Wyoming Legislature update – March 2-6, 2020
by Albert Sommers, House District #20 Representative
March 8, 2020
Friday, March 6, 2020
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on the twentieth day of the 2020 Budget Session. We have four scheduled days left for session, meaning we should wrap up on Thursday, March 12.
A few key bills the House considered today include:
SF 61, Omnibus water bill-planning This bill is critical to water development projects across the state, authorizing studies and providing appropriations to projects, including one in Sublette County. I supported this bill, which passed Second Reading in the House today.
SF0092, Volunteer pension account „Ÿ funding This bill would appropriate the remaining gross premium tax levied upon fire insurance premiums, which will cost the state about $800,000 per year, and deposit the tax into the volunteer firefighter, EMT and search and rescue pension account, instead of into the Statefs General Fund. The bill would also require a larger monthly contribution from members of this pension account. These actions will create a structurally sound pension plan for volunteers, with the hope that the pension will incentivize recruitment of more volunteers. I supported this bill and it passed Second Reading in the House.
SF 106, Lifetime game and fish licenses, amends requirements for the complimentary issuance of lifetime bird, small game and fish licenses, providing licenses for residents who are disabled veterans, recipients of the United States military purple heart medal or residents over 65 who have lived in Wyoming for over 30 years. I supported this bill which passed on Second Reading.
SF0069, Rural health care district authority, allows rural health care districts to construct and operate a nursing home. Senator Fred Baldwin and I co-sponsored this bill, because it provides more options for Sublette Countyfs health care decision makers. The bill passed Third Reading in the House, and will be headed to the Governorfs desk.
As members of the House and Senate continued the session in their respective chambers, those of us on the Joint Conference Committee worked together to negotiate a compromise on the Budget bill. In the end, the House and Senate disagreed on three areas: K12 education funding; community college funding; and distribution of a $200 million 1-percent severance tax flow that in past years had been utilized either for expenditure or savings.
The most divisive issue was the Senatefs decision to cut funding to K12 education. For the past several sessions, the Senate has tried to cut funding to education in order to reduce our structural deficit in education funding. The House believes that education is one of the most critical functions of state government, and that we canft cut education further and still provide an adequate, constitutional education for each child in Wyoming.
On community college funding, the Senate added $13 million more to fund community colleges than did the House.
Finally, the Senate wanted to direct the $200 million severance tax flow to our Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund, where it could not be spent, while the House, recognizing the financial cliff we could face in 4 years, wanted to set it aside to be utilized if the State needs it.
After hours of debate, negotiations, and failed motions, the Senate and House agreed to split each position exactly in half to reach a compromise. On Monday, members of the Conference Committee will take this compromise back to their respective chambers and sell it to the body, as House and Senate will vote separately on the negotiated budget. Normally, if both bodies pass the budget, the Governor has three days to line-item-veto the budget. However, this year the Governor has agreed to take only two days, to allow any vetoes to be reviewed for potential override by the Legislature on Thursday, the last day of the session.
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Thursday, March 5, 2020
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on the nineteenth day of the 2020 Budget Session. We are continuing to work our way through Senate Files.
A few of the key bills I supported today on Third Reading that passed the House included:
SF0050, Nicotine products „Ÿ lawful age and penalties This bill would raise the age for nicotine use to 21, which is consistent with the new federal law that forbids the sale of nicotine products to persons under the age of 21. An amendment was passed that reduced most of the penalties in the bill. I support this bill, which attempts to help prevent the sale and use of vapes to teenagers. I supported amendments to reduce the criminal penalties to civil penalties, because those between 18-21 years of age currently utilizing tobacco products legally would find themselves criminals. This bill was heavily debated.
SF 57, Local government distributions This bill, sponsored by the Joint Appropriations Committee, provides funding to cities, towns and counties and establishes local government funding formulas and distributions. The current form of this bill would provide more money to smaller towns than our previous formula, which is something I support. This bill distributes $105 million to local governments.
SF0020, Election code revisions This bill was brought by the county clerks association to clean up election code. An amendment brought in Third Reading would have put in place voter ID at the polls. This amendment was challenged as not being germane to the bill, which means the amendment was thought to be unconstitutional. The Rules Committee ruled the amendment was not germane, and the sponsor appealed the decision to the whole body. The entire House then ruled the amendment was not germane, which means the amendment had to be recalled by the sponsor.
We continue to move forward with deliberations on the budget bill, and there are only three remaining issues to resolve. This includes finding a compromise on K12 education funding, community college and UW Law School funding, and where to deposit our statutory 1 percent severance tax. The House and Senate have resolved 90 percent of their differences. I serve on the Joint Conference Committee on the budget bill, which is comprised of 5 members of both the House and the Senate.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on the eighteenth day of the 2020 Budget Session. We are continuing to work our way through Senate Files. A few of the key bills I supported today that passed Committee of the Whole included:
SF0035, Health care claims database reporting This bill, upon approval of the Governor, would allow the department of administration and information to submit health care claims data from the state employees' and officials' group insurance plan to a multi payer health care claims database to help provide transparency on health care costs in Wyoming.
