The Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Culture Resources Committee met on October 25, 2021 and heard the following issue with potential impact on the petroleum marketers, convenience stores and independent grocers.
WPMA's Board of Trustees determined to continue the Associations opposition to the implementation of lottery scratch tickets, whether to support outdoor recreation or otherwise. The topic was brought to the committee by the Office of Outdoor Recreation over the summer as legislators and agencies look for solutions to dwindling budgets. WPMA's opposition paper, attached, lists a number or reasons for legislators to reject scratch tickets. Primary to the opposition is that the lottery has been promising KENO to be rolled out for years now and still has not done so. WPMA believes that the lottery continues to hammer scratch tickets as they are the easiest, "low hanging fruit" to implement. While the lottery says that consumers want scratch tickets, the Board of Trustees believe it would be more of a bane than a boon for convenience stores, especially with all of the gambling options the legislature has passed over the passed few years including skill-based games, sports betting, simulcasting, and coming soon, KENO. The bill to forward scratch tickets passed the committee on a very narrow vote, 7-6-1.
The bill will be heard on an introduction vote in February at the Biennium Budget Session that requires 2/3rds of the legislators to vote "yes". SPECIAL NOTE: The Director of the Lottery, Jon Clontz, stated to the committee that he has been personally visiting lottery retailers around the state talking about scratch tickets. Clontz stated that "every retailer that [he] talked to" wants scratch tickets, without exception. WPMA staff, in the interest of testimony accuracy and representing our industry well, would greatly appreciate hearing from any member that believes that scratch tickets should be implemented by the Wyoming lottery. The Board of Trustees unanimously opposes scratch tickets as outlined in the attachment.
The Joint Travel Committee also took up the topic of expansion of skill-based game licensees. When the legislation was passed last year, only retailers that had already installed and were operating skill-based games were "grandfathered" in as authorized. Unfortunately, the statutes were very vague on the authorization of "gray games" as they are also known, and many businesses choose not to install the games until the legislature clarified, authorized or condemned them. Accordingly, many businesses that were prudent and cautious have been prevented from the opportunity to deploy skill-based games. Staff recalls discussions in the House Appropriations Committee that sought to only clarify, identify, and set limits on existing skill-based games. The legislature knew that the intended outcome would create winners and losers regarding who could operate skill-based games.
The Committee discussed a bill that would allow the expansion of skill-based gaming licenses to allow all businesses that meet the substantial regulations and requirements of licensing to be licensed. After ample discussion, a subcommittee was organized to analyze the issues and bring recommendations for legislation back to the committee. SPECIAL NOTE: Any retailer that has an opinion about this issue and desires to deploy skill-based games in their facilities should the current limited licensing be expanded, please contact WPMA staff to express your intent. WPMA Board of Trustees currently has a position of monitor, albeit WPMA has testified in the past that any business that meets the requirements should be allowed to apply for skill-based gaming licenses.
The Special Session is being reported ad nauseam throughout the state. Staff listened to committee hearings and debate on the few bills that were forwarded after introduction, 2/3rds vote. The testimony was incredibly compelling and demonstrated the complexities that surround the state passing politically charged, reactionary legislation to a federal mandate adopted through the rulemaking process and legal scrutiny. There is also, the bill sponsor stated, a 60 day adoption period allowed after the OSHA rules appear in the Federal Register. Nobody ever likes mandates. Wyoming citizens and businesses take great exception to this federal overreach. While constitutional scholars will duel in the courts as to the constitutionality of the OSHA mandate, the bills that have been forwarded do not have the authority nor power to address or reverse the mandate while at the same time exposing already fragile healthcare systems due to the consequences of conflicting state law, read "Wyoming mandates." Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs will be jeopardized in state's that do not follow the mandates.
The state's ability to maintain the current gatekeeper for employers in Wyoming, Wyoming's OSHA Program Plan, that insulates Wyoming businesses from federal OSHA, would be put at risk. Sen. Case commented, "Would this not present the opportunity for federal OSHA to take over", and allow OSHA to act directly with employers? Case answered his own question and responded, "Yes". Sen. Charlie Scott read the Constitution Supremacy Clause and questioned whether the bills would violate the Clause. He also addressed interstate commerce conflicts. There was testimony regarding the negative impacts most bills will have on employers. A civics lesson was delivered by Cindy Delancey, Wyoming Business Alliance, that referenced legal decisions won on similar questions of authority with respect to mandating vaccines. Your staff member believes the testimony is overwhelming that the special session bills will be a mandate to correct a mandate. There are substantial consequences regardless of legislative caps, wordsmith or technical refinements. The Special Session is over after this Newsletter is published. Due to changes in the Rules, the process mimics a regular session...no mirror bills, no special rules to expedite the process, bar one that limits Appropriations Committee fine tuning. It is very sad that this Administration has determined that a mandate on states is its only remedy for the ongoing pandemic. It only harms the country.
The Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee meeting scheduled for November 2-3, 2021 and the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee meeting scheduled for November 4-5, 2021 are now being rescheduled due to the Special Session. Both chambers rejected the expedited rules for the Special Session so the regular rules now apply. Accordingly, debate on the bills and notification time periods now apply to this Special Session which means the Special Session cannot be accomplished without going into the planned meeting dates. As of this Newsletter, no announcements have rescheduled those Committee meetings.