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Recent News and Updates
Under re-construction
At long last, we’re working on a re-design of the ESPC’s site. The archival information here is still available but we’re not actively doing any other work.
We hope to have the revised site up and running by the end of January 2008.
Thanks,
Dan Neal
ESPC executive director
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Who benefits from the boom?
Women, children see fewer fruits from Wyo economy
ESPC News Release, Aug. 30, 2007
As America and Wyoming stop on the Labor Day weekend to celebrate the working women and men who make the state so strong, the public and its state policy-makers need to consider the economic status of all its citizens.
While the current energy boom fills state coffers with tax revenues (mostly from severance and property taxes on gas, oil and coal), the benefits from the boom’s jobs are scattered, A few people make money in amounts they never dreamed of; others see their wages stagnate, or even go up, but not enough to meet the higher rents and other expenses of the boomtown economies.
So who benefits from the boom, and who doesn’t?
The new Census figures released this week make clear that more than a quarter of Wyoming residents are struggling to get by and one-tenth — more than 50,000 people — live below the federal poverty line.
The problem is worse for children. Fourteen percent of all Wyoming’s children live below the poverty line. One-third of Wyoming children reside in families in poverty or among the working poor.
In 2005, Wyoming completed a study of the essential costs of living in communities across the state, known as the Wyoming Self-Sufficiency Standard. The Self-Sufficiency Standard calculates how much income a working family needs to meet its essential expenses. It is based on where the family lives, the number of adults in the family, and the number and ages of children.
The poverty line for a family of three is $16,600. According to the Self-Sufficiency Standard, however, a family of three needs much more income to make ends meet: at least $28,508 in Wyoming’s least expensive county, and at least $49,774 in Wyoming’s most expensive place to live.
The gap between the Federal Poverty Threshold and the Self-Sufficiency wage needed by Wyoming’s families suggests that many more families are struggling to meet their daily needs than poverty figures indicate.
Gender wage gap
In 2005, Wyoming ranked first in the nation in gender wage gap – the difference between the median wages earned by women and by men. Wyoming’s gender wage gap now stands at 63%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. That means when women work full-time, all year long, they earn only 63% of what men earn.
The problem is compounded here because a larger proportion of Wyoming’s mothers have to work. Almost 71% of Wyoming women with children under 18 are in the labor force, as compared to 62% nationally, according to a 2004 report compiled by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
Women with children under the age of six are also more likely to be in the labor force when compared to the United States as a whole (66% vs. 60%), that report found.
“Women cite childcare barriers, both costs and quality, as major areas of concern in their lives,” said Sarah Mikesell Growney, the Program Director for Equality Initiatives, an organization that investigates the status of Wyoming’s women and girls.
“These childcare barriers complicate a woman’s ability to earn more money by working more hours or holding multiple jobs,” Growney said. “And the lack of quality childcare settings causes increased stress.”
A quick observation, of course, is that the gap between Wyoming men’s and women’s wages is wide because the historically male-dominated energy industries also provide highly-paid jobs. However, when comparing Wyoming women’s wages nationally they are the 48th worst in the nation, while Wyoming men’s wages ranked 15th.
The wages of Wyoming women also lag behind regionally. (Chart included in release does not appear here.)
The rate of wage growth for Wyoming women has been slow, tied with Utah at 9% at the bottom of the Rocky Mountain States and significantly lagging the 23% rate of women’s wage growth nationally.
The 2002 Wyoming Legislature authorized a study of gender wage gap. “A Study of the Disparity in Wages and Benefits Between Men and Women in Wyoming,” was conducted by the University of Wyoming and published in 2003. The study pointed to several major causes of gender wage gap in Wyoming, including (1) occupations held by women and men; (2) amount of time in the workforce; (3) educational differences; (4) higher-paying jobs in male-dominated occupations; (5) poor compensation in female-dominated occupations such as teaching and nursing, and (6) other factors including some level of discrimination.
The study also noted that the disparity in wages forced more women to hold multiple jobs, left them facing higher childcare costs, resulted in higher job turnover, and led families to move out of state.
What’s next
Since the gender wage gap study was published, the Wyoming Legislature has increased its investment in public education significantly, in part to bring up teachers’ salaries to remain competitive with neighboring states. This no doubt has improved women’s wages, but with the wage growth in the industrial jobs dominated by men, may not lead to an improvement in the wage gap.
