[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6682855,"mediaKeyId","2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80","parentId",2176306,"title","Committee debates bill adding limits to eminent domain for energy collection systems; amendment narrows thresholds","audioSeconds",4727,"startMs",1482020,"endMs",6209020,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80&start=1482&end=6209","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80/thumbnail_1482020.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6682855/Wyoming/Committee-debates-bill-adding-limits-to-eminent-domain-for-energy-collection-systems-amendment-narrows-thresholds","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6682855-814e124a1f8772b0a6721cdfcaab54ac/orig.mp4?Expires=1773736310&Signature=ExlkrPx5b3RNTV9qavdUAfwTj8ICu~BYvcoOJ7CfQGa6NkV-zEsVAE8dYJDNNrI16dlksVAKL0xHwznz1b7zXTbjKXOZxzDE~1gLQO3HFqkSJeQwF1699hOP-J6Sxu2oSkrFzkSyJjQYY8L95uZzArHfAtI0r1wcMweYcFAtIxUGauAr6czgO~fOgIb-Ge8FnxNOoM6wBC31LVPH6HhsEF6ccq5JrlkIhZnRzX4tClgEtfAIkKHhrvICO4i96p~vhmVNFOE-7hJmK3WBmv~e6GtyOk2hKydW0Du6GwtVvFj-d8c7N09SP8Yk1NZ5KgEfPx17SRR2DuE38CuPTR7wAQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Wyoming Legislature","date","2025-01-31T16:51:02.48Z","article","Sen. Barry Crago introduced Senate File 181, a draft that would create specific statutory limits on the use of eminent domain for energy collection systems associated with commercial electricity facilities. “The big overview… is you have to have an 85% agreement with either 85% of the land mass or 85% of the land owners,” Crago said, describing a threshold the bill would require before a condemning party could bring a condemnation action.

Crago said the draft was intended as a compromise to protect landowner rights while preserving a path for projects to proceed when a substantial portion of affected landowners or land mass have agreed to terms. The bill would create a new chapter for energy collection systems, require petitioning parties to present executed land-use and compensation agreements to the court in condemnation proceedings, and include provisions to ensure improvements and certain on-site property values are included when calculating fair market value.

Witnesses were split. Jim McGagna of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association described the draft as a product of years of negotiation and said it represented a middle ground between no eminent-domain authority and unconstrained condemnation. “This bill with a few changes now is basically what we developed in 2011 and 12 to move forward with,” he said.

Landowner and landowner-advocate testimony urged stronger protections. Karen Bud Fallon, an attorney who represents landowners, said the bill protects neighbors who do not want collector lines crossing their property while allowing landowners who accept wind or solar projects to proceed. She pointed to Wyoming case law on condemnation compensation and said compensation must account for industrialization of agricultural land, including prior payments for other easements and improvements.

Industry witnesses and a representative of American Clean Power opposed the draft as written or urged changes; Cindy Delancey said the net effect of the current draft would be to make eminent domain effectively unavailable and risk projects and the local economic benefits they produce. Delancey asked committee members to consider refining rather than broadly restricting the current condemnation statutes and to clarify the bill’s interplay with public utilities and existing permitting processes.

A mix of county commissioners, commissioners’ counsel and other local officials spoke on notice and local-government roles, reclamation and definitions. Jenny Staben of the Industrial Siting Division said the ISD provides notice to local governments when applications are pending before the Industrial Siting Council and requires permittees to report significant changes.

Committee action: Senator Bonar moved an amendment to reduce the 85% thresholds to 80% and to change the minimum required number of landowners from three to five. Senator Crago signaled he supported the amendment as a compromise. The committee adopted that amendment by voice vote (counts not specified in the transcript) and agreed to carry further work on the draft into a follow-up session Monday morning.

