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CHAPTER 4 - UNIFORM MUNICIPAL FISCAL PROCEDURES; PUBLICRECORDS, DOCUMENTS AND MEETINGS

ARTICLE 1 - UNIFORM MUNICIPAL FISCAL PROCEDURES

16-4-101. Short title.

Thisact shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform Municipal FiscalProcedures Act".

16-4-102. Definitions.

(a) As used in this act:

(i) "AICPA" means the American Institute of CertifiedPublic Accountants;

(ii) "Appropriation" means an allocation of money tobe expended for a specific purpose;

(iii) "Budget" means a plan of financial operations fora fiscal year or two (2) fiscal years, embodying estimates of all proposedexpenditures for given purposes, the proposed means of financing them and whatthe work or service is to accomplish. "Budget" includes the budget ofeach fund for which a budget is required by law and the collective budgets forall the funds based upon the functions, activities and projects;

(iv) "Budget officer" means any official appointed bythe governing body of a municipality and the county clerk in the case ofcounties;

(v) "Budget year" means the fiscal year or years forwhich a budget is prepared;

(vi) "Current year" means the fiscal year in which abudget is prepared and adopted for the ensuing budget year;

(vii) "Department" means a functional unit within afund which carries on a specific activity, such as a police department within acity general fund, the office of an elected county official or a major programcategory such as "instruction" in a school district fund;

(viii) "Estimated revenue" means the amount of revenuesestimated to be received during the budget year in each fund;

(ix) "Financial and compliance audit" means thedetermination in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards:

(A) Whether financial operations are properly conducted;

(B) Whether the financial reports of an audited entity arepresented fairly; and

(x) "Fiscal year" means the annual period forrecording fiscal operations beginning July 1 and ending June 30;

(xi) "Fund balance" means the excess of the assetsover liabilities, reserves and contributions, as reflected by a municipality'sbooks of account;

(xii) "Fund deficit" means the excess of liabilities,reserves and contributions over fund assets, as reflected by a municipality'sbooks of account;

(xiii) "Independent auditors" means independent publicaccountants who have no personal interest in the financial affairs of theentity or in affairs of the officers of the entity being audited and who auditunder the standards promulgated by the AICPA for state and local governments;

(xiv) "Municipality" means:

(A) All incorporated first class cities, towns having apopulation in excess of four thousand (4,000) inhabitants and all townsoperating under the city manager form of government;

(B) Counties;

(D) Community colleges.

(xv) "Proposed budget" means the budget presented forpublic hearing as required by W.S. 16-4-109 and formatted as required by W.S.16-4-104(b);

(xvi) "Requested budget" means a budget presented bythe budget officer to the governing body on or before May 15;

(xvii) "Unanticipated income" means income which isreceived during the budget year which could not reasonably have been expectedto be available during the current budget year;

(xviii) "Unappropriated surplus" means the portion of thefund balance of a budgetary fund which has not been appropriated or reserved inan ensuing budget year;

(xix) "Uniform chart of accounts" means the chart ofaccounts designed for municipalities which have been approved by the directorof the state department of audit;

(xx) "This act" means W.S. 16-4-101 through 16-4-124.

16-4-103. Budget requirements.

(a) Municipal budgets are required each fiscal year or everyother year as provided for in W.S. 16-4-104(h) for all expenditures and fundsof the municipalities.

(b) Intragovernmental and enterprise fund municipal budgets arerequired for adequate management control and for public information includingfinancial statements of condition, work programs and any other costs as themunicipal governing body may request. These fund accounts shall not be deemedto have spent amounts in excess of those budgeted when the funds available fromall sources are sufficient to cover the additional operating expenditures whichhave been approved by the governing bodies.

16-4-104. Preparation of budgets; contents; review; subsequentauthorized projects.

(a) All departments shall submit budget requests to theappropriate budget officer on or before May 1, except as provided for insubsection (h) of this section. On or before May 15, the budget officer shallprepare a requested budget for each fund and file the requested budget with thegoverning body, except as provided for in subsection (h) of this section. Therequested budget shall be prepared to best serve the municipality and countybudget officers shall include all departmental requests. The governing body mayamend the requested budget and the requested budget as amended shall be thebudget proposed for adoption.

(b) The appropriate budget officer shall prepare a proposedbudget for each fund and file the proposed budget with the governing body in atimely fashion allowing the governing body to meet the hearing date and noticerequirements established by W.S. 16-4-109. The format of the proposed budgetshall be prepared to best serve the municipality except that the budget formatsfor community colleges shall be uniform and approved by the community collegecommission and the director of the state department of audit. The proposedbudget shall set forth:

(i) Actual revenues and expenditures in the last completedbudget year;

(ii) Estimated total revenues and expenditures for the currentbudget year;

(iii) The estimated available revenues and expenditures for theensuing budget year.

(c) Each proposed and adopted budget shall contain theestimates of expenditures and revenues developed by the budget officer togetherwith specific work programs and other supportive data as the governing body requests.The estimates of revenues shall contain estimates of all anticipated revenuesfrom any source whatsoever including any revenues from state distribution oftaxes including sales and use tax including any local optional sales and usetax, lodging tax, fuel tax, cigarette tax and severance tax, federal mineralroyalties from the state, any mineral royalty grants from the state loan andinvestment board, and any local sources including business permits and buildingpermits. The estimates shall be made according to budget year, including thedifference from the previous budget year for each source.

