Showing posts with label Government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Government. Show all posts

Monday, March 11, 2024

Thursday, March 11, 1824. Bureau of Indian Affairs formed.

 Today In Wyoming's History: March 11


Formed on this day, in 1824.  Taking over the role of various predecessor agencies, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun formed the bureau as a department within the Department of War, doing so without authority.

Last prior:

Friday, March 5, 1824. The First Anglo Burmese War commences.

Friday, March 8, 2024

The 2024 State of the Union Address.

We'll note a few takeaways, and then comment below.

I didn't watch it live for various reasons.  I didn't see the GOP response either, but I wish I had, given the reaction to it and the few snippets of it I've seen.

Okay, some comments.

The portion on Ukraine was excellent and drew at least a few GOP accolades from the audience.

At least one Republican Senator nodded in agreement on the border discussion.

There was an exchange with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is an embarrassment to mammals, which he apparently got the best of.

Once again, the Democrats felt compelled to lash themselves to the bloody decks of abortion.

The speech.

Today In Wyoming's History: March 82024.  President Biden delivered the 2024 State of the Union Address.

The United States Capitol

Good evening. 

Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Members of Congress. My Fellow Americans. 

In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation. 

He said, “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union.” 

Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe. 

President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary moment.   

Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world. 

Tonight I come to the same chamber to address the nation. 

Now it is we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union. 

And yes, my purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress, and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either. 

Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today. 

What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time. 

Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. 

If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not. 

But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking. They are not asking for American soldiers. 

In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. And I am determined to keep it that way. 

But now assistance for Ukraine is being blocked by those who want us to walk away from our leadership in the world. 

It wasn’t that long ago when a Republican President, Ronald Reagan, thundered, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” 

Now, my predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, “Do whatever the hell you want.” 

A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader. 

It’s outrageous. It’s dangerous. It’s unacceptable. 

America is a founding member of NATO the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War II to prevent war and keep the peace.  

Today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever. 

We welcomed Finland to the Alliance last year, and just this morning, Sweden officially joined NATO, and their Prime Minister is here tonight. 

Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known. 

I say this to Congress: we must stand up to Putin. Send me the Bipartisan National Security Bill. 

History is watching. 

If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk. 

Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm. 
 
 

My message to President Putin is simple.  

We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down. 

History is watching, just like history watched three years ago on January 6th. 

Insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy. 

Many of you were here on that darkest of days. 

We all saw with our own eyes these insurrectionists were not patriots. 
 

They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power and to overturn the will of the people. 

January 6th and the lies about the 2020 election, and the plots to steal the election, posed the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War. 

But they failed. America stood strong and democracy prevailed. 

But we must be honest the threat remains and democracy must be defended. 

My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th. 

I will not do that. 

This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies. 

And here’s the simplest truth. You can’t love your country only when you win. 

As I’ve done ever since being elected to office, I ask you all, without regard to party, to join together and defend our democracy! 

Remember your oath of office to defend against all threats foreign and domestic. 

Respect free and fair elections! Restore trust in our institutions! And make clear –political violence  

has absolutely no place in America! 

History is watching. 

And history is watching another assault on freedom.  

Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama. 14 months ago tonight, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of IVF. 

She scheduled treatments to have a second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. 

She was told her dream would have to wait. 

What her family has gone through should never have happened. And unless Congress acts, it could happen again. 

So tonight, let’s stand up for families like hers! 

To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep families waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF nationwide! 

Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right. And I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader, defending reproductive freedom and so much more. 

But my predecessor came to office determined  

to see Roe v. Wade overturned. 

He’s the reason it was overturned. In fact, he brags about it. 

Look at the chaos that has resulted. 

Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, a wife and mother  

from Dallas. 

When she became pregnant again, the fetus had a fatal condition. 

Her doctors told Kate that her own life and her ability to have children in the future were at risk if she didn’t act. 

Because Texas law banned abortion, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get the care she needed. 

What her family has gone through should never have happened as well. But it is happening to so many others. 

There are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalizing doctors, and forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states as well to get the care they need. 

Many of you in this Chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom. 

My God, what freedoms will you take away next? 

In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court majority wrote, “Women are not without – 

electoral or political power.” 

No kidding. 

Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America. 

They found out though when reproductive freedom   

was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again, in 2024. 

If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again! 

America cannot go back. I am here tonight to show the way forward. Because I know how far we’ve come. 

Four years ago next week, before I came to office, our country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a century. 

Remember the fear. Record job losses. Remember the spike in crime. And the murder rate. 

A raging virus that would take more than 1 million American lives and leave millions of loved ones behind. 

A mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness. 

A president, my predecessor, who failed the most basic duty. Any President owes the American people the duty to care. 

That is unforgivable. 

I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history. 

And we have. It doesn’t make the news but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told. 

So let’s tell that story here and now. 

America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, investing in all of America, in all Americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind! 

The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer. 

Turning setback into comeback. 

That’s America! 

I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world! 

15 million new jobs in just three years – that’s a record! 

Unemployment at 50-year lows. 

A record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses and each one is an act of hope. 

With historic job growth and small business growth for Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Americans. 

800,000 new manufacturing jobs in America and counting. 

More people have health insurance today than ever before. 

The racial wealth gap is the smallest it’s been in 20 years. 

Wages keep going up and inflation keeps coming down! 

Inflation has dropped from 9% to 3% – the lowest in the world! 

And trending lower. 

And now instead of importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs – right here in America where they belong! 
 
 

And the American people are beginning to feel it. 

Consumer studies show consumer confidence is soaring. 

Buy American has been the law of the land since the 1930s.  
 

Past administrations including my predecessor failed to Buy American. 

Not any more. 

On my watch, federal projects like helping to build American roads bridges and highways will be made with American products built by American workers creating good-paying American jobs! 

Thanks to my Chips and Science Act the United States is investing more in research and development than ever before. 

During the pandemic a shortage of semiconductor chips drove up prices for everything from cell phones to automobiles.  

Well instead of having to import semiconductor chips, which America invented I might add, private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America! 

Creating tens of thousands of jobs many of them paying over $100,000 a year and don’t require a college degree. 

In fact my policies have attracted $650 Billion of private sector investments in clean energy and advanced manufacturing creating tens of thousands of jobs here in America! 

Thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced across your communities – modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, and public transit systems. 

Removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without risk of getting brain damage. 

Providing affordable high speed internet for every American no matter where you live. 

