Archive for February, 2009
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Closing Days
In the closing days of an eight-week session, tempers fray, which can lead to some harsh words among colleagues, especially back and forth between House and Senate.
Nowhere is that more true than in the Joint Appropriations Committee, where they are thrashing out the final details of the supplemental budget bill in conference. The big […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
Federal Stimulus
Speculation about the infusion of federal stimulus cash into Wyoming continues unabated, with state officials shy about asserting a hard figure for what the state will get. You’ll read $501.8 million in the paper tomorrow; or possibly $516.8 million – both figures far underestimate what’s coming our way.
Those numbers – released today by Lynn Boomgaarden, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Cutting Property Taxes
February 24, 2009
The move to cut property taxes for homeowners in Wyoming has gotten mixed support from the 60th legislature, where solons can’t seem to decide whether constituents consider it a priority. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted tonight to cut funding from an expanded homestead tax exemption bill – but not without a moment […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Education Matters
Education issues have slipped quietly through the 60th legislature, because most of the heavy lifting of recent years – on issues like raising teacher salaries, building new schools, and the Hathaway higher education scholarships – is completed and underway. But there is some fine tuning going on, and anyone interested in education might want to […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
2/18/09
One objective of this blog – and of the television program, Capitol Outlook – is to find those important bills that might sneak by under the radar, never noticed by the mainstream media. Sometimes, a bill that appears as innocent as, say, a butterfly, might flutter by unnoticed if we didn’t let the public know.
Take […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Friday, February 13th, 2009
2/13
Obscure bills worked in the far-off corners of the state Capitol by small committees – that’s where, sometimes, a debate of real weight erupts.
For instance, in the Senate Revenue Committee yesterday. They were considering legislation that would drop the premium tax paid on annuity investments. (People who purchase annuities pay a premium and at a […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Friday, February 13th, 2009
2/12
“This is far from over.”
So said Rep. Kermit Brown (R-Laramie) Wednesday of Wyoming’s struggle with the federal government over management of wolves reintroduced in the state by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
But it’s over for this legislative session.
After hours of testimony and debate on five different wolf bills, the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
2/9
Monday was the day of the dead for bills – a bill has to pass its “first reading” in either the House or Senate at that mid-point in the session, or it’s finished. (A bill must then survive two more votes before it gets out of either the House or Senate – then it goes […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
2/10
As the House and Senate begin work today on the supplemental budget bill – which emerges from the Joint Appropriations Committee with a $165 million price tag – memos are circulating suggesting that the projected budget surplus for the upcoming year may have to be downsized further.
That certainly puts a damper on the efforts usually […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Friday, February 6th, 2009
2/5
It’s easy for journalists to get caught up in the full-press schedule of the legislature just the way the legislators do – you rush to your first committee before dawn, and often debate the bills into the night…even if that debate is sometimes over a brew. You follow dozens of bills and report on dozens […]