The state’s investment in the N-CAR supercomputer that will be located near Cheyenne potentially helps women if the computer attracts more white-collar jobs to the state.
But there are other steps that can be taken to improve the status of women and make Wyoming a better place for all:
The state needs to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers. Many women work as servers in the restaurant business.
We can help women keep jobs if the state follows through with its quality child care program to build the capacity of child care providers to offer more and better daycare so that working mothers, often single heads of households, can take and retain better jobs.
Push ahead with expansion of the KidCare program to provide health insurance for more people. It promises stability to many families who find themselves among the working poor and in the lower middle class.
And bold action by the state to ensure health insurance and access to quality health care to everyone in Wyoming will provide more economic security to the whole state.
1 Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of Current Population Survey data
2 Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2006 Federal Poverty Thresholds: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/06poverty.shtml.
3 Source: Self-Sufficiency Standards (for individual states), developed by Dr. Diana Pearce:
http://www.sixstrategies.org. State Self-Sufficiency Standards updated using April 2007 Consumer Price Index (CPI).
(Wyoming Self Sufficiency calculator online: http://www.wyomingworkforce.org/resources/ss_index.aspx
4 Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research; http://www.iwpr.org/States2004/PDFs/Wyoming.pdf
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ESPC calls for affordable, quality health care, guaranteed
Broad action needed from Legislature
Testimony to the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, Aug. 24, 2007
The Equality State Policy Center believes the state can ensure quality health care to all Wyoming residents. We hope the Labor Health and Social Services Committee will advance legislation to achieve this goal.
Right now, we know that roughly 80,000 residents are uninsured. The boom that has done so much for the state and those working in the energy industries has not produced benefits for everyone in the community. While more than 88% of fulltime workers in the Natural Resources and Mining Industry are offered health insurance by the employers, in the Leisure and Hospitality business – Tourism, Wyoming’s second largest industry — under 40% of fulltime workers are offered health insurance by their employers.
Affordable, quality health care will make Wyoming an even more attractive place to live. Families of all economic strata will benefit if we remove the threat of medical problems driving not only the poor but even upper middle class people into bankruptcy.
States across the country are investigating and putting into practice systems aimed at achieving universal or near-universal coverage. The healthcare commission has been tracking them. Massachusetts has devised a publicly and privately financed system that that state continues to refine. Vermont , a state close in population size to Wyoming, is working on its Catamount plan.
One of the most encouraging new plans has been approved by the Wisconsin state senate.
“Healthy Wisconsin” may be the most comprehensive health care reform to pass a legislative body. It would guarantee the same health care benefits that Wisconsin legislators receive to all residents who are not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or other public programs. Healthy Wisconsin’s landmark approach would eliminate all premiums and replace them with affordable payroll-based contributions by employers and employees.
The plan’s payroll-based financing shows that with everyone paying their fair share, it is possible to ensure access to quality and affordable health care.
We believe the legislature should look seriously at a similar effort in Wyoming, starting by analyzing the prospects for expanding the insurance program available to state employees. A first step could be consideration of including local governments in the state program. Mandates may be necessary and we hope you will not rule them out before examining the programs adopted in our sister states.
vWhile further exploring the options to achieve universal care, we believe the Legislature should take several immediate steps:
Adopt an explicit statement that the State of Wyoming has a policy goal to insure that all residents have access to quality health care at costs that are affordable.
By affordable, we think a reasonable basic definition is that no one should have to forego any of the other essentials of life – including food, housing, reliable transportation to work, and good child care – in order to pay for insurance. A sliding fee could make certain that the working poor can afford insurance. It could be based upon the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Wyoming, a study completed for the Governor's Office in 2005 to define the costs of life's essentials in communities around the state.
Give the state Department of Insurance some teeth. Require all insurers to report policy coverage and rates. That information should be public and posted on a department web site.
Push for more transparency throughout the system. Cost and quality of care information should be public information. The state should require insurers to post their negotiated rates for care.
Expand the Medicaid program in Wyoming by broadening eligibility requirements. The state can use its own funds to leverage more Medicaid dollars from the federal government, making this a relatively low-cost stopgap to reduce the high number of uninsured people in the state.