Urban, suburban, and rural communities — in red states and blue. 

Record investments in tribal communities. 

Because of my investments, family farms are better be able to stay in the family and children and grandchildren won’t have to leave home to make a living.  

It’s transformative.  

 
A great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois. Home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years.  
 

Before I came to office the plant was on its way to shutting down. 

 
Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods. Hope was fading. 
 

Then I was elected to office and we raised Belvidere repeatedly with the auto company knowing unions make all the difference. 

The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get those jobs back. And together, we succeeded! 

Instead of an auto factory shutting down an auto factory is re-opening and a new state-of-the art battery factory is being built to power those cars. 

Instead of a town being left behind it’s a community moving forward again! 

Because instead of watching auto jobs of the future go overseas 4,000 union workers with higher wages will be building that future, in Belvidere, here in America! 

Here tonight is UAW President, Shawn Fain, a great friend, and a great labor leader. 

And Dawn Simms, a third generation UAW worker  in Belvidere. 

Shawn, I was proud to be the first President in American history to walk a picket line. 

And today Dawn has a job in her hometown providing stability for her family and pride and dignity. 

Showing once again, Wall Street didn’t build this country! 

The middle class built this country! And unions built the middle class! 

When Americans get knocked down, we get back up! 

We keep going! 

That’s America! That’s you, the American people! 

It’s because of you America is coming back!  

It’s because of you, our future is brighter! 

And it’s because of you that tonight we can proudly say the State of our Union is strong and getting stronger!  
 

Tonight I want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together. 

A future where the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and biggest corporations no longer get all the breaks. 

I grew up in a home where not a lot trickled down on my Dad’s kitchen table. 

That’s why I’m determined to turn things around so the middle class does well the poor have a way up and the wealthy still does well. 

We all do well. 

And there’s more to do to make sure you’re feeling the benefits of all we’re doing. 

Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere else. 

It’s wrong and I’m ending it. 

With a law I proposed and signed and not one Republican voted for we finally beat Big Pharma! 

Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin seniors with diabetes only have to pay $35 a month! 

And now I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it! 

For years people have talked about it but I finally got it done and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs just like the VA does for our veterans. 

That’s not just saving seniors money. 

It’s saving taxpayers money cutting the federal deficit by $160 Billion because Medicare will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices to Big Pharma. 

This year Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis. 

Now it’s time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 drugs over the next decade. 

That will not only save lives it will save taxpayers another $200 Billion! 

Starting next year that same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 a year even for expensive cancer drugs that can cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000 a year. 

Now I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone! 

Folks Obamacare, known as the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal. 

Over one hundred million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. 

But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act I won’t let that happen! 

We stopped you 50 times before and we will stop you again! 

In fact I am protecting it and expanding it. 

I enacted tax credits that save $800 per person per year reducing health care premiums for millions of working families. 

Those tax credits expire next year. 

I want to make those savings permanent! 

Women are more than half of our population but research on women’s health has always been underfunded.  

That’s why we’re launching the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, led by Jill who is doing an incredible job as First Lady. 

Pass my plan for $12 Billion to transform women’s health research and benefit millions of lives across America! 

I know the cost of housing is so important to you.  

If inflation keeps coming down mortgage rates will come down as well. 

But I’m not waiting. 

I want to provide an annual tax creditthat will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgage when they buy a first home or trade up for a little more space. 

My Administration is also eliminating title insurance fees for federally backed mortgages. 

When you refinance your home this can save you $1,000 or more. 

For millions of renters, we’re cracking down on big landlords who break antitrust laws by price-fixing and driving up rents.  

I’ve cut red tape so more builders can get federal financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million housing units nationwide. 

Now pass my plan to build and renovate 2 million  affordable homes and bring those rents down! 

To remain the strongest economy in the world we need the best education system in the world. 

I want to give every child a good start by providing access to pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds. 

Studies show that children who go to pre-school are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a 2- or 4-year degree no matter their background. 

I want to expand high-quality tutoring and summer learning time and see to it that every child learns to read by third grade. 

I’m also connecting businesses and high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college. 

And I want to make college more affordable. 

Let’s continue increasing Pell Grants for working- and middle-class families and increase our record investments in HBCUs and Hispanic and Minority-serving Institutions 

I fixed student loan programs to reduce the burden  of student debt for nearly 4 Million Americans including nurses firefighters and others in public service like Keenan Jones a public-school educator in Minnesota who’s here with us tonight. 

He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college now he can help his own daughter pay for college.  

Such relief is good for the economy because folks are now able to buy a home start a business even start a family. 

While we’re at it I want to give public school teachers a raise! 

Now let me speak to a question of fundamental fairness for all Americans. 

I’ve been delivering real results in a fiscally responsible way. 

I’ve already cut the federal deficit by over one trillion dollars. 

I signed a bipartisan budget deal that will cut another trillion dollars over the next decade. 

And now it’s my goal to cut the federal deficit $3 trillion more by making big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their fair share.  

Look, I’m a capitalist. 

If you want to make a million bucks – great! 

Just pay your fair share in taxes. 

A fair tax code is how we invest in the things –  

that make a country great, health care, education, defense, and more. 

But here’s the deal. 

The last administration enacted a $2 Trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the very wealthy and the biggest corporations and exploded the federal deficit. 

They added more to the national debt than in any presidential term in American history. 

For folks at home does anybody really think the tax code is fair? 

Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion in tax breaks? 

I sure don’t. I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair! 

Under my plan nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in federal taxes. 

Nobody. Not one penny. 

In fact the Child Tax Credit I passed during the pandemic cut taxes for millions of working families and cut child poverty in HALF. 

Restore the Child Tax Credit because no child should go hungry in this country! 

The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their share. 

In 2020 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40 Billion in profits and paid zero in federal income taxes.  

Not any more! 

Thanks to the law I wrote and signed big companies  now have to pay a minimum of 15%.  

But that’s still less than working people pay in federal taxes. 

It’s time to raise the corporate minimum tax to at least 21% so every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share. 

I also want to end the tax breaks for Big Pharma, Big Oil, private jets, and massive executive pay! 

End it now! 

There are 1,000 billionaires in America.  

You know what the average federal tax rate for these billionaires is? 8.2 percent! 

That’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay.  

No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, a nurse! 

That’s why I’ve proposed a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires. Just 25%. 

That would raise $500 Billion over the next 10 years. 

Imagine what that could do for America. Imagine a future with affordable child care so millions of families can get the care they need and still go to work and help grow the economy. 