SF 36, Large scale solar and wind energy facilities This bill sets up a system and process to regulate solar energy facilities here in Wyoming, requiring permitting by boards of county commissioners of facilities, establishing minimum standards for solar energy facilities, providing for referrals to the industrial siting council and amending the industrial siting council's jurisdiction over solar energy facilities.
SF0056, Absentee polling places The bill would allow the county clerk to establish one or more public buildings within the county for additional satellite absentee polling places to accommodate voters.
SF 81, Livestock brand administration would amend provisions related to the rerecording of brands, authorizing the extension of the rerecording period for up to one hundred years and repealing the provision for permanently recorded brands.
SF0091, Global signature authority for health care providers This bill would allow a physician assistant, acting within the scope of the physician assistant's practice, to fulfill any requirement for a signature, certification, stamp, verification, affidavit, endorsement or other acknowledgement by a physician.
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Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on the seventeenth day of the 2020 Budget Session. We are continuing to work our way through a number of bills passed out of the Senate. A few of the key bills which we considered today include:
SF 8, Missing and murdered indigenous persons „Ÿ agency cooperation This bill would improve communication and cooperation among the Division of Criminal Investigation, Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, Division of Victim Services, highway patrol and others, including federal, tribal and local law enforcement, in the reporting, investigation, emergency alert and recovery of missing persons on reservations. We have seen a number of tragic cases of missing persons on reservations here in Wyoming and this bill aims to crack down on this. I supported this bill which passed on second reading in the House today.
SF 4, Wildlife conservation account This bill would authorize acceptance and solicitation of donations for wildlife conservation efforts related to the transportation system. I supported this bill, which passed out of the House, with concurrence in the Senate and is now on its way to Governor Gordon for consideration.
SF 17, Hathaway need-based scholarships „Ÿ graduate school This bill would open up limited Hathaway need-based scholarships for graduate school. I supported this bill which passed Committee of the Whole today.
SF0042, Nicotine products „Ÿ age verification and shipping This bill would raise the age for nicotine use to 21, which is consistent with the new federal law that forbids the sale of nicotine products to persons under the age of 21. An amendment was passed that reduced most of the penalties in the bill. Another amendment will be brought to eliminate penalties for possession, but still maintain penalties for sale to persons under the age of 21. I support this bill, which attempts to help prevent the sale and use of vapes to teenagers. I will support amendments to reduce the penalties, because people between 18-21 years of age who are currently utilizing tobacco products legally would find themselves criminals. The bill passed Committee of the Whole.
SF 57, Local government distributions This critical bill, sponsored by the Joint Appropriations Committee, provides funding to cities, towns and counties and establishes local government funding formulas and distributions. I support the current form of this bill, which would provide more money to smaller towns than our previous formula. I supported this bill, which was passed by the Committee of the Whole today in the House.
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Monday, March 2, 2020
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on the sixteenth day of the 2020 Budget Session. As we head into the fourth week of session, the House of Representatives is now considering legislation that has been passed by the Senate. The House and Senate will need to work out any differences in bills as they move between the two chambers. Once an agreement is reached, the legislation will go back to each chamber for an up or down vote. If passed by both chambers, the legislation goes to the Governor for consideration.
A few of the key bills which have already passed the Senate, and which we considered today, include:
SF 119, State funded capital construction This bill is co-sponsored by the Joint Appropriations Committee, of which I am a member. This bill includes specific funding for a wide variety of capital construction projects including K-12 schools, community colleges, the University of Wyoming, state facilities including administrative, health and correctional facilities, and many others. I voted to support this bill, because we have some one-time money from our investment earnings that can be utilized for state funded construction projects. We must continue to move this state forward and fund construction when it makes sense. The bill was passed on Second Reading in the House today.
SF 2, Legislative budget This bill provides funding for the operation of the legislative branch of state government. Wyoming has the smallest legislative staff in the country; only North Dakota is close. These staff are the attorneys and experts who help lawmakers craft bills and navigate the legislative process. We are understaffed and I support additional funding to ensure we have the people we need to be an effective legislature. The bill has been re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
SF 18, Wildlife conservation efforts This legislation allows for voluntary donations to support wildlife conservation efforts related to the transportation system. I support this bill, which has passed Committee of the Whole in the House.
SF 41, Animal damage management funding This bill increases the request for funding for animal damage management from the Game and Fish Commission and established a voluntary fee for animal damage management funding. I voted in favor of this bill which has passed Committee of the Whole in the House.
SF0015, Absenteeism and truancy This bill pertaining to K12 education defined gWillful absenteeism" of students as exceeding the limit of unexcused absences, when the excess absences are the result of a parent's willful failure, neglect or refusal to require a child's regular attendance at school. This bill also increased the penalty to parents who kept their kids from school, and made forced absenteeism part of the child neglect statutes. I could not support this bill, because I worry parents could be forced into becoming criminals by keeping their children out of school to help on the ranch or farm for a few days. The bill did not pass Committee of the Whole.
As always, I can be reached with questions or concerns at albert@albertsommers.com.
Thank you,
Albert Sommers
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