Wyoming's HB 152, the "Life is a Human Right Act," prohibits most abortions by defining "abortion" as the intentional termination of an unborn baby's life from conception. It directly affects pregnant individuals and medical providers in Wyoming by banning abortion except when a physician uses reasonable medical judgment to prevent the death of the pregnant woman, address a serious risk to her life or a life-sustaining organ, or treat an ectopic pregnancy. The bill explicitly excludes contraception from the prohibition and defines "unborn baby" as a living human from fertilization through birth. This law creates criminal penalties for violations and amends existing abortion-related statutes.
HB 222 creates a Wyoming Colorado River Advisory Committee within the state engineer's office to advise officials on water management related to Wyoming's rights under the Colorado River Compact. The committee, with 10 members appointed by the governor to represent agricultural, municipal, industrial, and environmental water users in the Colorado River basin, provides input on water development, protection, and conservation. The bill authorizes $200,000 in state funding for the committee's operations and one additional state engineer position to support its work. It requires the state engineer to consult the committee before making decisions affecting Colorado River water rights.
Wyoming's SF 120 restores civil rights for certain individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses. It automatically restores voting rights for nonviolent felony offenders after they complete their sentence or serve five years (whichever is shorter), and requires a written application to the Department of Corrections for domestic violence misdemeanor offenders to regain firearm rights. The bill also specifies that other rights (like firearm possession) are restored only after voting rights are reinstated. This applies to people convicted of nonviolent felonies or domestic violence misdemeanors under Wyoming law, following specific procedural steps outlined in the bill.
Wyoming's SF 109 prohibits the use of specific abortion drugs (like mifepristone and misoprostol) for terminating pregnancies, affecting doctors, pharmacists, and anyone distributing or prescribing these drugs. Exceptions include contraceptive use before pregnancy confirmation, treatment of natural miscarriages under medical guidelines, and cases where a patient faces an immediate physical danger to life or health (excluding psychological conditions), or pregnancy from incest/sexual assault. Violations carry misdemeanor penalties of up to six months in jail or a $9,000 fine. Women seeking abortions using these drugs are explicitly exempt from criminal prosecution under this law.
This Wyoming bill (SF 133) prohibits male students from competing on teams designated for female students in K-12 interscholastic sports. It requires schools to designate teams as "male," "female," or "coed" based on biological sex at birth (defined as "genetics and anatomy at birth" in Section 21-25-101(iv)). The bill also creates a commission to determine eligibility if courts invalidate the main prohibition (Section 21-25-202), but its core effect is to bar male students from female-designated teams. It directly affects public and private K-12 schools and student athletes in Wyoming.
This bill establishes a Wyoming state hospital demolition account for funds related to tearing down the hospital and creates mechanisms to adjust construction contracts for rising material costs. It authorizes state agencies and the University of Wyoming to include inflation provisions in contracts (with a 7.5% to 30% cost adjustment range) and requires using other funding sources before accessing inflation reserves. The bill allocates specific funding for projects like the Riverton State Office Building ($34 million) and the State Hospital demolition ($15 million), with unspent funds reverting to original accounts upon project completion. It directly affects state agencies, universities, and construction contractors managing capital projects funded by the state.
HB 195 is a Wyoming state budget bill that allocates $431 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to specific state programs. It directs funding for healthcare response ($50 million), workforce development ($10 million), public safety communications ($35 million), and other eligible COVID-19 relief initiatives like mental health services and rural broadband. The bill specifies strict conditions on spending, requiring that funds be used only for qualifying ARPA purposes (e.g., workforce training, healthcare infrastructure) and mandating reporting on expenditures. It affects Wyoming state agencies including the Department of Health, Workforce Services, and Transportation, ensuring federal relief dollars are spent as federally required. The bill does not create new programs but reorganizes and clarifies existing ARPA fund allocations.
Wyoming's SF 151, the Prescription Drug Transparency Act, prohibits pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from engaging in specific practices that affect independent pharmacies and patients. It bans PBMs from charging pharmacies fees for basic services (like claim submissions or network enrollment), retroactively reducing payments without fraud/audit justification, restricting patient choice of in-network pharmacies, or using "spread pricing" (charging plans more than paid to pharmacies). The bill requires PBMs to reimburse independent pharmacies at the same rate paid to PBM-owned pharmacies, allow electronic batch appeals, and provide transparent contract information. These changes directly impact pharmacies, PBMs, and patients by increasing pricing transparency and reducing financial barriers for community pharmacies.
Wyoming's SF 174 creates a new Wyoming Charter School Authorizing Board to oversee public charter schools statewide. The board, consisting of five members (including the state superintendent and appointees from the governor, Senate, and House), will approve, renew, and oversee charter schools under specific quality standards. The bill modifies how charter schools are authorized (replacing school district oversight with the state board), adjusts funding rules, and requires transparency in decision-making. This directly affects public charter schools, their governing boards, and the state education department as the local education agency.
HB 93 authorizes specific water development projects in Wyoming, including cloud seeding operations to enhance snowpack in the Medicine Bow/Sierra Madre (aerial) and Wind River/Sierra Madre (ground-based) mountain ranges, and infrastructure projects for municipal water supply in Happy Valley and Sheridan. The bill appropriates $825,000 for aerial cloud seeding, $301,000 for ground-based cloud seeding (requiring 63% cost-sharing from other users), and $308,200 for the Happy Valley water transmission project (requiring 33% local funding). It directs funds from water development accounts to these projects with specific budget limits and conditions, such as requiring local cost commitments before operations begin. These projects directly affect Wyoming water users, local districts (like Happy Valley WISD and the City of Sheridan), and the Wyoming Water Development Office. The bill also transfers funds between water development accounts and sets expiration dates for unspent appropriations.
HB 171 modifies Wyoming's rules for leasing school lands. It requires the board of land commissioners to provide 30 days' notice before leasing school lands via website, local newspaper, and certified mail to current lessees, adjacent landowners, and residents. The bill allows county residents who own adjacent land or are county residents to match the highest bid within five business days, giving them priority to lease the land if they meet the bid. This applies specifically to school land leases and excludes renewals of existing grazing or agricultural leases.
Wyoming's SF 99 allows witnesses to sign wills remotely via audio-video technology during public health emergencies or other urgent situations. The bill requires witnesses to see/hear the testator in real time, securely sign electronically, and confirm the testator's competency and voluntary action. It directly affects individuals creating wills and their witnesses by updating how wills can be legally executed. The law amends existing statutes to include remote witnessing as a valid method, effective July 1, 2023.
