Monday, January 14, 2019

The House convened to consider bills on third and final reading in the House.  Bills up for third and final reading included HB 38, which provides an increase for per diem rates for legislators and staff attending legislative meetings, and HB 59, which provides a similar increase in an optional allowance for constituent service reimbursement.  These bills passed the House and will now go on to the Senate.

Bills up for first reading included HB 13, which updates the jury selection and retention process to work more efficiently with modern technology; HB 37, which requires all candidates who intend to run for county office to live in the county in which they are running for at least one year; and HB 69, which expands the authority of the state treasurer to collect sales tax on online purchases.  All these bills passed first reading.  Another piece of legislation, HB 40, failed first reading and was indefinitely postponed.  HB 40 would have made changes to which armed services members could be tried in military courts. 

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

The House Ag Committee convened to hear HB 81, which funds the planning of projects for the Water Development Office.  This, along with its construction counterpart, is a bill which comes before the committee each year from the Select Water Committee.  HB 81 passed the committee and was referred to the Appropriations Committee. 

The only bill up for third and final reading in the House today was HB 25, which would allow college professors to teach courses in virtual education programs.

Bills on General File included two bills (HB 12 and HB 28) which would give the Wyoming Game and Fish commission the authority to regulate shed and antler hunting; HB 58, which extends the sunset date on the Wyoming Investment in Nursing program; and HB 66, which would impose an additional lodging tax on travelers in Wyoming.  HB 66 would add an additional 3%, while allowing for an additional 2% optional tax at the local level.  The idea of the bill is to try and get the tourism department off General Fund dollars, which would free up General Fund money for other projects.  These bills passed first reading.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

The House passed HB 3, HB 37, HB 41 and HB 69 through third and final  reading today.  HB 3 would allow the board of outfitters to assess civil penalties against licensed outfitters who violate state laws.  HB 37 would require that candidates for county-level offices be residents of the county in which they are running for one year before filing to run.  HB 41 would change the title of the UW Board of Trustees President to the Trustees Chairman.  HB 69 would allow for a broader collection of sales tax from online retailers.    

Bills up for first reading in the House today included HB 2, which would allow the Game and Fish commission to regulate new hunting technologies to keep allowable technologies within the standard of fair chase rules; HB 44 would allow for the expungement of criminal records for juveniles if they committed minor offenses; and HB 71 would put into statute penalties for failing to provide equal pay to men and women in the workforce.  These bills all passed first reading.  HB 72, which would have prevented an employer from firing or disciplining an employee for discussing wages with other employees, failed on first reading, and was indefinitely postponed. 

Thursday, January 17, 2019

The House Agriculture committee met to consider three different pieces of legislation this morning.  HB 49 would allow any unexpended funds appropriated to the state forestry division to revert to the emergency fire suppression account.  This bill, which passed committee, would help bolster funds in the emergency fire suppression account, which has frequently seen complete depletion in recent years by the time fire season is over.  Two other bills brought before the committee failed the committee’s vote.  HB 47 would have required senate confirmation of governor-appointed water compact commissioners.  HB 50 would have required legislative approval of any state lands transfers over 639 acres in size.  Both bills were defeated by the committee on the grounds that both would require unnecessary intervention by the legislature. 

Bills up for third and final reading included Joint Resolution 1, which asks Congress to delist the grizzly bear from the endangered species list; HB 66, which would increase the state lodging tax by 3%, while including a 2% optional local increase; and HB’s 12 and 28, both of which would allow the Game and Fish commission to have oversight in regulating shed and antler hunting. 

Bills up for first reading in the House included HB 73, which would allow dogs to be used to track wounded game; HB 21, which would create an elections readiness account to help the state pay for new voting machines under the federal requirements of the Help America Vote Act; and HB 130, which would create an officially recognized Wyoming Cowboy Legacy Week.  All of these bills passed first reading. 

Friday, January 18, 2019

Bills up for third and final reading included HB 44, which allows for the expungement of juvenile court records for minor offenses; HB 90, which would allow community college police officers to be included in the state retirement program; and HB 2, which would allow the Game and Fish commission to establish rules and regulations that could restrict new technologies that might violate fair chase standards in hunting.  These bills passed the House

On General File, bills up for first reading included HB 101, which would allow municipalities easier access to natural gas infrastructure development if they do not yet have natural gas piped into their communities; HB 24, which would cut the reimbursement to teachers earning their national board certification by half; HB 22, which allows for more flexibility for local districts in teacher accountability standards; and HB 23, which, similarly, would allow for more flexibility in education accountability standards for local school districts.  These bills passed first reading in the House.