Imagine a future with paid leave because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of yourself or a sick family member.   

Imagine a future with home care and elder care so seniors and people living with disabilities can stay in their homes and family caregivers get paid what they deserve! 

Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors! 

Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security on the chopping block.  

If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age I will stop them! 

Working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair. 

We have two ways to go on Social Security. 

Republicans will cut Social Security and give more tax cuts to the wealthy. 

I will protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share! 

Too many corporations raise their prices to pad their profits charging you more and more for less and less. 

That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging or deceptive pricing from food to health care to housing. 

In fact, snack companies think you won’t notice when they charge you just as much for the same size bag  

but with fewer chips in it. 

Pass Senator Bob Casey’s bill to put a stop to shrinkflation! 

I’m also getting rid of junk fees those hidden fees added at the end of your bills without your knowledge. My administration just announced we’re cutting credit card late fees from $32 to just $8. 

The banks and credit card companies don’t like it. 

Why? 

I’m saving American families $20 billion a year with all of the junk fees I’m eliminating. 

And I’m not stopping there. 

My Administration has proposed rules to make cable travel utilities and online ticket sellers tell you the total price upfront so there are no surprises. 

It matters. 

And so does this. 

In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators. 

The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen  

in this country. 

That bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers.  

100 more immigration judges to help tackle a backload of 2 million cases. 

4,300 more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in 6 months instead of 6 years. 

100 more high-tech drug detection machines to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles from smuggling fentanyl into America. 

This bill would save lives and bring order to the border. 

It would also give me as President new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border  when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming.  

The Border Patrol Union endorsed the bill. 

The Chamber of Commerce endorsed the bill. 

I believe that given the opportunity a majority of the House and Senate would endorse it as well. 

But unfortunately, politics have derailed it so far. 

I’m told my predecessor called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block the bill. He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him. 

It’s not about him or me.  

It’d be a winner for America! 

My Republican friends you owe it to the American people to get this bill done.   

We need to act. 

And if my predecessor is watching instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in telling Congress to pass it! 

We can do it together. But here’s what I will not do. 

I will not demonize immigrants saying they “poison the blood of our country” as he said in his own words. 

I will not separate families. 

I will not ban people from America because of their faith. 

Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office I introduced a comprehensive plan to fix our immigration system, secure the border, and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and so much more. 

Because unlike my predecessor, I know who we are  

as Americans. 

We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new. 

Home to Native Americans whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years. Home to people from every place on Earth. 

Some came freely. 

Some chained by force. 

Some when famine struck, like my ancestral family in Ireland. 

Some to flee persecution. 

Some to chase dreams that are impossible anywhere but here in America. 

That’s America, where we all come from somewhere, but we are all Americans. 

We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it. 

Send me the border bill now! 

A transformational moment in our history happened 59 years ago today in Selma, Alabama. 

Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK, to claim their fundamental right to vote.  

They were beaten bloodied and left for dead. 

Our late friend and former colleague John Lewis was at the march.  

We miss him. 

Joining us tonight are other marchers who were there including Betty May Fikes, known as the “Voice of Selma”. 

A daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday, 

to help shake the nation’s conscience. Five months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.   
 

But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time. 

Voter suppression. Election subversion. Unlimited dark money. Extreme gerrymandering.  

John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here. But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time for more than just talk. 

Pass and send me the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act! 

And stop denying another core value of America our diversity across American life. 

Banning books. 

It’s wrong! 

Instead of erasing history, let’s make history!  

I want to protect other fundamental rights! 

Pass the Equality Act, and my message to transgender Americans: I have your back! 

Pass the PRO Act for workers rights! And raise the federal minimum wage because every worker has the right to earn a decent living! 

We are also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it. 

I’m taking the most significant action on climate ever in the history of the world. 

I am cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030. 

Creating tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs, like the IBEW workers building and installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations. 

Conserving 30% of America’s lands and waters  by 2030. 

Taking historic action on environmental justice for fence-line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution.  

And patterned after the Peace Corps and Ameri Corps, I’ve launched a Climate Corps to put 20,000 young people to work at the forefront of our clean energy future. 

I’ll triple that number this decade. 

All Americans deserve the freedom to be safe, and America is safer today than when I took office. 

The year before I took office, murders went up 30% nationwide the biggest increase in history. 

That was then. 

Now, through my American Rescue Plan, which every Republican voted against, I’ve made the largest investment in public safety ever. 

Last year, the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history, and violent crime fell to one of the lowest levels in more than 50 years.  

But we have more to do. 

Help cities and towns invest in more community police officers, more mental health workers, and more community violence intervention.  

Give communities the tools to crack down on gun crime, retail crime, and carjacking. 

Keep building public trust, as I’ve been doing by taking executive action on police reform, and calling for it to be the law of the land, directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana, and expunging thousands of convictions  for mere possession, because no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana! 

To take on crimes of domestic violence, I am ramping up federal enforcement of the Violence Against Women Act, that I proudly wrote, so we can finally end the scourge of violence against women in America!  

And there’s another kind of violence I want to stop. 

With us tonight is Jasmine, whose 9-year-old sister Jackie was murdered with 21 classmates and teachers at her elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. 

Soon after it happened, Jill and I went to Uvalde and spent hours with the families. 

We heard their message, and so should everyone in this chamber do something. 

I did do something by establishing the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House that Vice President Harris is leading. 

Meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he’s proud he did nothing on guns when he was President. 

After another school shooting in Iowa he said we should just “get over it.” 

I say we must stop it.  

I’m proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years! 

Now we must beat the NRA again! 

I’m demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines! 

Pass universal background checks! 

None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners. 

As we manage challenges at home, we’re also managing crises abroad including in the Middle East. 

I know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people, for the Israeli people, the Palestinian people, and so many here in America. 

This crisis began on October 7th with a massacre by the terrorist group Hamas. 

1,200 innocent people women and girls men and boys slaughtered, many enduring sexual violence. 

The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. 

250 hostages taken. 

Here in the chamber tonight are American families whose loved ones are still being held by Hamas. 

I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring their loved ones home. 

We will also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul, Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. 

Israel has a right to go after Hamas. 

Hamas could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7th. 

Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population. But Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza. 

This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined. 

More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. 

Most of whom are not Hamas. 

Thousands and thousands are innocent women and children. 

Girls and boys also orphaned. 

Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displaced. 

Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. 

Families without food, water, medicine. 

It’s heartbreaking. 

