Legislature Delivers on Session Goals

The 63rd Wyoming Legislature worked 410 bills, sent over 150 bills to the Governor to sign, and continued to move Wyoming forward. Legislators spent 37 days in session, held 385 committee meetings, and provided opportunities for all legislators to give voice to their constituent’s concerns.

The Legislative leadership began this session with the goals of strengthening our economy, improving our infrastructure, carefully developing our natural resources, keeping state decisions in state hands, maintaining a controlled budget and investing our human and financial resources wisely. They delivered on these goals.
Some key bills that were passed this session include:

• NRC agreement state authorization 
• State education accountability and assessment 
• School facilities appropriations 
• Brewery and microbrewery licenses-definition 
• Wyoming Fair Housing Act 
• Telecommunications Law revisions 

“The Legislature worked incredibly hard this session,” said Senate President Phil Nicholas, “and we accomplished a great deal. We have worked on bills that will increase jobs, improve infrastructure, and enhance our education system.”

The Legislature continues to support the state’s energy industry, passing bills that study the valuation and taxation for minerals, that begin the process to give the State of Wyoming regulatory authority over uranium mine permitting, and that authorizes joining an Interstate Mining compact allowing additional opportunities to support our coal industry around the country.

Wyoming’s best resource has always been its people. Diversifying Wyoming’s economy and training Wyoming students and citizens for good jobs that are available right now is of the utmost importance.

The Legislature’s commitment to providing Wyoming students with a world-class education is unwavering. Several education bills were passed; the Next Generation Science Standard footnote was rewritten and now states that the Board of Education should focus on providing standards that promote excellence for Wyoming students.

“We need to ensure that Wyoming students are prepared to compete for jobs in the global economy when they graduate,” said Speaker of the House Kermit Brown. “They should have a holistic education and be able to find a stable, well-paying job here in Wyoming.”

The House and the Senate worked to balance saving and spending in the supplemental budget, diverting potential savings to continue to support Wyoming citizens, jobs, local governments, infrastructure improvements, and education. This supplemental budget supplies an additional $6 million in funding to school districts and an additional $8 million to cities, towns, and counties. These two areas are critical components for growing the Wyoming economy in the long-term.

Legislation to strengthen pension accounts of volunteer firefighters and EMTs as well as adding and expanding who qualifies for workers compensation were highlights of the Legislature’s commitment to its citizens this session. With the passage of bills that give preference points for the use of Wyoming materials, bills that support the microbrewery industry and providing incentives for converting Wyoming natural gas into more valuable products, it’s clear that Wyoming is open for business.

The legislators completed this last session in the current Capitol with dignity, decorum, civility, and efficiency. This session wasn’t flashy. It was a long, hard worked, in the trenches session where legislators rolled up their sleeves, and continued to move Wyoming forward.

Supplemental Budget Headed to Governor

HB1/SF1, also known as the Supplemental Budget bill, was approved by the House and the Senate in mirrored sessions today and is now heading to the Governor’s desk.

The Joint Appropriations Committee (JAC) was given an updated financial forecast in January that showed the state with a deficit of $222 million through 2016 due to the decrease in oil and natural gas prices. The JAC balanced the budget requests they received with the reduced amount of monies available.

“Balancing the task of keeping the budget operating in the black while still fulfilling the needs of Wyoming citizens required the JAC is carefully consider what the state’s most pressing priorities were for this supplemental budget,” said JAC co-chair Representative Steve Harshman. “Balancing the two was important as we fulfill current needs and invest for the future.”

Some key features from the supplemental budget include: increased funding for K-12 education, more monies for local government in addition to the $175 million appropriated last year, and additional funds for state run health facilities, which will rebuild these facilities to run more efficiently & better serve patients.

“Our mandate as Legislators is to serve the people of Wyoming and pass policy that improves their lives and our great state,” Senate President Phil Nicholas said, “We continue to invest in infrastructure, education, and local governments and keep Wyoming open for business.”

To provide all the funding that was necessary to meet the agreed upon budget requests, the JAC redirected capital gains that would have rolled into the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account (LSRA) at the end of the fiscal year and will now use those monies to fund some of the supplemental budget items.

“I’m glad we were able to resist reaching into funds currently in the LSRA,” said Speaker Pro Tempore, Representative Tim Stubson, who sits on the Appropriations committee. “We did end up diverting funds that would have entered the fund this year in order to continue to move Wyoming forward. But even with being faced with a large budget shortfall we were able to take care of Wyoming’s most vulnerable.”

This year’s budget simply provides supplemental funds, as last year’s Legislative Budget session set the full biennium budget for 2015-2016. The budget passed last year prioritizes Wyoming needs and invests in Wyoming’s people, jobs, communities, responsible mineral development and education.

