This bill amends provisions related to the abandonment and closure of a class D road and public access.
This bill:
AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.
Class D roads — informal routes across county and state land that provide access to rural and public areas — would be subject to a new formal process before a county or the state could abandon or vacate them, including a public hearing with notice published at least four weeks in advance and mailed to neighboring property owners, along with state Department of Transportation approval before a county acts and a 30-day public notice period for state abandonment decisions. Neither a county nor the state could give up its interest in a class D road that provides a broader public benefit, access to public land, or continued access to private land beyond the point of abandonment, unless the affected private landowners agree in writing, and any abandonment would have to preserve existing water infrastructure and utility easements. The bill would also extend the rule requiring roads to be formally abandoned (rather than treated as automatically abandoned after 50 years of disuse) to roads crossing land owned by a public entity or a state college or university, remove the requirement that off-highway vehicle safety flags on sand dunes be red or orange, and exempt shooting across a class D road from the existing crime of discharging a firearm across a highway. Finally, it would change how the Division of Wildlife Resources handles road closures on wildlife management areas by requiring the division to coordinate with, rather than obtain consent from, the county before closing a road, and would direct state agencies managing trust and other state lands to continue identifying and recording public roads, ensuring that public access rights in place at any point during state ownership—not just at the time of a sale or exchange—are protected.
Current version: HB0444S02 (Substitute)
Introduction
Feb 2
House Rules
House Committee
Feb 19
House Floor Vote
Feb 24
Senate Rules
Mar 4
Senate Committee
Feb 27
Senate 2nd Reading
Mar 6
Senate 3rd Reading
Mar 6
House Concurrence
Mar 6
Governor Signed
Mar 19
IntroductionFeb 2
House Rules
House CommitteeFeb 19
House Floor VoteFeb 24
Senate RulesMar 4
Senate CommitteeFeb 27
Senate 2nd ReadingMar 6
Senate 3rd ReadingMar 6
House ConcurrenceMar 6
Governor SignedMar 19
This bill amends provisions related to the abandonment and closure of a class D road and public access.
This bill:
AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.
Class D roads — informal routes across county and state land that provide access to rural and public areas — would be subject to a new formal process before a county or the state could abandon or vacate them, including a public hearing with notice published at least four weeks in advance and mailed to neighboring property owners, along with state Department of Transportation approval before a county acts and a 30-day public notice period for state abandonment decisions. Neither a county nor the state could give up its interest in a class D road that provides a broader public benefit, access to public land, or continued access to private land beyond the point of abandonment, unless the affected private landowners agree in writing, and any abandonment would have to preserve existing water infrastructure and utility easements. The bill would also extend the rule requiring roads to be formally abandoned (rather than treated as automatically abandoned after 50 years of disuse) to roads crossing land owned by a public entity or a state college or university, remove the requirement that off-highway vehicle safety flags on sand dunes be red or orange, and exempt shooting across a class D road from the existing crime of discharging a firearm across a highway. Finally, it would change how the Division of Wildlife Resources handles road closures on wildlife management areas by requiring the division to coordinate with, rather than obtain consent from, the county before closing a road, and would direct state agencies managing trust and other state lands to continue identifying and recording public roads, ensuring that public access rights in place at any point during state ownership—not just at the time of a sale or exchange—are protected.
Motion: Favorable Recommendation
Motion: Favorable Recommendation
Governor Signed
Lieutenant Governor's office for filing
House/ to Governor
Executive Branch - Governor
House/ received enrolled bill from Printing
Clerk of the House
House/ enrolled bill to Printing
Clerk of the House
Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
Clerk of the House
Last updated Aug 29, 2026, 5:26 PM