Proceed with the SCHIP program expansion using state funds as proposed by the Wyoming Healthcare Commission. The state should not wait for program reauthorization and approval of the needed federal waiver.
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Wyoming deserves affordable, quality health care, guaranteed
Healthcare Commission should take bold action
Testimony to the Wyoming Healthcare Commission, Aug. 13, 2007
The Equality State Policy Center believes the state can ensure health care coverage to all Wyoming residents. The Wyoming Healthcare Commission should offer bold policy proposals to achieve this goal.
Making universal health care a reality means Wyoming will be a more attractive place to live. Families of all economic strata will see the advantages of life in a state where medical problems do not threaten bankruptcy of even upper middle class people.
States across the country are investigating and putting into practice systems aimed at achieving universal or near-universal coverage. We know the commission has been tracking them. One of the most encouraging new plans has been approved by the Wisconsin state senate.
“Healthy Wisconsin” may be the most comprehensive health care reform to pass a legislative body. It would guarantee the same health care benefits that Wisconsin legislators receive to all residents who are not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or other public programs. Healthy Wisconsin’s landmark approach would eliminate all premiums and replace them with affordable payroll-based contributions by employers and employees. This approach ensures shared responsibility, with everyone paying their fair share to finance health care for all.
The plan’s payroll-based financing shows that with everyone paying their fair share, it is possible to ensure access to quality and affordable health care.
We believe the commission should look seriously at a similar effort in Wyoming, starting by analyzing the prospects for expanding the insurance program available to state employees. A first step could be consideration of including local governments in the state program.
While further exploring the options to achieve universal care, we believe the commission should urge the Wyoming Legislature to take several immediate steps:
Adopt an explicit statement that the State of Wyoming has a policy goal to insure that all residents have access to quality health care at costs that are affordable.
Give the state Department of Insurance some teeth. Require all insurers to report policy coverage and rates. That information should be public and posted on a department web site.
Push for more transparency throughout the system. Cost and quality of care information should be public information. The state should require insurers to post their negotiated rates for care.
Expand the Medicaid program in Wyoming by broadening eligibility requirements. The state can use its own funds to leverage more Medicaid dollars from the federal government, making this a relatively low-cost stopgap to reduce the high number of uninsured people in the state.
Start with the key recommendations of the Rupri report. We’re pleased to see the commission moving on these recommendations today.
Proceed with the SCHIP program expansion using state funds. The state should not wait for program reauthorization and approval of the needed federal waiver.
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Minimum
wage hike signed
Change affects 39,000 Wyoming workers
President Bush has signed new legislation that will raise the federal
minimum wage for the first time since September 1997.
The law will benefit 12 million workers nationally. In Wyoming, 39,000
workers, or 15.9% of the state’s workforce, will see their wages
increase as a result of the federal minimum wage increase, according
to the Economic Policy Institute of Washington, D.C.
“State residents earning the minimum wage or in pay ranges close
to it will see more money in their paychecks as a result of this long-overdue
hike,” said Dan Neal, executive director of the Equality State
Policy Center.
“Unfortunately, the hike will not apply directly to ‘tipped
employees,’” Neal noted.
Waiters, waitresses, bartenders and other tipped employees will depend
upon their employers following the law and making up the difference if
their $2.13 an hour wage and the tips they receive do not equal $5.85.
The law will raise the wage from $5.15 to $5.85 on July 24, then to
$6.55 in 2008 and $7.15 on July 24, 2009.
Thirty-three states already have raised the minimum wage above the federal
level. To see how the minimum wage in each state will be affected by
the new federal law, check out this analysis by the Economic Policy Institute: http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/ib234
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NEWS from
the Equality State Policy Center May 3, 2007
Big yields from early childhood education
Joint statement from the Wyoming Children’s Action Alliance,
the Wyoming Education Association, Wyoming Nonprofits, Wyoming Association
of Elementary School Principals, and the Equality State Policy Center
CASPER — A new Economic Policy Institute study shows that investing
in quality early childhood care and education programs returns enormous
benefits for children, the adults they will become, and society at-large.
“This new economic study buttresses other work that shows the
importance and benefits of quality early childhood experiences that may
occur at home with families, in public schools, with private child-care
providers, in church-sponsored programs or other developmentally appropriate
settings for children,” said Deanna Frey, director of the Wyoming
Children’s Action Alliance.
