By David Peck
Members attending Monday’s general membership meeting of the Lovell Area Chamber of Commerce received a preview of the 2009 general session of the Wyoming Legislature, which begins on Tuesday, Jan. 13, from Sen. Ray Peterson and Rep. Elaine Harvey.
Peterson, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the legislature was earlier looking at some $1.5 billion in surplus revenue heading into the session, but he said legislators are now being advised to not “bank on” the former Consensus Revenue Estimating Group numbers since oil and gas prices have fallen in recent weeks.
A more realistic estimate might be $1 billion in surplus revenue, Peterson said.
Peterson said he would certainly watch the dollars carefully as the session approaches and the Joint Appropriations Committee holds pre-session meetings, noting that he would want to examine the “rainy day accounts” like the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund and the Budget Reserve Account, but also look at infrastructure projects and programs like the Hathaway Scholarship, highways, the University of Wyoming and Wyoming schools.
He said he would like to look at whether the state is spending the right amount of money on school construction.
“Are we building at the right pace? Too slow? Or too fast?” Peterson asked.
As for individual bills this session, Peterson said Basin Mayor Phil Juillard contacted him about legislation to support public transportation in Wyoming since the federal subsidy for bus service in the Big Horn Basin is likely to decrease.
The problem is, Peterson said, that passenger numbers for Arrow Stage Lines, which is currently providing the service, are “not impressive.”
“It’s tough with the numbers we have, but public transportation is important. It’s another nail in the coffin if we don’t maintain it. It’s another thing companies look at.”
Peterson said he’s looking forward to a “fun” session, noting that any time there’s a surplus, a line forms, even though it is not a budget session.
“I’m always pretty cautious. We want to spend the money wisely,” he said. “It is appropriate to do some things  with schools and the university. Some great things are happening (in Laramie) with new building and construction and with the Hathaway Scholarship. Enrollment is up.”
Likewise, Wyoming K-12 schools are doing very well, he said, with test scores increasing and funding per student among the best in the nation.
Another bill Peterson is considering would address the issue of government agencies competing with private enterprise, such as when a private sprayer must bid against a county weed and pest agency.
“It’s an unfair advantage,” he said.
Peterson will also introduce legislation to modify the existing hospital endowment challenge fund law so that some of the matching money raised can be used immediately to fund projects. Currently, all money raised and matched by the state must remain inviolate, with only the interest generated able to be spent.
The state matches money raised in $10,000 increments.
“My idea is that hospitals could spend their money and the state (matching) money would remain untouchable,” he said.
Smoking ban
unlikely
Rep. Elaine Harvey said she, too, is watching the revenue surplus figures and would like to see the money used for infrastructure and to help pay state employees better, especially in agencies like the Dept. of Environmental Quality, which is losing employees to the private sector.
The House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, of which Harvey is a member, is examining legislation to license mortgage brokerages as now required by the federal government, she said, noting, “If we don’t do it, HUD will do it for us.”
She also said the committee is examining carbon sequestration rules and regulations to make sure the rules and regs do what the legislature intended them to do when they were enacted. Other issues being examined include tax relief for clean coal technology and a review of the Wyoming Business Council.
Harvey’s House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee has been working very hard on Wyoming’s workers compensation program during the interim. She said changes will be made in the program but the committee is being careful to provide workers the benefits they deserve while paying attention to employer rates.
The proposed state smoking ban is a “pretty hot topic,” Harvey said. She said she wants the health committee to at least bring the legislation to the floor for debate, although she said she doubts if a ban would pass this year.
“Wyoming folks hold onto their personal rights, as they should,” she said, noting that it may take two or three years for the bill to pass.
Another important topic is access to medical care, Harvey said, and although she expressed frustration that the legislature has little or no control over the cost of the Medicaid program, she said the legislature did pass a bill to help OB-GYN providers with their malpractice insurance.
Harvey said some reform in the Medicaid program is needed because some providers are reluctant to treat Medicaid patients because reimbursement rates are low.
The representative said she is considering sponsoring three bills this session:
1) Harvey is working on a “driver behavior” bill that would add some accountability to the behavior of drivers in a crash. She said in two recent fatal crashes in the county the driver of a vehicle that caused the crash came away with little or no penalty.
2) Saying she is a strong supporter of the arts, Harvey is working on a bill that would support music and visual arts under the Hathaway Scholarship program, noting that the arts are being squeezed out by the foreign language requirement. Her bill would blend the foreign language requirement with a music/art requirement.
“We need to protect our music and art programs, because without music and the arts, what will they write about?” she asked.
3) Harvey is working on the issue of trains blocking highways, noting that federal regulations allow a highway to be blocked for up to 20 minutes or 10 minutes in the case of an emergency due to braking and unhooking time, but she said there is no real enforcement. She said highways in the area have been blocked for much longer than that on occasion, creating a health and safety issue, as well as an economic issue.