AN ACT relating to cities, towns and counties; prohibiting cities, towns and counties from prohibiting the connection or reconnection of utilities services; and providing for an effective date.
Energy
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Sponsor
Senator Dockstader
Last action
2021-04-14
Official status
enrolled
Effective date
7/1/2021
Plain English Breakdown
The official bill text does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties, leaving these aspects unclear.
Utility Service Connection Act
This law stops cities, towns, and counties from making rules that prevent people from getting or reconnecting electric, natural gas, propane, or other energy utility services.
What This Bill Does
It says cities, towns, and counties cannot make laws or policies that prevent the connection or reconnection of electric, natural gas, propane, or other energy utility services provided by public utilities, municipalities, or cooperative utilities.
Who It Names or Affects
Cities, towns, and counties are affected because they cannot make rules that stop people from getting or reconnecting utility services.
People who need to connect or reconnect their utility services will be impacted as the law ensures these connections can happen without local restrictions.
Terms To Know
public utilities
Companies that provide essential services like electricity, water, and gas to the public.
ordinance
A rule or law made by a city or town government.
Limits and Unknowns
The act does not specify what happens if cities, towns, or counties try to indirectly prevent utility connections through other means.
It is unclear how this law will be enforced and what penalties might apply for violations.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment adds renewable energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower to the list of utility services that cities, towns, and counties cannot prohibit from being connected or reconnected.
Adds wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower as types of utility services that local governments cannot ban from being installed or reinstated.
Standing Committee • Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment changes the bill to focus on cities, towns, and counties instead of public utilities, and adds new sections that prevent these local governments from stopping people from getting or reconnecting energy services like electricity or gas.
Replaces 'public utilities' with 'cities, towns and counties'.
Removes lines about prohibiting utility connections in the original bill text.
Adds two new sections: one for cities and towns (15-1-132) and another for counties (18-2-116), both preventing local governments from stopping energy service connections or reconnections.
The amendment text does not specify what happens if a city, town, or county already has such prohibitions in place before the bill is enacted.
Bill History
2021-04-14LSO
Assigned Chapter Number 153
2021-04-14Governor
Governor Signed SEA No. 0070
2021-04-06House
H Speaker Signed SEA No. 0070
2021-04-06Senate
S President Signed SEA No. 0070
2021-04-06LSO
Assigned Number SEA No. 0070
2021-04-06Senate
S Concur:Passed 28-2-0-0-0
2021-04-06Senate
S Received for Concurrence
2021-04-02House
H 3rd Reading:Passed 50-9-1-0-0
2021-04-02House
H 3rd Reading:Pursuant to HR 7-7 Accelerated to 3rd Reading 58-1-1-0-0
2021-04-02House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
2021-04-01House
H COW:Passed
2021-03-30House
H Placed on General File
2021-03-30House
H07 - Corporations:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 9-0-0-0-0
2021-03-22House
H Introduced and Referred to H07 - Corporations
2021-03-19House
H Received for Introduction
2021-03-19Senate
S 3rd Reading:Passed 27-2-1-0-0
2021-03-18Senate
S 2nd Reading:Passed
2021-03-17Senate
S COW:Passed
2021-03-12Senate
S Placed on General File
2021-03-12Senate
S09 - Minerals:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 4-1-0-0-0
2021-03-02Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S09 - Minerals
2021-03-01Senate
S Received for Introduction
2021-03-01LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Official Summary Text
Bill Summary - 21LSO-0660
Bill No.:
SF0152
Effective:
7/1/2021
LSO No.:
21LSO-0660
Enrolled Act No.:
SEA No. 0070
Chapter No.:
153
Prime Sponsor:
Dockstader
Catch Title:
Connection of utility services.
Subject:
Cities,
towns
and counties: utility service connections.
Summary/Major Elements:
This act prohibits cities, towns and counties from enacting or implementing any law or policy that prevents the connection or reconnection of an electric, natural gas, propane or other energy utility service provided by a public utility.
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-0660
ORIGINAL Senate
ENGROSSED
File No
.
SF0152
ENROLLED ACT NO. 70,
SENATE
SIXTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2021 General Session
AN ACT relating to cities, towns and counties; prohibiting cities, towns and counties from prohibiting the connection or reconnection of utilities services; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 15
‑
1
‑
132 and 18
‑
2
‑
116 are created to read:
15
‑
1
‑
132.
City and town prohibitions on utility connections.
No city or town shall enact or implement any ordinance or policy that prohibits, or has the effect of prohibiting, the connection or reconnection of an electric, natural gas, propane or other energy utility service provided by a public utility, municipality or cooperative utility.
18
‑
2
‑
116.
County prohibitions on utility connections.
No county shall enact or implement any resolution or policy that prohibits, or has the effect of prohibiting, the connection or reconnection of an electric, natural gas, propane or other energy utility service provided by a public utility, municipality or cooperative utility.
Section 2
.
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 Senate.
Chief Clerk
1