“We know that when families are involved with their children,
and are able to ensure good health care and early education, we see kids
prepared to succeed when it’s time to go to elementary school.”
“But all families and all children deserve this opportunity,” Frey
said. “That’s why we’ve pushed the state to launch
and finance a quality child care program that will help children develop
so that they’re fully prepared for school and for life.”
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) study also shows that state governments
will reap huge savings in remedial education, law enforcement and child
welfare if children are given better pre-kindergarten opportunities.
The study makes clear that states also will realize higher tax revenues
from these more productive citizens over time.
Sarah Gorin, chair of the Equality State Policy Center, noted that the
study by the EPI’s Robert Lynch discusses universal pre-kindergarten
education, as part of a proposal to make such education mandatory. “We
don’t endorse a mandatory program, but we believe voluntary, high-quality
preschool education and child care should be available to all, just like
kindergarten is now,” said Gorin.
“This study still is valuable to Wyoming because it helps show,
in concrete economic terms, the benefits of investing in our young children,” Gorin
said.
The Wyoming Education Association also touted the study results. “We’ve
long supported the idea that the children of Wyoming deserve equal opportunities
for development and education regardless of which community they live
in and regardless of their own family’s economic situation,” said
WEA President Kathryn Valido.
The Wyoming Association of Elementary School Principals likewise touted
Lynch’s study. “Pre-kindergarten is not a luxury,” said
Dave Olsen, principal of Paintbrush Elementary in Campbell County. “High-quality
pre-kindergarten significantly improves the ability of children to thrive
in school and later in life. The achievement gap will not be closed until
all children come to kindergarten prepared to succeed.”
Wyoming Nonprofits Advocacy Committee Co-chair Leigh Anne Manlove noted
that her organization, which includes more than 80 nonprofit organizations
across the state, continues to advocate for quality early childhood care
and education in Wyoming to support both its member organizations and
the communities they serve.
Wyoming already has seen the value of pre-school education through
the success of voluntary Head Start and TANF programs, according to Frey.
The benefits of a voluntary, high-quality education program for 3- and
4-year-olds in the lowest quarter of income of Wyoming families would
return benefits worth 19.7 times the program costs, according to the
study conducted by the EPI economist.
Much of that return comes in the value of higher incomes earned by a
better-educated populace. “In an economy the size of Wyoming’s,
a relatively small state investment can generate much larger returns,
as people making more money spread it around by eating in restaurants
and buying things downtown,” Gorin said. “This study reaches
similar conclusions as the earlier University of Wyoming study on gender
gap, which showed significant economic benefits from increasing pay in
female-dominated occupations like teaching and child care.”
ESPC Executive Director Dan Neal suggested that the Legislature’s
Joint Interim Labor, Health and Social Services Committee take a look
at the EPI study, since the committee has committed considerable time
to the quality child care issue.
“Perhaps a university or community college economist could review
the study’s specific conclusions about Wyoming,” Neal said. “Legislators
are relying more and more on research to help direct policy, and with
this research, we now have the opportunity to make an investment in our
children that will reap benefits far into the future.”
Providing support to Wyoming families through ensuring the availability
of high quality early care and education will help to build a stronger
foundation for families and communities. As Lynch pointed out in a similar
study in 2004, “(T)his is a smart investment.” It pays benefits
economically, fiscally and socially.
The Wyoming Education Association, the Wyoming Children’s Action
Alliance, the Wyoming Association of Nonprofit Organizations (Wyoming
Nonprofits), the Wyoming Association of Elementary School Principals
and the Equality State Policy Center encourage local, state and federal
policy makers to expand their investment in Wyoming’s children
to ensure a brighter future for the state and its citizens.
Summary
of Economic Policy Institute research
Costs
and benefits of a pre-kindergarten program for low-income kids |
NEWS from
the Equality State Policy Center
April 26, 2007
Wyoming shamed by worker death rating
Wyoming must act to protect its workers and end its shameful ranking
as first in the nation for deaths on the job, according to the Equality
State Policy Center.
“As we approach Worker Memorial Day this Saturday, it’s
time to commit to more safety inspectors and better education for employers
and employees in dangerous sectors like oil and gas,” said Dan
Neal, ESPC executive director.
