Wyoming Legislature update Feb. 27 & 28, 2020
by Albert Sommers, House District #20 Representative
March 1, 2020
Friday, February 28, 2020:
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on the fifteenth day of the 2020 Budget Session. Yesterday we wrapped up the third week of our five-week session (we are tentatively scheduled to gavel out on March 12).
As of today, there have been 121 bills passed out of the House that are now being considered in the Senate. The Senate has passed 98 bills that the House is now working through. A total of 159 bills are no longer moving forward this session: 122 in the House and 37 in the Senate.
A few of the key bills we worked on in the House in Third Reading included:
HB 197, Abortion – 48 hour waiting period This bill would require physicians to wait 48 hours before performing certain nonemergency abortion procedures. Amendments were passed that improved the bill. One amendment reduced the penalty from a felony to a misdemeanor for a doctor and staff who fails to comply with the 48-hour law. The felony provision in the bill was a more stringent felony than for rape. A second amendment I supported deleted the term "appropriate medical judgement." Appropriate medical judgement is hard to define. I ultimately ended up supporting this bill, because of a long conversation I had this summer with a Sublette County woman whom I highly respect. Is 48 hours too long to wait? The bill was passed by the House today and will now be debated by the Senate.
Another abortion related vote I took this session was a Budget Amendment that says the University of Wyoming cannot use any funds under its control to expend on elective abortions for students utilizing their group health insurance. I voted against this amendment for two main reasons. The first is that I thought this was legislating through the budget bill, which is unconstitutional. Second, the University of Wyoming is not an agency of state government and should have autonomy in how it operates its insurance program.
HB 209, Change in party affiliation This bill creates the requirement that an individual who wishes to change their party affiliation from one major party to another major party must do so 14 days prior to a primary election. I offered an amendment, which was adopted, that would allow individuals to change party affiliation when they request an absentee ballot during the primary. I supported this amended version of the bill because I believe it provides enough flexibility for individuals who want to change party affiliation to do so in a timely, reasonable manner, while reducing the workload for election judges at the polling places. The bill was passed by the House today and will now be debated by the Senate.
HB0225, Gaming governance This bill would have legalized online sports wagering. The bill failed on Third Reading in the House today. I voted against it, because HB 171, Wyoming Gaming Commission, requires the newly established gaming commission to evaluate online sports betting and provide recommendations to the Legislature before we decide to legalize, or not.
HB 249, Investment of State Funds This bill sets up a process for the State to consider the purchase of approximately one million surface acres and four million mineral acres of checkerboard lands, primarily in southwest Wyoming. This land was granted to the railroads by the federal government when the transcontinental railroad was first built. I offered an amendment to this bill to ensure the Legislature got to take a vote during a session to approve or deny the final purchase agreement, if one is reached. I supported another successful amendment that would require at least one public meeting to be held in the affected counties. I supported this bill to evaluate the land deal, because I worry what might happen to this wide swath of Wyoming when sold to a new entity. I do have many concerns about the state purchasing it, but I believe the checks and balances are now in place to make a thoughtful decision. The bill was passed by the House today.
The Senate passed HB134, Wyoming tourism account funding today. This is the statewide lodging tax. The House has already approved the bill, and only minor changes were made in the Senate, so it will be sent to the House for a concurrence vote. I voted against this bill, because the town of Pinedale did not support the statewide lodging tax.
On Thursday, HB0227 Per diem rates – 2 passed the House with over 40 votes. This bill would raise the current per diem rate for legislators and members of boards and commissions to the federal per diem rate. The rate would rise from $109 per day to $151 per day, except for legislators during a session, then it would remain at $109. Per diem is reimbursement for hotels and meals, and the $109 was not covering the costs. We do not want to create a legislature that is completely dominated by the wealthy, so we must better reimburse members for the costs associated with serving. This change would not go into effect until January 1, 2021, after a general election.
______________________________
Thursday, February 27, 2020:
Greetings Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on the fourteenth day of the 2020 Budget Session. Today is "crossover," meaning any bill that was not passed out of its chamber of origin will not be considered further this session. As a result, we spent the majority of the day focused on Third Reading bills.
We debated several important bills on a wide variety of topics. These include:
House Bill 42, Agriculture marketing funds – processing plants This bill would help support meat processing plants for Wyoming product export and direct funds in the agriculture marketing subaccount to support such processing plants. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives today and now heads to the Senate. I helped draft this bill.
HB 159, Monthly payment of ad valorem tax on mineral production This bill would ensure monthly payments of ad valorem tax on mineral production. It was sponsored by the Select Committee on Coal/Mineral Bankruptcies which formed this fall to help better position Wyoming to deal with such events in the future. I worked with our local natural gas producers, and helped amend this bill to push the implementation date out to 2023. The bill has a provision that allows counties to work with industry to meet their cash flow needs during implementation. After heavy debate it passed the House of Representatives and will now be debated by the Senate.
HB 214, County delinquent tax sales – amendments would amend advertising requirements for delinquent tax sales by county treasurers and ensure counties are able to recoup the costs for such advertising. I supported this bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives today and will now be considered by the Senate.
HB 99, Animal reimbursement program – amendments would allow for claims for reimbursement for certain brucellosis containment efforts. I’m a co-sponsor and drafter of this bill. It was passed by the House today and will now be debated by the Senate.
HB 171, Wyoming Gaming Commission would create a formalized gaming commission to regulate the industry here in Wyoming, provide options to the legislature, put a moratorium on gray games, and would outlaw gray games on July 1, 2021, if the Legislature does not legalize them next session. Because for-profit gambling continues to grow in Wyoming, it’s important to look at how we can responsibly regulate the industry. There were 8 amendments filed to this bill, which we debated today. I supported this bill, and it passed the House.
One of my bills, HB 58, State Engineer list of approved flumes was defeated on Third Reading today by three votes. This bill would have required the State Engineer’s office to consider cost of measuring devices they require of irrigators.
As always, I can be reached with questions or concerns at albert@albertsommers.com.
Thank you,
Albert Sommers
|