Op-Ed: The People's House

By:

Representative Rosie Berger, House Majority Floor Leader
Senator Tony Ross, Chairman of Capitol Building Restoration Oversight Group

“You don’t build it for yourself. You know what the people want and you build it for them.”
 – Walt Disney

The Wyoming Capitol was completed in 1888 with the purpose of creating a place where the people could participate in the legislative process. Substantial additions were completed in 1890 and 1917. The last major renovation was finished in 1980 and the building was added to the National Historic Landmark program in 1987. However, after 35 years, the Capitol is once again in great need of repair.

The list of required repairs is long. There are structural repairs needing attention and updates to mechanical, electrical, and ADA code requirements are in dire need. The building requires invasive restoration to the historic features and the installation of smoke detection, fire suppression, and smoke evacuation systems is required. 25 percent of the building has no heating and cooling capability, piping and plumbing systems are corroded, and wiring is old and brittle. Committee rooms are too small for public participation, restrooms and elevators are inadequate, and the building’s technology capabilities are inadequate.

The health and safety of the Wyoming citizens who visit the Capitol and the legislators, elected officials, and staff who work in the building is of the utmost importance. Making these improvements is necessary. Research and planning has been happening since 2003 to restore and renovate this building. Wyoming has been saving for years to fund the renovation and the account now has over $100 million in it. We are now in the design development phase and finalizing plans for temporary relocation during construction.

The Legislature has explored a host of options for expansion, including building a new executive office building. Renovating the Herschler building, which neighbors the Capitol, turned out to not only make the most financial sense, but it allows for the creation of an entire Capitol Square complex that keeps all the legislative and executive offices within a short walking distance and easily accessible to the people of Wyoming.

We are proud that Wyoming is consistently ranked the best run state in the country. We have considered how to keep the state running efficiently when designing the layout for the renovated Capitol. To allow for the highest level of collaboration and to reduce possible duplication of efforts, keeping office staffs together was a high priority. The layout of the offices brings together staffs that are currently in different buildings, as is the case of the Governor and Treasurer’s staffs, as well as keeping the Legislative Service Office personnel in one building.

The creation of a Capitol Square, with two buildings and the connector in between, is central to tackling the larger issue of making sure that there is room for the public to participate in the Legislative process. The Capitol will hold more committee rooms that will be larger and will have improved technological capabilities. There will be more space for the public to attend meetings and be part of the policy making process. We hope that the updated technological capabilities will increase the overall accessibility of the legislative process to all Wyoming citizens. The additional restrooms and more accessible elevators will also increase the comfort of visitors.

While the renovation project will bring the Capitol into the 21^st century, specific attention is being paid to restoring and showcasing the historical aspects of the building. The Capitol is one of only 24 Wyoming buildings on the National Historic Landmark list, it is incredibly important to protect the historic value and features in the People’s House. The building will continue to showcase Wyoming’s rich and storied history.

We serve the people of Wyoming and we are moving forward in this historic process. We are working diligently to give her citizens a Capitol that keeps them safe and allows for them to be more involved in the legislative process, while restoring and highlighting the buildings historical features and attributes.  We are stewards of the state’s resources and are mindful of the responsibility that carries.

Medicaid Amendment Fails the House

A budget amendment that would have added up to 4 years of Medicaid to Wyoming failed the House 15-41-4.

Cheyenne, WY – A budget amendment that would have added up to 4 years of Medicaid for Wyoming citizens failed the House in a 15-41-4(excused) vote today.

“I am glad that those who wanted the opportunity to debate and vote on Medicaid expansion were given that opportunity today,” said Speaker of the House Kermit Brown. “There was a good long debate, everyone who wanted to speak was given the opportunity, and there were many different opinions and points of view given.”

House Bill 1, 3^rd reading amendment 31 was brought forth by Representative Dan Zwonitzer.

“There were strong opinions on both sides of the debate in the House and I wanted to give them the time to have their voices heard on this issue,” he said. “I believe the amendment would have improved the lives of the citizens of Wyoming and helped local businesses until a long term solution could be found for the ongoing health care crisis.”

Representative Wilson, who had sponsored a bill to bring Medicaid to Wyoming, spoke forcefully in support of the bill. “We can continue to study this in the interim and find a better way of providing health coverage in Wyoming, but right now doing nothing is not an option,” she stressed.

“We’ve been talking about this issue in the Labor committee for several years, and the Senate had a lengthy floor discussion two weeks ago,” said Representative Wilson. “I thought it was important to have the conversation on the House floor.”

Other Medicaid bills have failed in the Wyoming Legislature this session. SF 129 failed the Senate with an 11-19 vote and a house bill brought forth by Representative Wilson that would have introduced a Medicaid bill into the House was withdrawn from further consideration from the House Labor, Health, & Social Services committee following the Senate vote on SF 129.