Wyoming's Legislature To Gavel-In On Feb. 14

Just weeks out of the Wyoming Legislature’s 2021 Special Session focused on vaccine mandates, it is easy to forget the heavy lift ahead of lawmakers during the scheduled 2022 budget session, which starts on Valentine’s Day.

While there will continue to be proposed laws around COVID-19 and its impacts, the state legislature has a constitutional duty to set the state’s budget for the upcoming biennium, as well as address redistricting of the state’s legislative seats. Meanwhile, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and federal monies from the recently-passed infrastructure bill will drop well over a billion dollars in the laps of lawmakers who are tasked with appropriating those funds. Never mind the fact the body has just 20 days to get it all that done.

“It will be a full plate and it will be about figuring out what are the priorities, and ensuring we focus on those priorities while watching the calendar and managing our own expectations,” says House Speaker Eric Barlow.

In this issue we will take a more an in-depth look at the 2022 Legislative Session.

Committees of Interest For AARP Wyoming Members
Joint Corporations, Elections, Political Subdivisions

Every 10 years, the Wyoming Constitution requires the Legislature to redraw state legislative districts at the first budget session following the federal census. The State Constitution requires there to be at least twice, but not more than three times the number of Representatives than Senators. The committee is to bring a bill to match up population changes from the most recent census to the 90 legislative districts.

According to the 2020 federal census, Wyoming has 576,851 residents, up from 563,626 in 2010. Wyoming’s estimated population for 2021, is 582,328. In Wyoming, the state saw larger population growth in Laramie, Teton, and Lincoln Counties. Park and Sheridan Counties also saw smaller growth. Wyoming lost population in Sublette County and the Big Horn Basin as a whole. The state’s explosive population growth in Laramie County has also led to the proposal of an 11th state representative in that area.

The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivision Subcommittee is taking the lead on the Redistricting process. Dan Zwonitzer (R-Laramie) and Ogden Driskell (R-Crook/Weston) are leading the Redistricting process.

During its meeting on Dec. 1-2 in Cheyenne, the committee put together a final plan to bring to the Wyoming Legislature as a whole, though the process has not been without some tension, as residents try to determine which district they would sit in and who their representation in Cheyenne would be.

“The difficulty is the Southwest part of Wyoming has lost roughly 6,000 people and Laramie County has gained 8,500, thus necessitating a realignment which equates to a seat being taken from Carbon and Sweetwater and being put in Laramie County. This will force some dynamic change across the I-80 corridor,” says Zwonitzer. “This will significantly impact Senate districts.”

While redistricting is the primary focus this interim, it is not the only thing the committee has worked on. In an attempt to smoke out some of the anonymous ads run in the state’s political arena, the committee has chosen to sponsor a bill requiring any organization that receives contributions or expends funds in excess of $1,000 for the purpose of electioneering communication, or organizations supporting or opposing an initiative, referendum, petition drive or ballot proposition to register with the local county clerk (bond issue or special purpose tax), or Secretary of State (State legislature or statewide five). The registration would require the name of the organization, as well as its chairman and treasurer. Failure to do so would subject the person, political party, political action committee, or organization to a fine of up to $5,000, and attorney’s fees for the first offense and $10,000 for the second.

“It is designed to try to track dark money and last minute money coming in that impacts the races,” says Zwonitzer. “We want to be transparent and accountable if you are trying to promote or attack a candidate.

“This isn’t for someone who is putting something on their social media account. There is an underlying right to know outside groups who are behind campaign ads that seek to promote or attack a candidate.”

The committee has also been asked to take up ways to offer election runoffs for nominations for the statewide five elected officials, as well as state legislators and federal office holders when no one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. Zwonitzer says the committee hasn’t found the right tool to do that yet, but is not only open to the idea, but is actively looking for ways to offer such an election to citizens of the state.

Joint Transportation, Highways, and Military Affairs

Wyoming’s roads and highways should be a bit smoother in the coming years thanks to funding from the federal government, and possibly an increase in fuel tax funding.

According to The US Department of Transportation, there are 218 bridges and over 380 miles of highway in Wyoming that are marked as being in poor condition. On average, each driver pays $295 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The Federal Infrastructure Bill will bring around $2 billion over five years in Federal highway funding for highways and bridges to Wyoming. That is about 25% more than the state generally receives. The state will also get around $15 million in highway safety traffic programs to improve driver behavior and reduce deaths and injuries. Another $14.2 million will go to augment commercial vehicle safety efforts in Wyoming.

“The infrastructure bill will have a positive impact, we just don’t know to what extent Wyoming will benefit from those federal dollars,” says Joint Transportation, Highways, and Military Affairs SubCommittee Co-Chair, Sen. Bill Landen (R-Natrona). “We do know federal dollars almost always come with a matching requirement of at least 10 percent. We anticipate they will ask the state to step up.”

