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Select committee shortens name, wins authority to sponsor most tech bills
Summary
The Wyoming legislative select committee voted to rename itself the Select Committee on Blockchain and Emerging Technologies and to reclaim sponsorship authority for bills not squarely in Title 13 (banks and finance) after amending a draft that had required coordination with the minerals committee on Title 13 issues.
The Select Committee on Blockchain and Emerging Technologies voted to adopt an amended draft (26 LSO 9) that renames the panel and narrows a carve‑out that previously required the minerals committee chairman’s consent before the select committee could sponsor legislation touching Title 13, which governs banks and banking. Talies Hansen, staff attorney, described the draft as a name change and a shift “to promoting Wyoming’s continued leadership in the digital economy by reducing impediments to economic opportunities for technology and technology companies within the state.”
The change mattered to several members because the prior requirement to coordinate with the minerals committee had been a longstanding checkbox that, they said, had stopped the select committee from sponsoring some digital‑economy legislation. Senator Crago and several committee members argued the Title 13 carve‑out was outdated and created unnecessary delay; the committee adopted an amendment striking the coordination requirement and carried the bill as amended.
Committee members discussed the political history behind the carve‑out. A co‑chair explained the clause had been a compromise with a former minerals committee chairman who guarded Title 13 oversight; members said the minerals committee has not taken up Title 13 issues consistently in recent years, and that practical coordination had become an impediment rather than a help.
The motion to adopt the amendments passed on a roll‑call vote: 7 ayes, 1 excused. The committee’s adoption means the renamed select committee may move forward in sponsorship and drafting with the narrower statutory supervision the members approved.
The vote and discussion were procedural, not policy decisions on individual banking bills. Committee members flagged that any future Title 13 bills could still be assigned to the minerals committee during the regular session and would be subject to floor debate and committee review there.
Looking ahead: staff said the draft will move forward as amended; any sponsorship or subsequent hearings will follow the normal session schedule.
