Cheyenne – The fourth week of the 2020 Budget Session came to a close this week. Today, the Wyoming House of Representatives will finish debate on HB0001 also known as the supplemental budget bill. We are focused on determining how the Legislature should allocate a nearly $2 billion budget surplus. Much of this is a one-time windfall, which owes to improved revenues from oil and gas production, smart investments, and federal stimulus spending. I am focused on saving, investing and meeting the needs of Wyoming citizens. Balancing fiscal prudence with strategic investments is a challenging balance to strike-- but the work so far is leading us in that direction.

I would like to cover touch on a few bills that are focused on enhancing Wyoming’s education system and making our communities stronger:

HB0042 Off-road recreational vehicle operation is a priority for southwest economic groups who are seeking greater access for recreationists. This bill has my strong support and will authorize off‑road recreational vehicles access to thousands of Wyoming trails and routes by allowing off-road vehicles to utilize designated roadways over or under Wyoming interstates. This legislation has passed the house and will soon be considered in the Senate.

HB0194 - Wyoming freedom scholarship act is a misguided attempt to create a school voucher program. I believe this measure is not constitutional and it places Wyoming’s current school system funding in jeopardy. I do not support this measure and will not move on as it did not receive the needed support to proceed following today’s House Committee meeting.

I am supportive of a budget amendment that provides long overdue funding for Wyoming teachers’ salaries. This provision funds the External Cost Adjustment (ECA) so we can address the serious issue of teacher shortages in Wyoming’s schools and address inflation concerns impacting the programs necessary to educate Wyoming’s kids.

Finally, I am keeping a close eye on funding for the Wyoming Business Council. Economic diversification and business retention is critical to Wyoming. We must ensure the tools are there to support current Wyoming businesses, their expansion efforts and the effort to recruit more industry to the state.

Finally, summaries of a few key bills we discussed this week follow:

HB0103 passed the House on 3rd Reading. This bill changed the date voters must declare or change their party affiliation to May 15. The bill will soon be heard by the Senate Corporations Committee.

HB0124 passed the House on 3rd Reading. This bill solves an equity issue by bringing an excise tax to solar electrical generation just like it currently exists for wind. Two amendments were heard but failed. One would have added hydroelectrical generation and the second amendment would have changed the assessed tax from $1.00 a megawatt hour to a percentage assessed on the annual gross energy earnings. This bill has moved to the Senate.

HB180 - Brucellosis testing-notification requirements, specifies how to deal with a non-negative Brucellosis test in Wyoming. It specifically requires the establishment of a standard communication protocol to inform all livestock producers, veterinarians and brand inspectors in the county where a non‑negative brucellosis test has been confirmed in a cattle herd. The bill also requires the state veterinarian to provide testing information to the owner of an animal that has tested non‑negative for brucellosis no later than three days after laboratory confirmation. This bill passed second reading in the House.

HB0123 - Collection of antler or horns by residents and nonresidents. This bill allows residents to collect antlers and horns three days before nonresidents in areas of the State that have a designated season. This bill is in response to the growing influx of nonresidents collecting and selling antlers and horns and instead gives Wyoming residents a slight preference to the resource. This bill passed second reading in the House.

HB0103 - Political party affiliation declaration and changes. This bill would change when voters must declare or change their party affiliation. Currently, a voter has until 14 days before an election or on election day to change their party affiliation. In its original version, this bill would require a person to change their party affiliation prior to May 15th for the primary election and 14 days before the General election. On Tuesday, an amendment passed Committee of the Whole that moved the change party affiliation deadline to 45 days prior to the primary election. When the primary election system was put into place in 1911 a voter could change their party affiliation up to 10 days before the primary election. This bill will soon be heard by Senate Corporations.

HB0124 - Electricity generation-taxation. In Wyoming, there is an excise tax on the privilege of generating electricity from wind. This bill adds solar to the statute so that the State could also collect an excise tax on electrical generation from solar. This bill solves an equity issue.  Solar energy should not have a tax advantage over wind energy.  I think renewable energy sources should pay their way, like coal and natural gas do. This bill will soon be heard by the Senate.

Please contact me at Ryan.Berger@wyoleg.gov with any questions or concerns you might have about the legislation we are dicussiong during the 67th General Session of the Wyoming Legislature.