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A string of bankruptcies have ravaged Wyoming coal country this year, as operators erase outstanding tax, labor and reclamation debts during court proceedings, leaving counties and taxpayers facing unexpected budget shortfalls, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. But state lawmakers have begun to investigate ways to mitigate the harm caused when mammoth coal companies spiral into insolvency. Meeting Monday as a select committee, the lawmakers convened with the goal of considering effective policy changes that could protect the state and counties from the outbreak of bankruptcies. Half-a-dozen cash-strapped coal companies that operate in Wyoming have filed for bankruptcy since 2015 as demand for coal sinks nationwide. This summer, Campbell County witnessed the closure of two mines when coal supplier Blackjewel ran itself into debt and failed to secure interim funding to continue operation of its mines during its bankruptcy proceedings. The company sent some 600 workers home on July 1 indefinitely and left behind millions of dollars in unpaid taxes. Though a new limited liability company called Eagle Specialty Materials agreed to purchase the idling Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr facilities, the mines have yet to resume full operation due to issues over permit transfers and reclamation liabilities. Multiple people at Monday’s meeting urged lawmakers to consider resurrecting a 2016 bill that would have required coal companies to dish out mandatory mineral-production taxes to counties on a more regular, monthly basis (similar to the state’s severance tax). The annual tax payment plan in place enables struggling coal companies to fall behind on the payment, advocates of the 2016 proposed bill reasoned.