[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-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],{"_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",6667121,"mediaKeyId","2273402-6e2b6a40aff0550bb2a04fd7085ded79","parentId",2273402,"title","Wyoming panel backs bill letting Secretary of State expedite business filings, caps fee at $5,000","audioSeconds",1967,"startMs",21565,"endMs",1988960,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2273402-6e2b6a40aff0550bb2a04fd7085ded79&start=21&end=1988","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2273402-6e2b6a40aff0550bb2a04fd7085ded79/thumbnail_21565.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6667121/Wyoming/Wyoming-panel-backs-bill-letting-Secretary-of-State-expedite-business-filings-caps-fee-at-5000","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6667121-e8c4765e7c29acbbea6197a7e7b671c1/orig.mp4?Expires=1775016194&Signature=eCI7Hva8fwE08zZI9B5Zb6ch3ofuxeh8CLjjAoKQX1hhQB5Br62sTBTtKy~vG2c-JJnhJyUj1UV06NPEPHBgGQkBKAzESnml8BygQyoDSyBaNPfOUyBTe4vIlUJY-ASYl3CvgAir9ETtokeYQAWac9f2qgBzQVBnYpMWb2-putTvAezmF~tSnKK2-EFE6yvXRSLb3EVfv-Mc4xSidTOxD7BQMbdKC~RGV6AycIuTWysRUPpv-c08DnKutAGYx7vNlagxlWCxTgSbfa67f8H3BMTOiHcJH5BX~9HtkeURHbVhdCJkV8CXtoaPvAeCy5Egq1KQ3ywxYy~F6Uw9jYZQfQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Wyoming Legislature","date","2025-02-12T16:07:58.927Z","article","House Bill 47, which would let the Wyoming Secretary of State establish a rule-governed expedited filing process for certain business documents, advanced out of the Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions committee on a roll-call vote. The bill permits the Secretary to expedite filings under Title 17, Title 34 and Title 40 (chapters 1 and 2) of Wyoming law and allows a maximum fee of $5,000 for the service.

The bill’s sponsor described it as a targeted fix after the committee’s interim work. Representative Singh told the committee, “we appropriated an additional $93,179 from the general fund to the Secretary of State for an additional FTE for this express purpose.” The committee discussion focused on two main trade-offs: ensuring firms can obtain date‑certain filings for mergers, acquisitions and other transactions, and limiting administrative burden on a business division that has seen dramatic recent growth.

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray told the committee the bill would “ensure necessary sideboards to expedite service where appropriate while ensuring that many of the offices regular statutory filing deadlines of 15 days remain operable.” Gray said expedited processing will be accomplished through rulemaking that sets tiers and fees. He warned the committee the office needs additional staff to perform human review for expedited requests: “Expediting business filings no matter the volume will inevitably lead to increased burden as it will require human intervention to expedite the processing of filings by a trained staff member in our office.”

Business Director Colin Crossman described the common use case: “The primary purpose of this is to allow for, if an entity has a outside of Wyoming regulator that needs to have a document on file, on a date certain and needs to see it in our record. Those are the situations where this is likely to be used primarily. That's M and As.” Crossman and others explained that although a document can be stamped as received, the office’s statutory 15‑day review period remains the official time stamp that determines legal priority; the bill includes language to prevent expedited payment from changing legal priority.

Committee members questioned the $5,000 statutory maximum and compared proposed fees to other states. Crossman and the secretary described a tiered fee system by analogy to Delaware — for example, higher fees for same‑day or one‑hour service and lower fees for multi‑day service — and said the $5,000 cap allows future rule adjustments. The Secretary’s office provided statistics showing rapid growth in filings and revenue: filings rose to about 675,000 in fiscal year 2024 from 590,000 in fiscal year 2023 (roughly a 14% increase), and business division revenue grew to about $50 million in FY2024 from $42 million in FY2023.

The committee also discussed the House amendment that adds one FTE to the Secretary of State’s office to handle expected additional workload; Representative Singh described the House appropriation and the committee debated whether the statutory section adding the FTE should remain if a position is added through the budget process. The Secretary’s office said the House amendment was intended to cover a senior-level position (a BACA‑08 level employee) and related costs for benefits and equipment for the remainder of the biennium.

The committee took the bill to a roll-call vote after hearing no public testimony and a brief discussion. The motion to approve the engrossed bill passed by voice/roll call with five ayes and the measure will be referred to appropriations for budget consideration.

The committee emphasized that ordinary filers who can use the online portal will not be required to use expedited service; the process is voluntary and intended for parties with a demonstrable need for a date‑certain public record. The Secretary’s office said the rulemaking will establish tiers, fees, and controls to avoid overwhelming staff.

