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HB0063 • 2022

County and district attorneys-salary amendments.

AN ACT relating to the administration of government; amending the salary for county attorneys and county and prosecuting attorneys; amending the salary for district attorneys; amending the state contribution to counties for the salaries of county and prosecuting attorneys; and providing for an effective date.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Representative Greear
Last action
2022-03-25
Official status
enrolled
Effective date
7/1/2022

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text did not provide specific details about assistant district attorneys' salaries or assistant county/prosecuting attorneys' salaries beyond what was already mentioned.

Changes to County and District Attorney Salaries

This law changes the salary range for county attorneys, district attorneys, and prosecuting attorneys, as well as state contributions towards their salaries.

What This Bill Does

  • Raises the minimum salary for county attorneys and prosecuting attorneys from $35,000 to at least $35,000 but not more than what a circuit court judge makes ($145,000).
  • Sets the maximum salary for district attorneys as not more than what a circuit court judge makes ($145,000).
  • Changes how much state money goes to help pay county and prosecuting attorney salaries. The state will now pay up to $50,000 or 50% of their salary, whichever is less.

Who It Names or Affects

  • County attorneys
  • District attorneys
  • Prosecuting attorneys

Terms To Know

Circuit court judge
A type of judge who works in a circuit court, which is one of the main types of courts in Wyoming.
County attorney
An official who represents the county government and provides legal advice to it.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law only changes how much money these attorneys can make, not what they do or their responsibilities.
  • It does not say anything about assistant district attorneys' salaries.

Amendments

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

HB0063H3001

3rd reading • Representative Western

Withdrawn

Plain English: The amendment changes the title of the bill to focus on prosecuting and defense attorneys, adds provisions for amending salaries for public defenders, and sets specific salary ranges for state and assistant public defenders.

  • Changes the catch title from 'County and district attorneys-salary amendments' to 'Prosecuting and defense attorneys-salary amendments'.
  • Adds a new section that specifies the compensation of the state public defender starting January 1, 2023, based on the salary authorized for a district court judge.
  • Specifies that assistant public defenders will be compensated between $35,000 and the salary of a district court judge, effective from January 1, 2023.
  • The amendment text does not provide details on how the changes to salaries for county attorneys and district attorneys mentioned in the bill title will be implemented.
  • It is unclear if there are any specific conditions or limitations on the salary adjustments for public defenders beyond what is stated.
HB0063H3002

3rd reading • Representative Laursen

Failed

Plain English: The amendment changes the salary structure for county and district attorneys by reducing it to 90% of a specified amount.

  • Reduces the salary for county attorneys and prosecuting attorneys to 90% of a certain amount.
  • Modifies the state's contribution to counties for the salaries of county and prosecuting attorneys, setting it at 90% of a specific figure.
  • The amendment text does not specify what the 'specified amount' is, making it unclear exactly how much the salary will be reduced.
  • It's uncertain which page or line numbers in the original bill are being referenced for these changes.
HB0063HS001

Standing Committee • House Appropriations Committee

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes salary provisions for county and district attorneys, setting minimum and maximum limits on their salaries.

  • Removes the specific dollar amount of $94,500.00 for county attorney salaries.
  • Adds a provision that county attorney salaries cannot be less than a certain amount (to be determined).
  • Changes 'equal to' to 'not greater than' for district attorney salary provisions.
  • Replaces 'district' with 'circuit' in several places.
  • The exact minimum and maximum salary amounts are not specified, leaving room for legislative determination.
HB0063SW001

Committee of the Whole • Senator Perkins

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes specific dates in the bill related to salary adjustments for attorneys.

  • Changes 'December 31, 2022' to 'January 1, 2023'.
  • Changes 'January 1, 2023' to 'January 2, 2023'.
  • The amendment does not provide details about why these specific dates are being changed or what the implications of changing them might be.

Bill History

  1. 2022-03-25 LSO

    Assigned Chapter Number 109

  2. 2022-03-25 Governor

    Governor Signed HEA No. 0047

  3. 2022-03-10 Senate

    S President Signed HEA No. 0047

  4. 2022-03-10 House

    H Speaker Signed HEA No. 0047

  5. 2022-03-10 LSO

    Assigned Number HEA No. 0047

  6. 2022-03-10 House

    H Concur:Passed 48-9-1-0-2

  7. 2022-03-10 House

    H Received for Concurrence

  8. 2022-03-09 Senate

    S 3rd Reading:Passed 30-0-0-0-0

  9. 2022-03-08 Senate

    S 2nd Reading:Passed

  10. 2022-03-07 Senate

    S COW:Passed

  11. 2022-03-02 Senate

    S Placed on General File

  12. 2022-03-02 Senate

    S02 - Appropriations:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 5-0-0-0-0

