On Tuesday, Jan. 11th, the Wyoming 66th General Assembly convened for the 2021 First Regular Legislative Session. They convened at Noon, finalized swearing in of members, elected leadership (confirmation vote), heard the Governor's State-of-the-State address, passed session rules and then recessed until Jan. 19th. On the 19th, three days of committee hearings will take place. There is no mention if the bills being considered will be "mirror" bills...i.e. identical bills heard in the separate house committees. One bill subject thus far could be considered a mirror bill. Staff believes that mirror bills imped public input and transparency. On Wed., Jan. 27th, an 8-day session will be convened to hear the select bills that make it through committee. All proceedings will be conducted virtually through this short session.
During the one-day session-opening, rules of the session were discussed and passed. A coalition of legislators known at the Freedom Caucus (remember this group as they will play a large role during the session) voted against the rules stating the in-person meetings should begin immediately and without COVID intervention, albeit health orders could be followed, they assert. This is the same group that is protesting the state health orders and refusing to wear masks in the Capitol. This group is also on record for signing the anti-tax pledge, pledging to overturn state health orders authority and to eliminate abortions in Wyoming. Most of the caucus are from Gillette and Casper but they have a follow also of some rural legislators. While seemingly in the minority, the Freedom Caucus will definitely influence process and outcomes in a session where the budget will be the primary focus. Readers are reminded that this is a Regular Session so any and all bills can be introduced by legislators. The rub will be if the leadership is willing to hear those bills in committee. Wyoming still has a leadership oriented process where "pocket vetoes" are routinely experienced.
After the short first session hears select bills, they will adjourn until February 22nd, at which time three more days of committee hearings in each body will be held. There is no mention if these committee hearings will be in-person or virtual. On Monday, March 1st, the legislature will convene in-person (if health metrics allow) to hear the remainder of the bills and to finalize the supplemental budget. Budget issues will demand much of the 8 day floor work. There is no reference as to whether virtual testimony will be allowed if they go in-person. The session will adjourn Sine Die on April 2, 2021.
If you are a little confused, so is everyone else. Bills have been read across the desk, introduced and assigned to committees of reference. Committee schedules are posted with co-occurring committees creating a problem for lobbyists and citizens interested in testifying on bills being heard at the same time. On Tuesday, January 19th three bills of interest to petroleum marketers will be heard at 8:30 a.m. Lobbyists are quickly identifying which bills are more important to their constituencies and securing other like-minded organizations to testify on their behalf on other bills. We are also waiting for clarification regarding if the reconvened session committee meetings will be in-person or viral. We DO know that the reconvened session on March 1st is scheduled to be in-person. Needless to say, the process due to COVID is unprecedented.
Here is the link to the legislative schedule: 2021 General Session Schedule - Wyoming
So far, there are no surprises in terms of introduced bills, primarily because so far, they are mostly committee bills from the interim work. A few individual bills have been introduced but staff expects more will filter in as the bill introduction deadline has been extended to March 8th during the second session. A new Bill Tracking Report is linked below. The Wyoming Board of Trustees met in a Zoom legislative meeting on Friday, January 15th and determined the policy positions stated in the Bill Tracking Report. Please note that the Trustees are also considering Association positions on bills as the bills roll out. How the first session goes is likely to determine the topics of second session bill filings.
Any questions or comments should be directed to Mark Larson, mlarson@gmail.com or (303) 941-7830.
BILL TRACKING
