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SF 89: Elected Officials - Staffing
2004 Budget Session
Sponsor: Legislative Management Council

         SF 89 would have allowed all five elected state officials to hire directors for boards and commissions that are comprised of the elected state officials, and to have their staffs report to all five officials.
         Under current state law, the Governor hires directors of the On-line Government Commission, the State Building Commission and the Office of State Lands and Investments, boards and commissioners. SF 89 would have expanded the authority to hire and supervise commission directors to include the state Auditor, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Secretary of State, and specified that commission directors would serve at the pleasure of the five elected state officials instead of just the Governor.
         The Legislative Management Council drafted and sponsored SF 89 at the request of three current elected state officials: Auditor Max Maxfield, Treasurer Cynthia Lummis and Superintendent of Public Instruction Trent Blankenship.
         Supporters of SF 89 believed that increasing the authority of the other four elected officials to be more equal with the authority already vested in the Governor would increase their effectiveness. Supporters felt that when all five officials sit as the governing board for an agency, they should all have a say in who runs the agency.
         Opponents noted that the Wyoming Constitution gives the Governor executive authority and clearly does not give all five elected officials equal responsibilities or power. Some opponents questioned the motives of the Republican officials who requested the bill's drafting and wondered if this was an attempt to increase the political power of the Republican Party at the expense of the current Democratic governor.
         HB 89 was received by the Senate for introduction but was subsequently withdrawn by the Legislative Management Council, so it died without a vote.