[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6330112,"mediaKeyId","2315063-1ddfe61ac243ea0e2df133d47337324c","parentId",2315063,"title","Judiciary committee approves felony for using false documents to claim property or occupancy","audioSeconds",67,"startMs",254705,"endMs",322510,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2315063-1ddfe61ac243ea0e2df133d47337324c&start=254&end=322","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2315063-1ddfe61ac243ea0e2df133d47337324c/thumbnail_254705.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6330112/Wyoming/Judiciary-committee-approves-felony-for-using-false-documents-to-claim-property-or-occupancy","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6330112-59df23e2459767368f76fca772ec17fb/orig.mp4?Expires=1770437430&Signature=Ny72jY6zYSS4t-vAmplV1EkI1G2DHDqMQcr5wvgy~0cI820RelimGeza-kVFP82PQlVrG~Ypdv9TNDwgoeGBeTHojAMDWMqbEzREyrEqx3cY-TOVUq6rgomysZ2gm-UXJEfHHoOmNhIx6V40HVkHi6oZBP5Jb2eKP9TF~emCDqo1iSMkqwO2E1j4lgaSZMeJ8KjVR76ID8peoRTQ1eWx6TXFFkHOfhRBbJLNVdOzrXocUauTCpKxmM6Q~XCY28EVkhtoX0MtFhDhE8pSKZ4V48Gd6bF8HIbz0Vrj~aGen3hQOaxnpLSXYyYF4eVnZx5hiu-QudOBkCx4Rq~YBfGR7g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Wyoming Legislature","date","2025-02-14T00:00:00Z","article","The House Judiciary Committee voted to pass Senate File 11 on Feb. 14, 2025, sending to the floor a bill that creates a felony offense for intentionally using a false or fraudulent document to claim a right to property or to gain or remain in possession of property.

The measure defines \"document\" broadly to include written materials in physical or electronic form and defines \"property\" as real property improved by a dwelling or structure. Under the bill, a person who \"intentionally uses a document that the person knows or reasonably should know is false or fraudulent to gain or remain in possession of property or to claim a right to property for which the person does not have a legal right to possess\" would be guilty of a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, committee members were told.

Supporters said the bill targets increasingly sophisticated schemes in which individuals or third parties produce fabricated leases or other paperwork to appear to be tenants and delay eviction or to otherwise claim a property interest. \"A lot of times people think squatters are drug addicts or homeless people,\" said Miss Urbukite, a lawyer with Wyoming Realtors. \"The reality is they are becoming much more sophisticated and have figured out that if they have a false document, they can stave off eviction for a little bit longer.\"

Alan Thompson of WASCOP said the bill provides prosecutors with another option when fraud accompanies illegal occupation. \"This doesn't deal with the 2:00 a.m. issue,\" Thompson said, referring to on-scene eviction or trespass enforcement; \"but it starts that investigation\" and can be used after a more protracted inquiry into who created or provided the false documents.

Committee members asked whether the measure would cover fraudulent liens or title claims. Representative Chastick said he believed the language was broad enough to cover a fraudulent lien because a lien is a property interest and the statute penalizes claiming a right to property the person does not legally hold. Representative Feiler and others raised concerns about placing front-line officers in a position to determine whether a document is fraudulent during an enforcement action; witnesses responded that practical enforcement will involve investigation and that the statute is intended to provide a prosecutorial tool rather than an automatic on-scene arrest rule.

The bill was moved by Representative Filer and seconded by Representative Singh; the committee recorded a unanimous recorded vote of nine ayes to report the bill \"do pass.\" Representative Schastick agreed to carry the bill to the floor.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Judiciary Committee, February 14, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senate File 11, a two-page bill that would make it a felony for a person who knowingly uses a false or fraudulent document to gain or remain in possession of property, passed the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 14, 2025, after testimony from law enforcement and real-estate interests.","taxTitle","Judiciary Committee, House of Representative, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming","taxId",61354,"location","Wyoming","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6330117,"Committee approves measure to require timely reporting of missing persons, adds 'without delay' language",194,58005,252467,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2315063-1ddfe61ac243ea0e2df133d47337324c&start=58&end=252","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2315063-1ddfe61ac243ea0e2df133d47337324c/thumbnail_58005.jpg","/articles/6330117/Wyoming/Committee-approves-measure-to-require-timely-reporting-of-missing-persons-adds-without-delay-language","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6330117-23fd82dd34bc109914127d51a22eacb5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770437430&Signature=C2OyFzz60R43sS8JPLkNpFRhyAcOpor0148ba0eUta1-Aa-jZJCHzH30a4LpciFhgcXxEzr3Dv-SgSW7hlhEs0O3cPMm3RZqkvs4gwzrwdzospXqVacDEfbihWYtkzvjW-ObJNLXGKhmY58DWr16k5PUggCR9KnQ5Dzk3LLn2k090NRwAzPKsgAmnvtN3ZMyeR0BVNkKRb4i9NiEEWdOS7Yj25qn82kFGUAkeWLq9ldh0wK4W1Wayd9EV0O3867syeRKJk4aOR8wPWfA9hPQDPVuxf8XpuTgLQRCEbzQgfzNPEN5H9s35C3~GzRElzxTd~EUMo~JFAjw8DcxnaLGQw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate File 114, a bill to standardize how Wyoming law enforcement agencies accept and report missing-person cases, was amended and passed by the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 14, 2025. The committee voted to add the words \"without delay\" to the bill and approved the amended measure by a 9-0 voice/roll call that recorded nineayes.

