Wyoming Legislature updates – March 18 & 20, 2021
by Albert Sommers, House District #20 Representative
March 22, 2021
3/20/2021
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on March 20, 2021. Friday was the last day that bills in the body of origin could come out of committee into general file. In House committees, no more House Bills will be allowed to advance for debate in Committee of the Whole. Monday, March 22, will be the last day for bills in the body of origin to be considered in COW. After Monday, no House bills on General File will be considered in COW for advancement through the process. As of Friday, it appears that approximately 45 bills are on General File in the House. We typically do not get through more than about 15 bills in COW on any given day, which means 30 bills in the House will die on General File. The Legislature is in the process of what is called "cross-over". The House will now turn its attention to the bills that have passed the Senate, and the Senate will start debating House bills. Remember, a bill must pass both the House and the Senate before it is presented to the Governor for his action.
The House passed three bills that I supported on 3rd Reading Friday, including HB0115, Big or trophy game animal - minimum hunting age, which would allow any person to take a big or trophy game animal at eleven years of age, if the person will attain twelve years of age by the end of that calendar year. I was a co-sponsor of this bill.
HB0120, Hathaway Scholarships - success curriculum in middle school, would allow courses taught in middle school to qualify for the Success Curriculum of the Hathaway Scholarship, if those courses are the functional equivalent of courses taught in high school. This gives more flexibility to districts when they evaluate which courses to teach in middle school.
HB0229, Livestock identification choice act, eliminates all references in statute to a national livestock identification program, except as it relates to brucellosis and scrapie programs. I was a co-sponsor of the bill.
The House debated twelve bills in COW, including my bill, HJ0011, which is a joint resolution that would be presented to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress and to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation. This resolution affirms our rights as a sovereign state and our 2nd Amendment rights. It affirms the importance of federal lands to the custom, culture, and economy of the State of Wyoming. Finally, this resolution requests that the federal government not regulate arms at a national level, and that the federal government work with Wyoming on federal land policy to ensure Wyoming has a voice in federal land policy decisions.
SJ0002, Convention of states - 2, died in the Senate on Thursday, and so it will not be heard in the House. The idea of an Article V Convention of States to propose multiple constitutional amendments to the US Constitution has always been contentious.
These and all other 2021 bills are described in detail at https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2021.
I can be reached at albert@albertsommers.com with questions or comments.
Thank You
3/18/2021
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on March 18, 2021. Today in 3rd Reading, the House passed two bills, including HB0109, Local health officers - requirements, which would make advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants eligible to serve as local health officers. This ensures that small counties have more options to fill these important positions. I supported this bill.
The House debated eleven bills in Committee of the Whole, and all but one passed. HB0132, Casper state office building - naming, failed to pass COW. Wyoming is currently erecting a new office building in Casper. A Natrona County contingent felt that the building should be named after John Wold. John Wold was a great man. He was a Wyoming state legislator, a US Congressman, a pioneer in the energy industry in Campbell County, a pioneer in the trona patch in Sweetwater County, and tremendous civic leader. So, why did this bill fail? Well, the job of naming state office buildings belongs to the executive branch of government. In our entire history the Legislature has never named an office building. The Wyoming Building Commission, comprising the Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, is the entity that names state buildings. This commission chose to name the building after Thyra Thomson, also a great leader, whose service to Wyoming is unequaled. She served 24 years as Wyoming’s Secretary of State, and was one of the most respected individuals of her time. She was also the first woman to hold the number two position in state government. Both Thomson and Wold contributed greatly to Wyoming, and we value their service and legacies.
HB0236, Firearms transactions - financial discrimination, passed COW today. This bill would prohibit a financial institution from discriminating against a firearm entity due to the firearm entity engaging in the lawful commerce of firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition products. I supported this bill in COW, but there are concerns that this bill violates the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution.
HB0165, Wyoming's Tomorrow scholarship program, diverts $100 million from the corpus of the Hathaway Scholarship Fund, and creates a scholarship for adults over the age of 24. Unlike the Hathaway, this new scholarship would be "last money," meaning that other scholarships, grants, and loans would be counted before a person is considered eligible. HB0165 is designed as a workforce development scholarship, and would serve a real need in Wyoming. I cosponsored the bill because it reaches a population that needs assistance for retraining. HB0165 will not harm the Hathaway, as the Hathaway is spending less than it is earning in investment income.
These and all other 2021 bills are described in detail at https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2021.
I can be reached at albert@albertsommers.com with questions or comments.
Thank you
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