(d) Each proposed and adopted budget shall be accompanied by abudget message in explanation of the budget. The budget message shall containan outline of the proposed financial policies for the budget year and describein connection therewith the important features of the budgetary plan. It shallalso state the reasons for changes from the previous year in appropriation andrevenue items and explain any major changes in financial policy.

(e) The proposed budget shall be reviewed and considered by thegoverning body in a regular or special meeting called for this purpose.Following a public hearing as provided in W.S. 16-4-109, the governing bodyshall adopt a budget.

(f) This act does not prevent the municipality from undertakingany project authorized by vote of the people after adoption of the budget.

(g) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 90, 3.

(h) Any incorporated city or town may employ a two (2) year budgetcycle and adopt a two (2) year budget under the following conditions:

(i) The two (2) year period shall begin with the city's ortown's first fiscal year following a budget session of the legislature;

(ii) For the second year of the budget cycle, the budget officershall prepare a budget adjustment that includes the original budget and anyproposed changes in revenues and expenditures. The governing body shallconsider and adopt the second year budget adjustment according to the sameprocedure that was used for the original two (2) year budget, including allpublic notices and hearings;

(iii) The city or town shall comply with all other provisions ofthis act. The requirements of this act may be performed on a biennial basispursuant to this subsection unless this act specifies that the requirement beperformed on a fiscal year or annual basis and the provision in which therequirement appears does not reference this subsection. Any other provision oflaw imposing reporting or other requirements upon a city or town on an annualor fiscal year basis shall not be affected by the adoption of a biennial yearbudget pursuant to this subsection unless the provision in which therequirement appears references this subsection.

(j) Repealed by Laws 2008, Ch. 44, 2.

16-4-105. Accumulated retained earnings or fund surplus; capitalimprovements reserve.

(a) A municipality may accumulate retained earnings in anyenterprise or intragovernmental service fund or accumulate a fund surplus inany other fund. With respect to the general fund the accumulated fund balancemay be used to meet any legal obligation of the municipality or to:

(i) Provide cash to finance expenditures from the beginning ofthe budget year until general property taxes and other revenues are collected;

(ii) Provide a reserve to meet emergency expenditures; or

(iii) Provide a reserve by the carryover from one (1) biennium toanother of any surplus generated by community service and continuing educationprograms operated by community colleges.

(b) A municipality may appropriate funds from estimated revenuein any budget year to a reserve for capital improvements and for depreciationwithin any capital improvements fund, and for the purpose of purchasing orreplacing specified equipment or a depreciation reserve for equipment, whichhas been duly established by ordinance. Money in the reserves may be allowed toaccumulate from year to year until the accumulated total is sufficient topermit economical expenditure for the specified purposes. Disbursements fromreserves shall be made only by transfer to a revenue account within a capitalimprovements fund pursuant to an appropriation for the fund. The amountappropriated to reserves under this subsection in any budget year shall not exceedten percent (10%) of the municipality's total revenues for that budget year.

(c) Expenditures from capital improvement or equipment budgetaccounts shall conform to all requirements of this act as it relates to theexecution and control of budgets.

16-4-106. Property tax levy.

Theamount of estimated revenue from property tax required by the budget shallconstitute the basis for determination of the property tax to be levied for thecorresponding tax years subject to legal limitations. The amount of taxshrinkage allowed shall not exceed the actual percentage of uncollected taxesto the total taxes levied for the preceding fiscal year or preceding two (2)fiscal years pursuant to W.S. 16-4-104(h). This section also applies todistricts and entities described in W.S. 16-4-125(c).

16-4-107. Authorized purchases or encumbrances.

Allpurchases or all encumbrances on behalf of any municipality shall be made orincurred only upon an order or approval of the person duly authorized to makesuch purchases except encumbrances or expenditures directly investigated andreported and approved by the governing body.

16-4-108. Limitation on expenditures or encumbrances; documentation ofexpenditures.

(a) No officer or employee of a municipality shall make anyexpenditure or encumbrance in excess of the total appropriation for anydepartment. The budget officer shall report to the governing body anyexpenditure or encumbrance made in violation of this subsection.

(b) The expenditure of municipality monies, other than employeecontract payments, may be authorized by the governing body when the payee hasprovided the municipality with an invoice or other document identifying thequantity and total cost per item or for the services rendered included on the invoiceor other document and the claim is certified under penalty of perjury by thevendor or by an authorized person employed by the municipality receiving theitems or for whom the services were rendered.

16-4-109. Budget hearings.

(a) A summary of the proposed budget shall be entered into theminutes and the governing body shall publish the summary at least one (1) weekbefore the hearing date in a newspaper having general circulation in which themunicipality is located, if there is one, otherwise by posting the notice inthree (3) conspicuous places within the municipality.

