Tagged: legislature

Wyoming lawmakers are considering further reforms to the state’s pension system. This year, the legislature lowered pension benefits for new employees  and changed the way cost-of-living adjustments are made.

But Cheyenne Representative Bryan Pedersen  says he is convinced that even with the changes, Wyoming won’t have e

“This will at best float us three to five years. It’s a band-aid that will kick the can further down the road. And that’s with the plan fully performing at the eight percent estimated average annual return.”

A recent report from the Center for Public Integrity ranks Wyoming 48th in the nation when it comes to accountability in state politics. According to the report, Wyoming and a number of other western states seemed to operate with a live-and-let-live attitude when it came to government,  stressing a strong preference for informal societal controls as opposed to legislative actions that regulated oversight.

Gordon Witkin is with the Center for Public Integrity. He says Wyoming is too relaxed when it comes to oversight and auditing processes.

The Wyoming Legislature has approved a $3.2-billion budget bill which now goes to Gov. Matt Mead for his consideration.

The budget bill approved by both Houses on Monday keeps state spending essentially flat over the coming two-year budget cycle.

State lawmakers are keeping a close eye on falling natural gas prices and had directed state agencies to prepare for possible 4-percent budget cuts next year if necessary.

A majority of Senators have voted to keep a provision in an Open Records bill that would allow communication between one elected official and one private citizen from being made public. But Senator Bill Landen argued that such communication should be made public, because it could provide insight into why board members voted a particular way.  Landen argued that the bill allows for mischief.

“It opened a loophole for organizations if they want to hide from the press to simply contact each other individually.  And I all I got to do is change the information a little bit and you know what, the vote is greased. “

    The Wyoming House and Senate have begun discussing the 3-point-2 billion dollar state budget.  It will cover a biennium, or the next two fiscal years.  House Appropriations Chairman Rosie Berger says they are trying to pass a flat budget this year and limit future spending.  Senate Appropriations Chairman Phil Nicholas says agencies will be asked to reduce their budgets by four percent in the second year of the biennium and another four percent in the following year.

A panel of Wyoming legislators has voted to deny Gov. Matt Mead's request to use state money to make up for expired federal stimulus funds that had gone to help support the Medicaid program.

A majority of members of the Joint Appropriations Committee voted against Mead's request to give the Health Department and extra $37 million for Medicaid today.

The committee also voted against Mead's request to put up nearly $7 million to cut waiting lists for people in the state waiting for services for developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries.

 An Australian coal company that wants to mine Powder River Basin coal has hired a Wyoming state lawmaker as
an executive.
     The Gillette News Record (http://bit.ly/rrhxjt ) reported that
Republican Rep. David Miller of Riverton sold his Campbell County
mineral rights to Sydney-based County Coal Limited for $200,000 in
March. Miller, a geologist, now holds one million shares in the
company and will get 3 percent royalty payments on coal mined in
the basin, one of the richest coal sources in the United States.
     Miller said he will recuse himself from any votes in the
legislature that directly affect County Coal projects. He said
votes on coal issues in general aren't as clear cut.

An organization called Good Jobs First says Wyoming should play harder-to-get when businesses apply for state funding and tax incentives. Of the states requiring job-creation results from benefiting businesses, Good jobs first ranks Wyoming 49th. Dan Neal of the Equality State Policy center says Wyoming is being too loose with its purse strings without demanding a return in new jobs.  He says while Wyoming looks at ways to diversify its economy through incentives…it is not unreasonable to require a certain number of good paying jobs to be created.

Neal:   These efforts are all well-intentioned, but there’s no reason to just give the money away and say, ‘Gee, we really hope you’ll come here.

    The University of Wyoming says reductions in staffing and student support are among the scenarios they are considering if the legislature decides to cut its budget this year.  

U-W and other state agencies have been asked to explain what reductions of two, five and eight percent would mean to their budgets.  At the high end, U-W President Tom Buchanan says the cuts would be severe.  In the two percent scenario, Buchanan says reductions not connected to academics would be made.   But he admits that will change if the cuts are more than that.

A legislative panel has signed off on a plan that could remove federal protections from gray wolves in
Wyoming as early as next year.   Sen. Bruce Burns says the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and
Cultural Resources Interim Committee approved the plan on Tuesday.

Burns says the panel was unanimous in recommending that the Legislature approve Wyoming's wolf-management plan when it convenes in February.   Gov. Matt Mead and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar agreed this summer to classify wolves in most of Wyoming as predators that
could be shot on sight.

Wolves would be considered protected game animals in a flexible trophy game zone in the northwestern corner
of the state around Yellowstone National Park.
 

Teton County lawmakers are balking at a cost-of-living adjustment the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Education Committee has initially approved for school districts across the state.

The hedonic cost-of-living adjustment considers intangible benefits of living in an area, meaning teachers could be paid less if they live near cultural amenities or national parks. If the Legislature adopts the hedonic cost-of-living adjustment instead of the current cost-based model, teachers in Teton County School District One could be paid 11-percent higher than other teachers in the state, instead of 33-percent. Over all, the change could save the state six million dollars per year.