Wyoming Legislature

Committee Meeting Summary of Proceedings

 

Management Audit Committee

 

October 10, 2006

Afton Town Hall, 416 S. Washington St.

Afton, Wyoming

 

Meeting Attendance

 

Committee Members Present

Representative Randall Luthi, Chairman

 

Senator Ken Decaria

Senator John Hanes

Senator Kit Jennings

Senator Kathryn Sessions

 

Representative Roy Cohee

Representative Debbie Hammons

Representative Pete Illoway

Representative Marty Martin

 

Absent

Senator Grant Larson

            Senator John Schiffer

 

Legislative Service Office

Barbara J. Rogers, Program Evaluation Manager

 

Others Present

Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Committee Sign-in Sheet for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.

 

 

Written Meeting Materials and Handouts

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

Chairman Luthi called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.  The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic.  Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda.

 

Approval of Minutes

Representative Illoway moved to approve the minutes from the July 26, 2006 meeting, and   Representative Martin seconded.  Representative Cohee noted that Senator Decaria’s name was not included on the list of attendees at that meeting, and since the Senator had been in attendance, he asked for this correction to be made.  Chairman Luthi noted that this would be a technical correction, the maker of the motion and the seconder agreed, and the motion to approve the minutes with this correction carried.

 

Executive Session

Per W.S. 28-8-107 (c), Chairman Luthi resolved the Committee into Executive Session for consideration of a follow-up on the 2004 report, Court-Ordered Placements at Residential Treatment Centers.  The Committee discussed the report’s findings and recommendations with officials from the Department of Family Services. 

 

Open Session

Chairman Luthi opened the meeting.  Representative Illoway moved and Senator Jennings seconded a motion to release the follow-up on Court-Ordered Placements at Residential Treatment Centers immediately.  The motion carried.   

 

Discussion followed during which Chairman Luthi and other members commended DFS Director Rodger McDaniel and his staff for the changes they have instituted and the progress they have made in dealing with the tough, expensive issues associated with out-of-home placements of young persons.  Representative Hammons noted that DFS’ presentation had shown that some communities have much higher rates of such placements than others, and she requested that DFS continue working with those communities to bring their numbers of placements more in line with the rest of the state.   Mr. McDaniel agreed his agency would do this.  He handed out materials related to the topic (these are listed in Attachment 1, Committee Meeting Materials Index).

 

Draft Legislation

Chairman Luthi requested that the Committee work the two pieces of draft legislation prepared by LSO, to prepare the draft bills for circulation and public comment.  He said the Committee could vote to approve them at a December meeting. 

 

Concerning 07LSO-0127.W1, Drug court steering committee, Senator Decaria moved to work the draft bill and Senator Jennings seconded the motion.  The motion carried.  Senator Jennings noted that an additional purpose for this committee should be added to the list, that being the need to develop a single statewide standard of success.  Following discussion, members agreed to direct LSO to add the following wording to the draft bill:

 

Page 4, line 6:  (vii)  The steering committee shall develop performance measures for evaluation on a statewide basis.

 

Dr. Cary Heck from the University of Wyoming, attending the meeting as a representative of the Department of Health’s Substance Abuse Division, offered his assistance.  He offered to explain the four nationally-proposed performance measures, describe the Division’s new case management system that will produce uniform and comparable data among courts, or give any other technical assistance the Committee might require. 

 

Senator Jennings suggested reducing the number of judges on the committee from four to three, and adding a new committee member who would represent the University of Wyoming Criminal Justice Department.  Senator Decaria stated that all four levels of judges need to be represented on the committee, and that including such a member would blur the lines between obtaining needed expertise and having voting authority.  Senator Jennings moved and Senator Hanes seconded a motion to add to the committee’s membership a representative of  the University of Wyoming’s Criminal Justice Department, as a non-voting ex officio member.  The motion carried, with Senator Decaria voting no.  Chairman Luthi stated that the LSO drafter should have leeway to adjust the appropriation amount in the bill, if necessary as a result of this change.

 

Representative Cohee moved to strike the word “court” on page 3 line 2, and on page 3 line 3 to strike the words “and from judges.”  Representative Martin seconded the motion and it carried.  Representative Illoway moved to direct LSO to make these changes and post the bill on the LSO website; Senator Jennings seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

 

Concerning 07LSO-0067.W1, State employee compensation commission, Senator Jennings moved and Representative Illoway seconded a motion to work the bill.  The motion carried.  Senator Jennings questioned whether page 3, line 15 of the bill would give the commission subpoena power in a case where an agency head might not willingly supply needed information.  Chairman Luthi stated that the bill draft does not specifically grant the commission that authority.  Representative Illoway moved that the bill be posted on the LSO website and circulated to members of the Compensation Commission for their comments, and Senator Hanes seconded.  Discussion followed as to whether the word “Shall” on page 4 line 2 should be changed to “may.”  Members agreed to leave the wording as is, pending testimony and possible change at the December meeting.  Chairman Luthi directed staff to send copies of the bill to the Commission, and agreed to request that Commission members attend the December meeting to testify as to their reaction to the bill.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Other Business

Chairman Luthi requested an update from Ms. Rogers as to work in progress and possible meeting dates.  She reported that the entire program evaluation staff is working on the study of A&I Hiring Practices in anticipation of a mid-December meeting at which the Committee will  consider the draft report.  Committee members discussed possible dates and agreed to meet in Cheyenne on Friday, December 15 for that purpose. 

 

Chairman Luthi led the Committee in a discussion of requests for scoping papers, which help the Committee identify new topics and potential issues for consideration.  Ms. Rogers said two scoping papers, on the Retirement System and the State’s Construction Bid Process, have been completed; two more were requested for the December meeting:  Worker Safety:  Injury and Mortality Rates; and Game and Fish Department:  Impact of Non-Game Expenses.  For the Game and Fish topic, Chairman Luthi stated that certain aspects of it are being worked on by the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Interim Committee and by the Joint Appropriations Interim Committee.  Chairman Luthi will check with the chairmen of those committees to determine if the issues of concern are sufficiently covered, and will report that information to the Management Audit Committee.   If already covered in other interim work, the Management Audit Committee may forego the request for this scoping paper.

 

Concerning the requested scoping paper on Worker Safety, Representative Hammons stated that the Department of Employment recently published information that covers her concerns about accidents, but the question about fatalities on the job remains.  She said Wyoming is #1 in the nation in workplace fatalities, and it is important to understand why this is so in order to make changes and improvements.  Senator Sessions added that it is her understanding that Wyoming has some of the best worker safety laws among surrounding states, but the laws may not be followed.

 

Senator Jennings suggested another potential topic for a scoping paper:  coal bed methane and production of excess water.  Committee interest centered around how DEQ fulfills its contract with EPA to manage coal bed methane water, and DEQ’s rule-making process in this regard.  Representative Illoway moved and Senator Jennings seconded a motion to direct staff to prepare a scoping paper on this topic.  The motion carried with Senators Decaria and Sessions voting no.

 

 

Meeting Adjournment

There being no further business, Chairman Luthi adjourned the meeting at 12:20 p.m. 

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

 

Representative Randall Luthi, Chairman