(b) Hearings for county budgets shall be held not later thanthe third Monday in July nor prior to the second Monday in July, for city andtown budgets not prior to the second Tuesday in June nor later than the thirdTuesday in June, for school districts and community college districts the thirdWednesday in July and for all other special purpose districts having the powerto levy or require the levy of taxes within five (5) days of the third Thursdayin July except as hereafter provided. The governing board of any specialpurpose district may choose to hold the budget hearing in conjunction with thecounty budget hearings and so advertise. The governing board of each municipalityshall arrange for and hold the hearings and provide accommodations forinterested persons. Copies of publications of hearings shall be furnished tothe director of the state department of audit and school districts shall alsofurnish copies to the state department of education. This section also appliesto districts and entities described in W.S. 16-4-125(c) excluding incorporatedtowns not subject to this act.

(d) Repealed by Laws 2000, Ch. 7, 1.

16-4-110. Limitation on appropriations.

Thegoverning body of a municipality shall not make any appropriation in the finalbudget of any fund in excess of the estimated expendable revenue of the fundfor the budget year.

16-4-111. Adoption of budget.

(a) Within twenty-four (24) hours of the conclusion of thepublic hearing under W.S. 16-4-109(b), the governing body of each municipalityshall, by resolution or ordinance, make the necessary appropriations and adoptthe budget, which, subject to future amendment, shall be in effect for the nextfiscal year or two (2) fiscal years pursuant to W.S. 16-4-104(h).

(b) Prior to adopting the budget, the county commissioners mayveto, in whole or in part, line items of budgets presented by boards which weretotally appointed by the county commissioners.

(c) Boards, the members of which are appointed by the countycommissioners, shall expend funds only as authorized by the approved budgetunless a departure from the budget is authorized by the board of countycommissioners.

(d) As provided by W.S. 39-13-104(k), a copy of the adoptedbudget, certified by the budget officer, shall be furnished the countycommissioners for the necessary property tax levies. Certified copies of theadopted budget shall be on file in the office of the budget officer for publicinspection. Copies of school district budgets shall be furnished to the statedepartment of education and copies of community college budgets shall befurnished to the community college commission. This section also applies todistricts and entities described in W.S. 16-4-125(c) excluding incorporatedcities and towns under four thousand (4,000) inhabitants.

16-4-112. Transfer of unencumbered or unexpended appropriationbalances.

Atthe request of the budget officer or upon its own motion after publication ofnotice, the governing body may by resolution transfer any unencumbered orunexpended appropriation balance or part thereof from one (1) fund, departmentor account to another.

16-4-113. General fund budget increase.

Thebudget of the general fund may be increased by resolution of the governingbody. The source of the revenue shall be shown whether unanticipated,unappropriated surplus, donations, etc.

16-4-114. Emergency expenditures.

Ifthe governing body determines an emergency exists and the expenditure of moneyin excess of the general fund budget is necessary, it may make the expendituresfrom revenues available under W.S. 16-4-105(a)(ii) as reasonably necessary tomeet the emergency. Notice of the declaration of emergency shall be publishedin a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality.

16-4-115. Appropriations lapse; prior claims.

Allappropriations excluding appropriations for capital projects shall lapsefollowing the close of the budget year to the extent they are not expended orencumbered. All claims incurred prior to the close of any fiscal year shall betreated as if properly encumbered.

16-4-116. Transfer of special fund balances.

Ifthe necessity to maintain any special revenue or assessment fund ceases andthere is a balance in the fund, the governing body shall authorize the transferof the balance to the fund balance account in the general fund. Any balancewhich remains in a capital improvements or capital projects fund shall betransferred to the appropriate debt service fund or other fund as the bondordinance requires or to the general fund balance account.

16-4-117. Interfund loans.

Thegoverning body may authorize interfund loans from one (1) fund to another at interestrates and terms for repayment as it may prescribe and may invest available cashin any fund as provided by law.

16-4-118. Special assessments.

Moneyreceived by the municipal treasurer from any special assessment shall beapplied towards payment of the improvement for which the assessment wasapproved. The money shall be used exclusively for the payment of the principaland interest on the bonds or other indebtedness incurred to finance theimprovements except as provided in W.S. 16-4-116.

16-4-119. Financial statements and reports; public inspection.

(a) The budget officer shall present to the governing body thestatement and reports provided by subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Appropriate interim financial statements and reports of financialposition, operating results and other pertinent information may be prepared tofacilitate management control of financial operations and, where necessary ordesired, for external reporting purposes as required by the governing body.

(c) All financial statements made pursuant to this sectionshall be open for public inspection during regular business hours.

16-4-120. Prescribed accounting systems.

(a) Each municipality shall maintain their accounting recordsin accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(b) Each school district and community college shall continueto maintain the uniform system of accounting prescribed by the state departmentof education and the community college commission.

(c) Each county and special district hospital shall continue tomaintain the uniform system of accounting in accordance with generally acceptedaccounting principles and federal hospital regulations.

16-4-121. Required annual audits; conduct; expenses; commencement andcompletion; additional requirements for school audits.

(a) The governing body of each municipality shall cause to bemade an annual audit of the financial affairs and transactions of all funds andactivities of the municipality for each fiscal year. At the option of thegoverning body, audits may be made at more frequent intervals.