  13. 2022-03-01 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S02 - Appropriations

  14. 2022-03-01 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  15. 2022-02-28 House

    H 3rd Reading:Passed 38-19-1-0-2

  16. 2022-02-25 House

    H 2nd Reading:Passed

  17. 2022-02-24 House

    H COW:Passed

  18. 2022-02-18 House

    H Placed on General File

  19. 2022-02-18 House

    H02 - Appropriations:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 7-0-0-0-0

  20. 2022-02-16 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H02 - Appropriations 41-16-1-0-2

  21. 2022-02-11 House

    H Received for Introduction

  22. 2022-02-04 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Official Summary Text

Bill Summary - 22LSO-0247
Bill No.:

HB0063

Effective:

7/1/2022 12:00:00 AM

LSO No.:

22LSO-0247

Enrolled Act No.:

HEA No. 0047

Chapter No.:

109

Prime Sponsor:

Greear

Catch Title:

County and district attorneys-salary amendments.

Subject:

Amending the salaries of district attorneys and county attorneys.

Summary/Major Elements:

This act provides that, beginning on January 2, 2023, the salary for each district attorney shall be not more than the salary authorized for a circuit court judge (currently $145,000), as determined by the Legislature.

This act also provides that, beginning on January 2, 2023, the salary for each county attorney and county-and-prosecuting attorney shall be at least thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) but not greater than the salary authorized for a circuit court judge (currently $145,000).

Under current law, the state must pay fifty percent (50%) of the salary for each county-and-prosecuting attorney. This act provides that the state will pay fifty percent (50%) or fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) of each county-and-prosecuting attorney's salary, whichever is less.
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
22LSO-0247

ORIGINAL House

ENGROSSED
Bill No
.
HB0063

ENROLLED ACT NO. 47,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2022 Budget Session

AN ACT relating to the administration of government; amending the salary for county attorneys and county and prosecuting attorneys; amending the salary for district attorneys; amending the state contribution to counties for the salaries of county and prosecuting attorneys; and providing for an effective date.

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

Section 1
.

W.S. 9
‑
1
‑
802(d) and 18
‑
3
‑
107(a)(ii)(C), by creating a new subparagraph (D) and (f) are amended to read:

9
‑
1
‑
802.

Election; term; qualifications; full
‑
time; private practice prohibited; exception; salary; vacancies.

(d)

Until January 3, 2011, each district attorney shall receive an annual salary of ninety
‑
four thousand five hundred dollars ($94,500.00).

From and after January 3, 2011
until January 2, 2023
, each district attorney shall receive an annual salary of
not less than
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00).
From and after January 2, 2023, each district attorney shall receive an annual salary not greater than the salary authorized for a circuit court judge in W.S. 5
‑
1
‑
110 as determined by the legislature.

18
‑
3
‑
107.

Annual salaries of certain officers; additional compensation prohibited; exception as to traveling and other expenses; compensation of county commissioner; appointment and salaries of deputies, clerks, stenographers and other assistants.

(a)

County officers shall be paid as follows:

(ii)

Full
‑
time county attorneys and full
‑
time county and prosecuting attorneys shall receive as annual salaries:

(C)

From and after January 1, 2009
through January 1, 2023,
and to the extent permitted under the constitution and statutory law, not less than thirty
‑
five thousand dollars ($35,000.00) nor more than the salary authorized for a district attorney under W.S. 9
‑
1
‑
802(d)
;
.

(D)

From and after January 2, 2023 and to the extent permitted under the constitution and statutory law, not less than thirty
‑
five thousand dollars ($35,000.00) nor more than the salary authorized for a circuit court judge under W.S. 5
‑
1
‑
110.

(f)

Subject to legislative appropriation, the state will pay a portion of each county and prosecuting attorney and assistant county and prosecuting attorney's salary as provided in this subsection.

The state will pay
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) or
fifty percent (50%) of the salary of the county and prosecuting attorney
, whichever is less,
per year to each qualifying county. The state will pay thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) or fifty percent (50%) of the salary of each assistant to the county and prosecuting attorney, whichever is less, per year. Payments under this section shall be made annually on or before June 30. In any fiscal year in which the legislative appropriation is insufficient to make all payments authorized by this subsection, the state treasurer shall provide a reduced payment by multiplying the payment authorized under this subsection by a fraction, the numerator of which is equal to the remaining legislative appropriation for the program for the biennial budget period and the denominator of which is equal to the total
payments to be made under this subsection for the current fiscal year.

Section 2.

W.S. 18
‑
3
‑
107(a)(ii)(B) is repealed.

Section 3
.

This act is effective July 1, 2022
.

(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