Bob Beck

Some members of the Wyoming House of Representatives are expressing concern about a bill that would change how the state spends its share of Abandoned Mine Lands money. 

The funds traditionally have been collected by the federal government and returned to states to reclaim abandoned mines.  The state has used AML money to pay for some energy related building projects in the past. But this year, the Joint Appropriations Committee wants to use it to fund other projects, such as ten million dollars for the renovation of the UW Arena-Auditorium in Laramie. 

The Wyoming House of Representatives gave final approval to a new legislative redistricting plan Friday.  It makes subtle changes across the state,and House members voted to accept a plan that also keeps Senators Curt Meier and Wayne Johnson from being combined into one Senate seat. 

Representative Pete Illoway oversaw the House effort and he admits he has mixed emotions about what they did to preserve the Senate seats.

“I’m not ecstatic about it," Illoway said. "But it’s a better solution than we probably had.  It’s better than having a floor fight and then losing what we’ve already gained.”

Illoway does expect that the Senate will strongly consider some changes in southwest Wyoming that seemed to concern Senators in that part of the state.

An effort to give OSHA the authority to increase fines for worker deaths has been defeated.  The Wyoming House voted down the measure by Cheyenne Democrat Mary Throne. 

Throne says increasing fines could improve worker safety. 

"If a moose is killed out of season you might face a fine of 15-thousand dollars.  If a worker dies on the job, for instance a worker died on the job in 2006, a catwalk wasn’t in place.  A worker fell to his death.  The penalty was 7-thousand dollars.”

But opponents said there is no evidence that the bill would improve workplace safety.  Wyoming is among the national leaders in workplace deaths.

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    The Wyoming Senate has voted to introduce a bill that would establish a mechanism for Laramie to acquire a parcel of land above the Casper aquifer.  The state could spend up to $15 million.

Laramie Senator Chris Rothfuss notes that the land purchase has generated some controversy, but he says the process would begin with the Director of the State Land and Investment Board negotiating to acquire the land.

“If that land is acquired public meetings would be held to discuss what to do with the land.  And then following those public meetings the results would be reported to the Joint Ag Committee within 3 months of the acquisition to determine what they would recommend to this body for the fate of that land.”

A Wyoming House committee recommended approval of a bill that would require drug testing before someone can receive state aid. 

Riverton Representative David Miller says the bill would allow the state to take away benefits for a month if someone tested positive.  Miller says he is trying to encourage users to get drug treatment. 

Linda Burt of the American Civil Liberties Union says such bills have been declared unconstitutional in other states.

"I know the motivation to bring drug treatment to people is a wonderful motivation and we all want to do that and we all want children to grow up in homes that are drug free.  But there are much more effective ways to do that.  Punishing people is not the way to do that."

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HOST INTRO: Wyoming lawmakers are about to start budget work, with the knowledge that revenue projections have dropped substantially since last fall.  State agencies are being told that most budgets will not increase, and that they should be prepared to cut their budgets for a total of 12 percent over the next three years.  It should mean that the days of sticking in big money amendments into the budget during debates are probably over for a while.  Bob Beck reports.

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Noted Wyoming author Mark Jenkins is currently writing stories for National Geographic.  He will be discussing a recent article called the Healing Fields, the legacy of war and the search for Miss Landmine Cambodia during a lecture in Laramie on February 27ths at five in the UW classroom building.  Jenkins will also make some additional appearances in the state.  He talks with Bob Beck.

An attempt to change the constitution to make the State Superintendent of Public Instruction an appointed rather than elected position has failed in the Wyoming House.

Casper Republican Steve Harshman brought the idea due to the importance the legislature has placed on the State Department of Education.  He noted that very few states have an elected Superintendent. But others disagreed with the idea.  Douglas Republican Frank Peasley argued that the current system works best.

The State Senate continues working on a pair of bills intended to give the Secretary of State more power to regulate shell corporations or those who operate without significant investments or operations in the state.  Senator Phil Nicholas successfully lowered possible penalties for people in Wyoming who act as registered agents, and says that’s because they are not the people likely to commit fraud.

“For those folks who have agreed to be a registered agent in their own individual name and they live here and have an office here,” says Nicholas. “There is no threat, those people are not becoming registered agents for those people they don’t know and they can’t locate. 

The Wyoming Senate has revived a school finance measure with onesignificant change:The bill removes the controversial regional cost adjustment known as the hedonic model that caused the measure to fail in the house.

That provision would remove funding from communities with amenities and could have cost Teton County four million dollars. 

Senator Hank Coe of Cody says that the bill is needed as part of the states requirement to set up a new funding model every five years.  He says it also allows for pay raises, known as external cost adjustments, if the state gets to the point where they can be afforded.

The Wyoming House of Representatives has defeated a bill that would have changed the state retirement system.  Cheyenne Republican Bryan Pedersen wanted those hired after July first 2014 to be entered into a 401K style retirement plan versus the current defined benefit plan. 

The reason for the defeat is because Pedersen believes the current state plan will run out of money. 

However, opponents questioned Pedersen’s numbers and his timing, and Casper Republican Steve Harshman says it’s too big of a change in a short budget session.

The Wyoming legislature will consider asking voters if the State Superintendent should be an appointed position instead of an elected one.  

Lawmakers will consider a Joint Resolution that would place the proposed constitutional change on the ballot.  If approved it would turn the State Superintendent into an appointed position by 2015. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Kermit Brown says there is a benefit to having an expert run the office instead of a politician, especially with the importance lawmakers have placed on the Department of Education.

The Wyoming Senate is working on a pair of bills intended to give the Secretary of State more power and authority to deal with shell corporations. 

Those are companies without active business operations or significant assets and sometimes viewed as tax havens. 

Senator Cale Case says there are a number of loose ends the state is trying to tie up.

“You know we are really trying to tighten putting a name and face with respect to corporate registrations,” says Case. “To make sure when indeed we have to contact a corporation that there is somebody there that stands by the corporate, at least is a representative of the corporation for service of process or whatever we have to do.”