Wyoming Legislature updates – March 9, 2022
by Albert Sommers, House District #20 Representative
March 9, 2022
2022 Special Budget Report
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers writing to you from Cheyenne on March 9, 2022, Day 18 of the 66th Budget Session. This special budget report outlines a few key provisions from the final budget bill, which passed the Legislature on Monday, March 8, and has moved to the Governor’s desk.
We took a balanced, conservative approach with the 2023-2024 budget. The final budget bill of approximately $2.645 billion in traditional state funds appropriated for spending is dollar-for-dollar ten percent lower than a full decade ago – and that’s not considering inflation. Funding for education is essentially flat for school year 2022 and school year 2023.
I have heard some interest in the following few budget amendments which all made it into the final budget bill that is before Governor Gordon:
• The Legislature appropriated $3,000,000 in General Funds to the Department of Revenue to fund the state's Property Tax Refund Program. Separately, the Legislature adopted a bill (SF 19) which would allow counties to develop programs that could refund up to half of residents’ prior year tax bills.
• The Legislature appropriated $7,500,000 in General Funds to the Community College Commission to address funding shortfalls for the state’s community colleges.
• The Legislature appropriated $75,000,000 in General Funds to the Governor’s Office to serve as a required state match to federal funds to qualify for federal infrastructure funds to repair roads, airports, bridges, dams, and build out broadband, as well as provide for other infrastructure needs in Wyoming towns and counties.
• The Legislature appropriated $478,654 in General Funds to the Department of Health’s Aging Division to match up to $7 million in federal funds. The Aging Division supports services for older adults and disabled individuals in Wyoming Communities. It also operates three community facilities: the Wyoming Pioneer Home in Thermopolis, the Wyoming Retirement Center in Basin, and the Veterans’ Home of Wyoming in Buffalo. These funds would benefit senior citizen centers across the state for such things as nutritional services.
• The Legislature appropriated $2,250,000 in General Funds for the stabilization, reform and expansion of community juvenile services boards. These boards identify and work with children who are at risk of entering the juvenile court system, and seek to prevent juvenile delinquency. Funding for the board was reduced originally due to state budget cuts in 2020.
• The Legislature will hold back $250,000 in General Funds to the University of Wyoming and the Business Council until the Shop Wyoming website and its credit card companies allow for the sale of firearms on this state-funded website that highlights Wyoming-made products.
• The Legislature appropriated $9,300,000 in other funds to retain the External Cost Adjustment to address rising costs for energy and educational materials for education funding.
• The Legislature appropriated $75,000,000 to the Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund Reserve Account and $75,000,000 to the Common School Permanent Land Fund.
• The Legislature added $10,800,000 in General Fund dollars to increase the employee compensation program put forth by the Governor for the Executive Branch, University of Wyoming, Community Colleges and Judicial Branch.
The following budget amendments did not pass muster with the conference committee and did not make it into the budget bill:
• A provision to add a total of $10 million in General Funds for the State Parks and Cultural Resources Department and the Department of Transportation to develop trail systems in Wyoming towns and counties.
Next Steps
Before any bill passed by the Legislature becomes law, it must be presented to the Governor. If he approves the bill, he signs it. If he disapproves it, he returns it to the body of origin with his objections. With the budget, the Governor has line-item veto authority, which allows him to send back specific budget items instead of the whole bill.
If both bodies then wish to pass the bill again, it may be passed over the Governor's veto by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each body.
If any bill sent to the Governor is not signed by him and is not returned within three days (Sundays excepted) it becomes law without his signature.
The Legislature awaits further action by the Governor.
I can be reached at albert@albertsommers.com with questions or comments.
Thank you.
3/8/2022
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on March 8. Today, the House heard bills on 2nd Reading, had final vote on bills in 3rd Reading, and voted on bills in Committee of the Whole. Today was the last day for Committee of Whole on bills in second house.
SF0080 - Omnibus water bill - construction, passed on second reading today. This is a yearly bill of water projects funded by severance tax dollars, and this year includes cloud seeding to encourage snow fall in the Wind River and Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges. Water is vital to our community, so my hope is that these funds help to improve our snowpack.