We’ve been working non-stop to establish an immediate ceasefire that would last for at least six weeks. 

It would get the hostages home, ease the intolerable humanitarian crisis, and build toward something more enduring. 

The United States has been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. 

Tonight, I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters. 

No U.S. boots will be on the ground. 

This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day. 

But Israel must also do its part. 

Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the cross fire. 

To the leadership of Israel I say this. 

Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. 

Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority. 

As we look to the future, the only real solution is a two-state solution. 

I say this as a lifelong supporter of Israel and the only American president to visit Israel in wartime. 

There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and democracy. 

There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live with peace and dignity. 

There is no other path that guarantees peace between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.  

Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran.  

That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. 

I’ve ordered strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities and defend U.S. Forces in the region. 

As Commander in Chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and military personnel.  

For years, all I’ve heard from my Republican friends and so many others is China’s on the rise and America is falling behind. 

They’ve got it backward. 

America is rising. 

We have the best economy in the world. 

Since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up. 

And our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade. 

We’re standing up against China’s unfair economic practices. 

And standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. 

I’ve revitalized our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific. 

I’ve made sure that the most advanced American technologies can’t be used in China’s weapons. 

Frankly for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do that. 

We want competition with China, but not conflict.  

And we’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against China or anyone else for that matter. 

Here at home I’ve signed over 400 bipartisan bills.  

But there’s more to do to pass my Unity Agenda. 

Strengthen penalties on fentanyl trafficking. 

Pass bipartisan privacy legislation to protect our children online. 

Harness the promise of A.I. and protect us from its peril.  

Ban A.I. voice impersonation and more! 

And keep our one truly sacred obligation, to train and equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home, and when they don’t.  

That’s why I signed the PACT Act, one of the most significant laws ever, helping millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins and who now are battling more than 100 cancers. 

Many of them didn’t come home. 

We owe them and their families. 

And we owe it to ourselves to keep supporting our new health research agency called ARPA-H and remind us that we can do big things like end cancer as we know it! 

Let me close with this. 

I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while. 

And when you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever before. 

I know the American story. 

Again and again I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation. 

Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future. 

My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. 

A future based on the core values that have defined America. 

Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality. 

To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor.  

Now some other people my age see a different story.  

An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. 

That’s not me. 

I was born amid World War II when America stood for freedom in the world. 

I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware among working people who built this country. 

I watched in horror as two of my heroes, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, were assassinated and their legacies inspired me to pursue a career in service. 

A public defender, county councilman, elected United States Senator at 29, then Vice President, to our first Black President, now President, with our first woman Vice President. 

In my career I’ve been told I’m too young and I’m too old. 

Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures. 

Our North Star. 

The very idea of America, that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. 

We’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either. 

And I won’t walk away from it now. 

My fellow Americans the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are it’s how old our ideas are? 

Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas. 

But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back. 

To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be. 

Tonight you’ve heard mine. 

I see a future where we defend democracy not diminish it. 

I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms not take them away. 

I see a future where the middle class finally has a fair shot and the wealthy finally have to pay their fair share in taxes. 

I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence. 

Above all, I see a future for all Americans! 

I see a country for all Americans! 

And I will always be a president for all Americans! 

Because I believe in America! 

I believe in you the American people. 

You’re the reason I’ve never been more optimistic about our future! 

So let’s build that future together! 

Let’s remember who we are! 

We are the United States of America. 

There is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together! 

May God bless you all. 

May God protect our troops.

Apparently the Republican reply (I didn't watch any of this life) was rather over the top and is being widely panned.  This from a Twitter comment:

I don’t mean to be overly harsh toward the lady, but putting aside the content for a moment, Sen. Britt’s (YOB 1982) manner of delivery last night pretty well encapsulates everything that Gen X (YOB here 1973) finds nauseating about Millennials….

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Friday, February 29, 1924. Slashing taxes. Ludendorff testifies.

 The date was notable as, like this year, there was one.  Most years, there isn't.


The House of Representatives used the extra day for the very popular slashing of income taxes.

Erich Ludendorff took the stand on his defense for treason in Munich, declaring that "We want a Germany free of Marxism, semitism, and papal influences."

Friday, February 23, 2024

Saturday, February 23, 1924. Electric Trucks.

The Saturday magazines hit the stands, including this issue of Colliers:
The issue had some good articles on it, including one that would still be considered timely.

Politics and oil were a topic.

On oil, the issue had an Autocar Truck advertisement advertising gas and electric trucks. . . the latter being something that locals now insist just can't happen.


And Colt had an advertisement on handguns in a national magazine, something that wouldn't happen now.  While the government is referenced, it's really home protection, a theme we still see, that is being suggested.

The Royal Navy intervened in the ongoing dockworkers strike to move 4,500 bags of mail from the United States.

Albanian Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu was shot twice by an anarchist would be assassin, but survived.

Saturday, February 10, 2024

The 2024 Wyoming Legislative Session. Pulling into the station (Part 2)


The legislature convene on February 12, and the committees are presently busy for this year's budget session.

As political junkies know, every other session of the legislature if a budget session, which theoretically means that the salon only deals with the budget.  The assembly can consider regular bills, but it requires more support to put the bills out on the floor, so its more difficult.

Some bills have been kicked around in the news, but that doesn't really mean that they're going to be out on the floor, so it can be a bit confusing.  One such bill is this one, which was reported on in one of the online journals today.

A complete list of bills, at the time of this post, are below:

HB0002 Nonresident fishing license fee increase. Travel Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

HB0003 Property tax exemption for long-term homeowners. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

HB0004 Property tax refund program. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

HB0005 Behavioral health redesign amendments. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

HB0006 Light and high profile vehicle closures. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023

HB0007 Alternative fuel tax-electricity amendments. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023

HB0008 Commercial driver license-hazardous materials endorsement. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023

HB0009 Fuel tax-licensee information deadline. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023

HB0010 Grace period-state land lease renewals. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023

HB0011 State land lease amendments. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023

HB0012 Wyoming dairy marketing act-repeal. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023

HB0013 Flow-through pools-exemption. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023

HB0014 Prior authorization regulations. Labor Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023

HB0015 Health insurance-reimbursement of overpayments. Labor Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023

HB0016 Sutton state archaeological site-legal description. Travel Bill Number Assigned 12/11/2023

HB0017 Fishing outfitters and guides-registration of fishing boats. Travel Bill Number Assigned 12/11/2023