Votes at a glance
House Bill 47 (Secretary of State — expedited filings): Motion moved by Senator Dockstader; second not specified in transcript. Committee roll-call: 5 ayes. Outcome: advanced.

Next steps
The committee referred the bill and related staffing to the appropriations process; the statutory expedited‑filing authority would take effect when the bill becomes law and rulemaking establishes fee tiers and procedures.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee, February 12, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","House Bill 47, which would let the Wyoming Secretary of State establish a rule-governed expedited filing process for certain business documents, advanced out of the Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions committee on a roll-call vote.","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":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6667115,"Committee advances bill authorizing Secretary of State to dissolve entities tied to foreign adversaries",782,1989100,2771870,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2273402-6e2b6a40aff0550bb2a04fd7085ded79&start=1989&end=2771","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2273402-6e2b6a40aff0550bb2a04fd7085ded79/thumbnail_1989100.jpg","/articles/6667115/Wyoming/Committee-advances-bill-authorizing-Secretary-of-State-to-dissolve-entities-tied-to-foreign-adversaries","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6667115-8b042371c7cb1aaa014e540f23ef9018/orig.mp4?Expires=1775016194&Signature=NH7n5S5qlu6NGx1dTISCNC8gmGkpbND6E7wdB7k4t3K9Pek2mPTCbjoezleUkMq25QlU0kBcUTtcX5L151wO7p6e2R~Ivi61tW88CpS-PahWMe5sqjCXZ9Sx0GcsUFynaF4S5XBsIgEShF08WDGlGPtpShwgi-wqqRFzqLmGJOblUg0mz4vDuJ6JZ4WI1UFiChjsOuSFGYIWRbbd1lxIws2aBjNPkLEeS8AdefzZ6Jt77eVad7fx0g7xWe1Mf~RgeVxzWoSXdypigADh-CiAyEepSL7gulENbPbTrvD79bn~0CEabuPYJPXEamOGMlX7gOqp9ofvTcRrSfbP5-CuhA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions committee voted to advance House Bill 69, which adds grounds for administrative dissolution and certificate revocation when a business entity is owned or controlled by a foreign government or by a foreign non‑government person the United States Secretary of Commerce has determined to be a foreign adversary (cross-referencing 15 CFR 791.4 or successor regulation). The change is incorporated across multiple corporate statutes to cover different entity forms.

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray said the proposal grew out of a 2024 investigation in which the office, working with the FBI, found entities controlled by North Korea operating in Wyoming. “We dissolved approximately 60 or so business entities that we've identified as having false or fraudulent documents filed with our office,” Gray told the committee. He and staff said the existing administrative‑dissolution authority had been used for fraud cases but did not expressly permit facial dissolution on the ground of foreign adversary ownership.

The bill inserts ownership/control language into several statutes that govern dissolutions and revocations for different entity types. Committee staff and the Secretary’s office told lawmakers the provision would rely on coordination with federal law enforcement and federal agencies in many cases; the committee discussed whether to define “ownership or control” in statute but agreed that law enforcement findings and federal designations would drive most cases. \"I think we're reliant on a law enforcement investigation,\" the Secretary said.

Joe Rubino, the Secretary’s policy director and general counsel, said the North Korea matter involved sworn FBI affidavits and that the statute should not be so tightly drafted as to create unintended consequences. Colin Crossman noted that, if a dissolution were improperly pursued, the affected entity could seek relief from Wyoming courts and be reinstated through existing judicial remedies.

Kelly Carpenter of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation testified in support of the bill’s intent to tighten security against foreign adversarial ownership and praised language clarifying the law would not unfairly target foreign nationals without links to foreign governments.

Committee members said they appreciated the interim work and the balance between allowing prompt administrative action and preserving judicial appeal rights. The committee took no public testimony in the room beyond Ms. Carpenter’s virtual remarks and advanced the bill by roll call.

Votes at a glance
House Bill 69 (foreign adversary ownership or control): Motion moved by Senator Landon; second not specified in transcript. Committee roll-call: 5 ayes. Outcome: advanced.

Next steps
The bill will proceed to the next stage of the legislative process. The Secretary of State’s office and state staff indicated the measure will be implemented in coordination with federal counterparts when enforcement actions arise.","House Bill 69 would allow the Wyoming Secretary of State to commence administrative dissolution or revoke certificates of authority for entities owned or controlled by foreign governments or persons designated as foreign adversaries under federal regulation; committee advanced the bill after testimony and limited public comment","actionData","errors"]

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Wyoming panel backs bill letting Secretary of State expedite business filings, caps fee at $5,000

Committee advances bill authorizing Secretary of State to dissolve entities tied to foreign adversaries