Legislature presses onward with budgets during mid-February
Cheyenne – With the 2018 Budget Session of the 64th Wyoming Legislature approximately half-way complete, legislators began to tackle the state’s budget during the week of Feb. 19.
Legislators convened on President’s Day to begin the task, sorting through hundreds of amendments offered to attempt to crimp state funding and balance the budget. As of Feb. 23, the House of Representatives had offered more than 47 amendments to the bill,
For Wyomingites in the agriculture industry, a number of bills aside from the budget are of concern. Because this year is a budget session, bills that are not sponsored by a committee require a two-thirds majority vote to be introduced.
The Legislative Service Office received 194 House Bills, 10 House resolutions, 121 Senate Files and five Senate resolutions for possible introduction.
Feb. 22 marked the last day for bills to be reported out of committee, and Feb. 23 was the last day for bills to be heard in the Committee of the Whole (COW) in their house of origin.
Additionally, the Wyoming Legislature will take a mid-session recess on Feb. 26 before jumping into the final stretch of the session.
House Bills
Below is a summary of bills that may be of particular interest to those in the ag industry.
HB 1 – Budget Bill – H Passed Second Reading
HB 13 – Municipal Extraterritorial Jurisdiction – Repeal – H COW Passed
HB 14 – Municipal Jurisdiction – H COW Passed
HB 20 – Game and Fish Agreements with Federal Agencies – H Postponed Indefinitely
HB 39 – Wildlife Conservation License Plates – H COW Passed
HB 48 – Cruelty to Animals – Penalties – H Failed Introduction
HB 51 – Reporting of Gross Receipts – H Did Not Consider for Introduction
HB 77 – Instream Flow Consultant – H COW Passed
HB 89 – Feeding Garbage to Swine – H Withdrawn by Sponsor
HB 90 – Country of Origin Recognition – USA Beef – H Placed on General File
HB 91 – Right to Repair Farm Equipment – H Postponed Indefinitely
HB 92 – Beef Checkoff Penalty – Repeal – H Postponed Indefinitely
HB 93 – Speeding Fines Amendments – 2 – H COW Passed
HB 94 – State Lands – Net Gain in Acreage – H Failed Introduction
HB 98 – Real Estate Transfer Tax – H Did Not Consider for Introduction
HB 104 – Wind Energy Production Tax – H Did Not Consider for Introduction
HJ 3 – Federal Single Subject Constitutional Amendment – H Failed Introduction
HJ 4 – State Lands Mineral Royalties Constitutional Amendment – H Failed Introduction
Senate Files
SF 45 – State Fair Board – S COW Passed
SF 47 – Eminent Domain – Wind Energy Collector System – S Failed Introduction
SF 53 – Small Water Projects – H Received for Introduction
SF 55 – Water Development Account III – H Received for Introduction
SF 64 – Appropriation to State Engineer – S Passed COW
SF 67 – Wyoming Public Lands Day – S Passed Second Reading
SF 69 – 2018 Large Project Funding – H Received for Introduction
Archived audio from the House and Senate are available at wyoleg.gov, as is a current status of all bills received by the Legislative Services Office.
Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to saige@wylr.net.
