During review of the same working draft, the committee paused to address how the bill requires public notice to be published. Lawmakers and staff raised that many statutory provisions still require publication in a “newspaper of local circulation,” but communities increasingly rely on official websites and statewide public‑notice portals.

Why it matters: Any statutory direction on notice publication determines how communities must inform the public about permit applications and hearings. Committee members said unclear or outdated notice instructions could prevent people from being adequately informed when local newspapers shrink or stop printing legal notices.

Key points from staff and stakeholders: Tamara Reveley of the Legislative Service Office told the committee that other statutes have substituted the term “general circulation” for “local circulation” to reach statewide outlets and that many statutes also now include posting on an official local government website. Jonathan Downing of the Wyoming Press Association noted that the association operates a statewide public‑notice website (wyomingpublicnotices.com) and urged the committee to include language or a placeholder so notice remains accessible while the legislature and corporations committee consider broader changes to public‑notice law.

Committee action: The cochair withdrew a motion to amend the draft’s notice language and instead asked LSO to research and propose substitute language that would work as a backstop while broader state-level work proceeds. The task force directed LSO to coordinate with corporations committee activity and report proposed wording at a future meeting.

Ending: The committee left the draft intact and asked LSO to return with options (for example, replacing “local circulation” with “general circulation” and explicitly including local‑government websites and the statewide public‑notice portal).