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February 8, 2007
Basement Conference Room Wyoming Capitol
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Representative Roy Cohee, Chairman
Senator John Schiffer, Vice Chairman
Senator Jim Anderson
Senator Ken Decaria
Senator John Hines
Senator Mike Massie
Senator Jayne Mockler
Senator Tony Ross
Representative Tom Lockhart
Representative Tom Lubnau
Representative Marty Martin
Representative Colin
Simpson
Representative Bill Thompson
Dan J. Pauli, Director
Mark Quiner, Assistant Director
Dave Gruver, Assistant Director
Don Richards, Research Manager
Wendy K. Madsen, Legislative Information Officer
Please refer to
Appendix 1 to review the Council Sign-in Sheet
for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.
Chairman Cohee called the meeting to order at 12:30pm. The following sections summarize the Council proceedings by topic. Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the Council Meeting Agenda.
Mr. Pauli provided background information about how the Management Council is organized and explained that the first order of business is to elect Council leadership and at-large positions. Senator Schiffer moved that Representative Cohee be elected the chairman of the Management Council. The motion carried. Senator Hines moved to nominate Senator Schiffer as Vice Chairman. The motion carried. Senator Mockler moved to nominate Senator Mike Massie to serve in the at-large position. The motion carried. Senator Ross moved to nominate Senator Mockler as secretary. The motion carried.
Mr. Pauli explained that Management Council has authority under W.S. 28-8-104(c) to appoint select committees and explained that the select committees serve at the pleasure of Management Council and may be terminated at any time. Senator Mockler moved to allow the presiding officers to make the appointments on the noted select committees. The motion carried. Mr. Pauli advised that the presiding officers should make these appointments by the end of session. Following discussion, the Council re-authorized the following select committees and liaisons:
· Select Committee on Legislative Process: 3 House; 3 Senate. 2:1 party split
· Select Committee on Legislative Technology: 3 House; 3 Senate. 2:1 party split
· Select Committee on Legislative Facilities: 3 House; 3 Senate. 2:1 party split
· Select Committee on Tribal Relations: 3 House; 3 Senate. 2:1 party split
· Air Transportation Liaison Committee: 5 legislative members (At least 1 from Joint Transportation Committee)
· State Building Commission Liaison: 2 by President; 2 by Speaker (At least 1 from Joint Appropriations Committee)
· State Retirement Board Liaison: 4 members: 2 by President; 2 by Speaker
The Council also delegated the following statutory appointments to the President and Speaker:
· State Employee Compensation Commission: 1 Senator; 1 Representative; 1 person from the private sector [W.S. 9-2-1019(e)]
· Enhanced and Improved Oil Recovery Commission: 1 Ex-officio member [W.S. 30-8-101(a)]
Senator Larson addressed the Council regarding ongoing planning for the Wyoming Legislature to host the 2007 CSG-West Annual Meeting in Jackson in September. Senator Larson requested guidance on policy and funding issues related to the meeting in response to questions he has been receiving from members. He requested that the Council clarify issues relating to the parameters under which Wyoming legislators may attend the meeting, specifically if the Council wished to establish a limit on how many Wyoming legislators would be allowed to attend the meeting. Senator Larson also noted that the Council may wish to consider whether a supplemental appropriation was needed to pay for Wyoming legislators to attend the meeting.
Mr. Pauli noted that 52 House members and 26 Senators indicated that they were interested in attending the meeting and that LSO calculated an average cost per legislator of $1,300 to attend the meeting, which would total $117,000 if all of those members elected to attend. He explained that there would not be enough funds in the in-state travel budget to cover these costs, but there may be some additional funds available in the out-of-state travel budget. Senator Schiffer moved that the Council encourage legislators to attend the meeting and request an additional $40,000 in the supplemental budget to augment existing travel funding. The motion carried. Senator Larson explained that he is in the process of appointing a Wyoming Host Committee and requested that Council authorize members of the Host Committee an extra day of travel costs to help set up for the meeting.
