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SF0002

Rules for Asking the Attorney General for Legal Opinions

Last scannedOct 19, 2026, 2:19 AM

In one sentence

This bill proposed changing the rules for how members of the Wyoming legislature can ask the state attorney general for written legal opinions.

What it does

  • Allows any legislator, legislative committee, or legislative body to request a written opinion while the legislature is in session.
  • Requires the management council or a joint interim committee to request opinions when the legislature is not in session.
  • Allows individual legislators to request opinions on personal ethical issues or conflicts of interest.
  • Sets a requirement for the management council or a joint interim committee to have a majority vote of members from each house present to make a request when the legislature is out of session.

Who it affects

  • The Wyoming State Attorney General.
  • Members of the Wyoming State Legislature.
  • The Management Council of the Wyoming Legislature.
  • Joint interim committees of the Wyoming Legislature.

Limits and unknowns

  • The bill did not pass in the 2016 session, so these rules were not adopted.
  • The source text does not specify how long the attorney general has to respond to these requests.
  • The source text does not define what counts as a 'specific factual personal ethical issue' for individual legislators.

Plain language

Terms to know

Management Council
A group that can request legal opinions from the attorney general when the legislature is not in session.
Joint interim committee
A committee that can request legal opinions from the attorney general when the legislature is not in session.
Written opinion
A formal legal answer provided by the attorney general in writing.

Official record

Sources

Source checked
Official bill pageIntroduced textOfficial digestCurrent bill text
Read the official summary

Summary for LSO115 Bill No.: SF0002 Effective : 7/1/2016 LSO No.: 16LSO-0187 Enrolled Act No.: HEA No. 0001 Chapter No.: [Chapter Number_RO] Prime Sponsor: Management Council Catch Title: Attorney general opinions-legislative request. Subject: Summary/Major Elements: Comm ents: The above summary is not an official publication of the Wyoming Legislature and is not an official statement of legislative intent. While the Legislative Service Office endeavored to provide accurate information in this summary, it should not be relied upon as a comprehensive abstract of the bill .

Public statements

Why lawmakers voted

Last checked Aug 7, 1:00 AM

Voted Yes

Why they voted this way

The lawmaker supports the bill because it addresses a significant need on their side of the continental divide and aims to avoid duplicating efforts.

Public statementFloor statement at 44:00 Watch the statement
Voted Yes

Why they voted this way

The speaker supports an amendment despite concerns that requiring majority agreement prevents minority parties from accessing Attorney General opinions when they might most need them to challenge popular views.

Public statementFloor statement at 36:53 Watch the statement

Cale Case

R · S25

Voted No

Why they voted this way

The speaker urges voting against the bill because it limits individual legislators' ability to request Attorney General opinions, which is necessary when a single member questions the constitutionality of majority actions.

Public statementFloor statement at 38:00 Watch the statement
Voted Yes

Why they voted this way

The speaker supports the final version of the bill because it provides a mechanism for requesting Attorney General opinions when not in session, which is currently unavailable under existing law.

Public statementFloor statement at 43:16 Watch the statement
Voted Yes

Why they voted this way

The lawmaker supports the bill as a reasonable compromise that provides access to legal opinions while preventing abuse by limiting unreasonable requests on the Attorney General.

Public statementFloor statement at 47:03 Watch the statement

Larry Hicks

R · S11

Voted No

Why they voted this way

The lawmaker opposes the bill because it removes the ability of legislators to seek necessary clarifications on ambiguous statutes for their constituents without going through a standing committee.

Public statementFloor statement at 49:33 Watch the statement
Voted Yes

Why they voted this way

The lawmaker supports the bill because it expands access for clarifying laws while regulating workload, noting that the Attorney General has a conflict of interest regarding constitutionality opinions.

Public statementFloor statement at 53:02 Watch the statement
Voted No

Why they voted this way

The lawmaker opposes the bill because they believe it is necessary to prevent being locked out of requesting opinions when the legislature is not in session, as suggested by a document from the Attorney General's office.

