Wyoming reclamation and restoration center.

WORKING DRAFT

ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE

NO.
0117

ENROLLED ACT NO. 31, SENATE

SIXTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WYOMING
2011 GENERAL SESSION

AN ACT relating to
the University of Wyoming;
establishing a
reclamation and restoration
challenge account to be used for funding the Wyoming reclamation and restoration center; specifying program conditions;
depositing substituted
abandoned mine land funds
to the account as specified;
providing for use of such funds;

repealing previous authority related to the use of the funds;
providing for
expenditures from the account
; and providing for effective date
s
.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1601 through 21
‑
16
‑
1603 are created to read:

21
‑
16
‑
1601.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this article:

(i)

"Challenge account" means the
reclamation and restoration
challenge account established under W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1602;

(ii)

"Qualifying contribution" means a transfer of money or other property of a value of not less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) to the
University
of
Wyoming
foundation to be expended by the university exclusively for the
Wyoming
reclamation and restoration center. The commitment for a qualifying contribution or the contribution itself shall be made in the period beginning July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2016. The contribution shall be actually received by the
University
of
Wyoming
foundation on or before June 30, 2018.

21
‑
16
‑
1
6
02.

University
reclamation and restoration

chall
enge account.

(a)

The university
reclamation and restoration

challenge account is created.

(b)

All investment earnings
from funds in the account
shall be credited to the
account
. Notwithstanding W.S. 9
‑
2
‑
1008, 9
‑
2
‑
1012(e) or 9
‑
4
‑
207, funds within the account shall not lapse or revert until
June 30, 2020. Unti
l
rever
ted,
funds within the account are continuously appropriated and shall
remain available for distribution as provided in this article.

21
‑
16
‑
1
6
03.

University
reclamation and restoration

challenge account matching program; matching payments; conditions; annual reports; reversion of appropriations.

(a)

The university
shall administer the
university
reclamation and restoration

challenge account
established under this article. The following shall apply
to the administration of the
challenge account:

(i)

To the extent that funds are available in the challenge account, the university shall match each qualifying contribution actually received by the
University
of
Wyoming
foundation by authorizing expenditures from the challenge account
in
an amount equal to the amount of the qualifying contribution. Qualifying contributions made directly to the university shall be considered qualifying contributions to the foundation for purposes of this article. The university shall expend both the qualifying contributions and the matching funds solely for the
Wyoming
reclamation and restoration center.

Any
investment
earnings credited to the account
shall be separately accounted for and
may be expended by the university to support the center without a qualifying contribution. To the greatest extent practicable, expenditures for the center shall be made
for energy related reclamation projects
so that qualifying contributions and matching funds support the work of the center through June 30, 2019
. All grants shall be subject to the approval and oversight of an ad hoc committee of industry company representatives appointed by the dean of agriculture
;

(ii)

If a qualifying contribution is made through a series of payments or transfers, no matching funds shall be authorized for expenditure from the challenge account until the total value of all payments or transfers actually received toward the contribution totals at least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00). Thereafter, matching funds shall be authorized for expenditure as payments or transfers toward that qualifying contribution are received by the foundation;

(iii)

The university shall authorize matching funds for expenditure, or encumber funds for future authorization in the case of a written commitment, to match a qualifying contribution based on the order in which each qualifying contribution is actually received or in which a written commitment to make a qualifying contribution is received by the foundation. Matching funds shall not be authorized for expenditure or encumbered in excess of the amount within the challenge account. The university shall rescind an encumbrance if a donor who made a commitment will not make a qualifying contribution that is eligible for matching funds under this section;

(iv)

For the purpose of calculating the matching amount only, the university shall use the value of a qualifying contribution based on its fair market value at the time the contribution is received by the university foundation;

(v)

The
u
niversity shall on or before October 1 of each calendar year submit a report to the
governor, joint appropriations
interim
committee and the joint education interim committee
from the university foundation regarding the matching progra
m established under this section
for the preceding fiscal year. The report shall include a financial summary and a review of the accomplishments resulting from expenditures.

Section 2
.

2008 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 48, as amended by 2009 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 159, creating section 339(c)(vi), as amended by 2010 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 39, section 321, authorized one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000.00) in abandoned mine land funds to the college of agriculture at the
U
niversity of Wyoming to fund an endowment for the reclamation ecology project.
2009 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 159 also created section 339(d) which authorized the
department of environmental quality to substitute other university purposes in its grant applications for abandoned mine land funds and authorized
the university to substitute its block grant funds where use of abandoned mine land funds was prohibited.
The department has submitted applications substituting for the purposes specified in section 339(c)(vi) other university purposes which have been approved for abandoned mine land funds. Pursuant to this approval and process t
he university has begun substituting block grant funds as authorized and is expected to complete that substitution by June 30, 201
3
.
The legislature ratifies the actions of the department of environmental quality and the university as set forth in this section.
The one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000.00) in substituted block grant funds described in this section shall be deposited to the
reclamation and restoration
challenge account created by W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1402(a).

Section
3
.

20
09
Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter
159
,
section 339(c)(vi) as amended by 2010 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 39, s
ection 321 is repealed.

Section
4
.

(a)

Section 3 of this act is effective July 1, 2011.

(b)

Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, t
his act is effective immediately upon co
m
pletion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constit
u
tion.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the Senate.

Chief Clerk

1