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September 16 and 17, 2002
The Depot, Front and Fourth Streets
Rawlins, Wyoming
Senator Gerald E. Geis and Representative James C. Hageman, Cochairmen.
Senators Rich Cathcart, Bill Barton, Curt Meier and Bill Vasey.
Representatives Pat Childers, Ross Diercks, John L. Eyre, Charles Hessenthaler [September 16 only], George McMurtrey, Doug Samuelson and Bill Thompson.
Karen Ashcraft Byrne
Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Committee Sign-in Sheet for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.
Representative Owen Petersen
All meeting materials and handouts provided to the Committee by the Legislative Service Office (LSO), public officials, lobbyists, and the public are referenced in the Meeting Materials Index, attached to the minutes. These materials are on file at the LSO and are part of the official record of the meeting.
Chairman Geis called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. [Appendix 3]. Senator Vasey moved approval of the summary of proceedings from the June 2002 meeting and they were approved unanimously. [Appendix 4]. The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic. Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda.
The Committee was given the Attorney General's "State of Wyoming's Takings Guidelines and Checklist" on regulatory takings. They were told that the attorney general's office was in the process of updating the case law in the document but few other changes were planned. [Appendix 6]. The Committee was concerned that agencies might not be following the checklist and considered having agencies file the checklist with the advocate created by this legislation to help citizens. The Committee discussed government's responsibility for paying when a taking occurred. The Committee decided that it would be appropriate for agencies to pay for takings out of their own budgets. The Committee determined that the advocate could also assist citizens in claims against the federal government. Harold Kemp, Land and Investments Office, told the Committee that a new position had been funded to help citizens with the endangered species act.
Senator Vasey moved to strike the language on page 5, lines 5 through 12. The motion was seconded and passed. The Committee approved of changes that would have each governmental entity pay for its own "takings" and to include local entities within the proposed legislation. Senator Meier moved to take away the authority of the department of administration and information to investigate but to leave the agency as a place to file a claim. The motion was seconded and passed. Senator Meier moved to insert "appraised" after "diminishes the" on page 6, line 4 and delete the balance of the sentence. The motion was seconded by Senator Vase and passed. Representative Eyre moved to delete lines 1 through 3 on page 8. The motion passed. Representative Thompson moved to use the Small Business Act definition for "small business" on page 6, line 24. The motion passed. Representative McMurtrey moved to sponsor the proposed legislation as a Committee bill. The motion was seconded by Representative Hessenthaler and passed eleven to two with Senator Cathcart and Representative Thompson voting "no". [Appendix 6(a)].
This proposed legislation modified the conditions of allowing animals running at large by lowering the age to one year and making owners liable for horses and asses, not gelded. The Committee was concerned that this proposed legislation would radically change the fence out rule. After general discussion and proposed amendments that did not pass, Representative Thompson moved that the Committee consider the bill. The motion was seconded and failed, eleven to two with Cochairman Hageman and Senator Meier voting "aye". [Appendix 7(a)].
State and Federal Forest Land Health issues
The Committee was given an update on the health of federal and state forests. Basically, overcrowding of trees has created problems. The front range of Colorado has a billion to a billion and a half more trees than when Europeans settled there. Dense conditions cause hotter, faster fires that can destroy the top layer of soil. Tom Ostermann testified that a forest's health is affected by disease, fire management, changing social values and the overabundance of trees. Drought conditions make everything worse. A healthy forest should have trees in all age groups. Presently, forests have too many trees and too many old trees. The problem is augmented by the difficulty in changing the federal forestry management plans. It was suggested that the federal forest division use emergency rules to manage federal forests. [For materials provided on this issue see appendices 8 through 22].
This bill amends the tax credit to allow additional ethanol producers to get tax credit. Although there is presently only one producer in the state, there has been discussion about new producers using wood to make ethanol. There was general discussion regarding the desirability of ethanol. [Appendices 24 through 29]. The Committee discussed the rational for the repeal date being extended until the year 2012. Senator Cathcart moved to amend the repeal date to the year 2008, Senator Barton seconded the motion and it passed. Representative Eyre moved to remove the repeal date, Senator Meier seconded, and the motion passed. Senator Vasey moved to sponsor the bill as a Committee House Bill. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. [Appendix 29(a)].
This proposed legislation clarifies existing law and broadens the scope of offenses needed for license suspension/revocation. Laurie Leis, Department of Agriculture, explained, for example, that the existing law refers to the board of agriculture which doesn't exist anymore. Senator Vasey moved, and Representative Childers seconded, to sponsor the bill as a Senate File. The motion passed unanimously. [Appendix 30(a)].
This proposed legislation eliminates the sunset date of the agriculture producer's liens statutes. The Committee discussed that the legislation had an initial repeal date in order to get comments from various affected persons and determine if the legislation was necessary. Concerns were raised that some contracts required persons to waive their rights pursuant to these liens. The Committee discussed the unenforceability of those contracts because the law specifically states that waivers will be "void and unenforceable." Representative Hessenthaler moved to sponsor the proposed legislation as a Senate File, Senator Meier seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. [Appendix 31(a)].
This proposed legislation removes the requirement that state lands must be auctioned off on the courthouse steps. The change was requested because the courthouses personnel were concerned about security issues and also because the state wanted greater flexibility in arranging sales in order to get more persons involved. There was discussion that the sales should have to be held in the county where the land was located. Senator Meier moved, Representative Eyre seconded, to introduce this legislation as a Senate File. The motion passed eleven to two with Senator Vasey and Representative Thompson voting "no". [Appendix 32(a)].
