Wyoming Legislature update – Feb. 20, 2019
by Albert Sommers, House District #20 Representative
February 22, 2019
2/20/2019
Hello Sublette County,
This is Albert Sommers in Cheyenne on Wednesday the 20th. Today was the last day for bills from the Senate to be heard in House Committees. Tomorrow will be the last day for bills to be heard on Committee of the Whole in the second chamber.
Given these deadlines, the House spent the morning voting on concurrences to Senate amendments to House bills. The afternoon was full of Committee of the Whole debate on 15 bills. We will also have a long day of General File tomorrow to consider as many Senate Files as possible.
Several bills of note that were heard on General File today include these that passed Committee of the Whole:
SF 49 - County zoning authority-private schools. This bill garnered a lot of attention during the session. The debate surrounded treating private schools the same as public schools when it comes to county planning. I voted against this bill as I believe in local control when it comes to County Land Use Planning. I also believe that if a private school wants the same rights as public schools, then it should have the same responsibilities, such as following Wyoming’s graduation standards. This bill was pushed by an extremely wealthy individual who wanted to circumvent local authority.
SF 40 - Operation of motorboat while intoxicated. This bill changes the Blood Alcohol Content Limit for boating to be the same as motor vehicles, which is 0.08. I have concerns with this bill, because the .08 was required by federal law for vehicles, not boats. This bill does not differentiate between boats with power and float boats.
SF 146 – Medicaid expansion study
SJ 1 - State-federal school trust lands exchange. This resolution failed on a vote of 28-30-2. The language in this resolution was too broad, and didn’t address the effects of users of state land parcels that might be traded.
For details and status of all 2019 bills, see https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2019
Please follow my Facebook page for up to date information and email me at albert@albertsommers.com with questions or concerns.
Thank you
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