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

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…