During the Joint Transportation, Highways, and Military Affairs Subcommittee’s Nov. 29 meeting in Casper, WYDOT said the Infrastructure Bill funding does not help the agency access all the infrastructure bill’s matching funds, or even all funds the agency believes it needs. The agency believes it needs another $245 million for the next biennium. That includes $98 million in surface transportation work, $43 million in facility maintenance and construction, and $34 million to update its vehicle fleet and equipment.

To help address that funding shortage, on Nov. 30, the Transportation Committee voted to sponsor a bill draft to the full legislature which would increase the state’s fuel tax 5 cents each year from 2022 through 2024. That would take the state’s fuel tax from 24 cents per gallon to 39 cents per gallon in 2024.

The last time the state of Wyoming adjusted its fuel tax was in 2013 at that time it went from 14 cents to 24 cents per gallon, with the fuel tax being required to be spent directly on highway and road construction. Wyoming’s fuel tax is currently 24 cents per gallon. The highest fuel tax on gasoline in the country is Pennsylvania, which has a 58 cents per gallon rate, while California is at 53 cents per gallon. More regionally, Nebraska and South Dakota are at 30 cents per gallon; Idaho at 33 cents, Utah is at 31 cents, and Colorado is at 23 cents per gallon for gas and 20 cents per gallon for diesel. However, Colorado also subsidises its highway funding with state general fund dollars. According to the Committee Co-Chair, Don Burkhart, every penny of fuel tax increase is worth about $4.2 million to the state.

In addition to fuel tax, the Transportation Committee is trying to develop rules for companies to live by as they attend to test vehicles with autonomous driving systems - or vehicles that drive themselves. The committee voted to sponsor a bill during its Nov. 30 meeting and it is one that Landen says will take some work.

“It touches on testing and defines what an automated vehicle is, drills down into things like insurance, and carrying the appropriate licenses by whoever is operating that vehicle,” says Landen. “There are several components that need to be done right because you are talking about interstate commerce. Part of the concern for the truckers is to get wording consistent across the land, so you have the ability to transfer the goods and services. I’ve been told we have had automated vehicles on our roadways already. We need to put some statutory framework on it already.”

During the Nov. 29 meeting in Casper, the committee heard a couple of proposals to sponsor bills, with one moving forward, a bill which would require the state land around the Veterans Home being built in Buffalo, be used for grazing instead of some of it being used as an operating quarry. The hope is to make for a more pleasant experience for the residents. The Veterans Home will be completed in July of 2022.

Joint Revenue Committee

The 2021 Wyoming Joint Revenue Committee is a relatively new group as just four members remain on the Revenue Committee from 2020. That has led to a number of educational presentations during the 2022 interim to bring new members up-to-speed on a number of Revenue discussion topics. After three meetings, the Revenue Committee expected to have a very busy fourth meeting in mid-December (after AARP Wyoming News’ deadline) considering whether it wants to sponsor nearly 10 bill drafts.

Getting the most headlines from the Revenue Committee’s interim work will be a bill to expand Medicaid. The committee had forwarded a similar bill to the Special Session in 2021, which did not pass out of the Senate, garnering just eight of 30 votes on the floor. Revenue Committee co-chair Steve Harshman (R-Natrona) says opinions are changing on Medicaid, though perhaps slowly, pointing out that 32 House members voted in favor of a Medicaid expansion bill last year.

Another repeat subject for The Revenue Committee in 2022 will be discussing how the State of Wyoming administers its sales tax. Currently, the state does not tax many services, while it does tax goods or items purchased. That makes Wyoming very unique in its tax collection.

“We are looking at modernization to bring in more services. We have a proposal to put that (increased services subject to taxation) in 8, 10 and 12 years from now to stagger that gradually, Harshman says. “For the common good that people need and want.

“We all want to remain a sales tax-only state. We have the lowest sales tax in the US and the fewest number of services in the US. Other states have gone through this modernization in their sales tax collections, we haven’t.”

Perhaps the most interesting conversation the Revenue Committee is anticipating this year, might not result in a bill, but an interim study. The committee is likely to discuss a proposal to have citizens pay property tax on the amount of money they paid for the home when they bought their home instead of based on the amount of money county assessors determine a home’s worth. This means a home’s market value never goes up and citizens’ property taxes stay more static.

Any of the proposals around this would strengthen the hand of the homeowner,” Harshman says. “Basing taxes on the cost of acquisition would benefit long term folks who stay in their homes. We need to study that a little more.”

