The hardest working legislature in the country...bar none, has adjourned Sine Die (pronounced sinə ˈdēə, not signie die). The Biennium Budget 20-Day Session began with approximately 30% less pre-filed bills than previous years. This year there were 155 House bills with 8 joint resolutions and 114 Senate bills with 2 joint resolutions. By way of comparison, the 2020 Budget Session had 249 House bills and 140 Senate bills. 76 bills and resolutions failed the introduction vote or were not considered in the House and only 16 bills failed introduction or were not considered in the Senate.
From an entertainment standpoint, the last week of the 20-day session was better than primetime sitcoms. Sen. Anthony Bouchard (R) Denver continued his bullying and berating style and was finally held accountable. Bouchard, the Congressional candidate famous for announcing his impregnating a 14 year old girl when he was 18, is well known for his bad behavior. A quote by Bouchard symbolizes his mindset, "“Politicians will not respect you unless they fear you.” Bouchard was censured by the Senate and removed from all committees. It was stated on the floor that, were it not for Sen. Pappas (R) Cheyenne leaving the session early to embark on a trip to Greece, Bouchard would have been expelled. Another drama played out during a Senate Republican caucus. Discussions became heated and Sen. James (R) Jamestown, was escorted from the meeting by the Highway Patrol. Sen. James has had previous shouting outbursts, the most recent being at the last Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee where James literally screamed at Chairman Case in a tantrum over not having his way on an amendment. James was not censured like Bouchard since his outburst was in the waning hours of the session. Finally, the House was not without its own drama as rumors blew through the Capitol about Rep. Romero-Martinez (R) Cheyenne, threatening to "kill" (remember, unconfirmed at this writing) Rep. Andy LaBeau (D) Ethete (a registered member of the Northern Arapaho tribe) and former Representative Sara Burlingame (currently Executive Director at Wyoming Equality), whom he defeated by only 48 votes in the last election. Romero-Martinez, a staunch anti-abortion advocate who also is working on decriminalization of marijuana, is a former civil rights advocate and general laborer. It is unknown what prompted the threat. Romero-Martinez was very vocal during the anti-abortion debate but also presented an interim study request in the Select Committee on Tribal Relations seeking to study historical treaties and documents regarding who exactly owns the Wind River Reservation. One can easily think of several discussions that could have led to the unprecedented threat on the last day of session. There are other signs of stress and frayed sensitivities that I could list but on to the Final Session Report. Suffice it to say that this was a session for the ages.
In another unusual occurrence, procedurally this time, the Senate chose to ignore the deadline for bills to be passed out of the Committee of the Whole in the house of origin (Friday, February 25th). The Senate decided to adjourn while 8 bills remained on the calendar and hear them the following Monday, after the deadline. The House however, kept the deadline and as a result, several bills died Friday on the calendar for the lack of action. The session schedule is determined by the Management Council. There are no statutory references or joint rules mandating adherence to the schedule. It is enforced only by the separate chambers. Since the House did meet the scheduled deadline on CoW action and several bills died as a result, the Senate's actions were not well received by the House. Leadership in the House, specifically Speaker Barlow, refused to hear the bills that avoided the legislative deadline schedule. I have never seen one chamber enforce deadlines that the second chamber chose to delay. This was yet another example of how the tenor of the legislature in Wyoming is changing.
As reported before, this legislature had two primary responsibilities...the biennium budget and the redistricting of legislative districts based on the new census. While the budget bill had its usual amendment barrage of 'support du jour' for programs near and dear to each legislators' heart or of import to their districts, by and large the budget came together with a minimum of contentiousness. It was clear that the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from Congress stalled the multi-year economy diversification sense of urgency. More programs benefited from substantial, long-needed budget increases, including raises for state employees that haven't seen a raise for a decade or so. There were significant sustainability discussions centered around program or agency value to the citizenry...which is 180° from previous budget sessions that weighed unprecedented downsizing and outright program elimination. Both chambers expressed an appreciation for the reprieve but all recognized the one-time atypical funding source and accordingly, capitalized on the opportunity to apply "fixes". Still in all, the budget was the skimpiest in a decade. To the legislature's credit, the budget debate was focused, civil and statesmanlike as compromises were struck and good government exacted.
The redistricting bill saw multiple amendments, deep analysis of both the 60-30 plan and 62-31 plan and routinely called upon county clerks for checks and balances. Split ballot districts, flagpoling, keeping school districts "whole", community of interest differences and constitutionally required deviation limits, reminded me of the sand-filled balloon analogy where pushing in one area caused the balloon to bulge in another area. The takeaway most lobbyists lamented was just how difficult it was to divide the state while recognizing the State's definite and distinct communities of interest. Rock River believes they belong with all other Albany County municipalities. Goshen County has had its fill of Laramie County politics. Campbell County...well, doesn't want to align with anyone else. The key issue of "nesting" House districts within Senate districts prompted discussions of returning to the multi-member districts of a couple decades ago. Very late in the session (last day as a matter of fact but primarily due to "last-night" crab dinner at JAC Chairman Nicholas's home), the recognition that not everyone was going to be happy prompted comments of "something for everyone to hate" rationale for approving the plan. One citizen testified how upset he was that he heard Conferees mention the need to change a boundary so that legislators would not have to run against one-another. The Senate put its foot down on such a protection of one of its members in Casper. At the end of the day ... this bill being the last bill of the session, the final map (62-31) reflected the majority of everyone's concerns with a heavy emphasis on County Clerk guidance. While the final map will likely be challenged in the courts due to "extreme" deviation numbers in a few areas that were part of the final map "compromise", the map has strong support around the state not reflected by the close final vote in the Senate, 17-12-1.
A Final Bill Tracking Report on petroleum marketer issues is attached.
When the Session adjourned Sine Die, it also closed the book on Mark Larson's representation of CWPMA in Wyoming... and what a session to go out on! Members will see and hear more of Jonathan Downing, contract lobbyist, who will be helping Executive Director Grier Bailey stay on top of Wyoming legislative and regulatory issues. Larson has bragged excessively about how involved CWPMA marketers are in the legislative and regulatory process ... which incidentally is key to the industry's success. Kudo's to CWPMA members .... I sincerely hope this condition never changes.