Yesterday was another very busy day at the Capitol in Cheyenne. Both public galleries and lobbies were pretty much full for most of the day with people watching their legislators debate and vote on the last of the bills left on General File. The deadline for bills to be considered by the Committee of the Whole in each chamber came and went. While the House started the day dead set on getting through every single bill on General File, they ended up adjourning around 7:30 pm with nine bills sitting on General File without consideration. In the Senate, they got through all but two bills before adjourning. Both bills that were left on General File without being considered in the Senate were ones the WBA was closely monitoring, HB 3 – State Assessment of Independent Power Producers and HB 190 – Wyoming Value Added Energy and Industrial Plan.

Tomorrow looks to be another long day in the House as they now have to get through all of the bills on Second Reading.

The WBA also held our last Legislative Committee meeting of the general session yesterday. We want to extend our thanks to all the members who participated throughout the session. We appreciate your expertise and hard work to ensure we have a unified voice for Wyoming businesses. We also want to thank Mike WIlliams and all the folks at Jonah Bank in Cheyenne for giving us a great location to hold this meeting each week.

While this hasn’t been the easiest session, it has been great to work alongside so many people who have each other’s backs and working towards a common goal – for Business to Make Wyoming Better.
• What Happened Yesterday, Monday, Feb. 27th (Day 33)

House Appropriations Committee

·    SF0136 – Property tax relief-assessment rate reduction (WBA MONITORING). – The bill failed to pass the Committee.

Senate Floor

·    HB0003 – State assessment of independent power producers (WBA SUPPORTS). – Bill was not considered by the Committee of the Whole.

·    HB0190 – Wyoming value added energy and industrial plan (WBA MONITORING). – Bill was not considered by the Committee of the Whole.
House Floor
·    SF0174 – Wyoming charter school authorizing board (WBA SUPPORTS). – Bill passed Second Reading.

·    SF0147 – Government contracts-labor organization (WBA MONITORING). – Laid back to Tuesday.

·    SF0151 – Wyoming prescription drug transparency act (WBA OPPOSED). – Laid back to Tuesday.

·    SJ0003 – Property tax exemption for the elderly and infirm (WBA MONITORING). – Laid back to Tuesday.

·    SF0136 – Property tax relief-assessment rate reduction (WBA MONITORING). – Bill was not considered by the Committee of the Whole.