Why it matters: The bill attempts to balance landowner property rights and the practical need to build collector lines and interconnection facilities for renewable energy projects. Testimony highlighted competing policy goals—protecting individual landowners from unwanted industrialization of property while enabling projects that many landowners rely on for supplemental income—and noted potential conflicts with existing public-utility authority, ISD permitting, and existing compensation standards from Wyoming case law.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee, January 31, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senate File 181 would restrict use of eminent domain for energy collection systems unless project developers reach a high percentage of agreements with affected landowners or land mass. The Corporations Committee heard hours of testimony from industry, landowners and regulators and adopted an amendment lowering the agreement threshold.","taxTitle","Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming","taxId",61178,"location","Wyoming","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":44,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6682860,"Committee moves bill to give clerks more time for new political-party petitions",671,810095,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80&start=810&end=1482","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80/thumbnail_810095.jpg","/articles/6682860/Wyoming/Committee-moves-bill-to-give-clerks-more-time-for-new-political-party-petitions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6682860-916428aa67e8228b4c392bf2f0a77edd/orig.mp4?Expires=1773736310&Signature=KLj~6fO-X4INni5lp071JyJOPLBea7Yy4bzjeK3dBYvyEUmhL3sP-8i7-QIbQZuXHO5ESB9~HtQ0se9fWmMqKIBeK0XTuHH0QO1jL25BQChb6WVerCi6UkCgNgqrXuZujxitnsaKCwvxysI8DSbJGhTBo0ugOm5p2rF~6N-toeoRCu9~YUVp5XBP1CXUhdahXrYKDMXdiHg4jQ7ubsNRofqAg77isI-iTKPCdsRG1HdR7rhnXYMORNnS3YKAaWYx9o3gbKpoVaC6O9l0bxKgTm4st--BoVRV-f96r1120STXszbkHys60Cz-LLY147ba9XKY2cVlp-Ma0dmN80fPtQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sen. Sarah Pearson told the Corporations Committee that Senate File 166, a clerks’ cleanup measure, would move deadlines for forming a new political party back by roughly a month to give county clerks more time to process petitions and registrations. “Basically, it’s just bringing the current dates back a month,” Pearson said, listing date changes from June 1 to May 1 and April 1 to March 1 in the petition and registration calendar.

Mary Langford, representing county clerks, said the change fixes a timing gap that can lock electors out because party affiliation changes are locked beginning on the first day of candidate filing (about May 15). Langford described a previous instance where a provisional party attempted formation and the timing left only a narrow window for voters to register in that provisional party; moving the dates to earlier in the calendar would avoid that conflict.

Joe Rubino, policy director and counsel for the Secretary of State’s office, said the office and the clerks support the bill. Rubino described the statutory petition requirement for forming a statewide provisional party as signatures from registered electors equal to not less than 2% of the total votes cast for U.S. House in the last general election; petitions are submitted to the Secretary of State for verification. The measure passed committee on a roll call recorded as “4 ayes and 1 excused.”","Senate File 166 would move petition and filing deadlines earlier to allow county clerks more time to process formation of new political parties; the Secretary of State and County Clerks supported the change and the measure passed committee.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6682864,"Committee permits county clerks to email cancellation notices under Senate File 165",259,550025,809875,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80&start=550&end=809","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80/thumbnail_550025.jpg","/articles/6682864/Wyoming/Committee-permits-county-clerks-to-email-cancellation-notices-under-Senate-File-165","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6682864-9ffe35c0c571c74d7a453b59823811ff/orig.mp4?Expires=1773736310&Signature=UZE~c~8Y-~JqUq4Az6BTR0Ah-nK8vfPSPv6~eZQn3-hqESr8A8BBP9S9Pd~2agiYxFqni51KiZ2XMh-dxqn148snFy7-sApIDnHJVYk3DuTNXDxl7Q0VS9MYDrKjOALOfE7JyFzSGCNU46eT1hk5bhI4UYD2KqCDNEtqSpGtsl90bJMtbiRyM112ri8KCja3wD1RVR9xLM7wRAMVXmBqrvJRdweBxOI39zF1gBXic~~N7GiOZ6cU6WlHvZU~rCUgMIqbWmcP78fjWn5XYvnLC9THkAIoy0bsoZnCq906QCT~2z1pxrwCkmSdIZEoFjF7pdvTUS5bWRoooM-smtpC0A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sen. Steinmetz presented Senate File 165, a statute cleanup that would allow county clerks to provide voter cancellation notices by email in addition to mail. “In addition to mailing the notice, the county clerk may also provide notice to the elector by email,” Steinmetz said.

