General Provisions

Wyo. Stat. Ann. tit. 28, ch. 1
in effect

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-101 President of senate to preside over joint sessions; powers.

Whenever the senate and house of representatives of the legislature of the state of Wyoming shall meet in joint session, for the transaction of any business whatsoever, the duly elected and qualified president of the senate shall preside over the deliberations of any such joint session, with all the prerogatives and powers of a presiding officer, and the officers of both the senate and house shall be, during such joint session, under and subject to his direction.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-102 Length of legislative sessions.

(a) The general and budget session of the Wyoming legislature shall commence on the second Tuesday of January of odd-numbered years and shall continue for an additional thirty-nine (39) legislative working days unless both houses agree to an earlier adjournment. (b) There shall be a legislative budget session each even-numbered year to consider the state budget and any other business the legislature deems desirable. The budget session of the Wyoming legislature shall commence on the second Monday of February of even-numbered years and shall continue for an additional number of legislative working days as agreed by both houses of the legislature or as limited by the Wyoming constitution. (c) As used in this section "legislative working day" means every day of the week when either the senate or house of representatives convenes, exclusive of Sundays. (d) Members of the legislature shall be paid salary and per diem for each calendar day from the first legislative working day of each session through and including the last legislative working day of each session.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-103 Additional employees.

At any time during the session of the legislature when the employment of additional persons may be necessary for the efficient performance of the duties imposed upon the legislature, the senate and house of representatives are hereby authorized to employ such additional employees. All persons employed by either house shall at all times serve at the will of the presiding officer of that house.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-105 Preservation of records.

The original minutes, receipt books and miscellaneous records of the state legislature deposited with the secretary of state shall be retained by the secretary of state for a period of three (3) years. The original house bills and senate files shall be retained by the secretary of state for ten (10) years after which time the secretary of state will deliver them to the department of state parks and cultural resources for destruction or preservation as it may deem desirable. The original enrolled acts, and the original senate and house journals shall be retained by the secretary of state as permanent records.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-106 Resignation of office.

Resignation of the office of a member of the senate or house of representatives shall be made to the governor, who shall immediately notify the state central committee of the party which the member represented at the time of his election under W.S. 22-6-120(a)(vii), or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office, of the resignation. If the resigning member did not represent a political party at the time of his election, or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office, the governor shall notify the appropriate boards of county commissioners who shall proceed in accordance with W.S. 22-18-111(a)(iii)(C). For purposes of this section a person shall be considered to "represent" a political party if he was a nominee of that political party when elected to office or when appointed to fill a vacancy in office.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-107 Definitions.

(a) As used in this act: (i) "Committee" means any duly constituted committee of the legislature, any standing committee of either house of the legislature, joint interim committee of the legislature, special investigating committee established by joint resolution of the legislature and the committees established by W.S. 28-11-101, 28-11-201 and 28-11-301; (ii) "Council" means the management council of the legislature; (iii) "Legislature" means the Wyoming legislature; (iv) "Subpoena" means a legislative subpoena or subpoena duces tecum in such form and issued pursuant to rules prescribed by the legislature or council; (v) "This act" means W.S. 28-1-107 through 28-1-112 and any future amendments thereto.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-108 Oaths.

Any Wyoming legislator or designated staff members of the legislature are empowered to administer oaths to witnesses in any matter under investigation by the legislature, council, or committee.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-109 Issuance and service of subpoena; privilege of witness; witness fees and expenses.

(a) The presiding officer of either house of the legislature, the council, or a committee may issue a subpoena upon request of a majority of the members of the body. Subpoenas also may be issued on behalf of the management audit committee as provided by W.S. 28-8-107(h). (b) A subpoena shall be served by the sheriff or his deputy, or may be served by any other person so designated by the presiding officer. Service of a subpoena upon a person named therein shall be made either by reading or by delivering a copy to the person. The person serving the subpoena shall make proof of service thereof to the issuing body promptly and in any event within the time during which the person served must respond to the subpoena. (c) No witness before the legislature, the council, or any committee is privileged to refuse to testify to any fact or to produce any book, paper, or other document relevant to the matter under inquiry on the ground that his testimony or production of the document may tend to disgrace him or otherwise render him infamous. (d) Witnesses not employees of the state of Wyoming nor of any political subdivision of the state who are summoned to give testimony or produce documents shall receive witness fees, travel expenses, and other expenses in the same amount as permitted in civil cases triable in district court.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-110 Failure to appear; refusal to testify or produce documents; disturbances.

