Wyoming Legislature update – Feb. 1, 2021
by Albert Sommers, House District #20 Representative
February 2, 2021
2-1-2021
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on February 1, 2021. Today the House had standing committees working in the morning and at noon. During the floor session, the House heard 7 bills on third and final reading. All of these bills passed the House, and I supported all of them. HB0053, Invasive Plant Species, puts in statute the duties of the Wyoming Weed and Pest Council. This council would be made up of members from each county weed and pest board around the state. The bill requires the Wyoming Weed and Pest Council to develop supportive data systems, to coordinate with the University of Wyoming and the community colleges for applied research, to work to break down barriers with federal partners, and to encourage landscape projects that move across multi-jurisdictional ownerships. The bill also eliminates a current restriction in statute of how many invasive weeds a district can fight at one time. I supported this bill, because invasive species impose a tremendous cost on landowners, wildlife, and wildlife habitats.
HB0030, Public Utility Assessment, slightly increases rates to rate payers of public utilities, like electricity. The workload of the Public Service Commission (PSC) has expanded and become more complex, which has resulted in a need for more support. Without the PSC gatekeeping these big utility monopolies, we the consumer would be outgunned. I supported this bill.
Our agenda today also included adopting Rules. We chose to extend our temporary rules until March 3, because the Senate wanted to work with the House on a Joint Rule to address concerns it has about membership on committees. We also passed a clean-up rule that fixed some misspellings, allows for approval of a bill without a signature, and put in rule our practice for bill drafting deadlines. Rules are incredibly important, because they dictate how we engage with each other, how the House engages with the Senate, and how we make decisions.
For details on the bills discussed in this press release, and all other 2021 bills, visit https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2021
I can be reached at albert@albertsommers.com with questions or comments.
Thank you.
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