Archive for February, 2007
Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
Capitol Report 22
The Final Days. The issue that seemed likely to drag on – legislation creating the framework for wolf management – raised surprisingly few howls, as a Senate-passed version got concurrence from the House on a 33-26 vote this morning. Chastened agriculture lobbyists grumbled in the lobby, calling it the Wolf Enhancement and Protection Bill.
1 Comment » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
Capitol Report 21
Some observers thought that a bill to deny recognition of same-sex marriages endorsed by other states would be a polarizing distraction to a legislature with more important business to take care of - one of those social issues that generates heat but not much light. The bill (Senate File 13) passed easily through the Senate, […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007
Capitol Report 20
UPDATED: The first third of this blog posting mysteriously didn’t get posted. Here is the updated entry, in its entirety!
After four years of huge budget surpluses generated by coal and natural gas production, there have been hints this winter that the tide may be starting to ebb - or, at least, legislators’ confidence in those […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Thursday, February 15th, 2007
Capitol Report 19
Both House and Senate have set aside the supplemental budget bills today to tend to other business – they’ll continue with the third (and final) reading of budget amendments on Friday, which promises to be a long day at work.
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007
Capitol Report 18
Here’s how it works during the week the full legislature works the budget bill:
Both House and Senate take up identical “mirror” supplemental budget bills developed by the Joint Appropriations Committee – those bills call for $272 million additional spending to the biennial budget bill of $2.77 billion passed in 2006.
The Legislative Service Office issues a […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007
Capitol Report 17
The big issue of this session is the budget - even though it’s not a budget session. And the big mystery of the budget is that few of us know how to interpret the Delphic publication known as “the goldenrod.” It’s put out by the Legislative Services Office, and it tells you, ostensibly, how much […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Thursday, February 8th, 2007
Capitol Report 16
A member of the Wyoming Arts Council board recently remarked to me how little money a state like Wyoming devotes to the arts, even in a time of budget surpluses. Milward Simpson, director of Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, tells me the arts council gets about 7/100ths of one per-cent of the state’s annual […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007
Capitol Report 15
The scope and funding of a program to help improve and expand child care services in Wyoming got chopped quite a bit in the House, but supporters said this was the only way it could survive. The Wyoming Coalition for Children held a press conference to support the bill - now with no new funding […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Tuesday, February 6th, 2007
Capitol Report 14
On our Capitol Outlook broadcast last Friday, a panel of legislators said they were not ready to follow the lead of states like Massachusetts and California in providing forms of state-based universal health coverage. Sen. (and doctor) John Barrasso (R-Casper) said the legislature has taken smaller steps - such as KIDCARE, physician recruitment programs, health […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Thursday, February 1st, 2007
Capitol Report 13
As I write this, the House is finishing debate on a bill that would shape doctor-patient conversations when women seek abortions in Wyoming. Rep. Bob Brechtel (R-Natrona) insists House Bill 144 is not an anti-abortion bill – rather, it’s to make sure women are fully informed of the medical and psychological consequences of abortions.
Opponents of […]