Rep. Lloyd Larsen

Maddy summaryHB 341 establishes Wyoming's Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program to provide food benefits to eligible children during summer months when school is not in session. The Department of Family Services will administer the program using the federal EBT system, leveraging data from the National School Lunch Program to identify qualifying households. It authorizes $1.14 million in state funds and $1.14 million in federal funds for administrative costs through June 2027. This ensures continued access to nutrition assistance for children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.

Maddy summaryHB 179 transfers a 28.94-acre parcel of land in Fremont County (previously held by the Department of Health for the Wyoming State Training School) to the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The bill authorizes the Department of Health to convey the surface rights without cost, except for survey, title insurance, and closing costs paid by the DOT. The remaining portion of the parcel will stay with the Department of Health for future transfer to a municipality for residential housing. This is a procedural land transfer bill with no new policy provisions, affecting only the specific land parcel and the two state departments involved.

Maddy summaryHB 107 creates the Wyoming Generational Investment Account, a permanent state trust fund designed to manage long-term investments of state funds. Starting July 1, 2025, the state must transfer $100 million annually from the legislative stabilization reserve into this account, with investment earnings from each transfer becoming available for the general fund 14 years later. The account must be invested per specific risk guidelines (85% private equity, 15% private credit), prohibiting withdrawals of principal or earnings for 14 years. The state treasurer must report annually on investments and projected earnings to legislative committees. This bill directly affects state financial management, not individual citizens or businesses.

Maddy summaryHB 320 creates the Taxation and Revenue Task Force 2028 to study how local governments, school districts, and special districts in Wyoming fund essential services. The task force, composed of legislative members, county/city representatives, school district leaders, and revenue experts, must analyze current revenue sources to determine if they cover services and meet constitutional requirements for equal education funding. It will develop recommendations for sustainable revenue solutions through 2050, including potential legislation, and report findings to the governor and legislature by December 2026. This bill does not change tax laws but directs a study to address long-term revenue needs for local services and schools.

Maddy summaryHB 237 modifies Wyoming's license plate issuance process. It shifts responsibility for issuing standard license plates from county treasurers to the Department of Transportation (DOT), clarifies the number of plates provided per vehicle, and eliminates the requirement to replace plates after a fixed time period. The bill also mandates rulemaking by the DOT and updates related statutes. This procedural change primarily affects all vehicle owners who register vehicles in Wyoming by streamlining plate issuance and removal of outdated replacement rules.

Maddy summaryThis bill revises Wyoming's net metering rules to distinguish between existing and new small solar/wind energy systems. It requires utilities to compensate *new* small customer-generators (systems operational after January 1, 2026) under a compensation system established by the Public Service Commission, while preserving current rules for *existing* systems (operational before December 31, 2025). Cooperatives must adopt new rates for new generators by January 1, 2026, and file them with the Commission. The bill also changes annual credit rollovers, requiring unused credits to be sold to utilities at their avoided cost rate. These changes directly affect residential and small business energy producers installing new systems after 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 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.

Maddy summaryThis 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.

Maddy summaryHB 290 establishes a property tax exemption for single-family homeowners in Wyoming, covering the first $200,000 of home value in 2025 and $1 million annually thereafter (adjusted for inflation). To compensate for lost local government revenue, it creates a new 2% sales tax (reducible to 0% if the exemption isn't available) that funds a "property tax reduction and replacement account." County treasurers will distribute these funds annually based on each county's revenue loss from the property tax exemption, with distributions calculated by February 15 each year. Homeowners must occupy the property for at least six months annually to qualify for the exemption.

Maddy summaryHB 213 requires landlords in Wyoming to ensure all residential rental units have operational electrical, heating, plumbing, and hot/cold running water, removing a prior exception that allowed written agreements to waive this requirement. This directly affects landlords and tenants in standard residential rentals across Wyoming, effective July 1, 2025. The bill eliminates the ability for landlords to bypass utility maintenance through written agreements, mandating these basic amenities as standard. Seasonal rentals like summer cabins remain exempt, as specified in the amended law.