AN ACT relating to the Wyoming Preference Act of 1971; amending requirements for Wyoming laborers on public works; revising certification requirements for use of nonresident laborers; making conforming amendments; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.
Labor
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Sponsor
Representative Barlow
Last action
2021-04-05
Official status
enrolled
Effective date
7/1/2021
Plain English Breakdown
Checked against official source text during the last sync.
Wyoming Preference Act Amendments
This law changes requirements for hiring Wyoming residents on public works projects and sets rules for when nonresident workers can be hired.
What This Bill Does
Changes the residency requirement for Wyoming laborers from one year to ninety days.
Allows certification of a specific number of nonresident laborers for multiple public works over nine months.
Permits emergency certification if Wyoming laborers are not available and endanger public health, welfare, or safety.
Requires reporting on the use of nonresident laborers by those responsible for public works projects.
Who It Names or Affects
People who work on public construction projects in Wyoming
Companies that hire workers for public works projects
Terms To Know
Resident
A person who has lived in Wyoming for at least ninety days or as allowed by state rules.
Public entity
An organization responsible for public works projects, such as the government.
Limits and Unknowns
The law does not specify how many nonresident workers can be certified.
It is unclear what happens if a company fails to report on the use of nonresident laborers.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment adds the phrase 'any of' after 'established through' in a specific section of the Wyoming Preference Act of 1971.
Adds the words 'any of' to clarify how laborers can be established.
The exact impact and context of this change are not fully explained by the amendment text alone, making it hard to understand its full implications without additional information.
Plain English: The amendment adds the word 'wages' after 'residency status' in a specific section of the Wyoming Preference Act of 1971.
Adds the term 'wages' to be considered along with residency status when determining labor requirements for public works projects.
The exact impact and context of adding 'wages' are not fully explained in the amendment text, making it unclear how this change will affect current regulations or practices.
Plain English: The amendment removes specific references to certain sections of the Wyoming Preference Act of 1971 and deletes some lines from the act.
Removes a comma after '16-6-203' on page 1, line 10.
Deletes the reference to '16-6-205(b)' on page 1, line 11.
Eliminates lines 13 through 22 from page 6 entirely.
Removes lines 1 and 2 from page 7 entirely.
The exact impact of these deletions is not fully explained in the provided amendment text, so it's unclear what specific requirements or provisions are being removed.
Standing Committee • Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment changes how long Wyoming laborers must be given notice before nonresident workers can be hired on public works projects and removes certain residency proof requirements.
Adds a new clause after 'days' to allow the Department of Workforce Services rules to determine additional timeframes for giving notice to Wyoming laborers.
Removes the requirement to prove residency in Wyoming for certification purposes.
The amendment deletes several lines without providing details on what those deletions entail, which limits a full understanding of all changes made.
Bill History
2021-04-05LSO
Assigned Chapter Number 90
2021-04-05Governor
Governor Signed HEA No. 0059
2021-04-01Senate
S President Signed HEA No. 0059
2021-04-01House
H Speaker Signed HEA No. 0059
2021-04-01LSO
Assigned Number HEA No. 0059
2021-03-31House
H Concur:Passed 51-9-0-0-0
2021-03-30House
H Received for Concurrence
2021-03-30Senate
S 3rd Reading:Passed 30-0-0-0-0
2021-03-29Senate
S 2nd Reading:Passed
2021-03-26Senate
S COW:Passed
2021-03-25Senate
S Placed on General File
2021-03-25Senate
S09 - Minerals:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 4-0-1-0-0
2021-03-12Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S09 - Minerals
2021-03-09Senate
S Received for Introduction
2021-03-09House
H 3rd Reading:Passed 58-2-0-0-0
2021-03-08House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
2021-03-05House
H COW:Passed
2021-03-03House
H Placed on General File
2021-03-03House
H09 - Minerals:Recommend Do Pass 6-2-1-0-0
2021-03-02House
H Introduced and Referred to H09 - Minerals
2021-02-04House
H Received for Introduction
2021-02-03LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Official Summary Text
Bill Summary - 21LSO-0030
Bill No.:
HB0102
Effective:
7/1/2021 12:00:00 AM
LSO No.:
21LSO-0030
Enrolled Act No.:
HEA No. 0059
Chapter No.:
90
Prime Sponsor:
Barlow
Catch Title:
Wyoming Preference Act of 1971-amendments.
Subject:
Resident and nonresident laborers employed on public works.
Summary/Major Elements:
Under current law, all laborers employed on public works projects must be Wyoming residents.
If Wyoming resident laborers are not available, a state workforce center may certify nonresident laborers for employment on a specific project.
