Sen. Troy McKeown

Maddy summaryThis Wyoming bill (SF 118) allows landowners who hold hunting licenses for elk, deer, antelope, or turkey to sell those licenses to others, subject to specific rules. Landowners cannot sell to immediate family, and buyers must follow all standard hunting license rules. The bill also exempts these sold licenses from a separate landowner coupon fee. The Game and Fish Department must create rules for the sale process, and the changes take effect July 1, 2025. It directly affects landowners with hunting licenses and potential buyers seeking access to these licenses.

Maddy summaryHB 208 prohibits anyone from intentionally injecting chemicals or substances into Wyoming's atmosphere to alter weather, temperature, or sunlight intensity. It directly affects government entities, researchers, or private companies conducting such atmospheric experiments within the state. Key provisions require the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to test air quality at affected sites (using methods like transmission electron microscopy) and protect individuals who report suspected violations in good faith. The bill also clarifies that existing publicly disclosed contracts are unaffected. This legislation aims to address concerns about unproven health and environmental risks from geoengineering activities.

Maddy summaryWyoming's SF 180 limits supplemental budget requests by the governor and state agencies to five specific situations: revenue shortfalls based on official estimates, funding for natural or human disasters, public welfare emergencies requiring additional funds beyond existing allocations, adjustments to savings accounts, and necessary staffing changes. The bill restricts all other supplemental funding requests, ensuring they align strictly with these defined categories. This change directly affects how state agencies and the governor propose budget adjustments outside the regular annual process. The law takes effect July 1, 2025, and repeals a prior provision about alternative budget preparation.

Maddy summaryHB 270 changes Wyoming's spending policy for the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund by reducing the annual spending rate from 5% to 4.5% of the fund's five-year average market value. This adjustment directly affects how the state calculates and spends earnings from the trust fund's investments each fiscal year. The bill modifies Section 9-4-719(d)(v) of Wyoming law to implement this lower spending percentage. It takes effect on July 1, 2025, applying to all future fiscal years.

Maddy summaryThis joint resolution (SJ 11) requests Wyoming’s state officials to use legal tools to challenge financial institutions that allegedly prioritize non-financial, ideological factors (like "stakeholder capitalism") over financial returns in investment decisions. It specifically directs the attorney general to investigate and litigate against such practices, including joining ongoing antitrust lawsuits (like the coal industry case with Texas), and asks the state treasurer to select asset managers focused solely on maximizing returns. The resolution directly affects Wyoming’s sovereign wealth funds and investment policies by requiring decisions to align with the state’s financial interests under its "prudent investor rule." It does not create new laws but urges state agencies to leverage existing enforcement powers to counter what the resolution describes as collusive investment practices harming Wyoming’s industries.

Maddy summaryWyoming's SF 175 reduces the maximum duration of unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks for eligible claimants. The bill amends sections 27-3-304 and 27-3-316(c)(ii) to lower the weekly benefit calculation cap from 26 to 20 times a claimant's weekly benefit amount, and reduces extended benefits from 13 to 6.5 times the weekly amount. It also renames the "Unemployment Insurance Commission" to the "Unemployment Reemployment Insurance Commission" and appropriates $18,000 for system updates. The changes apply to all claims filed on or after January 1, 2026.

Maddy summaryWyoming's HB 224 restricts land ownership by "foreign adversaries" (defined as entities or individuals linked to Russia, China, terrorism-designated countries, or specific international sanctions lists) in all Wyoming real property, except for personal residences under one acre. Owners must register with the Homeland Security office within 60 days of acquisition or July 1, 2025 (whichever is later), and update annually. Failure to register incurs a $5,000 daily civil penalty, and county clerks must report violations to Homeland Security. The law also requires tax assessment notices to inform property owners about the ownership restrictions and registration requirements.

Maddy summaryHB 238 prohibits individuals from delivering another voter's ballot to a county clerk, except for immediate family members or ballots mailed directly to the clerk. It directly affects voters who might collect others' ballots and election officials who process them, requiring ballots delivered in violation to be excluded from tabulation. The bill creates a felony penalty for knowingly violating this provision, punishable by up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine. It amends Wyoming election law to clarify ballot delivery rules and takes effect July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 245 requires Wyoming counties to use paper ballots and pens as the default method for marking ballots during in-person voting in all elections, effective July 1, 2025. Counties must provide voters with paper ballots and pens to mark ballots secretly, though electronic ballot marking devices may still be available for voters with disabilities who meet federal accessibility standards. This bill directly affects county clerks and election officials who manage voting systems, replacing current default practices with paper ballots unless specific disability accommodations apply. The law amends existing election codes to ensure paper ballots remain the standard, with no requirement for counties to adopt electronic systems as the default.

Maddy summaryHB 116 invalidates out-of-state driver's licenses issued to unauthorized aliens (non-citizens not lawfully present in the U.S.) in Wyoming. It deems such licenses invalid if issued by another state or marked to indicate the holder didn't prove lawful presence. The bill modifies existing law to exclude these licenses from valid exemptions for nonresidents and adds penalties for driving with an invalid license, including fines up to $750 or jail time. It requires the Wyoming Department of Transportation to create rules for implementation and takes effect July 1, 2025. This directly affects undocumented immigrants holding out-of-state licenses who would no longer be permitted to drive legally in Wyoming.