Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources

HB 98 amends Wyoming law to add criminal penalties for violating the Prohibit Red Flag Gun Seizure Act. It makes knowingly violating this law a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, a $2,000 fine, or both. The bill directly affects individuals who improperly seize firearms under the red flag law, such as law enforcement or officials acting outside legal authority. The law takes effect on July 1, 2026, and does not change the underlying red flag seizure procedures.

HB 69 transfers two specific parcels of land from Wyoming's Department of Health to other entities. The first parcel (28.94 acres) in Fremont County is conveyed to the Wyoming Department of Transportation, and the second parcel (90.87 acres) is transferred to the City of Lander for residential housing use. The transfers involve only the surface estate, require no payment of consideration (though closing costs are paid by the recipient entities), and must comply with existing easements and restrictions. This bill is purely procedural, authorizing land conveyances without creating new policy or affecting broader state land management.

Wyoming's SF 16 modifies rules for leasing state grazing lands. It requires lessees who sublease land to pay half the "excess rental" (the extra money earned from subleasing over the base rent) to the state. The bill also creates a new rule allowing lessees to graze non-owned livestock without sublease approval, but they must document the livestock, report it within 30 days, and pay a monthly fee per animal (capped at 50% of the annual grazing fee). These changes directly affect ranchers and land lessees who sublease state lands or manage livestock not owned by them.

Wyoming's HJ 2 is a joint resolution requesting Congress to pass a law increasing the state's share of federal mineral royalties from 50% to 87.5%. This directly affects Wyoming's state budget, as current federal royalty payments fund critical services like roads, schools, and emergency responders. The resolution cites that recent federal rate cuts (e.g., reducing oil/gas royalties from 16.67% to 12.5%) will decrease Wyoming's annual share by up to $50 million for coal leasing by 2034. The bill seeks to offset these revenue losses by aligning Wyoming's share with Alaska's 90% rate. (Note: This is a procedural request to Congress, not a binding law.)

SF 68 allows Wyoming irrigation, watershed improvement, and water conservancy districts to allocate a portion of their annual funding specifically for major maintenance projects on aging irrigation infrastructure. The bill requires these funds to be held in a separate "major maintenance account," pooled until sufficient for a project, and optionally invested through the state treasurer's local government investment pools. This change directly affects water districts managing irrigation systems, providing a structured mechanism to address infrastructure upkeep without altering existing tax rates or assessment processes.