Mary Langford, representing Wyoming county clerks, told the committee the change is an addition, not a replacement for mailed notices, and explained the notices relate to the periodic purge of registrants who have not voted during the most recent general election cycle. Langford said clerks currently send cancellation notices after each general election and the bill would permit sending those notices by e-mail as an additional option.

The committee discussed the measure briefly, saw no opposition in the room and advanced the bill on a roll-call vote. The committee recorded the result as “ayes and 1 excused.” Senator Steinmetz moved the bill forward; the clerks’ association supported the change.","Senate File 165 would allow county clerks to send voter cancellation notices by email in addition to mail; the committee approved the bill following testimony from the County Clerks Association.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6682870,"Senate File 171 to remove duplicate survey requirement for annexations advances",527,21915,549325,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80&start=21&end=549","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2176306-67c998a5062a0939a50a1f89369fcb80/thumbnail_21915.jpg","/articles/6682870/Wyoming/Senate-File-171-to-remove-duplicate-survey-requirement-for-annexations-advances","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6682870-f3eeb0eb8fa58032ef4288d571b80e07/orig.mp4?Expires=1773736310&Signature=nu6JAK~JHzD8v0U19Jba0eIkrkVipHanh25-w0cSIFFWTRDp6xCy0Hx5F29dbpQGebvyo4ab3nyZw91vT~33a4QBwAHuYlUWNO6A35C3JPRzlM753z9agIDbrKyBpCkeZO3XxlMBj3RGeyrwOwBtbLxX9Ztsvl5bB4hKTY-A4jr21B2h7TWwlvnRYx8gqcvYZv3Rb9-MQHWEfpnJ9EIN5Ot6LMR5qBSW1U0VVyUpC8KsDpHN~V54zCyH5T6XZfq4C4CM6nGgwhrI7ttrV17-qpCBOf4Zu~iea3l6zn4iPJMZACDfMSUNZKIqZ3JWqBAyuHF1HFbvTuT5Vt92SS2lQg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sen. Dan Nethercott told the Senate Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee that Senate File 171, “City and Town Regulatory Reduction,” would eliminate a duplicated survey requirement when land is annexed into a city or town. “The purpose of the bill is to eliminate the duplication of the need for a survey, when the circumstances, concern when a parcel of land is being annexed into the city,” she said.

The bill removes overlapping language between two statutory references, one in title 34 for annexation and another in title 15 that was added in 2007 and also required a survey, Nethercott said. Charles Blimpine, development director for the city (testifying for municipal planners and surveyors), told the committee the duplication leads to unnecessary monumentation work — placing physical survey markers on the ground that are later removed during grading — and wastes effort and money for landowners and developers. Blimpine said the separate survey requirement could force multiple surveys during phased annexations and development and that the duplication serves no practical purpose.

Bob McLaren of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities told the committee WAM supports the measure. Committee discussion was brief; a motion to advance the bill carried on a roll call that recorded “4 ayes and 1 excused.” Senator Landon moved the bill forward.

Why it matters: Committee members and municipal staff said the change would reduce regulatory burden, avoid duplicative on-the-ground monumentation during multi-phase annexations and save landowners and municipalities the cost and time of repeated surveys. The bill does not change other annexation processes such as city-initiated annexations or the treatment of county islands, witnesses said.

The committee recorded its vote and indicated it will carry the bill to the Senate floor for further consideration.","The Corporations Committee approved Senate File 171, which removes a duplicated survey requirement for parcels annexed into cities and towns; sponsors and municipal officials said the change reduces regulatory burden and avoids redundant monumentation work.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee debates bill adding limits to eminent domain for energy collection systems; amendment narrows thresholds

Committee moves bill to give clerks more time for new political-party petitions

Committee permits county clerks to email cancellation notices under Senate File 165

Senate File 171 to remove duplicate survey requirement for annexations advances