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July 9, 2003
Capitol Building, Room 302
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Ken Koski, State Public Defender's Office, Chairman;
Senator John Hanes;
Representative Monte Olsen;
Governor's Appointees:
Department of Family Services: Donna Sheen;
State Advisory Panel on Juvenile Justice: John Frentheway.
Mike Causey, Staff Attorney.
Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Committee Sign-in Sheet for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.
None.
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 Koski called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic. Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda.
Chairman Koski presented the Subcommittee with the minutes of the last Subcommittee meeting and asked for comments, and the Subcommittee approved the minutes without correction.
Alfrieda Gonzales of the Governor's Office informed the Subcommittee of the Governor's view of the work of the Subcommittee. Ms. Gonzales indicated that she had a very general conversation with the Governor about the proposed legislation and stated that during her meeting it became apparent that the Governor understands the need for and appreciates the merit of having an office to regulate and provide for the representation of children. However, Ms. Gonzales also stated that the Governor is concerned with the funding of the Office, especially of the proposed split between counties and the State. Ms. Gonzales stated that the Governor would like the Subcommittee to explore other possible funding options. Ms. Gonzales also stated that the Governor did not believe that the proposed Office should be placed within the Governor's Office or that the Office should be created as a new and separate agency. Ms. Gonzales indicated that she would meet with the Governor again if needed to discuss the draft language if more specific information regarding the costs of the Office were to become available.
Joe Evans of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association told the Subcommittee that the county commissioners were concerned with the possibility that some counties would be forced to pay more while other counties would pay less. Mr. Evans also stated that more information would be required to determine the exact impact that the proposed legislation would have on each county. When asked about how the funding model has worked for the counties with regard to public defenders, Mr. Evans stated that he is unaware of any complaints about that system. Chairman Koski indicated that he would be contacting Mr. Evans to work on resolving matters created by the proposed bill relating to the potential costs and benefits to the counties.
Donna Sheen presented the Subcommittee with estimates that she had prepared regarding the costs of the Office to the counties and to the State (see Appendix 3). Ms. Sheen indicated her estimations revealed that the counties would spend an amount similar to that expended without the Office on children's representation. The Subcommittee agreed that adding termination proceedings to the list of cases in which the Office could be involved would drastically increase the costs of providing representation.
Chairman Koski addressed the issue of costs by providing the Subcommittee with his estimation of costs based upon county caseload statistics (see Appendix 4). Chairman Koski also addressed the meaning of the term "guardian ad litem" by providing to the Subcommittee legal definitions of the term from Black's and Ballantine's law dictionaries.
Senator Hanes indicated that he had spoken with Senator John Schiffer, Cochairman of the Joint Appropriations Interim Committee, about the proposed legislation. Senator Hanes indicated that Senator Schiffer supports the ideas in the bill thus far and is interested in seeing the final bill.
After passing out the two proposed bills (04LSO-0021.W2, Representation of children, and 04LSO-0041.W1, Children-appointment of counsel) for Subcommittee consideration, Chairman Koski asked the members of the public present at the meeting for any comments or suggestions before Subcommittee discussion of the bill. John Burman of the University of Wyoming College of Law indicated that one area of concern was in the addition of the term "lay advocate" in certain sections of the statutes. Specifically, Professor Burman was unclear whether the addition meant that volunteer lay advocates would be appointed in addition to or in lieu of guardians ad litem. The Subcommittee agreed to clarify the issue during the discussion.
After discussing the draft bills in detail, the Subcommittee agreed to join the two bills into one draft bill. Among other things, the Subcommittee decided to specify that the provision of guardian ad litem representation to children in delinquency contexts would be in addition to the legal counsel provided by the Office of the Public Defender. The Subcommittee also voted to make several other changes, including adding definitions of terms such as "guardian ad litem" and "volunteer lay advocate" to parts of Title 14 where the terms are used but not specifically defined. The Subcommittee appointed Chairman Koski, Senator Hanes and Mr. Frentheway to meet with the Governor and Ms. Gonzales upon completion of the amendments to the consolidated bill by Legislative Service Office staff to discuss the bill and any specific recommendations that the executive branch might have.
There being no further business, Chairman Koski adjourned the meeting of the Subcommittee at 2:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ken Koski, State Public Defender, Chairman