(b) The governing body shall make available all documents andrecords required to perform the audit upon request by the independent auditor.

(c) The audits shall be conducted by independent auditors inaccordance with generally accepted auditing standards as promulgated by theAICPA in their guidelines for audits of state and local government units. Theaudit procedures shall be performed in accordance with "GovernmentAuditing Standards", issued by the comptroller general of the UnitedStates. Any audit performed shall comply with the requirements of W.S.9-1-507.

(d) The expenses of audits required by this act shall be paidby the municipality for which the audit is made.

(e) The first audit shall commence with the fiscal year endingJune 30, 1982 and thereafter at the end of each fiscal year. Except for schoolaudits which shall be completed by November 15 following the end of the auditedfiscal year, the audits shall be completed not more than six (6) months afterthe end of the fiscal year being audited. If within seven (7) months after theend of the fiscal year, a copy of an audit report has not been received by thedirector of the state department of audit, inquiry shall be made by thedirector. If the municipality has failed to have an annual audit commenced,the director shall make written demand on the governing body to commence theannual audit within thirty (30) days. If the annual audit report of amunicipality is not filed with the director within nine (9) months after theend of the fiscal year, the director shall contract with an independent auditorto conduct the audit and shall reimburse the independent auditor fromsufficient state revenues and grants withheld from the municipality whencertified by the director to the state treasurer, to pay the expenses of theaudit. If there are no state funds which may be withheld, the director shallrequire the municipality to pay the audit expenses from any funds available andcertify the amount to be collected to the attorney general for appropriatelegal proceedings.

(f) County memorial hospitals and hospital districts shall havean annual audit conducted by an independent certified public accountant inaccordance with generally accepted government auditing standards applicable tothe district or entity. The audit expense shall be included in the operatingbudget of the district or entity.

(g) Each year an audit shall be made in accordance with therequirements of subsection (c) of this section and a report filed for theimmediately succeeding fiscal year as necessary to determine foundation programguarantees and account expenditures by school districts.

16-4-122. Required annual audits; reports; contents and filing.

(a) Audit reports shall conform to generally acceptedaccounting principles as provided by W.S. 16-4-121(c).

(b) Copies of the audit reports shall be filed with andpreserved by the county clerk of each affected county and shall be open toinspection by any interested person. Copies of all audits shall also be filedwith the director of the state department of audit. Copies of school auditsshall also be filed with the state department of education on or beforeDecember 15 following the end of the audited fiscal year. Copies of communitycollege audit findings shall also be filed with the community collegecommission and the budget division of the department of administration andinformation as provided by W.S. 21-18-204.

16-4-123. Examinations of audit reports; violations; malfeasance bypublic officers and employees.

(a) The director of the state department of audit shall monitorand may examine each audit to determine if the audit is in compliance with thisact. The director shall have access to the working papers of the auditor. Ifthe director determines an audit is not in compliance with this act, he shallnotify the governing body of the municipality and the auditor submitting theaudit report and in the case of a school district audit, the state departmentof education, by submitting to them a statement of deficiencies. If thedeficiencies are not corrected within ninety (90) days from the date of thestatement of deficiencies or within twelve (12) months after the end of thefiscal year of the municipality, whichever is later, the director shall proceedin the same manner as if no report had been filed.

(b) If the director of the state department of audit, inexamining any audit report, finds an indication of violation of state law, heshall, after making an investigation as deemed necessary, consult with theattorney general, and if after investigation and consultation there is reasonto believe there has been a violation of state law on the part of any person,the facts shall be certified to the attorney general who shall causeappropriate proceedings to be brought.

(c) If it appears an auditor has knowingly issued an auditreport under the provisions of this act containing any false or misleadingstatement, the director of the state department of audit shall report thematter in writing to the Wyoming board of certified public accountants and tothe municipality.

(d) Any member of the governing body or any member, officer,employee or agent of any department, board, commission or other agency whoknowingly and willfully fails to perform any of the duties imposed upon him bythis act, or who knowingly and willfully violates any of the provisions of thisact, or who knowingly and willfully furnishes to the auditor or his employeeany false or fraudulent information is guilty of malfeasance and, uponconviction thereof, the court shall enter judgment to remove the person fromoffice or employment. It is the duty of the court rendering the judgment tocause immediate notice of removal from office or employment to be given to theproper officer of the municipality so the vacancy thus caused may be filled.

(e) The director of the state department of audit shall reportwillful violations of this act by any municipal officer to the attorney generalfor appropriate criminal and civil proceedings. The county or district attorneyshall furnish assistance to the attorney general when requested.

16-4-124. Payment of expenses to conventions or meetings; requiredspecific appropriation; violation.

It is unlawful for any board of countycommissioners or any town or city council to allow or pay out of the county orcity funds, any bill for expenses incurred by any county officer orrepresentative of the county, or of any municipal officer, representative oremployee incurred while attending any convention or meeting of any peaceofficers or other convention or meeting of officers, employees orrepresentatives either within or without the state of Wyoming, unless theadopted budget for the city, town or county provides for the payment of actualexpense of any officer while attending meetings or conventions within orwithout the state of Wyoming and then only after the city or town council orboard of county commissioners, as the case may be, shall specificallyappropriate for those purposes. Any person violating this section is guilty ofa misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of notless than one hundred dollars ($100.00), nor more than five hundred dollars($500.00), imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not less than thirty(30) days, nor more than ninety (90) days, or both.

