AN ACT relating to state lands; requiring notice and opportunity to comment before completing an exchange; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.
Agriculture
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Sponsor
Agriculture
Last action
2023-02-21
Official status
enrolled
Effective date
2/21/2023
Plain English Breakdown
The bill summary does not provide specific details on how comments are handled if they oppose a proposed exchange.
Land Exchanges Require Notice and Comment
This law requires the Director of the Office of State Lands to give notice and allow comments before exchanging state lands.
What This Bill Does
Requires the Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments to provide direct notice to leaseholders, owners of adjoining land, and county commissioners before completing a land exchange.
Allows interested persons to comment on proposed land exchanges.
Who It Names or Affects
The Office of State Lands and Investments
Leaseholders of state lands
Owners of adjoining lands
County commissioners
Terms To Know
Exchange of lands
Trading one piece of land for another, often to improve the management or use of public lands.
Limits and Unknowns
The law does not specify what happens if comments oppose a proposed exchange.
It is unclear how long the notice period must be before an exchange can occur.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment adds requirements for applications and public notice before state lands can be exchanged.
Adds a requirement that applications must be filed with the board of land commissioners for proposed land exchanges.
Specifies that notices about proposed land exchanges must be posted on the board's official website, allowing public access to information and comments.
The amendment text does not specify how long the notice period should last or what happens if no one comments during this time.
Standing Committee • House Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment to HB0020 changes specific references in the bill text related to land exchanges by adjusting numbering and deleting certain lines.
Adds 'direct' after 'including' on page 2, line 11.
Deletes '(iv)' and replaces it with '(iii)' at multiple locations throughout pages 3 and 4.
Removes lines 15 through 17 entirely from page 3.
Replaces the phrase 'exchanges' with 'initiated or considered' on page 4, line 10.
The amendment text does not provide clear context for all changes, making it difficult to explain their full implications in plain English.
Standing Committee • Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment changes the bill to allow for notice and opportunity to comment from one or multiple counties before completing a land exchange involving state lands.
Modifies the original text to include the possibility of notifying one county or multiple counties before finalizing a land exchange.
The amendment does not specify how many counties must be notified or what constitutes an adequate opportunity for comment.
Bill History
2023-02-21LSO
Assigned Chapter Number 61
2023-02-21Governor
Governor Signed HEA No. 0021
2023-02-16Senate
S President Signed HEA No. 0021
2023-02-15House
H Speaker Signed HEA No. 0021
2023-02-15LSO
Assigned Number HEA No. 0021
2023-02-14House
H Concur:Passed 52-9-1-0-0
2023-02-13House
H Received for Concurrence
2023-02-13Senate
S 3rd Reading:Passed 30-1-0-0-0
2023-02-09Senate
S 2nd Reading:Passed
2023-02-08Senate
S COW:Passed
2023-02-08Senate
S Placed on General File
2023-02-08Senate
S05 - Agriculture:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 5-0-0-0-0
2023-01-31Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S05 - Agriculture
2023-01-30Senate
S Received for Introduction
2023-01-27House
H 3rd Reading:Passed 52-9-1-0-0
2023-01-26House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
2023-01-25House
H COW:Passed
2023-01-24House
H Placed on General File
2023-01-24House
H05 - Agriculture:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 7-2-0-0-0
2023-01-11House
H Introduced and Referred to H05 - Agriculture
2023-01-06House
H Received for Introduction
2022-12-06LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Official Summary Text
Bill Summary - 23LSO-0200
Bill No.:
HB0020
Effective:
Immediately
LSO No.:
23LSO-0200
Enrolled Act No.:
HEA No. 0021
Chapter No.:
61
Prime Sponsor:
Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources Interim Committee
Catch Title:
Land exchanges-notice.
Subject:
State land exchanges.
Summary/Major Elements:
This act requires the Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments to provide notice and opportunity for comment to interested persons before completing an exchange of state lands. The act requires direct notice be provided to leaseholders of the state lands to be exchanged, owners of adjoining lands and county commissioners.
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
23LSO-0200
ORIGINAL House
ENGROSSED
Bill No
.
HB0020
ENROLLED ACT NO. 21,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SIXTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2023 General Session
AN ACT relating to state lands; requiring notice and opportunity to comment before completing an exchange; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 36
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1
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111(a)(intro) is amended to read:
36
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1
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111.
Orders, rules and regulations relative to exchange of lands.
(a)
The board of land commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered to pass and promulgate all such orders, rules and regulations as may be necessary or required relative to the appraisal and valuation of the lands to be exchanged as provided in this act, and to provide for the execution of conveyances, contracts and other instruments pertaining to the exchange of the lands, and to enable the director to effect and complete each exchange of the lands
after the director provides notice and opportunity to interested persons to provide the board comments, including direct notice to leaseholders of the state lands to be exchanged, owners of adjoining lands and county commissioners from the affected county or counties
. The board may authorize the purchase of lands only in an amount necessary to effect and complete the exchange of state
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owned lands for other lands and only for those lands identified in the authorization of purchase. The board shall not use the power of eminent domain pursuant to W.S. 1
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26
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801 et seq. to purchase any lands under this section. The board of land commissioners is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the exchange of state lands on a value for value basis. The exchange program may authorize a cash equalization receipt or payment of up to twenty
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five percent (25%) of the value of the lands exchanged. Any receipt shall be deposited into, and any payment shall be made from, the permanent land fund. State lands may be exchanged upon the board's finding the exchange is necessary to:
Section 2.
This act shall apply to all state land exchanges initiated or considered after the effective date of this act.
Section 3
.
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)
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