Wyoming Legislature

Committee Meeting Summary of Proceedings

Management Council

April 30, 2003

Room 302 Capitol Building

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Meeting Attendance (Present)

Council  Members

Representative Fred Parady, Chairman

Senator April Brimmer Kunz, Vice Chairman

Senator Irene Devin

Senator Rae Lynn Job

Senator Jayne Mockler

Senator John Schiffer

Representative Pete Anderson

Representative Tom Lockhart

Representative Wayne Reese

Legislative Service Office

Dan J. Pauli, Director; Mark Quiner, Assistant Director; Dave Gruver, Assistant Director; Steve Sommers, Budget & Fiscal Section Manager; Barbara Rogers, Program Evaluation Manager; Dave Nelson, School Finance Manager; Mary Byrnes, Senior Legislative Analyst.

Meeting Attendance (Absent)

Council  Members

Senator Keith Goodenough

Senator Grant Larson

Representative Randall Luthi

Representative Ann Robinson

Others

See Attachment 2

Written Meeting Materials and Handouts

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. 

Call To Order

Speaker Parady called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.  The following sections summarize the Council proceedings by topic.  Please refer to Attachment 1 to review the Council meeting agenda.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the March 4, 2003 Management Council meeting were approved with no amendments.

Administrative Rules

Mr. Dave Gruver reviewed recent legislation which changed the administrative rule review process.  The recent enactment of 2003 House Bill 200 amended some of the time periods for the promulgation of rules.  Mr. Gruver explained the process changes that will be made by LSO staff to accommodate the new law.

The Council then engaged in a discussion of potential options for improving legislative involvement in the administrative rule process.  Following discussion, Speaker Parady summarized the suggestions discussed by the Council for further action, including:

• When Council objects to a rule, the end of year annual report prepared by LSO staff should include any suggested statutory solution necessary to address the problem identified by the Council (from Senator Schiffer);
• LSO to provide Council with an update as to how other states deal with legislative oversight of administrative rules (from Representative Parady);
• Review and improve opportunities for citizen input in the rulemaking process (from Senator Job);
• Explore alternatives for agencies to provide notice of intended rulemaking prior to the hearing process. (from Senator Kunz).

Senator Kunz moved that the Council proceed with all four suggestions in concept.  The motion passed.

Mr. Gruver then briefly reviewed Administrative Rule Review Report #AR03-023, Wyoming Pari-Mutuel Commission.  The rule amendments address the simulcasting of pari-mutuel wagering events.  Following discussion, Senator Schiffer moved the Council place the rules on the Consent List and approve the rules as submitted by the agency.  The motion passed.

Attachment 3 lists the Council's action on rules taken by mail ballot since the last meeting at which rules were considered.

LSO Positions

Chairman Parady explained that following the session he had worked with Mr. Pauli to develop the proposed position descriptions for the two new LSO staff authorized by the passage of an amendment to the 2003 budget bill.  Mr. Pauli then reviewed the position description previously distributed to the Council.  The research analysts would conduct general research and policy analysis for the Management Council, committees and individual members.  Duties of the new staff would include analyzing agency budget requests, preparation and analysis of fiscal notes and providing other sections of the office with research and policy analysis assistance as needed.  The positions would initially be under the Assistant Director for Administration, although Mr. Pauli explained that this was likely the first step in creating a separate research and policy analysis section within the LSO.

Following discussion, Senator Mockler moved the Council approve the position description and the placement of the positions within LSO.  The motion passed.

School Finance

Senator Hank Coe and Representative Jeff Wasserburger, Cochairs of the Joint Education Interim Committee, and Dave Nelson and Mary Byrnes, LSO, updated Council members on school finance studies resulting from 2003 legislation.  Major issues to be addressed this interim involve the small school adjustment and the regional cost adjustment to the school finance funding formula.  Based upon school level data collected during school year 2002-2003, on-site visitations of small schools by consultants and input from an advisory group comprised of representatives of the educational community, model components and resources for small schools will be adjusted as necessary to provide the required educational program.  Efforts for development of a revamped instrument for measurement of regional cost differences will be occurring simultaneously with the small school study effort.  The intent is to present recommendations to the 2004 Legislature for implementation during the 2004-2005 school year, coinciding with the expiration of the hold harmless provision.  (Attachment 4 was distributed providing information on the Small School Study Advisory Group and small school site visitations.)