The bill seeks to require every Wyoming law enforcement agency to \"accept without delay any credible report of a missing person made to a law enforcement agency,\" while carving out a short list of reasons an agency could decline to take a report. It also directs timely entry into national systems to speed cross-jurisdictional alerts, testimony and sponsor remarks said.

Supporters told the committee the bill responds to inconsistent practices around adults who go missing and to problems when multiple jurisdictions assume another agency is the primary reporting agency. \"In a few instances law enforcement agencies in our state may believe another law enforcement entity to be the primary reporting agency and thus, they would decline to accept a report of a missing person,\" sponsor Senator Landen said, describing how the bill prioritizes which agency should accept the report. \"This bill outlines a specific procedure for all Wyoming law enforcement agencies to follow.\"

The bill sets timeframes for database entry discussed during testimony: reports involving anyone under 21 must be entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) within two hours of receiving the report, while adults over 21 have an eight-hour window, the sponsor said. The measure also requires reporting to national clearinghouses such as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), supporters said.

Advocates and practitioners urged the committee to pass the bill. Desiree Tonoco, director and founder of the nonprofit Missing People of Wyoming, said her group — which began as a Facebook community and now has about 35,000 members — sees cases denied to databases because of an individual's income, criminal history or lack of a physical address. \"We have no protocols for missing people,\" Tonoco said in a written statement read by Kara Chambers of the Attorney General's Office. \"This bill would provide guidance and accountability for agencies throughout the state.\"

Sheriff Blackburn (appearing by Zoom) described practical consequences when entries are delayed. He said a vehicle connected to a potential missing person was impounded in another state and no missing-person entry had been made; he said faster entry sometimes allows investigators to preserve evidence and bring in federal partners earlier. \"The quicker it gets in our databases and the quicker it starts moving among the law enforcement communities, the faster we may be able to get a shred of evidence before it goes underground,\" Blackburn said.

Alan Thompson, executive director of WASCOP (the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police), said the measure resulted from a collaborative process with local chiefs and sheriffs and the Attorney General's Office, and that the exception list in the bill was intended to narrow reasons to refuse a report, not expand them. \"We came into this with a perception from a law enforcement angle that this isn't a problem,\" Thompson said. \"If we're not doing the right thing, we need to codify it, get it into law, make sure that all law enforcement understands what the expectation is in Wyoming.\"

Lena Deckert, an assistant research scientist at the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center at the University of Wyoming, presented a review commissioned by the Wyoming Division of Victim Services showing that 40 states and the District of Columbia require law enforcement to enter missing-adult cases into a state or federal database; she said Wyoming currently has no legislative requirement and relies on voluntary submissions to its clearinghouse. \"This contrasts with states that have established mandatory protocols for database entry and alert activation,\" Deckert said.

Committee members questioned language in the bill about refusing a report if another agency \"will accept\" the report in the future; Representative Chastick and others pressed for adding \"without delay\" after the phrase \"will accept\" to avoid agencies relying on vague assurances and causing gaps. Representative Webb offered the amendment to insert the words \"without delay\" after the phrase \"will accept\"; members debated redundancy but agreed it would reduce the risk of delay. The amendment was approved and the committee later voted to pass the amended bill, with Chair Washington stating he would carry the bill to the House floor.

The governor's office and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force also expressed support. Kit Wintland, special counsel and policy adviser for Governor Mark Gordon, said public safety and addressing underreported missing tribal members are priorities for the governor. Wintland and James Sorrells, the governor's liaison, urged support for the bill and noted work with tribes and law enforcement on alerting systems such as Amber Alerts.

The committee recorded the final action as \"do pass amended\" and selected a floor sponsor. The bill will next be placed on the House floor calendar for further consideration.

","The House Judiciary Committee voted to send Senate File 114 to the floor with an amendment that inserts the words \"without delay\" to require Wyoming law enforcement to accept and enter credible missing-person reports into national databases, supporters said, after testimony from law enforcement, victims' advocates and researchers.","actionData","errors"]

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Judiciary committee approves felony for using false documents to claim property or occupancy

Committee approves measure to require timely reporting of missing persons, adds 'without delay' language