HB0018 Property tax-inflation cap. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 12/11/2023

HB0019 Education savings accounts. Education Bill Number Assigned 12/12/2023

HB0020 School finance-regional cost adjustment study. Education Bill Number Assigned 12/12/2023

HB0021 Charter school leasing. Sel Sch Fac Bill Number Assigned 12/14/2023

HB0022 Sales tax revisions. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 12/15/2023

HB0023 Vehicle registration e-certificate and grace period. Larson, JT Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0024 Certificate of need repeal. Labor Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0025 Medicaid-third party payor conditions. Labor Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0026 Emergency protective services-effective period. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0027 DFS and law enforcement-cross reporting. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0028 Interference with parent-child contact. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0029 Cold case database and investigations. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0030 Controlled Substances Act-possession amendments. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0031 Peace officers-records and reporting. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023

HB0032 Geologic sequestration-unitization amendments. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0033 Mining operations-blasting requirements. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0034 Solid waste municipal cease and transfer funding. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0035 Limitation on environmental rulemaking. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0036 Natural Resource Protection Act. Fed Nat Res Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0037 Election offenses-intimidation. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0038 Voter qualifications-durational residency requirement. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0039 Campaign reporting. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0040 School district trustee oath of office. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0041 Candidates for state legislature-residency requirement. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0042 Prohibition on private funds for conducting elections. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0043 State forestry good neighbor-positions. Fed Nat Res Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

HB0044 Parental rights in minor child’s health care. Labor Bill Number Assigned 01/04/2024

HB0045 Property tax exemption-residential structures. Crago Bill Number Assigned 01/05/2024

HB0046 Chancery court-timeline for resolution of disputes. Walters Bill Number Assigned 01/08/2024

HB0047 Solid waste-illegal dumping remediation grants. Penn Bill Number Assigned 01/08/2024

HB0048 Renaming the deaf, dumb and blind account. Conrad Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024

HB0049 By the people act. Penn Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024

HB0050 What is a Woman Act. Ward Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024

HB0051 Public indecency-intimidation. Neiman Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024

HB0052 Property tax-homestead exemption. Sommers Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024

HB0053 Public health emergency-definition amendments. Ward Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024

HB0054 Wyoming Reads Day. Washut Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024

HB0055 State budgeting and reserves-account repeal. Cap Fin & Inv Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024

HB0056 State budgeting and reserves-general funds. Cap Fin & Inv Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024

HJ0001 Property tax-classes of property and residential value. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 12/11/2023

HJ0002 Political expenditures. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024

SF0003 State employee leave for volunteer fire or volunteer EMS. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

SF0004 Rehiring retired firefighters-continued retirement benefits. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

SF0005 Organ transplant recipient protection. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

SF0006 Nursing home administrators-temporary licenses. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

SF0007 Behavioral health redesign-vulnerable adults. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

SF0008 Health insurance for volunteer emergency responders. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023

SF0009 Parental rights in education-1. Education Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023

SF0010 Eminent domain-energy collector systems. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023

SF0011 Eminent domain energy collector systems amendments. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023

SF0012 Meat processing plants-hides and carcasses. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023

SF0013 Federal land use plans-legal actions authorized. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023

SF0014 State fair board-powers and responsibilities. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023

SF0015 Acceptance of retrocession-federal military installations. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023

SF0016 Military department emergency fire suppression account. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023

SF0017 Plane coordinates system-amendments. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023

SF0018 Indian child welfare act-safe haven amendments. Tribal Relations Bill Number Assigned 12/14/2023

SF0019 Developmental preschool funding. Education Bill Number Assigned 12/14/2023

SF0020 Electricity rates for costs that do not benefit Wyoming. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0021 Public utilities-net power cost sharing ratio. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0022 Public service commission-electricity reliability. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0023 Public utilities-energy resource procurement. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0024 Public service commission-integrated resource plans. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0025 Reclamation and decommissioning costs. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0026 Special district vacancies. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0027 Special districts bond elections exception. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0028 Federal natural resource management coordinator. Fed Nat Res Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0029 Major political parties-state central party voting members. Case Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023

SF0030 Influencing jurors and witnesses-judges amendment. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023

SF0031 Sex offender registration-promoting obscenity. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023

SF0032 Hemp-limitations on psychoactive substances. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023

SF0033 Wyoming rural attorney recruitment program. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023

SF0034 Sex offender registration-registerable offenses. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023

SF0035 Public records-DOC investigations. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023

SF0036 Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023

SF0037 Indian child welfare act-delinquency amendments. Tribal Relations Bill Number Assigned 12/26/2023

SF0038 Financial reporting amendments-2. Mgt Audit Bill Number Assigned 01/04/2024

SF0039 Firefighters recruitment film. Labor Bill Number Assigned 01/05/2024

SF0040 Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund Administration. Travel Bill Number Assigned 01/08/2024

SF0041 Banking division-classification and salary exemptions. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024

SF0042 Low-carbon reliable energy standards-amendments. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024

SF0043 Pore space-severances and separate conveyances prohibited. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024

SF0044 Limited mining operations-amendments. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024

Some interesting ones:

2024

STATE OF WYOMING

24LSO-0344

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0036

Natural Resource Protection Act.

Sponsored by: Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to protection of constitutional rights; providing a declaration of authority and policy; prohibiting the enforcement of federal rules or regulations regarding federal land management as specified; providing an exception; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 9‑14‑301 through 9‑14‑303 are created to read:

ARTICLE 3

NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION ACT

9‑14‑301.  Short title.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Natural Resource Protection Act."

9‑14‑302.  Declaration of authority and policy.

(a)  The Natural Resource Protection Act is enacted under the authority of the tenth amendment to the United States constitution and Wyoming's agreement with the United States that the state adopted when it joined the union under the United States constitution's system of dual sovereignty.

(b)  The legislature finds and declares:

(i)  The federal government shall comply with federal law when administering federal lands;

(ii)  The federal government arbitrarily restricting significant amounts of federal lands from public use is contrary to managing federal land under principles of multiple use and sustained yield;

(iii)  Any failure by the federal government to abide by the law undermines the rule of law that is vital to our system of government. 

9‑14‑303.  Prohibiting the enforcement of federal regulation regarding federal land management; penalty.

(a)  Upon a determination by the governor, with advice from the attorney general, that an executive order, final rule or regulation of the federal government does not comply with federal laws regarding federal land management and upon providing notice, this state and all political subdivisions of this state shall not use any personnel, funds appropriated by the legislature or any other source of funds that originate within the state of Wyoming to enforce or administer that federal executive order, final rule or regulation. The governor shall not revoke a valid primacy agreement with a federal agency over the regulation and enforcement of a federal law or program until a court of competent jurisdiction determines the federal executive order, final rule or regulation is unlawful.