This act:
Amends the residency requirement for Wyoming laborers from one year to ninety (90) days;
Revises the process for certifying nonresident laborers as eligible for employment on public works.
The act allows for certification of a specified number of nonresident laborers on multiple public works for a nine (9) month period;
Allows for emergency certification of nonresident laborers if Wyoming laborers are not readily available to respond to a situation that endangers the health, welfare, or safety of the public;
Requires reporting by persons responsible for public works on the number of nonresident laborers employed.
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.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
21LSO-0030
ORIGINAL House
ENGROSSED
Bill No
.
HB0102
ENROLLED ACT NO. 59,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SIXTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2021 General Session
AN ACT relating to the Wyoming Preference Act of 1971; amending requirements for Wyoming laborers on public works; revising certification requirements for use of nonresident laborers; making conforming amendments; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 16
‑
6
‑
202(a)(ii), by creating a new paragraph (v) and by renumbering (v) as (vi), 16
‑
6
‑
203 and 16
‑
6
‑
206(a) and (b) are amended to read:
16
‑
6
‑
202.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this act:
(ii)
"Resident"
or "Wyoming laborer"
includes any person who is a citizen of the United States, or a person who is authorized to work in the United States by an agency of the federal government, and has resided in the state of Wyoming
for at least one (1) year immediately preceding his
for at least ninety (90) days, or as otherwise authorized by department of workforce services rules, preceding the
application for employment;
(v)
"Public entity" means as defined in W.S. 16
‑
6
‑
101(a)(viii);
(v)
(vi)
"This act" means W.S. 16
‑
6
‑
201 through 16
‑
6
‑
206.
16
‑
6
‑
203.
Required resident labor on public works; exception.
(a)
Except as otherwise provided in this act, e
very person who is responsible for a public work shall employ only Wyoming laborers on the public work. Every contract for a public work let by any person shall contain a provision requiring that Wyoming
labor
laborers
be used except
other
nonresident
laborers may be used when Wyoming laborers are not available for the employment from within the state or are not qualified to perform the work involved. The contract shall contain a provision requiring specific acknowledgement of the requirements of this section. A person required to employ Wyoming laborers may employ
other than Wyoming
nonresident
laborers if:
(i)
That person
informs
submits written notice to
the nearest state workforce center of his
employment needs at least eleven (11) days before work is commenced; and
need for laborers.
The
notice may include the person's need for laborers on multiple public works that the person is responsible for during a nine (9) month period.
The notice shall specify if the need for laborers constitutes an emergency that endangers the health, welfare or safety of the public as determined by the public entity associated with the public work.
If the person's need for laborers substantially changes during the period, the person may amend the written notice submitted under this paragraph;
(ii)
The state workforce center certifies that the person's need for laborers cannot be filled from those Wyoming laborers listed with the Wyoming department of workforce services
or that an
emergency exists that endangers the health, welfare or safety of the public as determined by the public entity associated with the public work for which Wyoming laborers are not readily available
.
The certification shall specify the number of nonresident laborers the person may employ on the public works the
person is responsible for during the nine (9) month period following certification.
Except as provided in this paragraph, t
he
department
state workforce center
shall respond to a person's request for certification
or certification amendment
within ten (10) days of the date the
information is filed
written notice is received
.
The state workforce center shall respond to a person's emergency request for certification as soon as practicable but not to exceed three (3) days after the date the emergency request is received; and
(iii)
Upon hiring, the person shall submit to the state workforce center the number of nonresident laborers employed by the person pursuant to the certification issued under paragraph (ii) of this subsection and the public work or works for which each nonresident laborer is employed during the period of certification.
The number of nonresident laborers employed during the period of certification shall not exceed the number specified by the certification or certification amendment.
(b)
Upon request by
the
a state
workforce center, the general contractor shall provide the most recent construction schedule for
the project
a public work
.
16
‑
6
‑
206.
Failure to employ state laborers; penalty.
(a)
A person who willfully or intentionally fails to use Wyoming laborers as required in this act shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per nonresident laborer employed per day, not to exceed a total penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount of the person's contract. Each separate case of
failure to employ Wyoming laborers on
public works projects
a public work
constitutes a separate offense.
(b)
In the event a second offense occurs within a twelve (12) month period from the date of the first offense, the person shall be barred from bidding on any contract subject to the provisions of this act or submitting any request for proposal on any
project
public work
subject to the provisions of this act for one (1) year from the date the second violation is corrected.
Section 2
.
This act shall apply to the hiring of laborers on public works on and after the effective date of this act.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to impair existing agreements entered into by a public entity and a laborer prior to the effective date of this act.
Section 3
.
This act is effective July 1, 2021
.
(END)
Speaker of the House
President of the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.
Chief Clerk
1