“If the 13 people who died on the job in Wyoming’s mining
sector in 2005 had died in one event, like the Sago mine disaster, no
one would stand for it,” Neal pointed out. “But when workers
die one or two at a time, they don’t get much attention.”
A January, 2, 2006 explosion at the Sago mine in Sago, West Va., trapped
13 miners underground. Only one miner survived. The tragedy spurred a
national investigation of mine safety. At least one Western state, New
Mexico, adopted new mine safety laws following those investigations.
(See http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/Main/documents/PR-MiningViolation6.23.06.pdf.)
Wyoming State AFL-CIO Executive Secretary Kim Floyd, also an ESPC board
member, praised recent funding of two additional state occupational safety
inspectors.
“But the staffing is still inadequate. Right now it would take
existing staffers more than 50 years just to inspect each work site one
time,” Floyd said, “and with the level of energy development
activity currently going on, that simply isn’t enough.”
A detailed analysis of employee deaths in the oil and gas industry
operating in six Western states from 2001-2005 by Ray Ring recently was
published by High Country News. Ring’s reporting shows that the
Wyoming Occupational Health and Safety Administration levied only small
fines against employers – none at a level that would begin to deter
negligent or careless actions. In some cases, too, the worker failed
to follow proper safety procedures. (You can read Ring’s HCN stories
at http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=16915.)
“ Wyoming’s reliance on energy development jobs, which
tend to be more dangerous, brings a higher risk of injury and death at
work,” Neal said. “But that doesn’t mean we should
just throw up our hands and say nothing can be done about it.”
“More inspectors and the threat of significant fines for maintenance
and safety violations would go a long way toward reducing deaths on the
job,” Floyd said. “Otherwise, the money to be made in the
current boom creates too much incentive to cut corners.”
The Equality State Policy Center, a broad-based coalition of Wyoming
interests, works through research, public education and advocacy to
hold Wyoming state and local governments accountable to the people
they represent, and to encourage and assist state residents to participate
effectively in public policy decision-making.
Contact: Dan Neal, executive director, 307-258-2783 or Kim Floyd, AFL-CIO
executive secretary, 307-635-2823 |
ESPC will present campaign finance reform ideas to legislators
The Equality State Policy Center will propose changes in state campaign
finance law later next month to close a legal loophole used last year by
a wealthy Casper man to circumvent state law limiting individual contributions
to political candidates.
The Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee
will take up campaign financing during a meeting May 22 and 23 in Lander.
(See: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2007/Interim/corp/MEETINGS/mtg0522.htm)
In February, the ESPC asked the committee to address the loophole in state
law governing individual contributions to political candidates. Joint Committee
Chairmen Sen. Cale Case and Rep. Pete Illoway won Legislative Management
Council authorization to consider the matter during the interim prior to
next year’s budget session. (See: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2007/interim/corp/topics.htm)
Wyoming’s election code states that individuals can “contribute
directly or indirectly” up to $1,000 to any single candidate. But
the loophole enables contributors to use a political action committee to
send funds exceeding the $1,000 limit to a candidate the contributor supports.
State law does not limit the amount that political action committees can
contribute to a candidate or a campaign committee.
The loophole in finance law was exploited in the 2006 campaign by a political
action committee set up in Natrona County.
The Committee to Elect Natrona County Candidates, formed by Mick and
Susan McMurry, received $11,575.48 from a single contributor, Neil A. McMurry.
The PAC subsequently contributed $11,190.77 to the Committee to Elect Barb
Peryam, a successful candidate for Natrona County Commission, during and
after the 2006 general election campaign. The actions are laid out clearly
in campaign reports filed in the Natrona County Clerk’s Office by
the PAC and candidate Peryam.
“The actions in Natrona County violate the spirit of state campaign
finance law, which seeks to limit the ability of a wealthy few to dominate
state and local elections,” said Dan Neal, executive director of
the ESPC.
“Last year’s events in Natrona County could lead reasonable
individuals to raise questions about the integrity of political campaigns
here in Wyoming,” Neal said. “ Wyoming needs to determine what
reasonable limits can be imposed to sustain the spirit of our campaign
finance laws.
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| Read
the ESPC’s testimony on the quality child care
bills. |
Governor should not interfere with EQC
Council operates as an independent, citizen-run review board
CASPER (Dec. 19, 2006) _ The Equality State Policy Center (ESPC) today called upon the Governor’s office and the Wyoming Attorney General to quit interfering with efforts to regulate adverse impacts of water discharges associated with coalbed methane production.