(b)  Nothing in this act shall limit or restrict a public officer, as defined by W.S. 6‑5‑101(a)(v), from providing assistance to federal authorities for purposes not specifically identified in subsection (a) of this section. Nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit any governmental entity from accepting federal funds for law enforcement purposes.

Section 2.  This act is effective July 1, 2024.

This is probably an illegal proposal, given as it intrudes on Federal supremacy.

One addressing residence requirements for running for office has been introduced.

2024

STATE OF WYOMING

4LSO-0094

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0041

Candidates for state legislature-residency requirement.

Sponsored by: Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Interim Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to elections; clarifying the residency requirement for candidates for the state legislature; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 22‑5‑102(a)(intro) and (ii) is amended to read:

22‑5‑102.  Eligibility to be a candidate for state legislature; residency.

(a)  For the purpose of meeting residency requirements of the Wyoming constitution, a person shall not be a candidate for the state legislature from a legislative district unless he has been a resident of that legislative district for at least one (1) year next preceding his before the date of the applicable general election. In any general election year in which a plan of legislative districts is required but has not been enacted into law at least one (1) year prior to the applicable filing periods, a person may be a candidate for the state legislature from a legislative district if he:

(ii)  Has been a resident of a county for at least one (1) year next preceding his before the date of the applicable general election in which any portion of that legislative district is located.

Section 2.  This act is effective July 1, 2024.

One that has already been reported on:

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0050

What is a Woman Act.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Ward, Allemand, Angelos, Bear, Haroldson, Hornok, Jennings, Locke, Neiman, Ottman, Pendergraft, Penn, Rodriguez-Williams, Slagle, Smith and Strock

A BILL

fod

AN ACT relating to common law, statutes and rules of construction; specifying definitions and standards for the application of a person's biological sex in law, rules or regulations; providing for the law to distinguish between accommodations for males and females; requiring the collection of vital statistics and other data to identify persons as male or female at birth; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 8‑1‑110 is created to read:

8‑1‑110.  References to males and females; separate accommodations for males and females; data reporting requirements.

(a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with respect to the application of a person's biological sex under any law or rule and regulation in this state, the following definitions and standards shall apply:

(i)  A person's "sex" means the person's biological sex, either male or female, at birth;

(ii)  "Female" means a person whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova and/or who exhibits XX chromosomes and does not exhibit a Y chromosome;

(iii)  "Male" means a person whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female and/or who exhibits XY chromosomes or exhibits a Y chromosome;

(iv)  The terms "woman" and "girl" refer to human females, and the terms "man" and "boy" refer to human males;

(v)  "Mother" means a parent of the female sex;

(vi)  "Father" means a parent of the male sex;

(vii)  With respect to biological sex, the term "equal" does not mean "same" or "identical";

(viii)  With respect to biological sex, separate accommodations are not inherently unequal; and

(ix)  A person born with a medically recognized condition of a "disorder or difference in sex development" shall be provided legal protections and accommodations afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, and any other applicable Wyoming law.

(b)  The legislature finds that laws, rules and regulations that distinguish between the sexes are subject to intermediate constitutional scrutiny. Intermediate constitutional scrutiny forbids unfair discrimination against similarly situated male and female persons but allows the law to distinguish between the sexes where such distinctions are substantially related to important governmental objectives.

(c)  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, laws, rules and regulations that recognize or enforce distinctions between the sexes with respect to athletics, prisons or other detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, locker rooms, restrooms and other areas where safety or privacy are implicated and that result in separate accommodations between the sexes are substantially related to the important governmental objectives of protecting the health, safety and privacy of persons in such circumstances.

(d)  Any school district, or public school thereof, and any state agency, department, office or other political subdivision that collects vital statistics for the purpose of complying with anti‑discrimination laws or for the purpose of gathering accurate public health, crime, economic or other data shall identify each person who is part of the collected data set as either male or female consistent with the persons sex at birth.

Section 2.  This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution


The bill is presently with the LSO.

An attorney recruitment bill has been proposed.

2024

STATE OF WYOMING

24LSO-0061

SENATE FILE NO. SF0033

Wyoming rural attorney recruitment program.

Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to attorneys-at-law; establishing the rural attorney recruitment pilot program; specifying eligibility requirements for counties and attorneys to participate in the program; specifying administration, oversight and payment obligations for the program; requiring reports; providing a sunset date for the program; authorizing the adoption of rules, policies and procedures; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 33‑5‑201 through 33‑5‑203 are created to read:

ARTICLE 2

RURAL ATTORNEY RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

33‑5‑201.  Rural attorney recruitment program established; findings; program requirements; county qualifications; annual reports.

(a)  In light of the shortage of attorneys practicing law in rural Wyoming counties, the legislature finds that the establishment of a rural attorney recruitment program constitutes a valid public purpose, of primary benefit to the citizens of the state of Wyoming.

(b)  The Wyoming state bar may establish a rural attorney recruitment program to assist rural Wyoming counties in recruiting attorneys to practice law in those counties.

(c)  Each county eligible under this subsection may apply to the Wyoming state bar to participate in the program. A county is eligible to participate in the program if the county:

(i)  Has a population of not greater than twenty‑five thousand (25,000);

(ii)  Has an average of not greater than one and one‑half (1.5) qualified attorneys in the county for every one thousand (1,000) residents. As used in this paragraph, "qualified attorney" means an attorney who provides legal services to private citizens on a fee basis for an average of not less than twenty (20) hours per week. "Qualified attorney" shall not include an attorney who is a full‑time judge, prosecutor, public defender, judicial clerk, in‑house counsel, trust officer and any licensed attorney who is in retired status or who is not engaged in the practice of law;

(iii)  Agrees to provide the county share of the incentive payment required under this article;

(iv)  Is determined to be eligible to participate in the program by the Wyoming state bar.

(d)  Before determining a county's eligibility, the Wyoming state bar shall conduct an assessment to evaluate the county's need for an attorney and the county's ability to sustain and support an attorney. The Wyoming state bar shall maintain a list of counties that have been assessed and are eligible to participate in the program under this article. The Wyoming state bar may revise any county assessment or conduct a new assessment as the Wyoming State bar deems necessary to reflect any change in a county's eligibility.