Joint Travel, Recreation and Wildlife Committee

Sportsmen and landowners are encouraged to keep up with the Wyoming Wildlife Task Force’s work this session. The Task Force was set up by Governor Mark Gordon in 2021 with the charge of studying top-priority policy issues facing the state related to the allocation of hunting opportunities, sportsmen’s access and other issues. In addition to her work as a co-chair of the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Subcommittee of the Wyoming Legislature, State Rep. Jamie Flitner (R-Big Horn) is also one of four lawmakers on the 18-person Wildlife Task Force. She says the Task Force has been tackling some of the issues that Wyoming’s Legislature and Game and Fish Commission have been grappling with for decades.

“The key is to pinpoint specific issues important to landowners and sportsmen and find a deep dive to find solutions that will work for everyone,” says Flitner. “Whether or not we are able to solve some of these issues, we will see.”

Among those issues are increasing resident sportsmen’s opportunity to draw licenses for what are known as the Big Five species in Wyoming - moose, sheep, grizzly, goats, and bison. A bill to up the license allocations to 90% of available licenses for in-staters will be considered this session.

Also, the Task Force is looking into policies to sustain and increase resident sportsmen’s opportunities for deer, elk, and antelope hunts. The role of landowners is also being considered as the Task Force is exploring ways to incentivize private landowners as stewards of wildlife habitat. Finally, the Task Force is being asked to consider policies that support outfitters and their guests to maximize the benefits to Wyoming’s economy and wildlife; distribution of commissioners licenses; and management schemes for animals such as elk, mule deer, and predators.

The Task Force’ website can be found at: sites.google.com/wyo/wyomingwildlifetaskforce and

“There has been a lot of citizen involvement and a lot of citizens physically present at meetings and quite a few that participate virtually,” Flitner says.

The TRW Committee is looking at a bill for upping enforcement penalties for owners of watercraft that skip past Game and Fish Stations around the state set up to ensure zebra mussels do not enter the state.

Wyomingites may be able to support the state’s outdoor recreation office by purchasing scratch lottery tickets thanks to a bill that has come out of the TRW committee. While the bill struggled to pass out of committee, it will be considered this winter.

Outdoor enthusiasts and landowners have also reached out to Flitner on the subject of trespassing, which will lead to a pair of bills which Flitner will run as personal bills in 2022. One bill would deal specifically with trespassing, while another would allow landowners to spray their gates and fence posts fluorescent orange to show private property borders.

Minerals, Business, and Economic Development Committee

The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business, and Economic Development Committee has been busy the last three years listening to bills around the retirement of coal fired power plants in Wyoming.

While he doesn’t sit on the Minerals Committee, State Senator Cale Case has sat on the Senate Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivisions Subcommittee since 2007. His committee generally oversees utility policy in Wyoming.

During his appearance with AARP Wyoming’s Statewide Advocates on Nov. 11, Case discussed the issue of having available power with AARP. He points out that while Texas got the headlines for its power grid failures in Feb. of 2021, Wyoming could have been in a similar boat.

“What folks might not know is last year the grid that serves Wyoming was at 97% capacity during those same days,” Case says. “More dispatchable power is needed.”

Case says that while solar and wind are important parts of our electrical grid, they are weather-dependent and the best batteries we have only last four hours. Meanwhile, as the nation’s power moves from fossil fuels to low CO2 sources, natural gas has stepped in as a power source during the transition. That can be dangerous when natural gas is also being counted on to heat homes, lowering the supply of gas available to run the nation’s power grid. Case says this scenario means coal is still a valuable asset to America’s power grid. He also suggests Terra Power’s proposed nuclear power plants could be an important part of Wyoming’s power mix.

Joint Labor, Health, and Social Services

The Legislature’s Joint Labor, Health, and Social Services Committee generally takes on aging issues, however this year that is not the case. The committee’s meeting schedule has been a busy one with much of its time being taken up by discussion around Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Behavioral Health changes, and pandemic-related issues.Committee Co-Chair Sue Wilson (R-Laramie) says the inability to dig deeper on aging issues isn’t necessarily a good thing.

“The problems we see with the aging issues - workforce and funding - we have not been able to resolve,” Wilson says. “We don’t have a bill to answer them. What needs to happen is the Medicare rate for nursing homes needs to go up, and we need to find ways for nursing homes to be able to hire and keep more staff. That isn’t really something you can fix with a bill.”

The Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) bill is trying to explore a very complicated matter of whether PBM’s help or hurt pharmacies by acting as a financial middlemen between pharmaceutical companies and drug stores. However, the issue has proven difficult and may not result in a bill that passes in 2022.

The committee will bring a bill to prohibit vaccine mandates, though this bill offers a more moderate tone than others, requiring employers make reasonable accommodations for employees who haven’t been vaccinated. The bill requires healthcare facilities to make reasonable accommodations to allow loved ones to visit patients if they aren’t vaccinated. Wilson said that could involve something like offering a loved one personal protective equipment, but isn’t necessarily meant for a scenario in which a loved one gets their tonsils out and a large group of family members want to visit.