Wyoming Legislature update – Monday, Jan. 30, 2017
by Albert Sommers, House District #20 Representative
January 31, 2017
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne on Monday the 30th. Today in Committee of the Whole all of the gun bills– HB136, 137, and 194 − passed to Second Reading. I voted for HB137 and 194, but I do not support allowing guns into our colleges and university, unless the boards that run those institutions support it. So, I voted against HB136, the campus carry bill.
HB242 passed Committee of the Whole today, and would ensure that a county’s mineral tax lien remains attached to the property after foreclosure. When real property is foreclosed on, the county tax lien is in first position, but this is not the case with mineral property. This bill is a compromise, which I helped develop in the interim.
HB229, my bill, would require those individuals selling trophy buck GPS locations to be regulated as guides, under the outfitter statutes. I don’t support the practice at all, but this seemed like the easiest way to fence into law these hunt consultation services.
HB 191 would take Hathaway Scholarship dollars and create a scholarship program for a few bright students from out of state. This is designed to bring the best and brightest from our neighboring states to our university, with the intent result that these students stay in Wyoming after graduation. I do not support this bill, because it utilizes money destined for our Wyoming kids, and spends it on out-of-state students. The Hathaway was originally created from surplus money from the K12 school foundation program. Now that we are having a financial crisis in K12 education, I have a real problem spending this Hathaway money on out-of-state students.
We finished mark-up of the budget bill today in the Appropriations Committee, and will begin floor debate of the bill next week.
I can be reached at albert@albertsommers.com.
Good night
Click on this link to listen to an audio version of this update: Albert Sommers January 31, 2017 Legislature update (2.10MB mp3 audio file)
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