16-4-125. Fiscal year for governmental entities; budget format forcertain entities not subject to the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act.

(a) The fiscal year for all governmental entities within thisstate, no matter how formed, shall commence on July 1 in each year, except asotherwise specifically provided or authorized by law.

(b) Hospital districts organized under W.S. 35-2-401 through35-2-438 and rural health care districts organized under W.S. 35-2-701 through35-2-709 shall have until July 1, 2011 to commence the district fiscal year onJuly 1 of each year.

(c) Incorporated towns not subject to the Uniform MunicipalFiscal Procedures Act, special purpose districts having the authority under thegeneral laws of Wyoming to levy taxes or impose assessments and public entitiesreceiving funds from a municipality as defined by W.S. 16-4-102(a)(xiv), shallprepare budgets in a format acceptable to the director of the state departmentof audit.

ARTICLE 2 - PUBLIC RECORDS

16-4-201. Definitions.

(a) As used in this act:

(i) "Custodian" means the official custodian or anyauthorized person having personal custody and control of the public records inquestion;

(ii) "Official custodian" means any officer oremployee of the state or any agency, institution or political subdivisionthereof, who is responsible for the maintenance, care and keeping of publicrecords, regardless of whether the records are in his actual personal custodyand control;

(iii) "Person in interest" means the person who is thesubject of a record or any representative designated by the person, except ifthe subject of the record is under legal disability or is the dependent highschool student of his parents, "person in interest" means the parentor duly appointed legal representative;

(iv) "Political subdivision" means every county, cityand county, city, incorporated and unincorporated town, school district andspecial district within the state;

(v) "Public records" when not otherwise specifiedincludes the original and copies of any paper, correspondence, form, book,photograph, photostat, film, microfilm, sound recording, map drawing or otherdocument, regardless of physical form or characteristics that have been made bythe state of Wyoming and any counties, municipalities and politicalsubdivisions thereof and by any agencies of the state, counties, municipalitiesand political subdivisions thereof, or received by them in connection with thetransaction of public business, except those privileged or confidential by law;

(vi) Public records shall be classified as follows:

(A) "Official public records" includes all originalvouchers, receipts and other documents necessary to isolate and prove thevalidity of every transaction relating to the receipt, use and disposition ofall public property and public income from all sources whatsoever; allagreements and contracts to which the state or any agency or subdivisionthereof is a party; all fidelity, surety and performance bonds; all claimsfiled against the state or any agency or subdivision thereof; all records ordocuments required by law to be filed with or kept by any agency or the stateof Wyoming; and all other documents or records determined by the recordscommittee to be official public records;

(B) "Office files and memoranda" includes allrecords, correspondence, exhibits, books, booklets, drawings, maps, blankforms, or documents not defined and classified in subparagraph (A) of thissubsection as official public records; all duplicate copies of official publicrecords filed with any agency of the state or subdivision thereof; alldocuments and reports made for the internal administration of the office towhich they pertain but not required by law to be filed or kept with the office;and all other documents or records, determined by the records committee to beoffice files and memoranda.

(vii) "Writings" means all books, papers, maps, photographs,cards, tapes, recordings or other documentary materials, regardless of physicalform or characteristics;

(viii) "This act" means W.S. 16-4-201 through 16-4-205.

16-4-202. Right of inspection; rules and regulations; unavailability.

(a) All public records shall be open for inspection by anyperson at reasonable times, except as provided in this act or as otherwiseprovided by law, but the official custodian of any public records may makerules and regulations with reference to the inspection of the records as isreasonably necessary for the protection of the records and the prevention ofunnecessary interference with the regular discharge of the duties of thecustodian or his office.

(b) If the public records requested are not in the custody orcontrol of the person to whom application is made, the person shall forthwithnotify the applicant of this fact.

(c) If the public records requested are in the custody andcontrol of the person to whom application is made but are in active use or instorage, and therefore not available at the time an applicant asks to examinethem, the custodian shall notify the applicant of this situation.

(d) If a public record exists primarily or solely in anelectronic format, the custodian of the record shall so inform the requester.Electronic record inspection and copying shall be subject to the following:

(i) The reasonable costs of producing a copy of the publicrecord shall be borne by the party making the request. The costs may includethe cost of producing a copy of the public record and the cost of constructingthe record, including the cost of programming and computer services;

(ii) An agency shall provide an electronic record in alternativeformats unless doing so is impractical or impossible;

(iii) An agency shall not be required to compile data, extractdata or create a new document to comply with an electronic record request ifdoing so would impair the agency's ability to discharge its duties;

(iv) An agency shall not be required to allow inspection orcopying of a record in its electronic format if doing so would jeopardize orcompromise the security or integrity of the original record or of anyproprietary software in which it is maintained;

(v) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the state chiefinformation officer from enacting any rules pursuant to his authority underW.S. 9-2-2501.

