On Feb. 17, House Bill 17 (HB0017) passed out of the House Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs Committee with a vote of 8-1, and will be brought to the floor on Feb. 18, for first reading.
HB0017 proposes protecting lands surrounding the State Veterans Home and Skilled Nursing Facility in Buffalo and two other sites in the state from commercial mineral development.
The bill proposes leasing those state grounds only for the grazing of cattle, so long as the Veterans’ Home of Wyoming and the Wyoming Veterans’ Skilled Nursing Facility exist in the adjacent location.
The bill not only protects the Veterans Home in Buffalo and the Veterans Cemetery in Casper, but also the Richard Bridge Historical Park.
“I want to thank members of the House Transportation Committee for recognizing the importance of the pastoral nature of the Veterans’ Home and advancing the bill to ensure that for perpetuity,” Johnson County Commission Chairman Bill Novotny, who provided testimony on behalf of Johnson County where the veterans’ home is located told Sheridan Media News.
The bill will now go before the House for first reading. View HB 0017, here.
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Last modified: February 17, 2022