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Montana lawmakers hear cleanup bill to clarify highway abandonment rules
Summary
Lawmakers and transportation officials discussed House Bill 42, a Transportation Interim Committee cleanup measure that reorganizes and consolidates statutory definitions related to highway abandonment; proponents said the bill clarifies existing law without making substantive changes, and an amendment to explicitly include municipalities in consultation is pending.
Representative Denise Baum (House District 45) opened a hearing on House Bill 42, saying the bill revises highway and transportation provisions in Title 60 to consolidate definitions and improve drafting consistency. "This bill is revising highway and transportation laws under Title 60, kind of for clarity and consistency," Baum said as she described the measure as a housekeeping cleanup bill.
Dustin Rouse, highways and engineering administrator for the Montana Department of Transportation, testified in support and called HB 42 a cleanup bill focused on the abandonment of highways. "House Bill 42 is a cleanup bill," Rouse said, urging the committee to pass the measure to provide clarity where highway abandonment is referenced in the Montana Code Annotated (MCA).
Jennifer Olsen, government affairs director for the Montana League of Cities and Towns, also supported the bill but asked the sponsor to amend section 5 (page 7) so that the consultation process when a highway is abandoned explicitly includes municipalities as well as counties. "We rise in support of House Bill 42 ... We would ask that that include municipalities," Olsen said, noting that roads often traverse municipal boundaries and cities should participate in those decisions.
Joe Carroll, legislative attorney and drafter of the bill, provided a section-by-section handout and explained the bill's technical fixes. Carroll told the committee the bill "does not impact the law in a substantive way" as drafted, but that it consolidates slightly divergent definitions (for example, abandonment definitions across different statutory locations) by moving a common definition into a central place and making other sections reference it. Carroll said the amendment Olsen requested and other minor edits may be drafted and posted soon.
Committee members asked for clarifications about distinctions among "commission designated highway systems," state highways and secondary systems, and whether the bill would change sale procedures or property-owner rights after abandonment. Carroll and MDT staff said the current draft is intended to reorganize and clarify statutory language rather than change substantive rights; specific processes for sale or return of right-of-way remain governed by the existing statutes unless amended separately.
The sponsor closed the hearing by urging a do-pass recommendation, and the committee closed testimony on HB 42 without a vote.