16-4-203. Right of inspection; grounds for denial; access of newsmedia; order permitting or restricting disclosure; exceptions.

(a) The custodian of any public records shall allow any personthe right of inspection of the records or any portion thereof except on one (1)or more of the following grounds or as provided in subsection (b) or (d) ofthis section:

(i) The inspection would be contrary to any state statute;

(ii) The inspection would be contrary to any federal statute orregulation issued thereunder having the force and effect of law; or

(iii) The inspection is prohibited by rules promulgated by thesupreme court or by the order of any court of record.

(b) The custodian may deny the right of inspection of thefollowing records, unless otherwise provided by law, on the ground thatdisclosure to the applicant would be contrary to the public interest:

(i) Records of investigations conducted by, or of intelligenceinformation or security procedures of, any sheriff, county attorney, cityattorney, the attorney general, the state auditor, police department or anyinvestigatory files compiled for any other law enforcement or prosecutionpurposes;

(ii) Test questions, scoring keys and other examination datapertaining to administration of a licensing examination and examination foremployment or academic examination. Written promotional examinations and thescores or results thereof shall be available for inspection, but not copying orreproduction, by the person in interest after the examination has beenconducted and graded;

(iii) The specific details of bona fide research projects beingconducted by a state institution;

(iv) Except as otherwise provided by Wyoming statutes or for theowner of the property, the contents of real estate appraisals made for thestate or a political subdivision thereof, relative to the acquisition ofproperty or any interest in property for public use, until such time as titleof the property or property interest has passed to the state or politicalsubdivision. The contents of the appraisal shall be available to the owner ofthe property or property interest at any time;

(v) Interagency or intraagency memoranda or letters which wouldnot be available by law to a private party in litigation with the agency;

(vi) To the extent that the inspection would jeopardize thesecurity of any structure owned, leased or operated by the state or any of itspolitical subdivisions, facilitate the planning of a terrorist attack orendanger the life or physical safety of an individual, including:

(A) Vulnerability assessments, specific tactics, emergencyprocedures or security procedures contained in plans or procedures designed toprevent or respond to terrorist attacks or other security threats;

(B) Building plans, blueprints, schematic drawings, diagrams,operational manuals or other records that reveal the building's or structure'sinternal layout, specific location, life and safety and support systems,structural elements, surveillance techniques, alarms, security systems ortechnologies, operational and transportation plans or protocols, personneldeployments for airports and other mass transit facilities, bridges, tunnels,emergency response facilities or structures, buildings where hazardousmaterials are stored, arenas, stadiums and waste and water systems;

(C) Records of any other building or structure owned, leased oroperated by the state or any of its political subdivisions that reveal thebuilding's or structure's life and safety systems, surveillance techniques,alarm or security systems or technologies, operational and evacuation plans orprotocols or personnel deployments; and

(D) Records prepared to prevent or respond to terrorist attacksor other security threats identifying or describing the name, location,pharmaceutical cache, contents, capacity, equipment, physical features, orcapabilities of individual medical facilities, storage facilities orlaboratories established, maintained, or regulated by the state or any of itspolitical subdivisions.

(c) If the right of inspection of any record falling within anyof the classifications listed in this section is allowed to any officer or employeeof any newspaper, radio station, television station or other person or agencyin the business of public dissemination of news or current events, it may beallowed to all news media.

(d) The custodian shall deny the right of inspection of thefollowing records, unless otherwise provided by law:

(i) Medical, psychological and sociological data on individualpersons, exclusive of coroners' autopsy reports;

(ii) Adoption records or welfare records on individual persons;

(iii) Personnel files except those files shall be available tothe duly elected and appointed officials who supervise the work of the personin interest. Applications, performance ratings and scholastic achievement datashall be available only to the person in interest and to the duly elected andappointed officials who supervise his work. Employment contracts, workingagreements or other documents setting forth the terms and conditions ofemployment of public officials and employees are not considered part of apersonnel file and shall be available for public inspection;

(iv) Letters of reference;

(v) Trade secrets, privileged information and confidentialcommercial, financial, geological or geophysical data furnished by or obtainedfrom any person;

(vi) Library, archives and museum material contributed byprivate persons, to the extent of any limitations placed thereon as conditionsof the contributions;

(vii) Hospital records relating to medical administration,medical staff, personnel, medical care and other medical information, whetheron individual persons or groups, or whether of a general or specificclassification;

(viii) School district records containing information relating tothe biography, family, physiology, religion, academic achievement and physicalor mental ability of any student except to the person in interest or to theofficials duly elected and appointed to supervise him;

(ix) Library patron transaction and registration records exceptas required for administration of the library or except as requested by acustodial parent or guardian to inspect the records of his minor child;

(x) Information obtained through a 911 emergency telephonesystem or through a verification system for motor vehicle insurance or bond asprovided under W.S. 31-4-103(e) except to law enforcement personnel or publicagencies for the purpose of conducting official business, to the person ininterest, or pursuant to a court order;

(xi) Records or information compiled solely for purposes ofinvestigating violations of, and enforcing, internal personnel rules orpersonnel policies the disclosure of which would constitute a clearlyunwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(xii) Information regarding the design, elements and components,and location of state information technology security systems and physicalsecurity systems; and

(xiii) Records or information relating to individual diagnoses ofcontagious, infectious, communicable, toxic and genetic diseases maintained orcollected by the Wyoming state veterinary laboratory as provided in W.S.21-17-308(e).

