In just a few days, the 68th Legislature of the State of Wyoming will gavel in for the Budget Session. This 20 day short session will be a whirlwind of floor sessions, committee meetings, amendments, debates and votes. That makes it even more critical that the public be effective in making themselves heard by the legislators. The Stewardship Action Guide came out of a book club in Sheridan that asked themselves “how do we stop
Acquisition Value Taxation is a Risky Proposition Voters should be aware of proposed legislation (HB 282 – property tax-acquisition value) that has made its way through the Wyoming House and is now on General File in the Wyoming Senate. Proponents tout this as true property tax reform and the answer to spikes in market value from 2019 to 2024 impacting homeowner’s tax bill in several counties. In 2023, a study funded by the legislature, examined
The Civics307 website has been given an upgrade with an improved look and feel. This is what is possible when a professional web developer takes on the task instead of a rank amateur using very rudimentary skills and basic website tools. Note the RED box in the upper right corner. This will contain the most recent bill tracker instead of being buried in “file share” where it was previously posted. Additional files are, oddly
The 2023 General Session of the 67th Wyoming Legislature came to a close on Friday, March 3rd. The most inexperienced legislature in 30 years was further challenged with greatest amount of proposed bills (493) in decades. The highlight was definitely the efficiency with which the supplemental budget was considered, amended, and reconciled while providing a record $1.3B in various savings accounts. The unexpected “windfall” of revenues came from unexpectedly high oil and gas prices. Outside
The first five days are in the bag and the Senate has taken a decided lead in the marathon. There are 16 Senate Files that have been introduced, assigned to committee, considered and passed in committee, placed on general file, passed through Committee of the Whole, passed 2nd reading and passed 3rd Reading. They will now at the House for Introduction. It will be some time before the process begins again for these bills as
Hurdles is the absolute perfect analogy for the obstacle course of a Wyoming Legislative Session. There are at least 9 opportunities for a bill to die in the budget session as any non-budget bill requires 2/3 majority for introduction in the chamber of origin. Because this is the first year after census results, the exemption for budget bills also extends to re-districting. In a General Session (odd years), a simple majority will introduce and those