(e)  In selecting eligible counties to participate in the program, the Wyoming state bar shall consider:

(i)  The county's demographics;

(ii)  The number of attorneys in the county and the number of attorneys projected to be practicing in the county over the next five (5) years;

(iii)  Any recommendations from the district judges and circuit judges of the county;

(iv)  The county's economic development programs;

(v)  The county's geographical location relative to other counties participating in the program;

(vi)  An evaluation of any attorney or applicant for admission to the state bar seeking to practice in the county as a program participant, including the attorney's or applicant's previous or existing ties to the county;

(vii)  Any prior participation of the county in the program;

(viii)  Any other factor that the Wyoming state bar deems necessary.

(f)  A participating eligible county may enter into agreements to assist the county in meeting the county's obligations for participating in the program.

(g)  Not later than October 1, 2024 and each October 1 thereafter that the program is in effect, the Wyoming state bar shall submit an annual report to the joint judiciary interim committee on the activities of the program. Each report shall include information on the number of attorneys and counties participating in the program, the amount of incentive payments made to attorneys under the program, the general status of the program and any recommendations for continuing, modifying or ending the program.

33‑5‑202.  Rural attorney recruitment program; attorney requirements; incentive payments; termination of program.

(a)  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any attorney licensed to practice law in Wyoming or an applicant for admission to the Wyoming state bar may apply to the Wyoming state bar to participate in the rural attorney recruitment program established under this article. No attorney or applicant shall participate in the program if the attorney or applicant has previously participated in the program or has previously participated in any other state or federal scholarship, loan repayment or tuition reimbursement program that obligated the attorney to provide legal services in an underserved area.

(b)  Not more than five (5) attorneys shall participate in the program established under this article at any one (1) time.

(c)  Subject to available funding and as consideration for providing legal services in an eligible county, each attorney approved by the Wyoming state bar to participate in the program shall be entitled to receive an incentive payment in five (5) equal annual installments. Each annual incentive payment shall be paid on or after July 1 of each year. Each annual incentive payment shall be in an amount equal to ninety percent (90%) of the University of Wyoming college of law resident tuition for thirty (30) credit hours and annual fees as of July 1, 2024.

(d)  Subject to available funding, the supreme court shall make each incentive payment to the participating attorney. The Wyoming state bar and each participating county shall remit its share of the incentive payment to the supreme court in a manner and by a date specified by the supreme court. The Wyoming state bar shall certify to the supreme court that a participating attorney has completed all annual program requirements and that the participating attorney is entitled to the incentive payment for the applicable year. The responsibility for incentive payments under this section shall be as follows:

(i)  Fifty percent (50%) of the incentive payments shall be from funds appropriated to the supreme court;

(ii)  Thirty‑five percent (35%) of the incentive payments shall be provided by each county paying for attorneys participating in the program in the county;

(iii)  Fifteen percent (15%) of the incentive payments shall be provided by the Wyoming state bar from nonstate funds.

(e)  Subject to available funding for the program, each attorney participating in the program shall enter into an agreement with the supreme court, the participating county and the Wyoming state bar that obligates the attorney to practice law full‑time in the participating county for not less than five (5) years. As part of the agreement required under this subsection, each participating attorney shall agree to reside in the participating county for the period in which the attorney practices law in the participating county under the program. No agreement shall be effective until it is filed with and approved by the Wyoming state bar.

(f)  Any attorney who receives an incentive payment under this article and subsequently breaches the agreement entered into under subsection (e) of this section shall repay all funds received under this article pursuant to terms and conditions established by the supreme court. Failure to repay funds as required by this subsection shall subject the attorney to license suspension.

(g)  The Wyoming state bar may promulgate any policies or procedures necessary to implement this article.  The supreme court may promulgate any rules necessary to implement this article.

(h)  The program established under this article shall cease on June 30, 2029, provided that attorneys participating in the program as of June 30, 2029 shall complete their obligation and receive payments as authorized by this article.

33‑5‑203.  Sunset.

(a)  W.S. 33‑5‑201 and 33‑5‑202 are repealed effective July 1, 2029.

(b)  Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, attorneys participating in the rural attorney pilot program authorized in W.S. 33‑5‑201 and 33‑5‑202 shall complete the requirements of the program and shall be entitled to the authorized payments in accordance with W.S. 33‑5‑201 and 33‑5‑202 as provided on June 30, 2029.

Section 2.  There is appropriated one hundred ninety‑seven thousand three hundred seventy‑five dollars ($197,375.00) from the general fund to the supreme court for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2029 to be expended only for purposes of providing incentive payments for the rural attorney recruitment program established under this act. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose. Notwithstanding W.S. 9‑2‑1008, 9‑2‑1012(e) and 9‑4‑207, this appropriation shall not revert until June 30, 2029.

Section 3.  This act is effective July 1, 2024.


What will really be required to address this need is to do away with the UBE or bar exams of that type, as we've written about before.

January 23, 2024.

The legislature will consider Chloe's law again this session:

2024

STATE OF WYOMING

24LSO-0003

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0063

Sex and gender changes for children-prohibited.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Larsen, L and Stith and Senator(s) Baldwin, Dockstader and Schuler

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to public health and safety; prohibiting physicians from performing procedures for children related to gender transitioning and gender reassignment; providing exceptions; providing definitions; specifying applicability; authorizing rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 35‑4‑1001 is created to read:

ARTICLE 10

GENDER‑RELATED PROCEDURES

35‑4‑1001.  Gender reassignment procedures for children prohibited.

(a)  As used in this section:

(i)  "Child" means a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age;

(ii)  "Physician" means any person licensed to practice medicine in this state by the state board of medicine under the Medical Practice Act.

(b)  No physician shall, for purposes of transitioning a child's biological sex to a sex different than the sex assigned at birth as determined by the sex organs, chromosomes and endogenous profiles of the child, or for purposes of affirming the child's perception of the child's sex if that perception is inconsistent with the child's biological sex:

(i)  Perform a surgery that sterilizes the child, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, penectomy, phalloplasty and vaginoplasty;

(ii)  Perform a mastectomy.

(c)  This section shall not apply to:

(i)  Procedures or treatments that are performed with the consent of the child's parent or guardian and are for a child who is born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development, including but not limited to 46, XX chromosomes with virilization, 46, XY with undervirilization or both ovarian and testicular tissue;

(ii)  Any procedure or treatment that is performed with the consent of the child's parent or guardian and is for a child with medically verifiable central precocious puberty.

