SF0022 • 2021

Electronic court filings.

AN ACT relating to courts; requiring acceptance of electronic filings in courts without an electronic filing system; specifying applicability; specifying procedures; and providing for an effective date.

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor: Judiciary
Last action: 2021-03-22
Official status: inactive
Effective date: 3/1/2021

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass and was not enacted into law, so it does not have an effective date or current applicability.

Electronic Court Filings

This act requires court clerks in Wyoming without an electronic filing system to accept documents submitted electronically.

What This Bill Does

Requires court clerks to accept papers filed, signed or verified by email and other electronic means.
Specifies that the electronically filed document is considered the original document.
Allows for fees related to filings to be paid within twenty-four hours of sending an electronic transmission.
Gives courts the authority to reject documents not in compliance with these rules.

Who It Names or Affects

Courts and court clerks in Wyoming that do not have an electronic filing system.
People who file papers in those courts, including attorneys and other legal professionals.

Terms To Know

Electronic filings: Submitting documents to a court through email or another digital method instead of on paper.
Clerk: The person in charge of managing the paperwork and records for a court.

Limits and Unknowns

This act does not apply to courts that already have an electronic filing system.
It is unclear how many Wyoming courts will be affected by this requirement.
The specific rules for electronic filings are to be determined by the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SF0022SS001

Standing Committee • Senate Judiciary Committee

Filed

Plain English: The amendment modifies the bill to remove certain provisions about statutes or rules and adds a charge for electronic filing pages while specifying that documents must be in standard PDF format.

Removes references to 'statute or rule' when discussing fees for electronic filings.
Inserts a new fee of fifteen cents per page for electronic filings.
Deletes specific lines about subsections and rules, replacing them with a requirement that documents must be in standard PDF format.

The amendment text does not provide full context or details on how the changes will affect existing court procedures beyond what is explicitly stated.

Bill History

2021-03-22 Senate
S COW:S Did not consider for COW
2021-01-27 Senate
S Placed on General File
2021-01-27 Senate
S01 - Judiciary:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 4-1-0-0-0
2021-01-12 Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S01 - Judiciary
2021-01-12 Senate
S Received for Introduction
2020-12-29 LSO
Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

21LSO-0082
2021
STATE OF WYOMING
21LSO-0082
Numbered
2.0

SENATE FILE NO. SF0022

Electronic court filings.

Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

A BILL

for

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

Section 1
.

W.S. 5
‑
7
‑
103 is amended to read:

5
‑
7
‑
103.

Filing, preserving and use of papers; microfilming permitted; electronic filing.

(a)

The clerk shall file together and carefully preserve in his office, all papers delivered
or submitted
to him for that purpose in every action or proceeding. He shall not permit the papers to be taken from his office except to be used at a session of the court or upon legal process, and he shall be liable upon his official bond to the party suffering injury on account of any violation of this
section
subsection
. This
section
subsection
shall not apply to matters in probate. Upon the order of the judge of the district, the clerk may transmit by express or registered mail to an attorney of the state appearing in the action or proceeding, who resides in a different county or away from the county seat, such original files as are not represented by copies in the clerk's office, and the clerk shall take the attorney's receipt for each paper in each case. Nothing in this section shall limit or prohibit the clerk from microfilming papers in his office, disposing of the originals in accordance with W.S. 9
‑
2
‑
411 and retaining the official microfilm in lieu of the original papers pursuant to W.S. 9
‑
2
‑
413.

(b)

The clerk shall accept all papers filed, signed or verified by electronic means including email in accordance with rules to be adopted by the Wyoming supreme court no later than April 30, 2021. The electronically filed document shall be deemed an original and no physical original needs to be filed. Any applicable fee set by statute or rule, shall be mailed or submitted within twenty
‑
four (24) hours of the electronic transmission. A paper filed by electronic means in compliance with this subsection constitutes a written paper for the purpose of any applicable rules. All format requirements contained in any applicable rules shall be followed. The court may reject any paper filed that is not in compliance with this subsection. This subsection shall not apply to any court that has implemented, and has available for use, an electronic filing system.

Section 2.

This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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SF0022