(a) Any person having been subpoenaed as a witness by the authority of the legislature, council or committee to give testimony or produce books, papers or other documents relevant to the matter under inquiry before the legislature, council, or any committee, who fails to appear, refuses to be sworn, refuses to answer any question relevant to the matter under inquiry, or fails to produce any books, papers or other documents relevant to the matter under inquiry, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) Any person attending a meeting or hearing of the legislature, the council, or any committee, who is disorderly or contemptuous or who willfully creates noise or any other disturbance tending to interrupt or disrupt the meeting or hearing, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (c) Any person who violates this section, upon conviction, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, may be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and imprisonment in county jail for a period not to exceed six (6) months.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-111 Certification of violations for prosecution.

Whenever any witness subpoenaed to appear or produce documents before the legislature, council, or any committee, fails to appear to testify, refuses to be sworn, fails to answer any question relevant to matter under inquiry, fails to produce any book, paper or other document relevant to the matter under inquiry, or whenever any person is alleged to have violated W.S. 28-1-110(b), the presiding officer of the body shall certify that failure or violation to the appropriate district attorney for prosecution of the matter in the appropriate court.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-112 Court order to appear to testify or produce documents.

In case of refusal to obey a subpoena issued by the legislature, council, or any committee, the presiding officer of the body shall apply to the district court for the district in which the proceedings are being held, for an order requiring the person to appear before the legislature, the council, the committee or other person designated by the presiding officer at the time and place requested by the application, there to produce the documentary evidence or give testimony on the matter under inquiry. Failure to obey the court order may be punished by the court as a contempt of court.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-113 Joint meetings of legislative standing committees; introduction and passage of budget bill.

(a) The joint appropriations committee shall sit in open sessions while considering the budget and shall begin meetings not less than twenty (20) days prior to the convening of the budget session. The joint committee may cause the attendance of the heads or responsible representatives of the departments, institutions and all other agencies of the state to furnish information and answer questions as the joint committee requires. (b) All persons interested in the estimates under consideration shall be admitted to the meetings and may be allowed the right to be heard. The governor, or his representatives, and members of the legislature have the right to sit at these public hearings and be heard on all matters coming before the joint committee. (c) The joint committee shall cause the general appropriation bill or bills known as budget bills, to be introduced in whole or in part in the house of representatives or the senate, or both. When a budget bill has passed the house of origin, the bill shall be referred to the standing appropriations committee of the opposite house which shall meet and consider those amendments to the budget bill which were adopted by the house of origin and shall not propose other amendments to any original joint appropriations committee budget bill. (d) To the extent not inconsistent with any enacted law or clear expression of legislative intent to the contrary, each agency's budget request as recommended by the governor to the joint appropriations interim committee, any other budgetary explanatory material submitted to the joint appropriations interim committee by the governor and the budget hearings before the joint appropriations interim committee shall guide the interpretation and implementation of appropriations and related language contained within the general appropriations bill or bills appropriating funds to be expended for the operation of a state agency, including programs, purposes and number of employees specified within each agency.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-115 Submission of state agency plans to legislature; contents; purposes.

