Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

CHEYENNE — With the state still suffering from a budget deficit due to a loss in mineral wealth, legislators will begin their budget session on Monday, with over 400 bills to consider, and budget hearings that hopefully satisfy the Office of the Governor.

From an appropriations standpoint, legislators have to work around the fact that Governor Matt Mead has requested $105 million for local government and general fund spending, $64 million to complete the Capitol renovation project, $205 million for school facilities, approximately $50 million in increased spending for Department of Health programs (including Title 25 and drug courts) and .5 percent increase to the employer/employee contribution to the Wyoming State Retirement System.

One Appropriations bill still under draft that garnered some conversation was concerning the Wyoming lottery. Currently the lottery pays revenue to the counties only after prizes and expenses have been paid. This bill would guarantee that 5 percent of total lottery proceeds would be deposited in the state’s general fund first. One drawback to the bill would be a cut or complete elimination of local revenue from the current lottery system.

The Revenue Committee is advancing a tobacco tax bill (HB43), which would increase taxes on cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco. Currently, local governments receive 14 percent of total tobacco taxes. The Department of Revenue estimates, however, that an increased tax would result in reduced consumption, losing local governments around $400,000 per year.

The Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee is proposing a bill (HB38), which would reduce election offenses and penalties, taking false voting and registration offenses of the felony list, and would require the county sheriff to investigate all cases of voter fraud if requested by the county clerk.

The same committee has also proposed a bill (HB14) that would restrict extraterritorial jurisdiction by municipalities, which would restrict a city’s authority outside the city limits. The bill would then turn the half-mile authority of city ordinances into a county approval process, and would remove the need for city approval for a development within the one-mile radius zone.

One bill heavily supported by the state county clerks is HB85, which would require auto dealerships to collect motor vehicles sales tax at the time of sale, rather than the county treasurer’s office.

Under Senate File 005, Medicine Lodge State Archeological Area would gain 52 acres from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, specifically, “A parcel of land of approximately ten (10) acres in Dry Fork canyon; A parcel of land of approximately fourteen (14) acres of the pasture parcel in the hay meadow; A parcel of land of approximately twenty-eight (28) acres west of park headquarters.”

Originally purchased in 1972 by Game and Fish, the Medicine Lodge Wildlife Habitat Management Area consisted of 12,000 acres, including the archeological site. Later, the archeological site, home to petroglyphs and native ceremonial sites, was put under control of the state parks department.

Potential bills that are not fully written or submitted include one that would allow the State Loan and Investment Board to guarantee low interest loans to communities with lower than average sales tax revenue due to population, to go toward improvements such as sewer and road projects.

TRACKING

LEGISLATION

Wyoming residents are encouraged to use the Wyoming Legislature’s Website to track legislation and participate in policymaking during the 2018 Budget Session in Cheyenne. The Web address is www.wyoleg.gov and is continually updated as each bill moves through the respective bodies.

A variety of resources can be found on the site including all legislation and amendments sponsored by legislative committees and individual members. The text of each bill is posted on the Legislature’s Website as soon as the legislation is assigned a bill number.

All bills in the House and Senate can be tracked via the legislative Website by clicking on the “2018 Bill Tracking Information” link on the homepage. In addition, residents can also find information about how their elected officials voted by clicking on the “Roll Call Votes on Bills and Amendments” link. The results are posted after each roll call vote is taken on the House and Senate Floor.

The times and dates of standing committee meetings and House and Senate daily floor schedules are also available on the website. Calendars of floor proceedings in the Senate and House are posted in the late afternoon for the next day’s activities, which include legislation under consideration and the general order of business. You can also sign up to receive the committee notices and floor calendars electronically through the Legislature’s GovDelivery subscription service, available on the Legislature’s Website.

The public can listen to live audio of the daily House and Senate proceedings. The audio can be heard by using any device that plays audio files and can be found by clicking on the “Audio Broadcasts of the 2018 Session” link on the homepage.