Superintendent of Public Instruction Trent Blankenship addressed the Council concerning the school finance funding model, the required basket of goods for public schools and the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).  He indicated the model should recognize the difference in economies of scale for different sizes of schools.  He also reported concerns he has received from the public regarding the basket of goods and the relationship of the basket to graduation standards.  He further indicated the Department of Education is working on responding to requirements under NCLB and is working with the LSO in establishing a Statewide Task Force to review the student assessment system and to develop necessary accountability systems responding to federal requirements.  Task Force recommendations will be submitted to the Education Committee prior to the 2004 session.

The Council discussed the possibility of a joint meeting of the Council and the Joint Education Interim Committee to receive the small school and regional cost reports.

Authorization for Legislative Travel

Chairman Parady explained the various conferences that will be held outside of the continental U.S. this year. Under current policy, Management Council approval is required for travel of this nature.  Following discussion, Chairman Parady moved that Council authorize the maximum number of legislators who may attend the following meetings, with specific approval for individual legislators being delegated to the Speaker and President:

• 2 legislators (1 from each house) to attend the CSG Spring meeting, May 15-18, 2003, St. Thomas Virgin Islands;
• 7 legislators (3 Senate, 4 House) to attend the CSG-West Annual meeting, July 29-August 1, Honolulu, Hawaii;
• 2 legislators (Speaker and President) to attend the National Speakers' Conference and the National Presidents' Conference respectively (wherever held);
• 6 legislators (3 from each house) to attend the Energy Council meeting, December 11-14, 2003, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada.

Following discussion, the motion passed.

The Council then discussed the current legislative travel policy which requires a legislator to obtain prior approval from the Speaker or the President (depending on the house) prior to attending any meeting held out-of-state.

Following discussion, Senator Kunz moved that all legislators be allowed to attend, without prior approval of the Speaker and President, but subject to availability of budget, a maximum of two out-of-state meetings per year within the continental U.S. offered by national organizations to which the Legislature belongs. Travel in excess of the two authorized meetings would still require the specific approval of the Speaker or President. The motion passed.  Senator Kunz asked Mr. Pauli to monitor the travel budget and report any problems to the Council.

Senator Kunz also asked that legislators be reminded to check ticket prices for air travel directly with the airlines or via the internet which usually results in cheaper rates than using a travel agency.

Legislative Website Policy

The Council considered a proposed amendment to the current Management Council policy governing the legislative web site submitted by the Select Committee on Legislative Technology.  The proposed amendment would allow certain biographical information as well as a photograph of the legislator to be displayed at the option of the individual legislator.  Representative Anderson moved that the Council approve the amendment to the policy.  The motion passed.

Contract Issues

A.  Mineral Tax Incentive Model:  Mr. Quiner explained the proposed contract to include uranium in the mineral tax incentive econometric model.  At the 2003 session the legislature authorized $35,000.00 to be expended for this purpose subject to Council approval.

Following discussion, Senator Schiffer moved that the Council approve the proposed contract.  The motion failed. No further action was taken by the Council on this issue.

B.  Employee Insurance Study:  Mr. Pauli explained the 2003 budget bill amendment which appropriated $50,000.00 for the procurement of professional services to assist in the study of the state employees' and officials' group insurance program and the full benefits package for state employees.  The study has been assigned to a joint subcommittee of the Joint Appropriations and Labor Committees.  The joint subcommittee has proposed that the Council allow the subcommittee to select the consultant and enter into the contract for professional services.

Following discussion, Senator Schiffer moved that, due to the limited time in which the subcommittee has to complete its study, the Council delegate to the joint subcommittee the authority to select a consultant and to enter into a contract for professional services without further Council approval.  It was emphasized that this is a one-time only authorization resulting from the urgency of time.  The motion passed.

Fiscal Update

Mr. Steve Sommers provided the Council with an update of the state's fiscal outlook.  He indicated that investment income is down around $31 million.  Sales and use taxes are down a little bit, although the exact amount is unknown.  It is unclear what the effect of the increase in tobacco taxes will be.  However, it appears that the overall result will be $100 million more than projected by CREG due to much higher than expected mineral revenues.  This amount will be updated as further study is done.

Interim Committee Activity Update

Mr. Gruver provided the Council with a brief overview of the activities of the committees working on interim studies.  He indicated essentially all of the committees have either scheduled meetings or are planning to meet soon to begin work on interim topics.

Future Meetings

Chairman Parady announced the following tentative dates and places for upcoming Council meetings:

• June 5 – Laramie (if Council business warrants);
• August 18-19 – Riverton area (meet with Tribal Representatives);
• October 9-10 – Gillette (joint meeting with the Joint Education Interim Committee to receive the school finance reports);
• December 15/16 – Rock Springs.

Adjournment:

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Representative Fred Parady

Chairman