Accluntability Blueprint

Accessible and Accountable Government:

CONTENTS

Accessible and Accountable Government

The Foundation of Democracy

Clean Money Campaign Reform

Initiative and Referendum

Complete Lobbyist Reporting

Government that Works for You

Voter Registration Encouraging Wyoming citizens to register and vote
      Wyoming voters historically have turned out in droves on Election Day. However, the percentage of Wyoming citizens eligible to vote who actually register is no better than the national average-about half.
      Because Wyoming residents may register to vote on Election Day, Wyoming was one of five states exempted from the 1993 National Voter Registration Act of 1993. As a result, Wyoming does not provide many of the convenient ways to register to vote that are routine in most other states.
      Options include simultaneous application for driver's license and voter registration, voter registration by mail, voter registration at designated government agencies, deputized voter registration, and/or application for permanent absentee voting. Wyoming withholds all of these voter registration options from its citizens.
      What can be done?
      The ESPC supports amending Wyoming's Election Code (Wyoming Statutes, Title 22) to:

allow Wyoming citizens to register to vote by mail;
authorize expanded deputized voter registration;
enact permanent absentee voter registration.

Lobbyist Reporting Bring "sunshine" to lobbyists' spending on our Legislature
      Elections and lawmaking in a democracy are public processes. While Wyoming has complete-if not timely-disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures (see page 3), this reporting nearly disappears when it is most important-when candidates become actual officeholders.
      At the federal level and in most other states, citizens know what special interests spend to lobby their legislators, but not in Wyoming, where very limited lobbyist reporting legislation first enacted in 1998 keeps the public in the dark.
      The current lobbyist reporting law requires reporting of only "loans, gifts, gratuities, special discounts or hospitality" exceeding $50 in value, the cost of legislative receptions, and the cost of advertising to influence legislation. Most lobbyists report nothing. The law also lacks any enforcement authority.
      Wyoming people have the right to know how much money special interests are spending to influence their legislators.
      What can be done?
      Complete lobbyist reporting would require:

amending W. S. 28-7-201 to provide a listing of total expenditures made by the lobbyist and the lobbyist's employer on lobbying activities;
reporting the amounts spent for informational publications and other printed materials used for legislative purposes (now exempt under W.S. 28-7-201[e]);
reporting the costs to send legislators to conferences and other special events (now exempt under W. S. 28-7-201[g]);
adding a new section to Wyoming Statute Title 28, Chapter 7, Article 1 providing the Secretary of State with authority to enforce Wyoming's lobbyist reporting law.

Financial Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest Provide meaningful financial disclosure and identify conflicts of interest
      Article 3, Section 46 of the Wyoming Constitution states that, "A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill proposed or pending before the legislature shall disclose the fact to the house of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon."
      Wyoming also had no government ethics law until the 1998 Legislature enacted a very limited statute that provided no authority to enforce the above constitutional provision.
      Determination of conflicts of interest is made more difficult because state legislators in Wyoming are required to reveal only limited information on financial interests that may constitute a conflict of interest.
      What can be done?
      Comprehensive ethics legislation would require:

amending the disclosure provisions in W.S. 9-13-108 to provide meaningful financial disclosure by Wyoming's five statewide elected officials and legislators;
amending the conflict of interest provisions in W.S. 9-13-106(a) to conform to the Wyoming Constitution;
adding a new section to Wyoming Statute Title 9, Chapter 13, Article 1 providing the Secretary of State with authority to enforce Wyoming's ethics law.

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