Public statementFloor statement at 55:57 Watch the statement

If a lawmaker is not listed, we couldn't find a published reason.

Wyoming roll calls

Recorded votes

4 roll calls

H01 - Judiciary:Recommend Do Pass 9-0-0-0-02016-02-22 · House9 yes 0 no
Yes
9
No
0
Absent
0
Excused
0
Conflict
0

Yes 9

Charles F PelkeyH45David R MillerH55Ken A EsquibelH41Kendell R KroekerH35Mark H BakerH48Martha D HalversonH22Nathan A WintersH28Samuel P KroneH24William H PownallH52
S 3rd Reading:Passed 17-13-0-0-02016-02-16 · Senate17 yes 13 no
Yes
17
No
13
Absent
0
Excused
0
Conflict
0

Yes 17

Bill LandenR · S27Brian BonerR · S02Charles ScottR · S30Curtis MeierS03Drew A PerkinsS29Eli D BeboutS26Fred M EmerichS05Gerald E GeisS20Henry R CoeS18Jeff WasserburgerS23Jim AndersonR · S28Leland G ChristensenS17Michael J Mr. Von FlaternS24NICHOLAS PRESStephan PappasR · S07Tony RossS04Wayne H JohnsonS06

No 13

Bernadine CraftS12Bruce Burns Jr.S21Cale CaseR · S25Chris RothfussD · S09Dan DockstaderR · S16David A KinskeyS22Floyd EsquibelS08John HastertS13Larry HicksR · S11Ogden DriskillR · S01Paul R BarnardS15Ray R PetersonS19Stan CooperS14
S12 - Rules:Recommend Do Pass 5-0-0-0-02016-02-12 · Senate5 yes 0 no
Yes
5
No
0
Absent
0
Excused
0
Conflict
0

Yes 5

Bernadine CraftS12Chris RothfussD · S09Drew A PerkinsS29Eli D BeboutS26Phil A NicholasS10
S Introduced and Referred to S12 - Rules 22-8-0-0-02016-02-08 · Senate22 yes 8 no
Yes
22
No
8
Absent
0
Excused
0
Conflict
0

Yes 22

Bernadine CraftS12Bill LandenR · S27Brian BonerR · S02Bruce Burns Jr.S21Chris RothfussD · S09Dan DockstaderR · S16David A KinskeyS22Drew A PerkinsS29Eli D BeboutS26Floyd EsquibelS08Fred M EmerichS05Gerald E GeisS20Henry R CoeS18Jeff WasserburgerS23John HastertS13Leland G ChristensenS17Michael J Mr. Von FlaternS24NICHOLAS PRESPaul R BarnardS15Stephan PappasR · S07Tony RossS04Wayne H JohnsonS06

No 8

Cale CaseR · S25Charles ScottR · S30Curtis MeierS03Jim AndersonR · S28Larry HicksR · S11Ogden DriskillR · S01Ray R PetersonS19Stan CooperS14

Official activity

Bill history

  1. H Did Not Consider in CoWHouse
  2. H COWHouse
  3. H Placed on General FileHouse
  4. H01 - Judiciary:Recommend Do Pass 9-0-0-0-0House
  5. H Introduced and Referred to H01 - JudiciaryHouse
  6. H Received for IntroductionHouse
  7. S 3rd Reading:Passed 17-13-0-0-0Senate
  8. Amendment AdoptedSenate
  9. Amendment failedSenate
  10. S 2nd Reading:PassedSenate
  11. S COW:PassedSenate
  12. S Placed on General FileSenate
  13. S12 - Rules:Recommend Do Pass 5-0-0-0-0Senate
  14. S Introduced and Referred to S12 - Rules 22-8-0-0-0Senate
  15. S Received for IntroductionSenate
  16. Bill Number AssignedLSO

Changes

Amendments

2 stored

SF0002S3001

Failed 3rd reading by Hicks

SF0002S3002

Adopted 3rd reading by Meier