Sundance Times - Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884

Greetings House District 1!

After a grueling past few days, we’re now entering into the third week of the 2020 Budget Session. The majority of the past week was focused on introduction and debate on a roughly $3 billion budget for the 2021-2022 biennium.

This week, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee introduced their respective Budgets (House, HB 1, General Government Appropriations-2 and Senate, SF 1, General Government Appropriations) to their chambers. During second reading of the budget on Wednesday, legislators had the opportunity to offer amendments to the budget on a wide range of topics.

There were 93 amendments filed on second reading in the House and Senate this year, 49 in the House and 44 in the Senate. Lawmakers also had the chance to offer amendments during the third reading of the budget on Friday.

There were 52 amendments filed in the House and 37 in the Senate. 

I offered a series of budget amendments aimed at ensuring we’re continuing to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. Four of these amendments were adopted by the House, including three concerning State Lands & Investments, Economic Development Funding and DEQ’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation.

My final amendment, which was approved by the House, will help ensure that donations made to the Wyoming State Veterans Cemetery (the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery) are used for beautification efforts like wreaths for Memorial Day, flags and flowers, as opposed to general maintenance. This is a state cemetery honoring our veterans and we have the responsibility to ensure its maintenance – and that contributions are used for the purposes donors expect.

The House and Senate will now go into conference committees to hash out differences in the two budgets. I’ll be advocating to ensure my budget amendments remain in the final package.

There were a total of 398 bills filed in the House and Senate this session and, as we work our way through the process, the number of bills left for consideration continues to drop. As of this weekend, there were 44 bills passed out of the House that now await consideration in the Senate.

The Senate has passed 40 bills that the House may now consider. A total of 77 bills are no longer moving forward this session, 54 in the House and 23 in the Senate. 

All bills must be passed by a committee in their house of origin by this Monday, February 24 in order to move forward this session. Thursday, February 27 is “crossover”, which means that any bill that has not been passed out of their chamber of origin will not be further considered.

I’m the principal sponsor of several bills continuing to make their way through the legislative process.

HB 28, Firearm Regulation: This bill would prohibit governmental entities from operating firearm buyback programs – with your tax dollars. Great news, this bill was passed by the House of Representatives this week! Now it will be considered by the Senate.

HB 56, Good Neighbor Authority: This bill would create the Wyoming State Forestry good neighbor authority revolving account to support restoration efforts across private and public lands. This bill was unanimously approved by the House Agriculture AND Appropriations Committee and placed on general file to be considered in the full House.

HB 72, Vehicle Titles – Transfers and Receipts: This bill would modify provisions related to the issuance and transfer of certificates of title and require county treasurers to issue an excise tax receipt. This bill was unanimously approved by the House Corporations Committee and will now be voted on by the full house.

HB 155, Animal Shares: This bill allows for shares to be sold on a herd of cattle for the purpose of easing access to local, affordable meat. This bill was unanimously approved by the House Agriculture Committee and placed on general file to be considered in the full House.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 307-282-0968 or email me at [email protected] You can also find updates about my work on my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/Tyler4HD1.