(e) If the custodian denies access to any public record, theapplicant may request a written statement of the grounds for the denial. Thestatement shall cite the law or regulation under which access is denied and shallbe furnished to the applicant.

(f) Any person denied the right to inspect any record coveredby this act may apply to the district court of the district wherein the recordis found for any order directing the custodian of the record to show cause whyhe should not permit the inspection of the record.

(g) If, in the opinion of the official custodian of any publicrecord, disclosure of the contents of the record would do substantial injury tothe public interest, notwithstanding the fact that the record might otherwisebe available to public inspection, he may apply to the district court of thedistrict in which the record is located for an order permitting him to restrictdisclosure. After hearing, the court may issue an order upon a finding that disclosurewould cause substantial injury to the public interest. The person seekingpermission to examine the record shall have notice of the hearing served uponhim in the manner provided for service of process by the Wyoming Rules of CivilProcedure and has the right to appear and be heard.

(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, thefollowing applies to the Wyoming natural diversity database located at theUniversity of Wyoming and any report prepared by the custodian from thatdatabase:

(i) The custodian may charge a reasonable fee for searching thedatabase and preparing a report from that database information. Theinterpretation of the database in a report shall not contain recommendationsfor restrictions on any public or private land use;

(ii) The custodian shall allow the inspection of all records inthe database at a level of spatial precision equal to the township, but at nomore precise level;

(iii) Research reports prepared by the custodian fundedcompletely from nonstate sources are subject to paragraph (b)(iii) of thissection;

(iv) Any record contained in the database pertaining to privateland shall not be released by the University of Wyoming without the priorwritten consent of the landowner. Nothing in this paragraph prohibits therelease of any information which would otherwise be available from any otherinformation source available to the public if the original source is cited.

16-4-204. Right of inspection; copies, printouts or photographs; fees.

(a) In all cases in which a person has the right to inspect andcopy any public records he may request that he be furnished copies, printoutsor photographs for a reasonable fee to be set by the official custodian. Wherefees for certified copies or other copies, printouts or photographs of therecord are specifically prescribed by law, the specific fees shall apply.Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing a fee to be chargedas a condition of making a public record available for inspection.

(b) If the custodian does not have the facilities for makingcopies, printouts or photographs of records which the applicant has the rightto inspect, then the applicant shall be granted access to the records for thepurpose of making copies, printouts or photographs. The copies, printouts orphotographs shall be made while the records are in the possession, custody andcontrol of the custodian thereof and are subject to the supervision of thecustodian. When practical the copy work shall be made in the place where therecords are kept, but if it is impractical to do so, the custodian may allowarrangements to be made for this purpose. If other facilities are necessary thecost of providing them shall be paid by the person desiring a copy, printout orphotograph of the records. The official custodian may establish a reasonableschedule of time for making copies, printouts or photographs and may charge areasonable fee for the services rendered by him or his deputy in supervisingthe copying, printing out or photographing as he may charge for furnishingcopies under this section.

(c) After July 1, 2003, any fees or charges assessed by acustodian of a public record shall first be authorized by duly enacted oradopted statute, rule, resolution, ordinance, executive order or other likeauthority.

(d) All state agencies may adopt rules and regulations pursuantto the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act establishing reasonable fees andcharges that may be assessed for the costs and services set forth in thissection.

16-4-205. Penalty.

Anyperson who willfully and knowingly violates the provisions of this act isguilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by afine not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00).

ARTICLE 3 - FILING OF DOCUMENTS

16-4-301. When documents deemed filed.

(a) Any report, claim, tax return, statement or other documentor any payment required or authorized to be filed or made to the state ofWyoming or to any political subdivision thereof, which is:

(i) Transmitted through the United States mail, shall be deemedfiled or made and received by the state or political subdivisions on the dateshown by the post office cancellation mark stamped upon the envelope or otherappropriate wrapper containing it;

(ii) Mailed but not received by the state or politicalsubdivisions or where received and the cancellation mark is illegible,erroneous or omitted, shall be deemed filed or made and received on the date itwas mailed if the sender establishes by competent evidence that the report,claim, tax return, statement or other document or payment was deposited in theUnited States mail on or before the date for filing or paying.

(b) In cases of nonreceipt of any report, tax return, statementor other document or payment required by law to be filed or made, the sendershall file with the state or political subdivision a duplicate within thirty(30) days after written notification is given to the sender that the state orpolitical subdivision did not receive the report, tax return, statement orother document or payment or paragraph (a)(ii) of this section does not apply.

16-4-302. Competent evidence of delivery.

Ifany report, claim, tax return, statement or other document or payment is sentby United States mail and either registered or certified, a recordauthenticated by the United States post office of the registration orcertification is competent evidence that the report, claim, tax return,statement or other document or payment was delivered to the state officer orstate agency or officer or agency of the political subdivision to whichaddressed, and the date of registration or certification is deemed thepostmarked date.

