By David Peck
The general session of the 60th Wyoming Legislature is in full swing now, and with supplemental funding much tighter than originally anticipated, Sen. Ray Peterson (R-Cowley) is right in the thick of things as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Peterson said the Appropriations Committee has been conducting “call-backs” from agencies and departments who originally stated their case for supplemental funding in early December. He said the committee didn’t perform mark-ups – line-by-line additions to and subtractions from the governor’s supplemental budget – after the December hearings because he knew the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group’s figures would be much lower come January.
“There was no use going through the tedious task of cutting and then have to come back and cut some more,” Peterson said in an interview Tuesday night. “It would also give departments a chance to set their own priorities (for supplemental funding). We’ll do the mark-ups next week.”
Peterson said the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) met with WyDOT and Judicial Tuesday, Health on Monday and will tackle the university and Agriculture Thursday and Friday.
While the SAC was working through the call-backs, Peterson said, some 16 bills with appropriations had backed up, so the committee was beginning to work the bills. He said the SAC was to work the first four bills on Wednesday.
Local interest
Peterson reported on some bills of local interest. Senate files are starting to be passed on third reading and move to the House, and vice versa.
He said SF22, the Wyoming Economic Development Act, easily passed the Senate on third reading Tuesday (25-5). The bill would amend the Wyoming Partnership Challenge Loan Program and allow the Wyoming Main Street Loan Program to participate in the challenge loan program.
Peterson’s bill (SF105) to prevent weed and pest districts from competing with private spraying contractors was introduced last Thursday and assigned to the Revenue Committee. The committee heard the bill Tuesday, and Peterson said weed and pest districts had concerns about the bill’s language. He asked that the bill be laid back, and he met with district representatives following the hearing and was able to work out some better language that was acceptable to the districts.
As amended, the bill would not allow weed and pest districts to “engage in competitive bidding of bare ground application of pesticides for industrial weed control unless there are no commercially licensed entities operating in the state that are able and willing to perform the service.”
He said his goal is to help private contractors but not decrease the effectiveness of weed and pest districts in controlling noxious weeds.
Peterson’s bill (SF119) to allocate $250,000 to the Wyoming Dept. of Transportation to subsidize bus service in the Big Horn Basin was introduced Monday and assigned to the Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee. He said he was able to talk to WyDOT officials about the federal program that has been tapped to subsidize the bus service and which may not be diverted elsewhere.
He said his game plan is to attach the bill as a budget amendment that would match the federal funding for one year so that better numbers can be presented during next year’s budget session. With a year of consistent service, it is hoped that usage of the Arrow Stage Lines service increases.
Peterson’s third bill (SF120) to amend the endowment challenge fund for hospital foundations was introduced Monday and referred to the Senate Education Committee. It should be heard in committee by the end of the week, he said.
The bill would amend the challenge fund so that foundations can spend money raised even while that money qualifies the foundation to receive a state match -- $10,000 at a time.
Juggling time
With the Appropriations Committee sometimes meeting three times a day, Peterson said it has been “tricky” to schedule time with the Select Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, of which he is also a member.
He also expressed concern about how the dip in state revenue has already affected state government and wondered if cuts in programs will have to be made next year.
Peterson has signed on as a co-sponsor of a bill to amend the Wyoming Constitution to specify that marriage between a man and a woman shall be the only legal union that is valid and recognized in Wyoming, noting that he received many e-mails urging him to support the bill.
The definition of marriage is already contained in Wyoming law, but Peterson said an attorney advised the legislature that it also ought to be in the constitution in order to survive any future challenges.
Peterson said he has also received a number of e-mails and phone messages urging him to support the bill that would ban smoking in public places in Wyoming.
Finally, Peterson said he has many concerns about gambling, and many Big Horn County residents share that concern.
“So I probably will not support that bill,” he said in reference to a bill to establish a state lottery in Wyoming, with proceeds going to the Hathaway Scholarship fund.