Jim Whalen, Land and Investments Office, gave the Committee an update on state land issues. He told the Committee that the Congressional bill to buy state land within the boundaries of Teton National Park will probably pass and the state will get paid "fair market value" for the land. At present, the land is unusable because of its location. The Wyoming Supreme Court heard arguments in August regarding the legality of trading state lands. The agency was presently drafting rules to coordinate with legislation passed in 2002. He also stated that the Attorney General's office had issued an opinion regarding the supervision and control of state land that the Land and Investments Office was reviewing.
This proposed legislation amends the Veterinary Practice Act. Dr. Steven Cummings, Chairman of the Veterinary Board, and Dr. Marshall Kohr, Vice Chairman of the Board, explained the reasons for the proposed changes. The board introduced their proposed legislation and proposed rules. [Appendices 34 and 35]. They wanted to expand the number of members of the board because a board member who investigated a complaint could not sit on the board to hear the case. Unnecessary language was being eliminated and certain provisions were clarified. The biggest change was allowing nonveterinarians to perform veterinary services under the supervision of a licensed veterinary. The board was also given authority to require continuing education. At present, it is unclear whether the board has that authority. Inconsistent and obsolete provisions were repealed.
The Committee discussed the proposed legislation and made the following changes: Senator Vasey moved to repeal W.S. 33-30-204(j), Senator Cathcart seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. Representative Childers moved, and Representative Thompson seconded, to delete the list of supervised services on pages 3 and 4. The motion failed. The Committee was concerned with the language "has failed to cooperate" on line 10, page 16 because of constitutional problems. There was discussion of removing the entire provision. Representative Childers moved, and Representative McMurtrey seconded to delete "cooperate with" and insert "comply with reasonable orders of". The motion passed unanimously. Senator Cathcart moved and Senator Geis seconded to reinsert "gross" on line 15, page 115. The motion was later withdrawn. Senator Cathcart moved, and Senator Geis seconded, to insert "willfully or intentionally" before "violated" on lines 2, 4 and 7 on page 16. The motion passed unanimously. Senator Cathcart moved , and Senator Meier seconded, to delete "five hundred dollars $500.00" and insert "two hundred dollars ($200.00)" on line 6, page 17. The motion passed unanimously. The Committee determined that lines 9 through 10 on page 9 could be deleted because the provision was already in the proposed legislation. Representative McMurtrey moved to sponsor the proposed legislation as a House Bill, Representative Childers seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. [Appendix 35(a)].
Chairman Hageman called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.
Cynthia Lummis, State Treasurer, testified that open spaces have value and people need an avenue to obtain money in return for leaving land undeveloped. Harold Berkman, University of Wyoming Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, testified about the value of conservation easements. The University of Wyoming is in the process of summarizing the types of conservation easements in every county. Representatives of various land trusts testified generally in accordance with their handouts. [Appendices 36 through 42]. The Committee was concerned about what a conservation easement was worth, who should pay the taxes and how long land should be restricted. The Committee was told that legislation was not needed; that easements were being formed according to common law.
This proposed legislation was incorporated into the Veterinary Practice Act. Thus, additional legislation was not needed for "Bioterrorism-animals".
The Committee discussed LSO's rule review, the emergency rules for Chapter 17 and the newly promulgated rules in Chapters 18 and 19 with the Livestock Board. The Committee was concerned because many of its members thought the rules did not adequately reflect legislative intent. The Livestock board explained why they had promulgated the rules and stated that they were in the 120-day comment period so they would have a chance to change the rules if necessary. It is possible that legislation will be needed to clarify the problems.
This draft legislation would appropriate $150,000.00 to the animal damage management program and extend the program by renewing some of its provisions and repealing its sunset date. Ron Micheli, Director of Department of Agriculture, urged the Committee to support this bill. [Appendix 48]. He said that this was the first integrated program with the Game and Fish Department and the Department of Agriculture in working with wildlife and livestock to manage predators and it should be continued. The Committee discussed what appropriation would be adequate for this program. Representative Eyre moved to change the appropriation from $150,000.00 to $250,000.00 on page 4, line 14. Senator Meier seconded and the motion passed. Senator Vasey moved to sponsor the proposed legislation as a House Bill and Senator Geis seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by those present [Senator Barton was absent and did not vote]. [Appendix 48(a)].
Tom Jones gave a presentation regarding the need to waive taxes on agriculture implements and repair costs [parts and labor]. [Appendix 49]. He stated that forty dealers have gone out of business, leaving only twenty. He said that many surrounding states have no tax or a lesser tax that encourages persons to buy in those states. The Committee was concerned that these persons were not paying taxes in Wyoming. Mr. Jones said that the Joint Revenue Interim Committee was planning to sponsor draft legislation regarding this problem. The Committee decided to wait and see what Revenue did before considering whether to sponsor its own legislation.
Representative Samuelson stated that at the last state fair, the sheep industry has virtually disappeared because of monopolies. He then discussed the implications of the holding in Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, 431 U.S. 720, (1977) and the movement for legislation to get that holding changed. [The court held that governmental entities that were indirect purchasers could not recover damages on the theory that the overcharges paid by a direct purchaser to an alleged antitrust violator were passed on to them.] Several other Committee members expressed interest in getting more information about this situation.
Senator Meier requested that the Committee write a letter to the Governor requesting him to use his flexible spending authority to authorize the University of Wyoming to analysis the economic situation in Goshen County in regard to the Preble's meadow jumping mouse. The Committee agreed unanimously to authorize the letter.
The Committee determined that they would not need to meet again before the 2003 session. There being no further business, Chairman Hageman adjourned the meeting at 1:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Senator Gerald E. Geis, Chairman