Wyoming's SF 71 creates "deregulated industrial power zones" on state lands (minimum 640 contiguous acres within one county) where industrial or commercial electricity customers receive specific exemptions. The bill exempts these customers from standard utility rate regulation and service territory rules for electricity consumed entirely within the zone, provided they aren't replacing pre-existing service capacity. County commissioners must hold public hearings before petitioning for a zone, and the bill includes safeguards to prevent non-participating customers from subsidizing zone-related costs or experiencing reduced service quality. This affects only qualifying industrial/commercial users within designated zones, not residential or general utility customers.
HB 83 clarifies that Wyoming's parental rights protections apply to all legal proceedings involving parentage, neglect, termination of parental rights, child custody, or visitation. The bill specifically requires these protections to be considered in cases under Wyoming Statutes Title 14 (family law) or Title 20 (child welfare). It adds a new section to define this scope, ensuring consistent application across court and administrative decisions. The law took effect on July 1, 2022.
This bill (SF 63) requires Wyoming county offices to remain open during standard business hours, removing county commissioners' authority to close them via resolution. It directly affects county commissioners by limiting their power to restrict public access to county offices. The law mandates open hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, and days designated for emergencies. The change took effect on July 1, 2022.
This Wyoming bill allows property owners to mark private land boundaries using fluorescent orange or pink paint (50+ square inches) instead of traditional signs to indicate trespassing restrictions. It requires the Game and Fish Commission and State Parks to include trespassing rules in hunting/fishing permits and park materials, and to develop signs at public road entrances to private land clarifying visitors shouldn’t leave the road. The law directly affects landowners seeking to define property lines and recreational users like hunters or hikers who may encounter marked boundaries. It takes effect July 1, 2022, and does not change existing trespassing penalties.
SF 1 is a state budget bill appropriating $84.55 million for Wyoming's general government operations from July 2022 through June 2024. It allocates funds to state agencies for specific purposes, including $1.25 million for infrastructure grant opportunities (requiring quarterly reports to the legislature) and $125,000 to improve international export market access. The bill specifies how funds may be used across departments, sets conditions for certain allocations (like not transferring funds to future budgets), and includes definitions for over 20 fund types to manage state finances. This funding directly affects all state agencies receiving appropriations under the bill, covering salaries, programs, and operational costs for the two-year fiscal period.
Wyoming's Tomorrow Scholarship Program provides need-based financial aid to students attending the University of Wyoming or Wyoming community colleges. It covers unmet financial need (cost of attendance minus other aid like federal grants) for eligible students who meet income and residency requirements. The program is funded through a permanent endowment fund, with annual scholarship spending limited to 2.5% of the fund's value in the first year and 5% in subsequent years. This ensures sustainable support while requiring annual reports on fund usage and scholarship distribution.
SF 19 creates a voluntary program allowing Wyoming counties to offer property tax refunds to qualifying homeowners. To qualify, applicants must have lived in Wyoming for at least five years, occupied their primary residence for over nine months in the previous year, and meet county-set income limits (capped at 75% of the county's median household income) and asset limits. Refunds are capped at 50% of the applicant's prior year's property tax or the county's median residential property tax, whichever is lower, and must be issued by September 30. Counties choosing to implement the program fund it through their own revenues and must publicize eligibility requirements annually.
HB 117 creates Wyoming's participation in an occupational therapy licensure compact, allowing licensed occupational therapists and assistants from participating states to practice in Wyoming without obtaining a separate Wyoming license. This directly affects licensed therapists seeking to work across state lines, military spouses relocating with service members, and patients needing therapy in different states. The bill establishes mutual recognition of licenses between member states, requires practice to follow the regulations of the state where the patient is located, and includes provisions for sharing disciplinary information and handling adverse actions. It preserves each state's authority to license practitioners while aiming to improve access to occupational therapy services.
This bill corrects a drafting error in Wyoming's 2021 gaming legislation that accidentally repealed the entire 2020 gaming law instead of just one section. It amends Section 6 of the 2021 law to specify that only Section 1 of the 2020 law is repealed, clarifying the legislature's original intent. Additionally, it retroactively ratifies retirement system participation for Wyoming Gaming Commission law enforcement officers from April 5, 2021, to the bill's effective date. The bill does not create new policies but fixes a technical error in existing law.
This bill, SF 11, directs the Wyoming State Historian to deliver one original Wyoming state flag to the heirs of Mrs. Verna Keyes, who designed the state flag in 1917. It corrects a historical oversight by fulfilling her request that the flag remain in her family's possession, with the condition it may only be publicly displayed if donated to a Wyoming government building. The bill amends a 1945 law to formalize this transfer and requires the Historian to provide a copy of the act to the heirs. It became effective July 1, 2022, and has no broader policy impact beyond this specific flag delivery.
SF 43 adjusts the timing for community college district board elections in Wyoming, requiring the first regular election to occur in May during the first fiscal year a special mill tax is levied, rather than following a previous schedule. It clarifies that the first election will have four members serving four-year terms and three serving two-year terms, with all subsequent elections held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. The bill standardizes election dates and term start dates (beginning December 1) for all community college district boards, affecting how these boards are organized and elected across Wyoming. These changes apply directly to community college districts and their voters, streamlining the election process under state law.
Wyoming's SF 38 revises how mineral producers pay ad valorem taxes (property taxes based on mineral value). It waives monthly payments for small producers whose annual severance tax is under $30,000, allowing them to pay annually instead. For 2020-2021 mineral production, the bill creates a deferred payment plan: taxpayers pay 50% of 2020 taxes by December 2021, then make annual 8% installments starting in 2023 until fully paid, with no penalties for on-time payments. The bill also clarifies reporting deadlines, reconciliation processes, and county tracking for these payments.
