This bill establishes new requirements for wildlife mitigation impact payments related to industrial siting projects in Wyoming. It introduces a new section, W.S. 35-12-120, which defines "eligible entities" as the Wyoming game and fish commission and the Wyoming wildlife and natural resource trust account board. These entities can apply for wildlife impact payments from industrial facility applicants, detailing the specific impacts on wildlife, mitigation efforts, and estimated costs. The bill mandates that these payments be used for mitigating unmitigated wildlife impacts and requires eligible entities to maintain records of all payments and expenditures.

Additionally, the bill amends several existing statutes to incorporate the new wildlife impact payment provisions and to clarify the roles of various state agencies in the industrial siting process. Notably, it allows the wildlife trust account board to seek wildlife impact payments and requires the industrial siting council to include terms for these payments in their orders. The act will apply to all industrial facilities for which applicants receive a jurisdiction determination on or after July 1, 2026, and the council is tasked with creating necessary rules for implementation. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2026, with certain sections effective immediately upon the bill's passage.

Statutes affected:
26LSO-0028 v0.5: 9-15-104, 18-5-509, 18-5-511, 35-11-109, 35-11-110, 35-11-2101, 35-12-105, 35-12-110