The Wyoming Environmental Quality Council (EQC), a seven-member citizen board with representation from industry, agriculture, and the public at large, is moving toward a rulemaking hearing on water discharges from coalbed methane wells.
“The only reason to interfere is if Governor Freudenthal doesn’t want regulation of coalbed methane water, and that would not square with his commitment to growth on Wyoming’s terms,” said Sarah Gorin, ESPC chair.
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Tax breaks enchant Joint
Minerals
Panel also pushes two amendments to help industry
During the current interim between the 2006 Budget session and the 2007 General session of the 59th Wyoming Legislature, the Joint Minerals Committee has proposed sales tax breaks that will benefit existing power plants upgrading pollution control equipment or new plants that use “clean coal” technology.
The ESPC opposed both measures. The pollution upgrades are mandated by the federal government. Pollution control equipment in power plants already is exempt from property tax. Proponents contend that the breaks (in 07LSO-168) will keep utility costs down for Wyoming homeowners, but the bulk of the $17 million savings Rocky Mountain Power expects from the deal must be shared with its customers in five other states. (Rocky Mountain Power formerly was known as Pacific Power.)
The savings for Wyoming residential customers will not be observable.
The supposed break on Clean Coal equipment (07LSO-169) seems reasonable at first blush, but most of the qualifying equipment listed in the bill is technology already used in plants burning pulverized coal.
The committee did not stop there. It is considering a proposal to eliminate the severance tax on coal used in coal-gasification plants. Even the proponents say that the cost of coal is not the deciding factor in building a plant that could cost upwards of $1.3 billion. And the committee agreed it needs to figure out how to make certain that a tax break that will benefit producers can be directed to the user of the coal.
The committee also wants to expand the state’s ability to invest in pipelines, transmission lines and energy facilities. Doing so requires two new amendments to the Wyoming constitution.
The ESPC found itself in the odd position of arguing against state ownership of major means of production in a state where most people are advocates of a free market. Our free-market economy operates on the principle that potentially profitable projects will attract investors. If private investors are not stepping up to pipeline, transmission line, or energy projects, it must be because these investors see more risk than they can tolerate.
Why should the citizens of Wyoming take those risks? If these projects were on a scale where you as individual investors could think about them, would you invest your own money? State funds should be treated no differently; in fact, they should be treated with even more care.
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Candidates express views on recording all votes, lobbyist reporting reform
ESPC surveys positions on 10 issues
Voters across Wyoming can learn what many of their future representatives think about recording all legislative votes, comprehensive lobbyist reporting, voter controlled elections and other matters by checking out candidate responses to the Equality State Policy Center’s 2006 Legislative Candidate Questionnaire.
The ESPC sent its 10-question survey to all 106 general election candidates for the legislature. More than one-third responded to the survey, which also asked about raising mineral severance taxes, making the sales tax holiday on groceries permanent, quality child care, and the possibility of opening the state health insurance pool to nonprofit agencies.
“These are all issues the next legislature will face,” ESPC Chair Sarah Gorin said. “It’s important to know where the candidates stand.”
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ESPC raps tax exemptions on power plant projects
Revenues needed to deal with local impacts
The Joint Minerals Committee on Oct. 4 agreed to press ahead with two bills that will exempt companies from sales and use taxes on pollution control equipment and “clean coal” technology needed to build power plants in Wyoming.
Passage of these bills (originally written by industry lobbyists) would cost millions of dollars in tax revenues, particularly for local governments.
Legislators described the bills as “incentives” encouraging industry to keep our environment clean. Lobbyists said the breaks will help keep existing plants open.
The ESPC sees these measures as unnecessary handouts to industry. It’s in the industry’s economic self-interest to build clean coal power plants and profits will provide the incentives – not sales and use tax exemptions.
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ESPC backs Amendments B and C
'B' assures equitable school funding
The Equality State Policy Center urges Wyoming voters to support proposed constitutional amendments B and C at the polls on Nov. 7.
Amendment B will enable the state to sweep up excess local school property tax revenues generated in mineral-rich counties and redistribute them equitably to the state’s school districts.
