Wyoming Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Wyoming, with full citations and the original source on every page.
Could Wyoming's Environmental Quality Council adopt environmental rules on its own, or did it always need a positive recommendation from the Department of Environmental Quality first?
It always needed a recommendation. Wyoming AG Peter Michael concluded the Environmental Quality Act gave the Council authority to approve rules only 'after recommendation from the director' of DEQ. Th…
When a Wyoming county commission and a county assessor want a private tax attorney to work on a proposed lease that the county attorney has already opined on, who can hire that attorney, who can pay, and is the resulting legal advice a public record?
Attorney General Gregory Phillips concluded that a county commission can hire private counsel to assist the county attorney in any 'civil proceeding' under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 18-3-302(c), even over the…
After the 2010 census, did the Wyoming Constitution require all 30 state senators to stand for election in 2012 because senate district lines would change, or could 'holdover' senators (those whose four-year terms had not expired) finish their terms?
Holdover senators could finish their terms. Attorney General Gregory Phillips concluded that 46 years of federal and state cases since Reynolds v. Sims have allowed holdover senators to complete their…
After Miller v. Alabama and Wyoming's 2013 fix, when does an inmate sentenced to life for a crime committed before age 18 become eligible for parole, and does it matter what the law said when the crime was committed?
Attorney General Peter Michael answered four questions: (1) The 2013 amendments apply to all qualifying juvenile offenders regardless of when their crime was committed, because the statutes are about …
Did a Wyoming state employee who served in another state's National Guard qualify for Wyoming's 15 days of paid military leave, and how did that interact with the Governor's differential-pay executive order?
Yes, the employee qualified. Wyoming AG Peter Michael concluded that members of any state's National Guard count as members of the 'United States military forces reserve' under federal law, so they ge…
Did Wyoming's five statewide elected officials have to approve a federal immigration detention center proposed for Uinta County?
No. Wyoming AG Peter Michael concluded the Private Correctional Facilities Act covered only criminal jails and prisons. A federal civil immigration detention facility was not a 'facility' under the Ac…
Did the 2007 Wyoming Legislature's $3.35 million appropriation to help pay state-plan health insurance premiums for already-retired state, university, and community-college employees violate the Wyoming Constitution's bar on 'extra compensation' to public employees after services were rendered?
No. Attorney General Patrick Crank concluded that Article 3, Section 30 was rooted in anti-fraud concerns about contracted services, not a categorical ban on post-employment payments to retirees, and …
If a sheriff was elected after his son was already working as a deputy in the office, and three layers of supervision separate them, does Wyoming's anti-nepotism statute force the sheriff to fire his son?
No. Attorney General Gregory Phillips concluded that Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 9-13-104 reads on its plain language: it bars an official from causing or advocating a family member's hiring, supervising or man…
Does Article 3, Section 33 of the Wyoming Constitution require every bill that touches on taxes, including bills that decrease taxes or are revenue neutral, to start in the House of Representatives, or can a property tax deferral bill begin in the Senate?
It does not, and yes the Senate can. Attorney General Bruce Salzburg overruled the office's 1986 reading that all tax-related bills must originate in the House. He read the Wyoming clause to track U.S…
Were the 'Wyoming Skill Games' that started appearing in Wyoming bars and convenience stores actually slot machines under state gambling law?
Yes. Wyoming AG Peter Michael concluded the Banilla 'Wyoming Skill Games' (Nudge and Hot Swap variants) were illegal gambling devices. The 'Prize Viewer' and the 15-second nudge or swap window did not…
Could a Wyoming county commission appoint a 'special prosecutor' to assist the elected county and prosecuting attorney while keeping that attorney under the commission's supervision, and could the elected county attorney's father be hired into that position?
No on both counts. Attorney General Patrick Crank concluded that the Big Horn County Commissioners had no authority to manage or supervise an attorney prosecuting criminal or juvenile cases, that auth…
Could Wyoming's State Engineer be required during the May–September irrigation season to shut off junior upstream Wyoming irrigators so the Bureau of Reclamation could fill Pathfinder Reservoir?
No. Attorney General Patrick Crank concluded that neither the U.S. Supreme Court's modified decree in Nebraska v. Wyoming nor Wyoming water law required the State Engineer to honor a Bureau of Reclama…
Can a Wyoming elected official like the Superintendent of Public Instruction hire an at-will employee to fill a position that was previously held by a permanent employee, without first getting approval from the Department of Administration & Information?
No. Attorney General Gregory Phillips concluded that under Wyoming's Constitution and personnel statutes, the Governor (acting through the Department of Administration & Information's Human Resources …
Could Wyoming's Environmental Quality Council use the Environmental Quality Act to require that all coalbed natural gas produced water actually be put to beneficial agricultural use, as a way to limit how much water gets discharged?
No. Attorney General Patrick Crank concluded that the Environmental Quality Act gave DEQ and the EQC authority to regulate water quantity only when quantity affected water quality. The Act's stated pu…
Do contracts for the Wyoming Capitol building reconstruction project need approval from the Governor and State Treasurer under article 3, section 31 of the Wyoming Constitution?
No. The AG concluded article 3, section 31 covered only narrow procurement categories (stationery, fuel, printing, legislative furniture, and routine repair of legislative halls and rooms), and did no…
If a Wyoming town incorporates after the federal census but before a state mineral fund payout, can the new town receive a population-based share?
Yes. The AG concluded that a new town incorporated on or before July 1, 2001 (the date the Municipal Mineral Trust Fund was repealed) could participate in the population-based portion of the fund's di…
Did Wyoming's constitution require the legislature to send a proposed constitutional amendment to the governor for signature before putting it on the ballot?
Yes. Article 3, § 41 of the Wyoming Constitution requires every joint resolution to be presented to the governor for approval or veto, and the AG concluded a 2000 legislative rule that bypassed the go…
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Attorney general opinions in Wyoming are written by the Wyoming Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.