16-4-303. Filing date falling on Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

Ifthe date for filing any report, claim, tax return, statement or other documentor making any payment falls upon a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the actsshall be considered timely if performed on the next business day.

16-4-304. Applicability of provisions.

W.S.16-4-301 through 16-4-304 apply only to those reports, claims, tax returns,statements and other documents and payments for which failure or neglect tofile or make the same subjects a person, firm or corporation to criminal orcivil penalties or forfeitures.

ARTICLE 4 - PUBLIC MEETINGS

16-4-401. Statement of purpose.

Theagencies of Wyoming exist to conduct public business. Certain deliberations andactions shall be taken openly as provided in this act.

16-4-402. Definitions.

(a) As used in this act:

(i) "Action" means the transaction of officialbusiness of an agency including a collective decision of a governing body, acollective commitment or promise by a governing body to make a positive ornegative decision, or an actual vote by a governing body upon a motion,proposal, resolution, regulation, rule, order or ordinance;

(ii) "Agency" means any authority, bureau, board,commission, committee, or subagency of the state, a county, a municipality orother political subdivision which is created by or pursuant to the Wyomingconstitution, statute or ordinance, other than the state legislature and thejudiciary;

(iii) "Meeting" means an assembly of at least a quorumof the governing body of an agency which has been called by proper authority ofthe agency for the purpose of discussion, deliberation, presentation ofinformation or taking action regarding public business;

(iv) "This act" means W.S. 16-4-401 through 16-4-408.

16-4-403. Meetings to be open; participation by public; minutes.

(a) All meetings of the governing body of an agency are publicmeetings, open to the public at all times, except as otherwise provided. Noaction of a governing body of an agency shall be taken except during a publicmeeting following notice of the meeting in accordance with this act. Actiontaken at a meeting not in conformity with this act is null and void and notmerely voidable.

(b) A member of the public is not required as a condition ofattendance at any meeting to register his name, to supply information, tocomplete a questionnaire, or fulfill any other condition precedent to hisattendance. A person seeking recognition at the meeting may be required to givehis name and affiliation.

(i) Are required to be recorded but not published from meetingswhen no action is taken by the governing body;

(ii) Are not required to be recorded or published for day-to-dayadministrative activities of an agency.

16-4-404. Types of meetings; notice; recess.

(a) In the absence of a statutory requirement, the governingbody of an agency shall provide by ordinance, resolution, bylaws or rule forholding regular meetings unless the agency's normal business does not requireregular meetings in which case the agency shall provide notice of its nextmeeting to any person who requests notice. A request for notice may be made forall future meetings of an agency.

(b) Special meetings may be called by the presiding officer ofa governing body by giving notice of the meeting to each member of thegoverning body and to each newspaper of general circulation, radio ortelevision station requesting the notice. The notice shall specify the time andplace of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No otherbusiness shall be considered at a special meeting.

(c) The governing body of an agency may recess any regular,special, or recessed regular or special meeting to a place and at a timespecified in an order of recess. A copy of the order of recess shall beconspicuously posted on or near the door of the place where the meeting orrecessed meeting was held.

(d) The governing body of an agency may hold an emergencymeeting on matters of serious immediate concern to take temporary actionwithout notice. Reasonable effort shall be made to offer public notice. Allaction taken at an emergency meeting is of a temporary nature and in order tobecome permanent shall be reconsidered and acted upon at an open public meetingwithin forty-eight (48) hours.

(e) Day-to-day administrative activities of an agency shall notbe subject to the notice requirements of this section.

16-4-405. Executive sessions.

(a) A governing body of an agency may hold executive sessionsnot open to the public:

(i) With the attorney general, county attorney, districtattorney, city attorney, sheriff, chief of police or their respective deputies,or other officers of the law, on matters posing a threat to the security ofpublic or private property, or a threat to the public's right of access;

(ii) To consider the appointment, employment, right to practiceor dismissal of a public officer, professional person or employee, or to hearcomplaints or charges brought against an employee, professional person orofficer, unless the employee, professional person or officer requests a publichearing. The governing body may exclude from any public or private hearingduring the examination of a witness, any or all other witnesses in the matterbeing investigated. Following the hearing or executive session, the governingbody may deliberate on its decision in executive sessions;

(iii) On matters concerning litigation to which the governingbody is a party or proposed litigation to which the governing body may be aparty;

(iv) On matters of national security;

(v) When the agency is a licensing agency while preparing,administering or grading examinations;

(vi) When considering and acting upon the determination of theterm, parole or release of an individual from a correctional or penalinstitution;

(vii) To consider the selection of a site or the purchase of realestate when the publicity regarding the consideration would cause a likelihoodof an increase in price;

(viii) To consider acceptance of gifts, donations and bequestswhich the donor has requested in writing be kept confidential;

(ix) To consider or receive any information classified asconfidential by law;

(x) To consider accepting or tendering offers concerning wages,salaries, benefits and terms of employment during all negotiations;

(xi) To consider suspensions, expulsions or other disciplinaryaction in connection with any student as provided by law.