SF0048 - 2022 large project funding, passed the House on second reading. This bill is funded by the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund, which funds wildlife habitat improvement projects. One project in this year’s bill would remove conifers and various invasive grasses through mechanical and chemical treatments on 350,000 acres of native forests in Crook and Weston counties. I support this bill.
SF0076 - Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. Many of you have likely had the honor of caring for an older relative or neighbor. Most of the time no issues occur. Sometimes, family members, neighbors or other care providers exploit those for whom they provide care. This bill focuses on financial exploitation. The intent of this bill is to create safeguards for these vulnerable populations. It was a noble effort, but the bill did not have a mechanism to ensure adequate protection for the information in the bank accounts of vulnerable adults. The bill also did not have a way to prevent banks from unnecessarily freezing the accounts of vulnerable adults. I amended the bill, but it did not pass Committee of the Whole.
SF0106 - Wyoming stable token act, passed Committee of the Whole today. Some of you may remember from the days of your youth when cash was issued in the form of a silver certificate. This was done to ensure that the paper money you held in your hand was backed by a commensurate amount of silver, and thus gave the holder confidence in the note. SF0106 is an interesting bill in that it creates a form of currency called a stable token that is backed by Wyoming reserves tied to the US dollar. The goal of this legislation is to provide a stable cryptocurrency controlled by the State of Wyoming. Wyoming would then earn money by issuing these stable tokens. The bill is an extension of Wyoming’s effort to lead the way in blockchain technology. I remain skeptical and have not decided how I will vote on the bill in 3rd Reading.
SF0086 - Wildfires one-call exemption, also passed Committee of the Whole. Typically, when engaging in any earthmoving or excavating activities, you are required to call ahead to locate any utilities in the area being excavated. This bill provides an exemption to emergency responders who may sever a utility while responding to a wildfire. Because time is of the essence in an emergency response, it is impractical to call for locates during an urgent response. If the bill becomes law, emergency responders will be exempt from any liability associated with striking the utility. I believe this bill might go too far by not requiring any type of notification to the One-Call center. I hope these entities can work out their differences.
I can be reached at albert@albertsommers.com with questions and comments.
3/9/2022
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on March 9. Today, the House heard bills on 2nd Reading and had final vote on bills in 3rd Reading. Today was the last day for 2nd Reading on bills in the second house.
SF0061 - Sage grouse game bird farms - no certification expiration-2, has been extensively debated but passed on 2nd Reading today with an amendment. The amendment extends the sunset date to provide this project for seven more years. As our sage grouse populations have continued to decline, this study is an attempt to avoid having sage grouse placed on the Endangered Species list. Efforts in this study include egg collections and raising and studying these birds in captivity. Past efforts to release sage grouse into the wild have been unsuccessful. The hope is that by giving this study an additional seven years, the bird farm will be able to achieve successful breeding of sage grouse. I remain unconvinced that this project will succeed where others have failed.
SF0100 - Stalking amendments, also passed on second reading today. Wyoming takes crimes related to stalking very seriously. This additional measure further strengthens Wyoming law by adding digital stalking to the list of acts considered to be stalking. In this bill, stalking includes the use of any digital system used to surveil a person or to surveil a person’s use of wireless activity without their knowledge or authorization.
After much discussion, SF0081 - Clarification of existing state ownership of groundwater, did not pass the House on 3rd reading today. This bill would amend statutes to clarify that groundwater falling within the borders of Wyoming is the property of the state, similar to surface water. This bill would put into statute what the State believes the constitution says. However, there is some ambiguity in the constitution around the ownership of ground water. The lawyers in the House felt this proposed law would do nothing to clarify law, because these issues are constitutional, and the courts will decide. I voted for the bill, because I believe it would help clarify legislative intent on this issue.
SF0102 - Second amendment protection act, passed the house in 3rd Reading today with my support. If you recall from an earlier press release, this bill prohibits Wyoming law enforcement officers from enforcing federal mandates that infringe on Second Amendment rights guaranteed to us under the United States Constitution.
I can be reached at albert@albertsommers.com with questions and comments.
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