Rep. Chuck Gray Files Bill to Designate Wyoming Boulevard the ‘President Donald J. Trump Highway’
Representative Chuck Gray filed a bill on Friday that seeks to designate Wyoming Boulevard the 'President Donald J. Trump Highway.'
Wyoming Boulevard is a 10.58-mile-long stretch of highway that goes around the outer edge of Casper, from Evansville to Mills.
The bill, co-sponsored by Representatives Bear, Hallinan, Haroldson, Jennings, Neiman, Styvar, and Winter, as well as Senator McKeown, was received for introduction on February 11.
The bill is "AN ACT relating to highways; designating a highway as specified; requiring signage; allowing donations for signage costs; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date."
There are 4 sections that make up the bill.
According to the first section of the bill, "The entirety of state highway 258 shall be known as the 'President Donald J. Trump Highway.'"
Section 2 states that "The department of transportation shall install appropriate signage with consultation from the city of Casper, in compliance with applicable federal and state law, to identify the President Donald J. Trump Highway. The department may accept and expend any donations specifically given to the department to assist in the installation of signage required under this section."
Section 3 asks for $2,800, appropriated from the general fund of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, to be used in order to install proper signage, as specified in Section 2. It states that donations would mitigate the cost from the DOT if they come in.
And, finally, Section 4 of the bill states that the designation would be effective as of July 1, 2022.
Wyoming as a whole, and Casper specifically is a very pro-Trump area of the country, with nearly 70% of Wyoming residents voting for Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election.
The bill, audacious as it seems, would need to clear a two-thirds vote to be introduced in the upcoming budget session, beginning Monday, February 14.
K2 Radio News has reached out to Representative Gray and will update this article accordingly with any comments he may offer.
To view the bill in its entirety, you may visit this website.
An earlier version of this article stated that HB99 sought to 'rename' Wyoming Boulevard/Outer Drive. Representative Chuck Gray reached out to K2 Radio News with the following quote: "The bill does not rename Outer Drive. It designates Highway 258, but does not rename the Municipal Street." The article has been edited accordingly.
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