2018 Budget Session to kick off on Feb. 12 with Governor’s State of the State address
Cheyenne – The 64th Wyoming Legislature is gearing up for 20 days of policy-making activity, beginning Feb. 12.
The Legislature will convene in a Joint Session of the Wyoming Senate and House of Representatives Feb. 12 at 10 a.m., during the first day of legislative proceedings of the 2018 Budget Session.
At that time, Gov. Matt Mead will deliver his State of the State message to the Legislature in the Wyoming House of Representatives Chamber at the Jonah Business Center in Cheyenne.
Wyoming PBS will be broadcasting the event live and at governor.wyo.gov. An audio-only broadcast will be available at wyoleg.gov/lsoweb/AudioStream.aspx.
Following the State of the State, Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice E. James Burke will deliver the State of the Judiciary message.
Generally, the Wyoming Legislature meets beginning at 10 a.m. as a body, adjourning by 5 p.m. Before and after each session, individual committees will meet.
The mid-session recess of the Wyoming Legislature will be on Feb. 26, and the session is scheduled to conclude by March 9, with March 12-14 available if necessary.
Participating during session
“Wyoming residents are encouraged to use the Wyoming Legislature’s website wyoleg.gov to track legislation and participate in policymaking during the 2018 Budget Session,” comments Riana Davidson, Wyoming Associate Legislative Information Officer. “A variety of sources can be found on the site, including all legislation and amendments sponsored by legislative committees and individual members.”
As the Legislature works through the process, each bill will be posted on the website as soon as the legislation is assigned a bill number. Bills can be tracked by clicking “2018 Bill Tracking Information” on the link on the homepage.
“In addition, residents can also find information about how their elected officials voted by clicking on the ‘Roll Call Votes on Bills and Amendments’ link,” Davidson says. “The results are posted after each roll call vote is taken on the House and Senate floor.”
During each day of the session, the public can listen to live audio of the House and Senate proceedings. Audio can be heard on any device that plays audio files.
“The times and dates of standing committee meetings and House and Senate daily floor schedules are also available on the website,” Davidson explains. “Calendars of floor proceedings in the Senate and House are posted in the late afternoon for the next day’s activities.”
She adds, “Residents can also sign up to receive the committee notices and floor calendars electronically through the Legislature’s GovDelivery subscription service, available on the Legislature’s website.”
Contacting Legislators
Wyomingites can also reach out to their legislators during the session using several different options.
Residents may e-mail their representative using contact information provided on the site, or the “Online Hotline” allows the public to recommend support or opposition for a particular piece of legislation and to leave a comment regarding the bill.
“The Legislature will launch a new website in April, which will be available and updated concurrently with the existing site during the session,” Davidson says. “The new site can be found through the current homepage for the Wyoming Legislature.”
“For more information on the legislative website or to report technical problems, contact the Legislative Service Office at 307-777-7881,” she adds.
Following bills
A number of bills are already available on the Wyoming Legislature’s website, including two bills sponsored by the Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee, three sponsored by the Select Water Committee, the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources committee and numerous other bills sponsored by individuals.
As of Feb. 6, 108 House bills, five House Joint Resolutions and 71 Senate Files had been filed with the Legislative Services Office.
During the course of the session, follow relevant bills to the ag industry each week in the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Interested in a bill and want more information? E-mail roundup@wylr.net.
Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.
