Wolf proposal among dead bills
Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A bill that would have brought the state’s wolf
management plan in line with federal demands was among the measures
that died Friday because they were not scheduled for debate in the
House or Senate.
Also, some legislators said they think the state’s $1.2 billion
surplus had already been spent.
By Friday evening, the deadline for bills to have their first hearing
in their house of origin, 104 House bills and 73 Senate files had made
it off General File or beyond during the first half of the budget
session.
Those that didn’t make it that far – 123 House bills and 26 Senate
files – are now considered dead.
As majority floor leader, Rep. Randall Luthi, R-Freedom, is
responsible for setting schedules for first, second and third reading
in the House.
Luthi said he tried to arrange the schedule so each representative had
at least one bill that made it through first reading.
“I think we actually did a reasonable number of bills,” he said.
Luthi said the most controversial bill that didn’t make it through
first reading was House Bill 155, which would have met the federal
government’s request for managing wolves in the state.
The reason he chose not to put it on general file was an apparent lack
of support from the governor, agricultural groups, sportsmen and
outfitters, he said.
Luthis said there wasn’t much time to deal with House Bill 17, which
would have made it illegal for anyone in a vehicle to have an open
container of alcohol.
While not scheduling the bill will cost the state $1 million in
federal highway funding this year, Luthi said that money probably
wouldn’t be missed much, given the state’s current economic condition.
By last week’s deadline for filing new bills, the House had a list of
216 bills and 11 joint resolutions. The Senate had fewer than half of
that, with 94 Senate files and five resolutions. During budget
sessions senators are restricted to sponsoring three bills each.
“Personally, I think we’re trying to cram too much into too short a
time,” said Rep. Wayne Reese, D-Cheyenne.
Although legislators came into the session with a projected surplus of
$1.2 billion, some say the Legislature has already overspent.
“The budget concerns me a lot,” said Sen. Rich Cathcart, D-Carpenter.
“I think we’re spending too much. You look at the amendments that are
big dollar – all of a sudden, two weeks into the session, $1.2 billion
isn’t enough.”
Sen. Jayne Mockler, D-Cheyenne, said her biggest complaint is that the
budget isn’t a visionary one.
“I got a sense that the bills that are more oriented toward the
average guy are the ones that die,” she said. “The ones that are
oriented to the status quo are the ones that survive.”