Elected officials-removal.

21LSO-0410
2021
STATE OF WYOMING
21LSO-0410
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0074

Elected officials-removal.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Bear, Fortner, Gray, Jennings, Laursen and Neiman and Senator(s) McKeown and Steinmetz

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to cities and towns; establishing a removal mechanism for any elected official in any form of municipal government; providing for a replacement procedure; repealing an existing recall mechanism; and providing for an effective date.

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

Section 1.

W.S. 15
‑
11
‑
401 is created to read:

ARTICLE 4
REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF ELECTED OFFICIALS

15
‑
11
‑
401.

Removal from office; special removal election.

(a)

Any officer
elected under this title
may be removed at any time by the qualified electors in the following manner:

(i)

A
petition is filed with the city or town clerk that identifies the elected official to be removed from office and seeks an election of a successor. The petition shall contain a general statement of the grounds for removal. Of all the qualified electors in the municipality entitled to vote for the office, the petition shall be signed by not less than
twenty-five percent (25%)
in a municipality with a population of four thousand (4,000) or more, by not less than thirty percent (30%) in a municipality with a population of five hundred (500) to three thousand nine hundred ninety-nine (3,999) or thirty-five percent (35%) in a municipality with a population less than four hundred ninety-nine (499). The signatures to the petition need not all be appended to one (1) paper, but each signer shall
include the signer's
place of residence,
giving the street and number. One (1) of the circulators of the petition shall make oath before a competent officer that the statements made on each paper are true as
the circulator
believes, and that each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. An individual shall not be qualified to act as a circulator unless he is a citizen of the United States and is at least eighteen (18) years of age
;

(ii)

Within ten (10) days from the date of filing the petition required by paragraph (i) of this subsection, the city or town clerk shall determine whether the requisite number of qualified electors signed the petition. If necessary, the
governing body
shall provide
the clerk
extra help for that purpose. The clerk shall attach to the petition
a
certificate, showing the result of
the clerk's
determination. If the petition is insufficient, it shall be returned to the person who filed it, without prejudice to the filing of a new petition. If the petition is sufficient, the clerk shall submit the petition and signed certificate of sufficiency to the governing body without delay
;

(iii)

Upon receiving a petition and signed certificate of sufficiency, the governing body shall fix a date for holding
a special removal
election, not less than thirty (30) days nor more than forty (40) days from the date the city or town clerk signed the clerk's certificate of sufficiency. The
governing body
shall publish notice and arrange for holding the special removal election, which shall be conducted in the same manner as other municipal elections;

(iv)

Any person sought to be removed from office
according to this section
may be a candidate to succeed himself, and unless
that person
requests otherwise in writing at least ten (10) days
before
the date for a special primary election held in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, the city or town clerk shall place
that person's
name on the special removal election ballot without nomination. If no candidates are nominated pursuant to subsection (b) of this section to run against the person sought to be removed, no special primary or special removal
election
shall
be held, and the person sought to be removed shall continue in office.

(b)

Candidates other than the person sought to be removed from office shall be nominated by application and a special primary election if necessary. A special primary election shall be held on the second Tuesday before the date fixed for the special
removal
election if there are two (2) or more persons nominated by application. The special primary election
shall be conducted in the same manner as other municipal elections, except the candidate filing fee and application shall be filed with the city or town clerk at least ten (10) days before the date for the special primary election, and the certification of candidates shall be at least five (5) days before the date for the special primary election
. If the person sought to be removed from office is a candidate in the special removal election, one (1) opposing candidate shall be
selected
at the special primary election. If the person sought to be removed from office is not a candidate in the special removal election, the two (2) candidates receiving
the highest number of votes shall proceed to the special removal election.

(c)

In any
special
removal election the candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected. The person sought to be removed from office shall be removed from office upon the qualification of
his
successor. The successor shall hold office during the unexpired portion of the term for which
the
person removed was elected. If the candidate who receives the highest number of votes fails to qualify within ten (10) days after receiving notification of election
,
the office is vacant and shall be filled as provided by law.

(d)

This method of removal is in addition to any other methods provided by law.

(e)

To the extent that this section conflicts with laws governing municipal elections, the provisions of this section shall control.

Section 2.

W.S. 15
‑
4
‑
110 is repealed.

Section 3
.

This act is effective July 1, 2021
.

(END)

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HB0074