Support Public Enforcement of Public Access

Senate Bill 1089 will provide the public with legal recourse to hold anyone accountable for intentionally blocking access on public roads, public-use easements, and waterways, and communicating or indicating in any way that public land is private or closed for use.

Current law allows only counties to bring criminal charges against individuals attempting to keep the public from accessing public grounds, but at a minimal penalty (if prosecuted at all) or even no penalty, there is no incentive to keep people honest, as we’ve seen. The public has zero recourse to hold people like the Wilks Brothers, or anyone intentionally blocking public access, accountable.

Compounding that, rural counties are strapped for resources and can hardly financially justify entering lengthy litigation just to open a gate while addressing a litany of more prescient issues.

Our solution: let the public enforce the law. Add a civil remedy clause to the existing law. Save counties time and money, allow for swift justice, and hold people stealing from us accountable.

The bill does not touch private property rights, nor does it provide access to any new areas- it simply provides better enforcement to prevent obstruction of public access to existing public areas.

Thousands of crimes and almost all property disputes have civil remedies. It is time our lawmakers step up, allow public enforcement of access, and protect public property rights and your right to access. Send a message to your lawmakers and ask them to step up for access enforcement. Feel free to add your own language.