, the collision is due to driver negligence. It also limits damages for livestock in such collisions to the animal’s replacement cost.

Senator Sandoval described the change as restoring an established expectation that livestock have the “right of way” in open range areas; he said insurers are increasingly delaying or denying claims and pushing small producers into small‑claims proceedings. He told the committee the bill aims to simplify and standardize outcomes for producers and motorists.

Committee members asked how the presumption could be rebutted; Sandoval and others said examples might include evidence that the livestock owner or a person in possession of the livestock created the hazard (for example, a loose dog that chased animals into the road). Members also discussed whether signage and trailing operations should be incorporated; livestock stakeholders urged additional protections for producers while trailing large bands across highways.

Testimony from the Utah Wool Growers Association and the Utah Farm Bureau supported the bill, citing frequent collisions in winter months and uneven insurer responses. Representative Okerlund moved the second substitute; the committee approved it unanimously and the bill was passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation.