Merit Institute Merit

The Wyoming Merit-Based Credentialing Act (WY-ACSA)

Wyoming state companion to ACSA. Given Wyoming levies no individual or general corporate income tax, the skills-based hiring incentive is restructured as a direct workforce-grant award and a Business Council reinvestment payment under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 9 Ch. 12.

THE WYOMING MERIT-BASED CREDENTIALING ACT (WY-ACSA)

Vehicle: State passage. Wyoming Legislature, regular session. Primary referral to House / Senate Labor, Health and Social Services / Revenue / Appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “Wyoming Merit-Based Credentialing Act (WY-ACSA).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislature finds that Wyoming levies no personal income tax and no general corporate income tax; that Wyoming enacted universal occupational-licensure recognition under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Sec. 33-1-302; that the Wyoming Community College Commission operates under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 21 Ch. 18; that the University of Wyoming operates under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 21 Ch. 17; that the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services operates under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 9 Ch. 2 Art. 20; that the Wyoming Business Council operates under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 9 Ch. 12 and administers the Business Ready Community (BRC) grant program and Workforce Development Training Fund; and that Wyoming’s core tax structure relies on sales, use, and severance taxes. This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH WYOMING LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “Wyoming Recognized Merit Credential” or “WYRMC” means a competency-based credential designated by the Executive Director of the Wyoming Community College Commission in coordination with the Director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services under Sec. 201.
  2. (b) “Federal FRAC” means a Federally Recognized Alternative Credential under Section 202 of the federal ACSA.
  3. (c) “Covered State licensing authority” means an agency issuing an occupational license under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 33.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing Wyoming Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • Wyo. Stat. Ann. Sec. 33-1-302 (universal recognition).
  • Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 21 Ch. 18 (Community College Commission).
  • Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 9 Ch. 2 Art. 20 (Department of Workforce Services).
  • Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 9 Ch. 12 (Wyoming Business Council).

TITLE II — WYOMING RECOGNIZED MERIT CREDENTIALS

Sec. 201. Designation Authority

  1. (a) The Executive Director of the Wyoming Community College Commission, in coordination with the Director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, shall maintain a Wyoming Recognized Merit Credentials registry (“WYRMC Registry”) in machine-readable form, updated at least annually, crosswalked to Federal FRAC.

Sec. 202. Degree-Optional State Employment

  1. (a) Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 9 Ch. 2 Art. 10 (Human Resources Division) shall be applied so that a WYRMC-holder satisfies any position qualification stated in terms of a college degree, unless expressly required by Wyoming statute.

TITLE III — INCENTIVE FOR SKILLS-BASED HIRING (No-Corporate-Tax Rewire)

Sec. 301. Skills-Based Hiring Direct Grant

  1. (a) Given that Wyoming levies no individual or general corporate income tax, no tax credit is imposed against such taxes. In lieu of a tax credit, the incentive is structured as:
  • (i) A direct workforce-development grant from the Workforce Development Training Fund under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 9 Ch. 2 Art. 20 for qualifying SDRMC- or Federal FRAC-tied hires, subject to the availability of appropriations, and/or
  • (ii) A BRC-program adjacent reinvestment payment administered by the Wyoming Business Council under Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 9 Ch. 12.
  1. (b) Awards prioritize hires in energy, agriculture, healthcare, and emerging-technology sectors.

TITLE IV — OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE PORTABILITY

Sec. 401. Licensure by Demonstrated Competency

  1. (a) Demonstrated-competency pathway accepting WYRMC, Federal FRAC, or examination-plus-supervised-experience.

Sec. 402. Interstate Recognition for Federal-Fund Recipients

  1. (a) Recognition by federally-funded authorities, consistent with Section 401 of the federal ACSA and Wyo. Stat. Ann. Sec. 33-1-302.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect July 1 of the year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: ACSA. Other Wyoming bills: WY-MEWRA, WY-GT&P, WY-AI-Workforce.