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22LSO-0376
2022
STATE OF WYOMING
22LSO-0376
Numbered
2.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0122
Proportional vacancy nominations.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Barlow, Brown, Eyre, Harshman, Larsen and MacGuire and Senator(s) Landen, Pappas and Wasserburger
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to vacancies in elected offices; providing for proportional voting by state central committee members when nominating persons to fill the remaining term in specified elected offices; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
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W.S. 22
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106 and 22
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111(a)(i) and (iii)(D) are amended to read:
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106.
Filling vacancy of congressman; nominations by state central committees; independent candidates.
An elector qualified to hold the office of representative in congress shall be nominated by
vote of
the state central committee of the respective parties to fill a vacancy for the unexpired term of that office. Nominations from such parties shall be filed with the secretary of state and fees paid within seven (7) days after the vacancy is officially declared.
The vote of a state central committee member to nominate an elector qualified to hold the office of representative of congress pursuant to this section shall be weighted so that the total vote of the state central committee members from each county shall be in proportion to the population of those members' county in relation to the population of the entire state as determined at the immediately preceding federal decennial census.
Independent candidates shall file an application and pay the filing fee with the secretary of state within seven (7) days after the vacancy is officially declared.
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111.
Vacancies in other offices; temporary appointments.
(a)
Any vacancy in any other elective office in the state except representative in congress or the board of trustees of a school or community college district, shall be filled by the governing body, or as otherwise provided in this section, by appointment of a temporary successor. The person appointed shall serve until a successor for the remainder of the unexpired term is elected at the next general election and takes office on the first Monday of the following January.
Provided, if a vacancy in a four (4) year term of office occurs in the term's second or subsequent years after the first day for filing an application for nomination pursuant to W.S. 22
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209, no election to fill the vacancy shall be held and the temporary successor appointed shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
The following apply:
(i)
If a vacancy occurs in the office of United States senator or in any state office other than the governor, member of the state legislature, the office of
justice of the supreme court and the office of district court judge, the governor shall immediately notify in writing the chairman of the state central committee of the political party which the last incumbent represented at the time of his election under W.S. 22
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120(a)(vii), or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office. The chairman shall call a meeting of the state central committee to be held not later than fifteen (15) days after he receives notice of the vacancy. At the meeting the state central committee shall
, by vote,
select and transmit to the governor the names of three (3) persons qualified to hold the office.
The vote of a state central committee member in attendance at a meeting called pursuant to this paragraph shall be weighted so that the total vote of the state central committee members from each county shall be in proportion to the population of those members'
county in relation to the population of the entire state as determined at the immediately preceding federal decennial census.
Within five (5) days after receiving these three (3) names, the governor shall fill the vacancy by temporary appointment of one (1) of the three (3) to hold the office.
If the incumbent who has vacated office did not represent a
political party at the time of his election, or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office, the governor shall notify in writing the chairman of all state central committees of parties registered with the secretary of state.
The state central committees shall
, by vote,
submit to the governor, within fifteen (15) days after notice of the vacancy, the name of one (1) person qualified to hold the office.
The vote of a state central committee shall be weighted so that the total vote of the state central committee members from each county shall be in proportion to the population of
those members'
county in relation to the population of the entire state as determined at the immediately preceding federal decennial census.
The governor shall also cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the state notice of the vacancy in office.
Persons qualified to hold the office who do not belong to a party may, within fifteen (15) days after publication of the vacancy in office, submit a petition signed by one hundred (100) registered voters, seeking consideration for appointment to the office.
Within five (5) days after receiving the names of persons qualified to hold the office, the governor shall fill the vacancy by
temporary appointment to the office, from the names submitted or from those petitioning for appointment;
(iii)
If a vacancy occurs in the office of a member of the state legislature:
(D)
If the legislative district is in more than one (1) county, the vacancy shall be filled by the combined vote of the boards of county commissioners for those counties.
The vote of each county commissioner in attendance shall be weighted so that the total vote of the commissioners from each county shall be in proportion to the population of the legislative district within that county
as determined at the immediately preceding federal decennial census
. For vacancies created other than by resignation, if the legislative district is in more than one (1) county, the determination of the vacancy shall be made in accordance with this subparagraph.
Section 2
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This act is effective July 1, 2022
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(END)
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HB0122