Can The Legislature Help Ease Pressure of Scams?

Jenn Baier/AARP Wyoming

Sheridan Representative Cyrus Western (middle) poses with AARP Wyoming State President Stella Montano and her husband Clarence Montano, during AARP Wyoming's Legislative Reception at the State Capitol in Cheyenne on Feb. 6.


I walked out the door of the AARP Wyoming State Office in Cheyenne Friday and someone apologized to me for the fact I had to spend so much time at the Capitol with, “all those crazy people.” 

The apology wasn’t necessary. Suffice it to say, we are doing fine. The headlines might suggest this Legislative session is dogs and cats fighting each other constantly, but, while there are some spirited debates, there aren’t many lawmakers who aren’t accommodating and downright friendly most of the time. If you like people and learning how a great number of different folks tick, it’s a great gig. 

Through everything you see about the 67th Legislature, I’d love for you to know that Legislators respect AARP Wyoming, Legislators talk to AARP Wyoming and more often than not the conversations are tremendous. That respect for AARP was on full display Monday night during our Legislative Reception. We were joined by senior center directors and transportation managers from around the state who took the time to talk about issues important to the age 50+ with their local legislators.

Overall, the process works and morale is high. Let’s get to our three things to know this week:

• A Priority Bill Goes High Profile
• Compact Conversation
• The Going is Slow on The House Side

A Priority Bill Goes High Profile
Senate File 24 - Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult - passed the Senate last week and made it through Second Read in the House on Friday. The debate was some of the most spirited of the day. This is one of AARP Wyoming’s priority bills in 2023 because we spend a lot of time listening to members talk about ways they or their loved ones have been scammed and think the protections in the bill could help. National stats tell us these types of bills lead to more reports of fraud and more prosecutions of scammers. 

In short, banks and credit unions don’t currently feel empowered to stop a transaction that it fears is a scam. This bill would allow the banks to stop what they believe is a fraudulent transaction (but not the account) for up to five days. During that period, the bank would contact the customer’s loved ones, Adult Protective Services, or Law Enforcement to make sure a transaction feared as fraudulent is legit. If all is well, the money is released immediately. 

The bill itself comes via the state’s banks and credit unions who based the law off model legislation that is in 34 other states and has not needed to be repealed or changed in any other state. The banks tell us they feel their hands are tied when it comes to stopping scams and they want to be a better partner in the fight against fraud. The state’s Police Chief’s and Sheriff’s Association is also supporting the bill because they deal with fraud on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission tells us Wyomingites were hit for $7.8 million in fraud in 2021. Something has to change.

Compact Conversations
State lines are more than lines on a map. For some professionals, their ability to practice medicine, and other professions are dictated by which side of an imaginary line they are standing. Right now, the House is trying to determine if it makes sense to allow psychologists and counselors to practice inside Wyoming’s state lines, even if they live outside.

AARP Wyoming is supportive of the compacts because we are told by the psychologists and counselors that they are “drinking from a firehose.” In other words, they have so many clients, they need help and they think the compacts will allow out-of-state providers to offer counseling via telehealth to Wyomingites.

Over the past 10 years, the state has entered into a number of what are called licensure compacts. In short, this means the state takes part in an agreement that allows professionals licensed in other states in the same agreement to be licensed in Wyoming too. Wyoming is a part of more than 30 licensure compacts, which allow everyone from doctors to nurses. 

Senate File 10 - Licensed Professional Counselor Compact - would let licensed mental health counselors practice in Wyoming if they were licensed in the other 10 compact states. Senate File 26 - Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact - would do the same for psychologists. There are already better than 40 states that participate in that compact. All of the compact states have similar requirements for education and if someone offers a complaint about the counselor or psychologist, Wyoming can revoke that provider’s right to practice. If the compact appears not to be working at all, the Wyoming Legislature can vote to leave the compact with a simple majority vote. 

The going is slow on The House side…
The legislative process overall has been slower this year than normal, due in part to the fact 27 of the 62 House members are in their first term and frankly, a number of the freshmen are still in campaign mode. One lawmaker not in his first term, Casper’s Steve Harshman who joined the State House in 2003, may have said it best. He told Wyofile,  “We’re [working] extremely slow. We’re working fewer hours and we’re talking little, simple bills to death.”

How slow? So slow that the lack of bills getting through the process quickly led to the Senate taking Friday off entirely while the House stayed at work before it recessed at noon.  

This week, I am hearing the Senate may take next Friday off too and turn the weekend into a four-day weekend (they take Presidents Day off). Crossover of bills from one chamber to the other has already happened, so expect to see the fireworks start as conference committees hammer out differences between the two chambers. Officially, we’ve made it to Day 24 of a planned 37 days. Rumor has it, we might not even take 37 days to get the state’s business done this year. That would be fine. I am getting tired of ironing dress shirts.

Thanks for all you do and don’t forget to take a little time and email your lawmaker. They truly want to hear from you in a succinct way that lets them use you as a resource. Click here to get in contact with your legislator.

Thanks for all you do.
Tom Lacock
Associate State Director
AARP Wyoming