Bill > SB24

This bill increases penalties for railroad companies that block highway crossings outside of incorporated cities and towns by significantly raising the fines for obstructing a public highway with a stopped train or by leaving objects on railroad tracks. Currently, the law prohibits railroad corporations from stopping a train or leaving objects on tracks crossing a public highway for more than 15 minutes, with previous fines ranging from $25 to $100. The proposed legislation increases these fines to a range of $750 to $1,500 for any violation, while maintaining the core prohibition on blocking highway crossings. The bill also makes some minor grammatical and language adjustments to the existing statute, such as changing "shall be" to "is" and removing certain unnecessary words. The bill would take effect immediately upon passage and approval, meaning the new, higher penalties would be in place as soon as the legislation is signed into law.

Transportation and Infrastructure

https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/20251/LC0248