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HB0260 • 2025

Criminal accountability grant program.

AN ACT relating to administration of the government; establishing a program to provide grants to cities and towns to offset the costs of specified criminal activity; requiring rulemaking; requiring reports; providing an appropriation; and providing for effective dates.

Crime
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Representative Washut
Last action
2025-03-03
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2025

Plain English Breakdown

The bill is marked as inactive, which means it will likely not be implemented.

Criminal Accountability Grant Program

This act establishes a grant program managed by the attorney general to provide funding to cities and towns in Wyoming to offset costs related to specified criminal activities, with requirements for application and reporting.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates the Criminal Accountability Grant Program administered by the Attorney General of Wyoming.
  • Establishes criteria for awarding grants based on factors such as increased jail costs, violent crimes, fentanyl cases, and nonresident crime rates.
  • Requires cities or towns to apply through an application process set up by the attorney general.
  • Limits the number of grants awarded each year to ten (10) cities or towns.
  • Funds the program with $5 million from the state's general fund for one fiscal year.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Cities and towns in Wyoming that apply for and receive grants under this program.
  • The Attorney General of Wyoming, who administers the grant program and reports on its progress.

Terms To Know

Grant
Money given by a government agency to help pay for specific projects or activities.
Nonresident
A person who does not live in the city or town where they are charged with a crime.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and is marked as inactive, meaning it will likely not be implemented.
  • Details on how cities and towns must report their use of grant funds are only partially specified in the provided text.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-03 House

    H:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to HR 5-4

  2. 2025-02-07 House

    H No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2025-01-27 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H01 - Judiciary

  4. 2025-01-21 House

    H Received for Introduction

  5. 2025-01-20 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
25LSO-0522
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0522
Introduced
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0260

Criminal accountability grant program.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Washut and Harshman and Senator(s) Driskill and Nethercott

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to administration of the government; establishing a program to provide grants to cities and towns to offset the costs of specified criminal activity; requiring rulemaking; requiring reports; providing an appropriation; and providing for effective dates.

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

Section 1
.

W.S. 9
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1
‑
641 is created to read:

9
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1
‑
641.

Criminal accountability grant program.

(a)

There is created the criminal accountability grant program. The grant program shall be administered by the attorney general, who shall establish the application process and any other requirements of the grant program not otherwise provided by this section. Grants under this section shall be awarded to qualifying cities and towns to offset a portion of the costs associated with criminal activity and shall be awarded in accordance with the following factors:

(i)

Any increase in actual costs incurred due to an increase in the number of offenders incarcerated in the city or town when comparing fiscal year 2022 to the most recent fiscal year. Increased costs due to an increase in jail fees assessed by the local sheriff shall not be a factor under this paragraph;

(ii)

The number of violent crimes reported in the city or town to the Wyoming division of criminal investigation in the most recent fiscal year using a national incident
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based reporting system. Any city or town not using a national incident
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based reporting system shall be ineligible to receive a grant under this section;

(iii)

The number of fentanyl cases filed for prosecution and fentanyl seizures within the city or town in the most recent fiscal year;

(iv)

The number of crimes filed for prosecution against a nonresident in the most recent fiscal year in the city or town. For purposes of this paragraph, "nonresident" means a person who has not maintained a permanent residence in the city or town within the previous year.

(b)

The attorney general shall develop an application process, including required documentation and application deadlines, for cities or towns to apply for grants under this section. Any city or town may apply for a grant under this section pursuant to the application process established by the attorney general.

(c)

The size of the grant awarded to a city or town shall be based on the amount of criminal activity established in the factors outlined in subsection (a) of this section and the demonstrated need of the city or town. Grants awarded under this section shall be expended only to offset the actual costs to the city or town of criminal activity associated with any of the factors established in subsection (a) of this section. Upon receipt of a grant application the attorney general shall review the application and shall rank the application, with not more than ten (10) cities or towns receiving a grant in any given fiscal year. No city or town shall receive more than one (1) grant in a fiscal year.

(d)

Not later than October 1, 2026, and each year thereafter, the attorney general shall submit reports to the joint judiciary interim committee and the governor including information on the following, to the extent that the information is available:

(i)

The number of applications that the attorney general received from cities or towns for grant funding under this section;

(ii)

The number and a description of the grants that the attorney general awarded to cities or towns under this section;

(iii)

How each city or town that received a grant under this section used or plans to use the grant to offset costs.

(e)

Cities or towns that received grants under this section shall cooperate with the attorney general by providing any information requested by the attorney general to complete the reports required under subsection (e) of this section not later than thirty (30) days after receiving the request.

Section 2.

(a)

There is appropriated five million dollars ($5,000,000.00) from the general fund to the attorney general for purposes of this act for the period beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026. This appropriation shall only be used to award grants to cities or towns pursuant to this act. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as provided by law on June 30, 2026.

(b)

It is the intent of the legislature that the funding to implement the criminal accountability grant program in subsection (a) of this section be doubled and included in the attorney general's standard budget request submitted under W.S. 9
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2
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1013.

Section 3.

The attorney general shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.

Section 4
.

(a)

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2025.

(b)

Sections 3 and 4 of this act are 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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HB0260