CHEYENNE -- A bill originally intended to address the zoning protest petition process has been expanded beyond its original scope to meet a former Wyoming Freedom Caucus leader's agenda.

Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, who stepped down as Freedom Caucus chairman last summer, brought a standing committee amendment Thursday night to Senate File 40, "Zoning protest petition-amendments," that would prohibit governing bodies from imposing a monetary fee or non-monetary condition on residential or commercial development related to workforce housing.

Bear's amendment was immediately challenged on the grounds of germaneness to the bill during committee of the whole debate, but ultimately his fellow representatives voted to allow it.

Friday morning, two more amendments brought by members of the minority party -- also broader in scope than the original bill's intention -- did not pass on second reading, but were not challenged for germaneness.

SF 40 passed on second reading Friday and will be heard one more time in the House next week. The bill addresses the protest petition process to a local development, and how it may affect zoning changes in an area. A recommendation of the Regulatory Reduction Task Force, proponents have said the bill would give developers more certainty when planning housing projects, but wouldn't usurp the public's right to be involved in the process.

Bear amendment allowed, adopted

Thursday night, Bear proposed his amendment, changing SF 40 to include the stipulation that no governing body could impose a fee on residential or commercial development related to the provision of workforce housing, unless expressly allowed by the state Constitution. Essentially, Bear's amendment would make it impossible for cities and towns to require developers to pay into an affordable housing fund as a condition of project -- a tool primarily used in the Jackson area.

When called into question and sent to the House Rules Committee on Thursday, acting chair Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, ruled that Bear's amendment would not be allowed. Bear challenged her ruling, and the House voted to hear, and ultimately adopt, the amendment after more than an hour of debate.

Minority leader Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, said before the vote on germaneness that SF 40 specifically addresses the zoning protest process, not governmentally imposed fees on development. Allowing Bear to add his amendment, Yin said, would mean the House is "opening every bill up to any amendment that has to do within that entire title."

"The language being inserted in the amendment has nothing to do with the zoning protest process," Yin said.

Rep. Lee Filer, R-Cheyenne, said that as a local developer, he supported the concept proposed by Bear's amendment, but as its own piece of legislation, not attached to SF 40.

"This has nothing to do with a petition protest," Filer said Thursday night. "This has to do with a totally other process."

The body ruled that Bear's amendment was germane, or could be considered in conjunction with the bill, overruling Provenza.

While debating Bear's amendment, Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, urged her fellow lawmakers to reject it. Storer said it would specifically affect her community, where local officials use the method with large-scale developers who plan to build hotels or other development that would have community-wide impacts.

"They create jobs. Those jobs need people to fill them, and those people need someplace to live," Storer said. "As a result, my county looks at those things and recognizes that there is a cost to building those things."

Bear argued that his amendment was necessary, as it would prevent a city government from forcing private property owners to develop their own property as the government saw fit.

"The (amendment) is an eminent domain issue. We have a taking here. We have a subdivision of this state ... taking from property owners, and saying, 'We have a problem in our community, and you're going to help us fix it, because you want to do something with your property'," Bear said.

Bear's amendment was adopted in a voice vote Thursday night.

Filer pointed out that Bear's amendment was a last-minute addition to the bill that first appeared in the final moments of a House Appropriations Committee meeting Wednesday, meaning it did not have time for public comment.

Sherwood, Yin amendments rejected

On Friday, the House did not challenge amendments brought by Yin or Rep. Trey Sherwood, D-Laramie, on germaneness, but voted both of them down. Sherwood's amendment would have provided a property tax credit for expenditures to incentivize improvement of abandoned and nuisance properties, a concept she said had been debated for at least six years.

Yin's amendment was similar to House Bill 68, "Tax increment financing," a measure that failed to meet a committee deadline last week, but was discussed in the interim.

"The concept here is that you have an abandoned property, and there is really nothing on the books that allows our local government to address something when someone has just walked away and this building is creating harm," Sherwood said about her amendment.

Bear argued against Sherwood's amendment, and it was voted down within minutes.

Yin explained after Sherwood's amendment failed that his would add a "tool" to the state's toolbox for addressing affordable housing issues in Wyoming by expanding the allowable uses for tax increment financing to be used for affordable housing purposes, in addition to blighted properties.

Rep. Rob Geringer, R-Cheyenne, argued for the change, saying it would remove roadblocks for affordable housing where it is most necessary.

"At the end of the day, we do need to provide solutions for our housing (issues)," Geringer said.

Bear told the House that the amendment was "far, far too expansive, going far afield of where this body would be willing to go." Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, said he could not support the amendment either.

"This creates a subsidized system for regenerating land, and, at the end of the day, we create a larger tax burden on those individuals in those areas," he said.

Yin's amendment also was voted down Friday morning.