A bill aimed at updating Wyoming state identification cards for noncitizens has passed the Wyoming House of Representatives, but its progress stalled after the Senate rejected a change proposed by the House.
Senate File 33, titled “Noncitizen Driver’s License and ID Card Revisions,” initially passed on the third reading in the House on Thursday. However, during the House’s committee debate, lawmakers amended the bill to replace the term “nonresident” with the phrase “not a US citizen,” which was recommended by the House Transportation, Highways, and Military Affairs Committee.
Currently, Wyoming state-issued IDs for noncitizens carry the designation “NR” to indicate nonresidency, a term that Secretary of State Chuck Gray described as ambiguous for election judges determining voter eligibility. However, the amendment to change the language was rejected by the Senate during a concurrence vote. Senator Stephan Pappas expressed concerns that including the word “citizen” would make the text too long for the limited space on the identification card, further complicating future updates.
The bill’s failure to pass the Senate now sends it to a joint conference committee to resolve differences between the two chambers. While both the House and Senate discussed the possibility of allocating funds for the change, no additional funding was approved for the measure.
Rep. Trey Sherwood proposed a funding amendment to allocate $67,000 to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) for the cost of printing new IDs. However, several legislators, including Rep. Mike Yin, opposed the amendment, arguing that it would divert resources away from road maintenance projects. Rep. John Bear also objected, stating that additional funding was unnecessary given the new influx of funds to WYDOT.
Despite the amendments and disagreements, the legislation’s future remains uncertain, with continued debates over the impact on noncitizens and Wyoming’s infrastructure budget.
With input from Oil City News and Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
