HB 115, the Medical Ethics Defense Act, allows healthcare providers (including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists), healthcare institutions (like hospitals), and healthcare payers (such as insurance companies) to refuse participation in or payment for specific medical services based on their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs. The bill requires written consent before a provider performs an abortion and prohibits discrimination against providers who decline services for conscience reasons, while protecting religious organizations’ rights to make decisions aligned with their faith. It explicitly states these rights do not override duties to provide emergency care or other services not conflicting with their beliefs. The law also prevents adverse licensing actions or discrimination for exercising these conscience-based decisions.
HB 88 would allow Wyoming counties, cities, and towns to permit single exits in apartment-style buildings with six stories or fewer (such as apartment complexes, dorms, and boarding houses). It prevents local governments from requiring multiple exits for these specific buildings unless their ordinance explicitly states this requirement beyond adopting standard building codes. The bill directly affects local building authorities and developers of multi-family housing by limiting their ability to mandate additional exits. The law would take effect on July 1, 2025.
This bill changes how Wyoming school districts calculate "average daily membership" (ADM), the metric used to determine state funding for schools. It lowers the attendance threshold for counting students as full-time from 80% to 75% of full-time equivalent hours and requires proportional calculation for part-time students. Students who withdraw or miss over 10 consecutive days will no longer be counted in ADM totals. These changes apply to school funding calculations starting with the 2025-2026 school year. The bill directly affects Wyoming public school districts receiving state funding based on ADM.
HB 268, the "People's Parking Act," requires Wyoming cities and towns to obtain voter approval before implementing or expanding paid parking meters or zones. It mandates that local governing bodies must hold a majority vote of qualified electors (similar to bond issue elections) for any paid parking initiative, with ballot language specifying proposed locations. This applies to all existing, planned, and future paid parking systems starting July 1, 2025. The bill directly affects municipal governments and residents who use public streets for parking, changing how local authorities can fund parking infrastructure through user fees.
HB 240 repeals a provision (W.S. 9-1-304) that allowed the governor to appoint an acting secretary of state. This bill removes the legal authority for temporary appointments to the secretary of state position. It takes effect on July 1, 2025. (Note: As a procedural repeal, this bill does not create new policy but changes existing state code.)
HB 315 requires Wyoming to transfer all responsibilities of the state board of education and the state board of career and technical education to the state superintendent of public instruction by July 1, 2026. The bill mandates the superintendent to create a reorganization plan by July 2025, detailing how functions will be transferred, personnel and resources moved, and necessary legal changes. The plan requires legislative approval before implementation, while current board operations continue until the transfer date. This reorganization directly affects state education governance structures and administrative oversight of K-12 and career/technical programs.
HB 314 requires Wyoming's joint corporations, elections, and political subdivisions interim committee to study how eminent domain is used in the state during the 2025 legislative interim. The committee must examine seven specific issues, including fair compensation for property taken, restoration of land after easements end, liability for damages, authorized users of eminent domain, and types of land that can be acquired. The study will inform potential future legislation, with a report due for consideration during the 2026 legislative session. This bill does not change current law but mandates a review of existing practices.
HB 19 requires social media companies to obtain explicit parental or guardian permission before allowing Wyoming minors under 18 to create accounts on their platforms. The bill mandates that companies verify this consent, establish processes for parents to revoke consent, and comply with rules created by the state Attorney General. This law directly affects Wyoming minors and social media companies operating within the state, taking effect on July 1, 2025.
HB 212 amends Wyoming's local sales and use tax procedures to require approval from at least 50% of incorporated municipalities (down from two-thirds) for tax propositions, instead of the previous 2/3 requirement. It shortens the tax term from four years to two years for new taxes, and repeals the optional municipal sales tax provision. The bill also modifies election timing and ballot language requirements for county-level tax votes. These changes directly affect Wyoming counties and municipalities seeking to implement or renew local sales taxes. The bill focuses on procedural adjustments to tax approval processes without altering tax rates or revenue distribution.
HB 55 amends multiple Wyoming court fee statutes to increase the court automation fee from $40 to $50 for most civil and criminal filings. This directly affects individuals and entities filing court documents (e.g., plaintiffs, appellants, defendants) who will pay an additional $10 per transaction for court automation services. The fee increase applies to civil case filings, appeals, transcripts, criminal convictions, and municipal court violations, with all funds deposited into the judicial systems automation account (W.S. 5-2-120). The bill makes no new policy changes but updates existing fee structures.
HB 233 creates a dedicated "natural resource litigation account" to fund Wyoming's legal defense against lawsuits that restrict the state's management of coal and other natural resources. It appropriates $7.5 million from the general fund for the governor and attorney general to cover costs defending, commencing, or prosecuting lawsuits involving federal, state, or local actions that impede coal leasing, use, export, or coal-fired facility operations in Wyoming. The account requires annual reports on fund usage and expires June 30, 2027, with unspent funds reverting to the state. This bill directly affects Wyoming's government (via the governor's office and attorney general) and aims to support legal efforts protecting the state's coal industry and resource management authority. Note: The bill was introduced in January 2025 but has not yet been considered by the legislature.
This Wyoming bill (HB 6) expands the definition of "advance health care directive" to explicitly include "dementia directives." It allows individuals diagnosed with dementia to create specific instructions for healthcare decisions at each stage of their disease progression, complementing existing advance directives. The bill directly affects people with dementia and their families by providing a legal framework for planning care as cognitive decline advances. The changes take effect July 1, 2025.
