The Colorado House on Thursday passed a bill that would specify winter tire requirements for passenger vehicles on the Interstate 70 mountain corridor.

The bill, sponsored by Reps. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale, and Diane Mitsch Bush, D-Steamboat Springs, would clarify the current chain law.

Now, causing an accident or closing the highway when the chain law is in effect may result in fines ranging from $100 to $500. A news release Thursday from Mitsch Bush cited “much confusion about when and whether passenger vehicles must comply.”

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The bill approved by the House on a voice vote specifies that from Nov. 1 to May 15, from Morrison to Dotsero, passenger vehicles must have adequate tread depth on their tires or carry chains or other traction devices. It would not create checkpoints or new fines, the release said.

“This bill is not just a public safety measure,” Mitsch Bush said in her news release. “It will reduce economic losses that cost our state an estimated $143 million in 2014.”

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California and Nevada require tires equipped for winter weather on Interstate 80 on Donner Pass, and Washington and Oregon have the requirement on Snoqualmie Pass, Mitsch Bush said.

The bill will move to the Senate for consideration.

RANKIN PLANS MEETINGS

Rankin will have two public meetings in Garfield County on Saturday. One is at 10 a.m. at the Grand Valley Recreation Center in Battlement Mesa; the other is at 2 p.m. at the Garfield County commissioner meeting room, 108 Eighth St. in Glenwood Springs.