Appropriations Committee advances bill allowing expedited business filings with adjustable fee; Secretary asks for one staff position

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday advanced House Bill 47, which would allow the Wyoming Secretary of State to offer expedited processing of business filings for a fee and to set a graduated fee schedule up to a stated maximum.

Chuck Ray, Wyoming secretary of state, told the committee his office supports the bill in its current form and said expedited processing would provide “regulatory certainty” that may attract more business filings to Wyoming. He said the business division has seen a large increase in volume and requests that the bill include authorization for one additional staff position to carry out the new duties: “the 1 position would pay for itself in about 1 and a half days of the revenue that our office brings in,” Ray said.

The bill as presented allows rulemaking to set tiers for expedited service — from an hour to several days — and establishes an upper fee cap of $5,000 while permitting a sliding scale for less-urgent requests. Colin Crossman, director of the Secretary of State’s business division, told the committee that the $5,000 figure is a maximum and that the office plans to adopt a series of fees tied to turnaround time. He said expedited requests typically require senior staff intervention and careful handling because such filings are often complex, like mergers and acquisitions.

Committee members pressed staff for administrative details. Ray and Crossman said the office has statutory duties to file and certify documents within a 15-day deadline and that expedited processing would not change the legal filing date. Crossman explained, “when we receive a document and stamp it, that is the filing date,” and that expedited processing would only accelerate the office’s certification and processing, not grant priority rights over a previously received filing.

The committee heard operational data from the Secretary of State’s office showing an increase in filings and revenue: fiscal year 2024 filings were reported at 675,000, up from 590,000 the prior fiscal year, and business-division revenue rose from $42,300,000 in fiscal year 2023 to $50,500,000 in fiscal year 2024. Ray said the office has borrowed cross-divisional support—up to roughly half of a full-time equivalent in some areas—and that 7 to 9 staff are currently involved in business-filing work as demand grew.

During debate, members proposed two notable changes. The committee approved an amendment to allow the Secretary of State to adjust the expedited-fee cap for inflation on a biennial basis tied to the state CPI (the amendment was adopted by voice vote). A separate motion was made to remove statutory language authorizing the additional staff position (Section 2 of the bill); that motion was discussed and voted on by the committee during the hearing.

On a roll-call vote, the committee recorded four aye votes for House Bill 47 as amended; the committee reported the bill out with a recommendation of do pass, amended. Public testimony was closed earlier in the hearing.

If enacted, the bill would create a rule-driven fee schedule for expedited filing within the Secretary of State’s business division, preserve the statutory 15-day filing deadline as the legal filing date, and incorporate a mechanism for biennial CPI adjustments to the expedited-fee cap.

Votes at a glance: House Bill 47 — Moved by Senator Larson; seconded. Amendment (allow fee adjustment tied to CPI on a biennial basis) adopted by voice vote. Final committee action: do pass, amended (roll-call: Senator Driscoll — Aye; Senator Giroux — Aye; Senator Larson — Aye; Senator Smith — Aye).