Bob Beck

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After A Legislative Session Of Budget Cuts, What Happens Next?

The Wyoming Legislature just wrapped up a session where $430 million was cut from the existing budget to make up for major losses of revenue connected with COVID-19.

The Wyoming Legislature has approved a bill that changes how health orders are issued. It gives the governor and county commissioners power to approve extended health orders in a pandemic.

The Wyoming House and Senate could not reach a compromise on a school funding bill that would have cut around $135 million over three years. The bill is dead for the session.

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Wyoming Public Radio Reporters Discuss The Close Of The Legislative Session

The Wyoming legislature is winding up its work and we thought we'd begin the show discussing what we've seen. Wyoming Public Radio's Catherine Wheeler and Bob Beck have been covering the session.

The Wyoming Senate gave final approval to an education funding bill that would cut close to $80 million out of school funding over three years.

The House Education Committee has tabled a proposed constitutional amendment dealing with school construction. It likely kills the bill.

Once again, the Wyoming legislature has rejected Medicaid expansion. Despite testimony providing overwhelming support for the measure and some federal aid to encourage more states to adopt the program, the Senate Labor and Health Committee voted three to two against the bill.

A Wyoming Senate committee has started working on a bill that is intended to slow the closures of coal plants in the state.

The Wyoming House and Senate adopted a new state budget that reduces over $400 million from the existing two-year budget.

The Wyoming Senate passed a bill intended to strike a compromise over how the state can regulate Air Ambulance Membership organizations.

A bill that gives more power to elected officials when it comes to public health orders has passed the House.

The measure requires county commissioners to sign off on the extension of a local order after ten days, while the governor would do the same regarding a statewide order.

The Wyoming House of Representatives has given final approval to a bill that would expand Medicaid in the state and provide health care coverage to an estimated 25,000 people.

The Wyoming Senate voted down a bill that would have moved up the primary election with the intent to have a runoff election, if the winner of the primary didn't have over 50 percent of the vote.

After debating it for a few weeks, the Wyoming House gave final approval to a school finance bill. It includes budget cuts and adds revenue to make up for a $300 million budget shortfall for K-12 education.

The University of Wyoming has won round one in a water dispute with the City of Laramie.

The Wyoming House of Representatives gave final approval to a bill that allows UW to drill a well and develop its own water system without interference from the city or the county.

The Wyoming House of Representatives is debating a bill that would limit public health orders to ten days and require elected officials to agree to extend the order.

After debating how much to charge per acre, the Wyoming House of Representatives has defeated a bill that would have allowed the state to sell a square mile of Grand Teton National Park to the National Park Service.

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Pandemic Highlights Need For More Meatpacking Capacity Statewide

The Wyoming House of Representatives made a number of cuts to the school funding model that increased the reductions in an education funding bill to close to $70 million.

The Wyoming Senate is debating a proposed constitutional amendment that would take the funding of school buildings out of the hands of the state and return it to local districts.

The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that the state needs to pay for school buildings and upkeep.

The Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team will face UCLA in the first round of the NCAA tournament Monday night.

The 14th-seeded Cowgirls are playing in just their second-ever NCAA tournament, while UCLA is making its fifth straight appearance and was 16-5 on the regular season.

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Lawmakers Raise Study Taking Grim Outlook On Biden Climate Plans - But Who's Behind It?

Update: Following a reconsideration vote, the Wyoming House of Representatives has reversed course and voted to pass a bill regulating online sports betting. The bill would legalize the activity and provide revenue to the state.  The Wyoming Gaming Commission would oversee all operations and develop rules.  The bill now heads to the Senate for further debate.

A bill that outlaws chemically- induced abortions has passed a Wyoming legislative committee, despite comments that the measure is unconstitutional.

The Wyoming House and Senate continued work on the state budget by considering a number of amendments.