2023 23LSO-0585
STATE OF WYOMING
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0190
Wyoming value added energy and industrial plan.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Harshman, Burkhart,
Henderson, Larsen, L, Larson, JT, Nicholas,
Niemiec, Stith, Walters and Wylie and Senator(s) Anderson, Cooper, Dockstader and Rothfuss
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to the administration of government;
2 creating the select committee on the Wyoming value added
3 energy, economic development and industrial plan;
4 specifying membership and duties of the select committee;
5 authorizing the creation of task forces; specifying
6 requirements and duties associated with created task
7 forces; requiring reports and recommendations; providing
8 appropriations; providing legislative findings; and
9 providing for an effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
12
13 Section 1.
14
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1 (a) The legislature finds that:
2
3 (i) The state of Wyoming is currently presented
4 with multiple projects that may encourage expansion and
5 diversification of Wyoming's energy and industrial economy
6 while utilizing Wyoming's natural resources, infrastructure
7 and human capital;
8
9 (ii) These projects have the potential to result
10 in substantial public benefit to the state of Wyoming;
11
12 (iii) To maximize the ability of the state of
13 Wyoming to capitalize on these projects, it is beneficial
14 to have a coordinated, global approach between the
15 legislative and executive branches of government to
16 determine whether these proposed projects have a
17 substantial likelihood of delivering a significant public
18 benefit to the state of Wyoming and to determine
19 appropriate policies, processes or procedures to allocate
20 resources to secure the development of these projects.
21
22 Section 2.
23
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1 (a) There is created the select committee on the
2 Wyoming value added energy, economic development and
3 industrial plan. The select committee shall meet as
4 necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section.
5 Members shall be appointed to the select committee as
6 follows:
7
8 (i) Three (3) members of the senate shall be
9 appointed by the president of the senate. Members appointed
10 under this paragraph shall include:
11
12 (A) One (1) member of the senate
13 appropriations committee;
14
15 (B) One (1) member of the senate minerals,
16 business and economic development standing committee;
17
18 (C) One (1) member of the senate appointed
19 at the discretion of the president of the senate.
20
21 (ii) Three (3) members of the house of
22 representatives appointed by the speaker of the house.
23 Members appointed under this paragraph shall include:
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1
2 (A) One (1) member of the house
3 appropriations committee;
4
5 (B) One (1) member of the house minerals,
6 business and economic development standing committee;
7
8 (C) One (1) member of the house appointed
9 at the discretion of the speaker of the house.
10
11 (b) Members appointed by the speaker of the house and
12 the president of the senate shall be apportioned as nearly
13 as possible to reflect the percentage of the elected
14 members of the majority and minority parties, provided that
15 not more than five (5) of the members appointed under
16 subsection (a) of this section shall be from the same
17 political party.
18
19 (c) The select committee shall:
20
21 (i) Select from among its members one (1)
22 senator and one (1) member of the house to serve as co-
23 chairmen;
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1
2 (ii) Meet as necessary to review outlines,
3 timelines, proposed deliverables; project proposals,
4 reports and recommendations of any task force established
5 under this section to implement the Wyoming value added
6 energy, economic development and industrial plan and
7 accomplish other duties as prescribed by this section;
8
9 (iii) Not later than November 1, 2023, report to
10 the joint appropriations committee and the joint minerals,
11 business and economic development interim committee on any
12 recommendations received from task forces established under
13 this section and on legislative action the select committee
14 determines is necessary to further the purposes of this
15 section;
16
17 (iv) Pursuant to W.S. 28-8-104(e), develop and
18 sponsor legislation as the select committee deems
19 appropriate to further the purposes of this section.
20
21 (d) The governor may establish task forces to study
22 the topics and projects identified in this section. For the
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1 appointment of a task force under this subsection, the
2 following shall apply:
3
4 (i) The governor may appoint one (1) or more
5 task forces to study whether the proposed projects listed
6 in this paragraph have a substantial likelihood of
7 delivering a significant public benefit to the state of
8 Wyoming and to study, prepare and recommend policies,
9 processes or procedures to allocate resources to secure the
10 development of these proposed projects. Any task force
11 appointed under this subsection shall consider, but are not
12 limited to considering, the following or similar projects:
13
14 (A) Development of a project or strategy to
15 maximize the development of Wyoming's energy and natural
16 resources in the most efficient, sustainable and cost-
17 effective manner based on the model of the industrial
18 heartland area in Alberta, Canada;
19
20 (B) Projects and initiatives to encourage
21 the development of liquid natural gas export facilities
22 using Wyoming produced natural gas or to expand the use of
23 Wyoming liquefied natural gas;
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1
2 (C) The development and construction of
3 natural gas to liquid fuels facilities in the state of
4 Wyoming and scenario analysis on how best to encourage the
5 development and construction of these facilities;
6
7 (D) The development and construction of
8 electronics manufacturing facilities, owned by domestic or
9 international companies, in the state of Wyoming and
10 scenario analysis on how best to encourage the development
11 and construction of these facilities;
12
13 (E) Coordination of efforts and strategies
14 to identify and develop opportunities to improve Wyoming's
15 access to and growth in domestic and international markets
16 for natural gas, oil, coal, uranium, power, nuclear energy,
17 hydrogen, manufacturing, tourism and other commodities and
18 products. Consideration of efforts and strategies under
19 this subparagraph shall include:
20
21 (I) Encouraging the development of
22 deep water ports to export Wyoming nonrenewable natural
23 resources, including the potential to institute or
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1 participate in legal actions to secure the access of
2 Wyoming nonrenewable natural resources to these deep water
3 ports;
4
5 (II) Taking actions to improve the
6 state's relative strength in the global market;
7
8 (III) Taking actions to improve access
9 to markets and address related regulatory, logistic and
10 infrastructure concerns;
11
12 (IV) Making recommendations for
13 outreach, marketing, trade representation and international
14 relations;
15
16 (V) Identifying opportunities to add
17 value to Wyoming commodities and products;
18
19 (VI) Coordinating state agency efforts
20 relating to international markets.