Senator Larson also asked the Council to determine whether attendance at this would be counted as part of the Management Council’s out-of-state travel policy that allows members to attend two meetings of groups to which the Legislature belongs each year. Mr. Pauli explained that the out-of-state policy allows legislators to attend two trips to either NCSL, CSG, or the Energy Council per calendar year without the permission of the presiding officers. Representative Lockhart moved that attendance at the 2007 CSG-West meeting in Jackson be considered an in-state meeting that would not count toward the trips allowed in the out-of-state travel policy. The motion carried.
Mr. Pauli explained current policies and statutes governing usage of the Chambers and other areas of the House and Senate. He noted that there is no policy currently governing the use of Room 302, and that the LSO is getting an increasing number of requests by the public to use the room during the legislative session. He offered some language (See Appendix 3) for a Management Council policy to assist LSO in determining appropriate uses for Room 302 and the basement conference room during the session and during the interim. Senator Hines moved to adopt the policy, with the provision that if the Chairman of the Council is not available to approve use of Room 302 during the interim, that the Vice Chairman can grant the approval. The motion carried.
Mr. Pauli explained the process that the Council has used in the past to solicit interim study topics from committees. He explained that the presiding officers have traditionally send a letter to all chairmen requesting that the committees identify topics and then the Council meets at the close of the session to discuss proposed studies with the chairmen and to give final approval for interim study topics. Mr. Pauli provided several suggestions for ways to approve the interim committee selection process. The Council also discussed the need to improve the interim study process, especially related to meeting scheduling and staff workload.
The Council provided suggested changes to the letter to be sent to committee chairmen to emphasize the need for committees to focus their topics more narrowly and to schedule committee work so that meetings conclude earlier in the interim. The Council also discussed the need to evaluate the establishment of due dates for statutorily required reports that committees consider. The presiding officers will meet with their respective chairmen to emphasize these issues and to let the chairmen know what is expected of them, including the need to provide suggested meeting dates in their interim study requests. The Council also elected to hold two meetings to select interim topics. At the first meeting, the Council will not take oral presentations from the chairmen, but will request that Chairmen attend a second meeting, as needed, to answer Council questions. The Council requested that all chairmen provide their interim study requests to the Council no later than Friday, February 23, 2007. Chairman Cohee set the next Management Council meeting for Monday, February 26, 2007 upon adjournment, with a follow-up meeting by the Council to finalize interim committee study topics and to set parameters on completion of interim work on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 upon adjournment.
Representative Lubnau addressed the Council regarding the need for more public outreach regarding the legislative process and promotion of the institution. He noted that this type of work is appropriate for the LSO Legislative Information Officer, but that there may not be sufficient time to develop such resources and there is not a budget for public outreach efforts. He showed a brief PSA that he filmed with the Gillette public access television that highlighted ways that Wyoming residents can participate in the legislative process. Representative Lubnau noted that professional production and distribution of PSAs and other outreach materials could be developed by LSO and recommended a budget for the LSO of $5,000 for non-partisan institutional promotion efforts. Senator Mockler noted that this may be an appropriate responsibility for the Legislative Process Committee to work with Ms. Madsen on developing these type of resources. Representative Cohee noted that the public does not understand the Legislature and its accomplishments and requested that Representative Lubnau and Senator Mockler pursue this issue as a budget amendment on the floor.
Mr. Ed Schmidt, the director of the Wyoming Department of Revenue, addressed the Council regarding the recent Wyoming Supreme Court decision regarding RME Petroleum v. Wyoming Department of Revenue. Mr. Schmidt explained the history behind the case and noted that this has been an ongoing issue for the past decade. He offered that the Department of Revenue would be happy to meet with legislators to explain the issue further. Chairman Cohee thanked Mr. Schmidt for the update and the offer of the Department.
There being no further business, Chairman Cohee adjourned the meeting at 2:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Senator Jayne Mockler, Secretary