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February 1, 2007Day 18 – Thursday INDEX OF BILLS COVERED IN TODAY’S REPORT HB 11: Subdivisions – Exemptions TODAY’S ACTION ON BILLS HB 11: Subdivisions - Exemptions HB 11 would require a landowner to own the property for at least five years before the family exemption to subdivision law could be applied. The bill would also create a new exemption to county subdivision laws, to allow parcels of five acres or less to be created to establish unmanned communication facilities, compressor stations, metering stations, fiber optic booster stations, or other similar unmanned facilities. The House passed HB 11, 47-13, and the bill has been sent on to the Senate. HB 47: Prevailing Wage Amendments HB 47 would authorize a single statewide wage district for the purpose of calculating the prevailing wage on state-funded contracts, would authorize the Department of Employment to investigate prevailing wage violations upon its own volition, would remove a requirement that prevailing wage determinations must use employment security law wage reports, and would provide a bid preference of one percent (1%) to contractors who participated in the Department of Employment’s prevailing wage survey. The Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee will consider HB 47 on Friday during the noon recess. HB 52: Game and Fish – License
Revenue Recoupment HB 52 would create a license revenue recoupment program, under which the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would be reimbursed from the general fund for license revenue lost as a result of statutorily designated free and reduced priced hunting. The Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee passed HB 52, 4-1. Senator Hank Coe (R-S18, Cody) cast the NO vote. The bill has been re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee. HB 62: Natural Resource Large Project Funding HB 62 would authorize funding for two large projects under the Wildlife and Natural Resource Funding Act that have been approved by the board of the trust fund. The Bates Creek Watershed Restoration project would receive $200,000 and the Lander Front mule deer project would receive $230,000. The Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee unanimously approved HB 62, and the bill has been re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee. HB 85: Game and Fish - Funding As introduced, HB 85 would have provided a one-year appropriation of $5.66 million from the general fund to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, to be used for specified programs that benefit Wyoming citizens in general, regardless of whether they hunt or fish. The House reduced the funding to $2.8 million. The programs on which the general fund money could be spent would include sensitive species programs (including terrestrial and aquatic native nongame species and trophy game conflict resolution); habitat programs; conservation education programs; sage grouse planning and protection; and veterinary programs (including brucellosis, chronic wasting disease and other disease management programs). The Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee passed HB 85, 4-1. Senator Hank Coe (R-S18, Cody) cast the NO vote. The bill has been re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee. HB 93: Sales Tax
on Food – Permanent
Exemption 2 HB 93 would permanently exempt groceries from sales taxation, and as introduced would have altered the sales tax distribution formula to partially reimburse local governments for the estimated revenue decrease they would otherwise experience as a result of the exemption. The House passed a version of HB 93 that contained no provisions for making up lost revenue to local governments. The Senate Revenue Committee passed HB 93 on Thursday, on a 4-1 vote. Senators Jim Anderson (R-S2, Glenrock), Kit Jennings (R-S28, Casper), Jayne Mockler (D-S8, Cheyenne) and Tony Ross (R-S4, Cheyenne) voted in favor of the bill, while Senator Cale Case (R-S25, Lander) voted against it. HB 95: Quality Child Care HB 95 would continue implementation of the quality child care program that was started last year, to encourage the availability of high quality care for children in licensed facilities. The system would consist of a quality rating system; scholarships for families for higher levels of quality care; educational grants for child care providers; technical assistance, quality assessment and business management services; and capacity enhancement grants. As amended by the House, HB 95 would use up the remaining amount of the appropriation set aside by last year’s legislature, about 6.8 million. HB 95 passed the House on second reading, and will progress to third reading on Friday. HB 96: Quality Child Care Appropriations HB 96 would provide about $6.8 million to support HB 95, the 2007 Quality Child Care bill. This will largely come from money reserved by the 2006 legislature for this program, and would not represent new spending. The House Committee of the Whole passed HB 95 on Thursday, and the bill will move on to second reading on Friday. HB 115: School Finance - Amendments HB 115 would address a number of matters relating to the financing of public schools in Wyoming. The bill would extend the summer school, extended day school, and instructional facilitator programs, would clarify the enrichment program part of the extended day program, and would direct the Wyoming Department of Education to recommend permanent funding for these programs for consideration by the 2008 Legislature. HB 115 would continue the ongoing review and evaluation of the at-risk program, and would initiate a review of distance education programs. The Senate Education Committee will hear HB 115 on Friday at 8:00 a.m. HB 143: Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Electric Generation HB 143 would exempt coal that is used for integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) electricity generation from all severance taxes except the one and a half percent that is required by the Wyoming Constitution. This would reduce the severance on coal used in IGCC plants from the current seven percent to one and a half percent. The House passed HB 143 on second reading, and the bill will move to third reading on Friday. HB 159: State-Owned Building Energy Efficiency Program HB 159 would create an energy efficiency program for state-owned buildings. costs of government and set a good example of energy efficiency for the general public. The House Appropriations Committee passed a revised HB 159, which would scale back the program to include only the capitol complex. The bill’s appropriation was reduced to $90,000, with provisions for a program coordinator until 2010. The House passed HB 159 on third reading, 54-5. The bill will now move to the Senate. HJ 4: Initiative and Referendum Requirements HJ 4 would place an amendment to the Wyoming Constitution to modify the signature requirement for a petition for an initiative or referendum before the voters in the next general election. Currently, a petition must be signed by at least 15% of the voters in at least two-thirds of the counties of Wyoming. The proposed amendment would change the requirement to at least 15% of the qualified voters in at least two-thirds of the state’s senate districts. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear HJ 4 on Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. SF 52: Outdoor Lighting SF 52 would allow municipalities to adopt ordinances to regulate outdoor electrical lighting to reduce light pollution and light trespass. The Senate Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee passed SF 52 on Thursday, and the bill is on general file. SF 100: Public School Teacher Incentive Programs SF 100 would provide funding for school districts for incentive payments of $2,000 to teachers who are certified and teach in more than one subject area throughout the school year, and for incentive payments of $4,000 to teachers who hold national board certification. It would cost the school foundation fund about $628,000 to fully fund these two incentive programs. The House Education Committee will consider SF 100 on Friday during the noon recess. Please Visit The Following Links:
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