Bulletin: WY2022001

Dear Associates:

The following are summaries of Bills passed during the 2022 Wyoming legislative session which may be of interest to the title insurance industry. All Bills will become effective as of July 1, 2022, unless otherwise noted. You can find more specific information relating to these Bills at https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2022.

HB0002 Disposition of water rights. This Bill amends county subdivision permit statutes to require the subdivider to provide written documentation from the State Engineer that the subdivider has properly disposed of water rights on the property either through a voluntary abandonment, change of use or place of use, distribution to the lots within the subdivision, or authorization to detach water rights. It amends county subdivision permit requirements that a plan for disposition of water rights be submitted to the irrigation company to now include all types of public or private entities that operate irrigation works or other water conveyance systems. This Bill became effective as of March 22, 2022.

HB0003 State land leases. This Bill specifies when and how preference may be given to applicants for leases of state lands and how to determine the successful applicant. The act also clarifies the general eligibility to be qualified to lease state lands.

HB0004 Water permits-livestock on federal land. This Bill provides requirements for a permit secured for purposes of watering livestock on federal land and specifies that nonuse of an appropriation for the purpose of livestock watering is not subject to abandonment under certain circumstances.

HB0009 Economic development programs-tribal inclusion. This Bill clarifies that the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes may participate in economic development programs administered by the Wyoming Business Council. It removes any requirements for separate cooperative agreements for tribes to participate in the programs and defines "cooperative tribal governing body" and specifies how it should be construed throughout Wyoming Statutes.

HB0010 Tribal reference amendments. This Bill defines, corrects, clarifies, modifies, and standardizes references to the tribes, the cooperative tribal governing body, world languages, and the Wind River Indian Reservation throughout Wyoming Statutes.

HB0062 Insurance amendments. This Bill amends an existing statute to provide definitions and clarity for persons involved in the insurance industry, including an insurance "adjuster," "appraiser," and "umpire." The act helps define the duties of each of these persons. It also increases certain fees for licenses issued by the Department of Insurance and amends continuing education requirements related to the insurance industry. The act also provides additional clarification on who can be a continuing education provider and the approval process for continuing education providers. This Bill became effective as of March 9, 2022.

HB0089 Monthly ad valorem tax revisions-enforcement. This Bill provides an additional penalty for failure to make timely payment for severance taxes or ad valorem taxes on mineral production. It authorizes the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to order wells shut in and sealed, and to prohibit drilling, if a taxpayer is more than one hundred twenty (120) days delinquent on taxes related to mineral production. The Commission is required to remove the penalty when the unpaid taxes have been paid.

HB0136 Underground water control areas. This Bill specifies that the burden of proof in contested case hearings for water well permit applications in underground water control areas shall be on the applicant for the water well permit.

SF0019 County optional property tax refund program. This Bill creates an optional property tax refund program at the county level. The act specifies requirements for a person to be eligible for a refund and allows flexibility for counties to tailor the program to their county. It requires any refund granted under a county-optional property tax refund program to be funded only from the revenues of the county opting to implement a program. It also requires a county implementing a county‑optional property tax refund program to promulgate rules as necessary to implement the program.

SF0034 Inheritance tax fees-repeal. This Bill repealed the collection of certain fees related to state inheritance taxes.

SF0068 Decentralized autonomous organizations-amendments. This Bill amends certain statutes regarding the operation of decentralized autonomous organizations within the State of Wyoming. This Bill became effective as of March 9, 2022.

If you have any questions relating to this or other bulletins, please contact a Stewart Title Guaranty Company underwriter.

For on-line viewing of this and other bulletins, please log onto www.vuwriter.com.