Amendment C clears the way for the Legislature to set up two new permanent funds, one to hold the principal for the Hathaway Scholarship program and the other to generate revenues to improve higher education throughout the state.
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2006 Contributions Analyzed
Freudenthal broadens base; Hunkins relies on Ag
An ESPC analysis of campaign contributions this year reveals that Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s base of financial support has shifted and expanded, probably reflecting his position as an incumbent running for re-election rather than a contender for an open seat.
Four years ago, Freudenthal’s largest block of contributions came from fellow lawyers. In the 2006 primary, Freudenthal’s largest block of contributions came from the oil and gas industry (15%), followed by the banking, insurance and real estate industries (11%).
In 2002, Republican Ray Hunkins derived a significant amount of his support from fellow ranchers. The same holds true this year with 17% or his contributions from ranchers and other agriculture interests. Lawyers gave 13% of Hunkins contributions and 17% from the finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sector.
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Wyoming’s big secret
Lobbyist spending still hidden from public
The amount of money spent to influence lawmakers in Wyoming “remains as one of the state’s great political secrets,” the board chair of the Equality State Policy Center said today.
Wyoming’s law requires little reporting by the battalion of lobbyists, some 365 of them in the recent budget session, who worked hard to inform and influence the state’s 90 legislators.
“That’s four lobbyists for every legislator in the state,” Gorin said. “Yet we have only the slightest idea of how much money they spend trying to change or keep tax laws in their favor and to encourage policies that help their special interests.”
“And too often, their interests are contrary to the public interest,” she said.”
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2006 Legislative Report
Wyoming’s Legislature made positive strides this year
in public education, higher education, quality child care, the wildlife
trust fund and other areas.
It wasn’t all positive, however. Legislative confidentiality
legislation threatens to limit public participation in the development
of new laws.
Read the report
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Perspective:
Not even the president is above the law
The people of Wyoming may differ on tax exemptions on
coal versus tax exemptions on food. But there are some principles that
unite us all.
We believe in democracy and we respect the rule of law.
We know that America stands as the shining example for the world. Our "experiment"
in democracy has endured, despite sometimes fierce ideological divides,
because we work within a delicate balance of power between the executive,
judicial and legislative branches. But the actions of our president threaten
the very essence of our democracy.
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NEWS from the Equality State Policy Center
RESIST, Inc. backs ESPC
April 17, 2006 - The Equality State Policy
Center has been awarded $2,000 by RESIST, Inc., a national progressive
foundation that has advocated for social justice for nearly 40 years.
The RESIST grant will support the ESPC’s efforts to make
Wyoming a more inclusive community by encouraging participation by all
citizens in state government and public policy-making, ESPC Executive Director
Dan Neal said.
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State needs clear policy on lobbying
March 21, 2006 - The Equality State Policy Center
believes the Wyoming Department of Agriculture violated the state Ethics
and Disclosure Act this year when it sent out a package of lobbying materials
to state Predatory Animal Boards urging them to galvanize support for a
bill slated for consideration by the Wyoming Legislature.
Our study of the department’s ethical breach found a lack
of understanding of the law and little clarity in how to comply with it.
The ethics statute prohibits public employees from using
public funds, time, personnel, facilities or equipment for political activity.
Violators can be convicted of a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000. A conviction
is grounds for dismissal of a public employee.read
more |
1/05/06 - Connecting
state leaders to Wyoming people
Do your legislators reflect your views on protecting
Wyoming’s air, water and open spaces? On how to fix our health care
system? On who should be taxed and how much?
Although Wyoming is a small state with relatively easy
access to politicians, we often see a disconnect between policies on important
issues and the desires of Wyoming’s people. How can this be changed?
An Equality State Policy Center project launched last
year focuses on the citizens’ ultimate power – the vote. The
Calendar of Election Activities for Non-Profit Organizations, published
in September 2004, is a guide for ESPC member organizations and others
involved in public interest advocacy.
The Calendar outlines what various non-profit groups like
the ESPC and its member organizations can do during the election cycle
without running afoul of federal laws and rules. Read
More |
The
Calendar of Election Activities for Non-Profit Organizations |
Other News
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Equality State Policy Center
340 West B Street Suite 203
Casper WY 82601
307-472-5939
www.equalitystate.org
dneal@equalitystate.org
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