(a) To assist the legislature in its deliberations, every state agency shall: (i) No later than December 1, 1994, prepare and thereafter maintain a statement of policies and statutory authority that guide the programs, activities and functions of the agency. The plan shall specify those objectives against which the agency will be measured to evaluate its effectiveness. An agency may implement only those programs that are specifically established by constitutional or statutory authority; (ii) As required by the governor or by the legislature by law, develop a multi-year plan to accomplish and further the goals and objectives defined in W.S. 28-1-116(a). The plan development shall include an opportunity for public review and comment. The plan shall be submitted to the governor for his approval. The plan shall: (A) Include performance measures that provide methods and criteria to measure the agency's performance in conducting its activities and in achieving its goals and objectives. The methods and criteria shall comply with standards developed by the governmental accounting standards board. Performance measures shall be developed by the agency and audited by the department of audit; (B) State the relative priority that each current or proposed program bears with regard to all other programs and objectives within the agency; (C) Be developed with a multi-year prospective and provide the strategic approach within which the agency's budget request is developed; (D) Include sufficient information for evaluation of the following: (I) The specific purpose of each program, function and activity of the executive branch of government or any other major entity that receives funding from state revenue; (II) The specific public benefit that does or should result from the program, function or activity; (III) Alternative courses of action that would result in administration of the same program, function or activity in a more efficient or effective manner including: (1) Whether a program, function or activity could be implemented more effectively by another level of government or by a private entity; (2) Whether there is sufficient public benefit to justify the funding necessary for the program, function or activity. (IV) The consequences of discontinuing any program, function or activity; (V) Whether the methods, rules and policies employed by the agency to implement a program, function or activity are cost-effective, efficient and consistent with law and impose a minimum of regulatory burden; (VI) The results and outcomes associated with the program, function or activity from the previous plan. (b) Financial resources necessary to implement the policies and goals of each agency program shall be clearly identified as a part of each biennial or supplemental budget request. Any state program, function or activity not included in an annual state agency plan shall not receive funding for the subsequent budget period. (c) Each agency shall submit by the third Monday in November of each year an annual performance report to the governor with copies to the legislative service office to provide a basis for evaluation of attainment of agency goals and objectives in the agency's plan developed under subsection (a) of this section. The report shall be included as part of the annual report required by W.S. 9-2-1014(a). (d) The management audit committee of the legislature, with the assistance of the legislative service office and the department of audit, may use the agency plans and annual statement of attainment as the basis for program evaluation and performance audits as authorized by law. (e) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 99, § 2. (f) The plan required under W.S. 28-1-115(a)(ii) may be reviewed by the management audit committee of the legislature and shall be reviewed by the management audit committee if: (i) Required by the management council of the legislature; or (ii) Otherwise required by law. (g) For purposes of this section and W.S. 28-1-116, "state agency" means: (i) Each separate department in the executive branch of government created under the authority of the Wyoming Government Reorganization Act of 1989, W.S. 9-2-1701 et seq.; (ii) Offices of the five (5) elected state officials and the attorney general; and (iii) Each agency designated as a separate operating agency under W.S. 9-2-1704(d).

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-116 Continuous planning; performance budgeting.

(a) On or before July 1, 1995, and by March 31 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, the governor shall define state goals and objectives in the following areas: (i) Education; (ii) Regulatory and economic development; (iii) Natural resources; (iv) Health; (v) Human services; (vi) Transportation; (vii) Public safety and corrections; (viii) General government. (b) The governor may submit draft goals and objectives to the management council for comment. (c) On or before September 1 of each odd numbered year, each state agency, as defined under W.S. 28-1-115(g), following an opportunity for public review, shall submit to and have approved by the governor a plan as described by W.S. 28-1-115(a)(ii). (d) Repealed By Laws 1997, ch. 178, § 2. (e) When the governor submits the state budget or a supplemental budget as required under W.S. 9-2-1013, he shall also distribute agency plans required under subsection (c) of this section. The budget for each agency shall be performance and program based and shall reflect the goals and objectives specified in the agency's plan. (f) All dates established in this section or in W.S. 28-1-115 may be extended by the governor.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-118 Legislative review of state revenue distribution formulae; reports required.

The joint revenue interim committee shall submit a report to the governor and legislature by December 1, 2004, and by December 1 of each fourth year thereafter, reviewing the distribution formulae for federal mineral royalties, severance taxes and inheritance taxes. The report shall indicate whether the formulae are understandable to public policy makers, serve the needs of the citizens of the state and whether the distinction between sustainable revenues and "one-time" revenues contained therein is reasonable. The report may contain recommendations for legislation.
Source: WY Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title28.pdfFetched: 10/4/2026

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