Wyoming Legislature report – Feb. 16, 2014
by HD 20 Representative Albert Sommers
February 16, 2014
Click here for an audio file of this report (921K, 1:52 min, m4a file)
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from the Capital on Sunday (Feb. 16, 2014). Last Friday was the deadline for bill introduction, which means no new bills can be brought forward. Last week we voted on nearly every great policy issue of our time, and we did this with no more than five minutes of discussion on any issue. Put simply, it was a whirlwind. On Monday, we will continue with evaluating bills, through committee work, Committee of the Whole, 2nd reading, and final reading. We will also start the budget process, which is the impetus for this session. Remember a bill is first introduced, then goes to the committee which oversees issues associated with the bill. If it passes committee then the bill comes back to the floor of the house of origin for its first full debate in Committee of the Whole. If the bill survives a vote in Committee of the Whole, then it heads to second reading where there is no vote on the bill itself, and finally it heads to 3rd and final reading where it is voted on for the last time in the house of origin. A bill can be amended all through the process. When a bill survives third reading in the house of origin, it then is sent to the other body, where it goes through the same long arduous process. The other body may amend the bill as well, and in the end the two bodies most resolve their differences in a conference committee. The budget bill is different in that the same exact bill is introduced into both the House and the Senate at the same time. It is then amended in both bodies, and ultimately differences are resolved in a conference committee. Thanks.
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