Snow tires, chains or four-wheel drive would be required under a bill moving through the Colorado General Assembly for drivers traveling Interstate 70 between Morrison and Dotsero from Oct. 1 to May 15 every year.

The bill passed on Second Reading in the House of Representatives on Monday morning, and will be considered on third and final reading later this week.

Some Republican lawmakers objected to the proposal.

“For me this comes down to personal responsibility and the person being able to make that decision themselves,” said Rep. Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock. “I don’t think that criminalization is a way to educate.”

But a Republican from Carbondale is a co-sponsor of the bill and said one of the reasons he didn’t drive home, over the mountain passes during the weekend was because this law wasn’t in place.

“I’ve been told that we don’t need this bill, that the current code on highways is adequate,” Rep. Bob Rankin said. “It is not … This will add significantly to the training and education.”

Current law requires non-commercial vehicles to have chains, snow-rated tires or four-wheel drive only when a Code 15 has been declared by the Department of Transportation because of hazardous winter conditions.

Rankin and Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, D-Steamboat Springs, said that causes confusion. They said drivers often aren’t aware a Code 15 has been put in place until it is too late.

“If the weather deteriorates and a Code 15 is called, you, I or all of our constituents could be liable for a $150 fine,” Mitsch Bush said. “If we cause an accident due to inadequate traction, right now under current statute we could pay over $500 in fines.

“Those fines are there, the problem is that most motorists aren’t aware of them,” she said.

House Bill 1039 would require that non-commercial vehicles be “appropriately equipped” during the months that winter storms are likely in the mountain passes that can become treacherous with little notice.

A similar bill was killed by Republicans in the Senate last year. It’s unclear whether this version has a better chance in the chamber dominated by the GOP.

Mitsch Bush said that 15 years ago the law for commercial drivers, including trucks, was changed to also be a date-certain requirement for carrying chains. This would extend that to everyone else, she said.

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