Budget & Taxes

HB 93 requires Wyoming courts to make most court records and audio/video recordings of proceedings available online for free, including documents like pleadings, evidence, and case details. Exceptions include juvenile cases, adoptions, sealed records, sexual assault cases, and sensitive materials like child pornography or bulky exhibits. Courts must also stream hearings live and maintain an online archive of recordings within seven days. The bill establishes a new fund to cover technology costs for implementing these changes.

HB 33 repeals Wyoming's Strategic Investments and Projects Account (SIPA), ending its use for state investments. The bill requires all remaining SIPA funds (except those for the Wyoming State Penitentiary Capital Construction Account) to be transferred to the state general fund by July 1, 2026. It preserves annual $10 million transfers from SIPA to the penitentiary account until 2038, while ending all other SIPA operations. The law takes effect July 1, 2026, with reporting requirements for the state auditor. This directly affects state treasury operations and the penitentiary's capital funding, but does not alter existing general fund budgeting.

HB 46 expands Wyoming's existing tax on electricity production from wind resources to also include electricity generated from solar and nuclear facilities. It repeals the separate tax on nuclear electricity and updates the tax rules to cover all three energy sources under a single framework. The tax applies to electricity produced from solar or nuclear resources starting January 1, 2027, and requires producers to report megawatt-hour output annually. This bill directly affects electricity producers using solar or nuclear power in Wyoming, changing how they report and pay taxes on their output.

HB 57 creates the "Hathaway private post secondary institution scholarship" to help Wyoming students attend private colleges or universities. It provides up to $500 per semester for tuition and fees at state-accredited private institutions offering certificates or degrees, with eligibility requiring a 3.5 high school GPA, standardized test scores at the 79th percentile, and meeting specific academic requirements. The program limits funding to 200 students total, covering up to eight full-time semesters per student, and requires the state education department to administer applications and verify eligibility through school transcripts. This scholarship directly affects qualifying Wyoming students seeking private post-secondary education, separate from public university funding.