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Transparency | Management Council steps forward, falters
Legislative leaders voted Tuesday to livestream 20 committee meetings in 2018 held between legislative sessions. But they hesitated, for the moment, to back a bill that would place a recording of every...
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Legislative leaders address decorum in wake of Sundance
Legislative leaders from both parties discussed how to promote decorum last week, in response to a committee meeting in Sundance where public testimony was dominated by two hours of comments many...
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Cheney eying another wilderness bill
As citizens in nine Wyoming counties work to resolve the fate of 750,000 acres of federal wilderness study areas, U.S Rep Liz Cheney is drafting her second bill that could remove environmental...
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Lawyers worry about representation at proposed ICE jail
Legal advocates worry people detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement won’t have sufficient access to lawyers and advocates if they’re jailed in rural southwestern Wyoming. Deportation...
View ArticlePublic defender: 4,191 poor could go without representation
If the Legislature doesn’t provide the Office of the Public Defender money to hire more lawyers, 4,191 people who can’t afford an attorney will be turned away, the state’s top public defender said...
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Supporters of $80M dam beat back funding cut
Uncertain how to fully fund an $80 million dam in southwest Wyoming, lawmakers Friday agreed the state should spend no money on construction before finalizing a financial package. Among issues debated...
View ArticleBarrasso bill would let states oversee oil and gas projects
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R) Thursday introduced legislation to empower states to manage oil and gas production on federal lands as the Republican-controlled Congress aims to ease energy development on...
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Draft budget relies on savings, avoids major cuts
The Joint Appropriations Committee drafted a budget bill last week that would put money back into some agencies hard-hit by previous cuts but also require Gov. Matt Mead to eliminate 50 state positions...
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Task Force: Spend $10M annually for cyclists, pedestrians
A gubernatorial task force is recommending a $10 million annual statewide program to build and promote walkable main streets, community pathways and rural cycling routes and trails. In a 95-page report...
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Revenue Committee kills remaining tax proposals
The Joint Revenue Committee killed its remaining draft tax increase bills Wednesday. One bill died on a split vote and four died with no votes at all. The committee voted 6-6 not to endorse a bill to...
View ArticleLegislative leaders eye 6 percent lodging tax
The Legislature’s Management Council will consider a statewide lodging tax of 6 percent at a meeting Saturday, just days before the budget session convenes, according to an agenda posted to the...
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Education funding fight heads to Round 3
Wyoming’s Legislature will convene Monday with no clear solution to education funding and its House and Senate deeply divided over the issue, a situation mirroring the close of last year’s session,...
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House kills taxes, leaves cuts and savings to meet deficit
The Wyoming House of Representative failed to advance any new revenue measures in its first week of action, effectively killing any chance of raising new funds to meet the state’s budget shortfalls....
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Industry backs bill criminalizing infrastructure ‘interference’
Industry supporters turned out en masse at a legislative committee meeting Friday to support a bill that will impose severe penalties on protesters and anyone else who damages or interferes with...
View ArticleBill behind gay marriage controversy in Sundance dies unheard
House leadership dropped a bill to update Wyoming statutes to reflect the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of gay marriage, disappointing House Minority Floor Leader Cathy Connolly (D-Laramie)....
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House, Senate budget bills diverge on funding
The two chambers of the Wyoming Legislature concluded their budget writing Friday, setting up negotiations over visions that largely agree on spending but diverge sharply on the sources of funding....
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Transparency measure steams through House
The public could soon have online access to recordings of legislative committee meetings conducted between legislative sessions if a transparency bill passes. The proposed measure would remove...
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Justice reform makes strange bedfellows
A bipartisan group of lawmakers pushed bills to ease pressure on Wyoming’s prison system and reform how Wyoming’s justice system penalizes offenders through the House of Representatives this week. A...
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Opponents of infrastructure interference bill rally at Jonah building
Pending legislation that would impose severe penalties on anyone who damages or interferes with “critical infrastructure” may be designed to stifle protests of new energy development in Wyoming, bill...
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Protest bill rises from grave after House rules fight
UPDATE: Senate File 74 – Critical infrastructure protection was approved for debate on the House floor Tuesday morning in a meeting of the House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee....
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