21
22 (F) To build Wyoming's energy strategy
23 initiatives, including but not limited to baseline water
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1 testing, carbon dioxide pipeline corridors, an energy
2 atlas, hydrogen projects, trona projects, soda ash
3 projects, liquid natural gas infrastructure planning and
4 hybrid energy solutions and strategies;
5
6 (G) Economic development opportunities
7 likely to provide a substantial public benefit to the state
8 of Wyoming, including but not limited to opportunities for
9 economic development and land purchases along Wyoming's
10 interstate and major transportation corridors, the
11 creation, development or purchase of museums in Wyoming and
12 the development or expansion of major tourist events in
13 Wyoming.
14
15 (ii) In determining the number of task forces to
16 appoint under this subsection and the assignment of duties
17 and areas of study to the task forces, the governor shall
18 consult with the select committee created in this section
19 to determine the most efficient manner in which to achieve
20 the purposes of this section, the expertise required to
21 effectively capitalize on each project and whether the
22 purposes of this section would be best achieved by a
23 particular task force considering one (1) or more projects;
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2 (iii) Each task force created by the governor
3 shall have not less than one (1) and not more than two (2)
4 members of the Wyoming legislature appointed to the task
5 force by either the president of the senate or the speaker
6 of the house of representatives, respectively. The
7 president of the senate and the speaker of the house shall
8 alternate appointment of members under this paragraph as
9 needed for the total legislative membership on each task
10 force created under this subsection;
11
12 (iv) In considering appointments to task forces
13 of members who are not members of the legislature, the
14 governor may consider the expertise required to produce
15 timelines, outlines, deliverables and recommendations to
16 the select committee created in this section, and shall
17 consider appointing personnel from the state treasurer's
18 office, the office of state lands and investments, the
19 attorney general's office, the University of Wyoming, the
20 Wyoming business council, the Wyoming oil and gas
21 conservation commission, the Wyoming energy authority, the
22 University of Wyoming school of energy resources and
23 private industry and business, including representatives of
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1 the western research institute and the Idaho national
2 laboratory. Members may serve on more than one (1) task
3 force;
4
5 (v) For each task force appointed under this
6 subsection, the governor shall appoint a chairman from
7 among the members of the task force.
8
9 (e) Task forces created under this section shall meet
10 as necessary to timely accomplish the following
11 assignments:
12
13 (i) On or before May 15, 2023, provide the
14 select committee with an outline of the objectives,
15 timelines and deliverables of each task force established
16 under this section;
17
18 (ii) On or before August 31, 2023, report each
19 task force's recommendations to the select committee for
20 further legislative action necessary to secure the
21 development of projects within the task force's areas of
22 study with the potential of delivering a substantial public
23 benefit to the state of Wyoming. Each task force shall
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1 provide the attorney general with an adequate amount of
2 time and opportunity to review the recommendations of each
3 task force before August 31, 2023 so that the attorney
4 general may first determine whether the recommendations
5 presented to the select committee are lawful. For purposes
6 of this paragraph, the attorney general shall review and
7 determine the legality of any recommendation made by a task
8 force;
9
10 (iii) Assist the select committee and the
11 legislative service office in developing appropriate
12 legislative action as the select committee deems necessary.
13
14 (f) A task force may contract with experts as the
15 task force deems necessary to fulfill the duties assigned
16 under this section, with the approval of the governor. Task
17 forces may recommend expenditure of funds appropriated in
18 section 3 of this act for specific projects or purposes to
19 the governor or the select committee, provided that no task
20 force shall have the authority to authorize the expenditure
21 of public funds.
22
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1 (g) Unless earlier terminated by the governor, task
2 forces established under this section shall exist until
3 December 31, 2026.
4
5 (h) The select committee created under this section
6 shall exist until December 31, 2026.
7
8 (j) Members of any task force established under this
9 section who are not state employees or members of the
10 legislature shall not receive a salary but shall receive
11 reimbursement for mileage and per diem expenses at the rate
12 provided for legislators under W.S. 28-5-501.
13
14 Section 3.
15
16 (a) Of unexpended, unobligated funds appropriated in
17 2022 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 51, Section 325, there
18 is appropriated to the office of the governor:
19
20 (i) Two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00)
21 to be expended for administrative purposes;
22
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1 (ii) Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) for the
2 development of a project based on the model of the
3 industrial heartland area in Alberta, Canada;
4
5 (iii) Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) to
6 encourage the development and construction of natural gas
7 to liquid fuels facilities in the state of Wyoming;
8
9 (iv) Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) to
10 encourage the development and construction of electronics
11 manufacturing facilities in Wyoming;
12
13 (v) Eight hundred fifty thousand dollars
14 ($850,000.00) to improve Wyoming's access to and growth in
15 domestic and international markets for Wyoming's products
16 and natural resources;
17
18 (vi) One million dollars ($1,000,000.00) to
19 develop Wyoming's energy initiatives, including but not
20 limited to the purposes and projects specified in section
21 2(d)(i)(F) of this act;
22
14