July 1 marks the start of the state’s new fiscal year and the implementation date for many new Wyoming state laws.
The recent legislative general session saw over 500 bills submitted to the Legislature for consideration, but only some 100 were signed by Gov. Mark Gordon into law. Wyoming Public Radio reporters have been covering a variety of bills. Here are several that go into effect today.
Election laws
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray has called for a number of election reforms, citing a need to secure Wyoming’s elections. Instances of voter fraud in the state are rare.The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation identified four cases since 2000.
Lawmakers passed a suite of bills. Gordon signed some and allowed others to become law without his signature.
-Proof of voter residency-registration qualifications HB 156 / [EA 57]
This law requires proof of 30-day residency in Wyoming and proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in Wyoming elections. Gov. Gordon allowed this bill to become law without his signature, noting friction between the bill and the state constitution.
-Prohibiting foreign funding of ballot measures HB337 / [EA 61]
-Maintenance of voter registration lists HB318 / [EA 62]
-Prohibiting on private funding for conducting elections HB228 / [EA 65]
-Banning ranked choice voting in Wyoming HB165 / [EA 71]
-Banning distribution of unsolicited absentee request forms SF78 / [EA 10]
-Amending political party petition circulation/filing deadlines SF166 / [EA 74]
-Improving cancellation of voter registration notifications SF165/ [EA 75]
Outdoors and recreation
-Treatment of Animals HB 275 / [EA 46]
This law increases penalties for causing undue suffering or torture of wildlife in one's possession, including predators. It’s the result of an incident that happened in Sublette County about a year and a half ago, where a man captured a wolf by running it down with a snowmobile, and then brought the live wolf into a bar. His actions caused outrage but also prompted calls for Wyoming to change its predator laws.
-Hunting wildlife from vehicles HB211 / [EA 36]
This bill prohibits the use of vehicles such as aircraft or trailers to aid in hunting, tracking, or killing any Wyoming wildlife that is protected or federally endangered. Predators are excluded.
-Recreation safety-rock climbing HB 73 / [EA 10]
This law adds rock climbing to a list of activities protected under the state's Recreation Safety Act and Landowner Liability Act. It protects private landowners from liability if someone they invite to climb on their property is injured.
-Snowmobile registration and user fees HB 4 / [EA 13 ]
This winter, sledders will notice a rise in fees due to this law. In the past, it’s been $35 to register snowmobiles for the winter season. That will go up to $50 for residents and $70 for non-residents. The money will help fund trail maintenance and grooming, something some prominent out-of-staters supported. Non-residents already bring in about $70 million a year, according to a 2020-2021 report.
Wyoming Freedom Caucus’s flagship laws
-Repeal gun-free zones and preemption amendments HB 172 / [ER 24]
Gun-free zones in K-12 schools, public buildings and colleges disappear on July 1.
“We just see people's freedoms restored in a lot of ways,” Freedom Caucus Rep. Jeremy Haroldson (R-Wheatland) told WPR state government reporter Chris Clements.
House Bill 172 allows permitted concealed carry in government-owned buildings. The State Building Commission has temporary rules in place as it works out more permanent regulations.
Haroldson rejected the argument that doing away with bans on concealed guns erodes local government control.
“Just because they want local control doesn't give them the right to trample on our constitutional rights,” he said.
Supporters of the new law, like Haroldson, say it’s meant to make sensitive areas safer, even though research on the subject shows more guns frequently lead to more crime, not less.
States with similar laws, like Ohio, Nebraska and Georgia, have seen a spike in gun-related injuries since passing them, according to a legislative analysis written for WPR by the Gun Violence Data Hub, an initiative of the nonpartisan newsroom The Trace.
“ What we saw in other states is when there is some law change that makes it easier for concealed guns to be brought into public spaces, the risk of being injured by a gun goes up, not down,” said Ava Sasani, a reporter for the The Trace who worked on the analysis.
In Wyoming, school boards aren’t allowed to disregard the new law but can issue their own requirements on training.
-Protecting privacy in public spaces act HB 72 / [ER 48]
This bill bans transgender people from using public facilities, like bathrooms, correctional facilities and changing areas, that align with their authentic gender identity. It allows someone accessing such a space who encounters another person of the opposite sex to sue the governmental entity operating the public facility.
Education laws
Lawmakers made a big push for expanding charter schools and homeschooling, as well as expanding career technical education. Several flagship laws, including increases to the existing school voucher program and recalibrating the state’s school funding model, are already in effect, though the voucher program is on pause due to pending legal action.
-Homeschool Freedom Act HB 46 / [EA 28]
-Career technical education funding HB 18 / [EA 51]
-Career technical education equipment grants amendments HB 17 / [EA 21]
-Charter school funding-amendments SF 73 / [EA 14]
Wildfire laws
-Public utilities-wildfire mitigation and liability limits HB 192/ [EA 58]
After a historic wildfire season, the state Legislature took on a number of reforms and preparations. One of those was to shield electric companies from liability if they spark wildfires, but only if they create and try to follow wildfire mitigation plans. This comes after some power companies have been blamed for huge fires in the West and essentially gone bankrupt.
Energy, business and tech
-Central bank digital currencies-prohibitions HB 264 / [EA 25]
The United States does not currently issue any form of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a virtual U.S. dollar that’s controlled by the Federal Reserve. This bill makes it so Wyoming cannot require state agencies to use, accept or help develop any future CBDC. Additionally, the bill urges Congress to never implement a CBDC.
-Coal severance tax rate HB 75 / [EA 11]
This law decreases the severance tax rate on surface coal from 6.5% to 6%, which aligns the industry with oil and natural gas’ 6% tax rate. This may make the state more competitive but is expected to bring in less revenue for the state.
Property laws
-Foreign adversary ownership or control of business entities HB 69 / [EA 9]
This bill empowers the secretary of state to dissolve a corporation if that corporation is owned or operated by a foreign government or person the United States deems national adversaries. That includes China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, Venezuela and North Korea.
Became law without governor’s signature
- Compelled speech is not free speech SF77 / [EA 23]
This law makes it so the state cannot compel those it employs to use an individual's preferred pronouns. This bill passed into law without the governor’s signature. However, Gordon said in a letter explaining his decision that he’s “concerned that we are perpetuating a habit of using long-term statutory changes as a vehicle to communicate current political opinions.”
-Budget reserve account-repeal SF168 / [EA 21]
Despite the governor’s support of what he called “budget simplification,” Gordon allowed this bill, which would redirect funds away from the Budget Reserve Account (BRA) to the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account, to become law without his signature. He wrote he believed that bill, in relation to “more than a dozen other legislative measures,” were part of a growing “artificially creat[ed] fiscal crisis.”
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