Section 2.  W.S. 35‑4‑1001, as created by section 1 of this act, shall apply only to conduct or procedures occurring on and after the effective date of this act.

Section 3.  The state board of medicine may promulgate any rules necessary to implement this act.

Section 4.  

(a)  Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2024.

(b)  Sections 3 and 4 of this act are effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

Seeking to keep themselves an irrelevant minority in the legislature, Democrats have introduced an ifanticide protection bill.

2024

STATE OF WYOMING

24LSO-0264

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0076

Reproductive Freedom Act.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Yin, Chestek, Provenza, Sherwood and Storer and Senator(s) Gierau and Rothfuss

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to abortion; creating the Reproductive Freedom Act; specifying the public policy of the state concerning reproductive rights; prohibiting the state from denying or interfering with a person's right to have an abortion prior to viability of the fetus or to protect the person's life or health; prohibiting unauthorized abortions; specifying a penalty; providing definitions; repealing conflicting provisions; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 35‑6‑140 through 35‑6‑149 are created to read:

35‑6‑140.  Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Reproductive Freedom Act."

35‑6‑141.  Public policy.

(a)  It is the public policy of the state of Wyoming that:

(i)  Every person has the right to freedom from governmental interference with respect to personal reproductive decisions;

(ii)  Every person has the right to choose or refuse birth control;

(iii)  Every person has the right to choose or refuse to have an abortion, except as specifically limited by this act;

(iv)  The state shall not deny or interfere with a person's right to choose or refuse to have an abortion, except as specifically permitted by this act;

(v)  The state shall not discriminate against the exercise of these rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services or information.

35‑6‑142.  Definitions.

(a)  As used in this act:

(i)  "Abortion" means any medical treatment, medication or procedure intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy except for the purpose of producing a live birth;

(ii)  "Advanced practice registered nurse" means as defined by W.S. 33‑21‑120(a)(i);

(iii)  "Health care provider" means a person who is licensed, certified or otherwise authorized or permitted by the laws of this state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession;

(iv)  "Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine as a physician under the Medical Practice Act, W.S. 33‑26‑101 et seq.;

(v)  "Physician assistant" means a person licensed to practice medicine as a physician assistant under the Medical Practice Act, W.S. 33‑26‑101 et seq.;

(vi)  "Pregnancy" means the reproductive process beginning with the implantation of an embryo;

(vii)  "Private medical facility" means any medical facility that is not owned or operated by the state;

(viii)  "State" means the state of Wyoming and any authority, board, commission, department, division or separate operating agency of the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the state of Wyoming, including its political subdivisions;

(ix)  "Viability" means the point in the pregnancy when, in the judgment of the physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the provider's scope of practice on the particular facts of the case before the physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the health care provider's scope of practice, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus's sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures;

(x)  "This act" means W.S. 35‑6‑140 through 35‑6‑149.

35‑6‑143.  Right to have and provide an abortion.

(a)  The state shall not deny or interfere with a person's right to have an abortion:

(i)  Prior to viability of the fetus; or

(ii)  To protect the person's life or health.

(b)  A physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the provider's scope of practice may terminate a pregnancy as permitted by this act.

(c)  A health care provider may assist a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the health care provider's scope of practice in terminating a pregnancy as permitted by this act.

35‑6‑144.  Unauthorized abortions; penalty.

(a)  Unless otherwise authorized by this act, any person who provides medical treatment, provides medication or performs a procedure intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.

(b)  Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the state shall not penalize, prosecute or otherwise take adverse action against a person for aiding or assisting a person seeking an abortion in exercising the person's right to have an abortion under this act.

(c)  Nothing in this act shall be construed to subject a person upon whom any abortion is performed or attempted to any criminal penalty under this act.

35‑6‑145.  Defense to prosecution.

The good faith judgment of a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the provider's scope of practice as to viability of the fetus or as to the risk to life or health of a person seeking an abortion shall be a complete defense in any proceeding for a violation of this act.

35‑6‑146.  State regulation.

(a)  Any regulation promulgated by the state relating to abortion shall be valid only if:

(i)  The regulation is medically necessary to protect the life or health of the person seeking an abortion;

(ii)  The regulation is consistent with established medical practice; and

(iii)  Of the available alternatives, the regulation imposes the least restrictions on the person's right to have an abortion under this act.

35‑6‑147.  Refusing to participate in an abortion.

(a)  No person or private medical facility shall be required by law or contract to participate in the performance of an abortion if the person or private medical facility objects to participating in the performance of an abortion.

(b)  No person shall be discriminated against in employment or professional privileges because of the person's participation or refusal to participate in the performance of an abortion.

35‑6‑148.  State provided benefits.

If the state provides, directly or by contract, maternity care benefits, services or information through any program administered or funded in whole or in part by the state, the state shall also provide persons otherwise eligible for the program with substantially equivalent benefits, services or information to permit them to voluntarily terminate their pregnancies.

35‑6‑149.  Construction.

This act shall not be construed to define the state's interest in the fetus for any purpose other than the specific provisions of this act.

Section 2.  W.S. 21‑16‑1801 and 35‑6‑120 through 35‑6‑139 are repealed.

Section 3.  This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

February 10, 2024

This one is a surprise:

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0115

Donated blood-mRNA disclosure.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Penn, Angelos, Bear, Davis, Heiner, Hornok, Knapp, Locke, Neiman, Ottman, Pendergraft, Singh, Slagle, Smith, Strock, Styvar, Ward and Winter and Senator(s) Biteman, French, Hutchings and Ide

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to public health and safety; requiring blood donors to disclose vaccination status as specified; requiring blood packaging to be marked as specified; allowing a person who receives a blood transfusion to request the use of certain blood; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 35‑34‑101 is created to read:

CHAPTER 34

BLOOD DONATIONS AND VACCINATIONS

35‑34‑101.  Disclosure of mRNA vaccinations for blood donations; labeling; right to request certain blood.

(a)  Any person who collects human blood donations for the purpose of providing blood for human blood transfusion shall require blood donors to disclose whether the blood donor has received a COVID‑19 vaccine or a messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine during the donor's lifetime.

(b)  Blood originating from a donor who has received a COVID‑19 vaccine or a messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine shall be conspicuously marked.

(c)  In a nonemergency situation, as determined by the person providing medical services, a person receiving a blood transfusion shall have the right to request blood based on whether or not the blood originated from a person who has received a COVID‑19 vaccine or a messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine, as long as the requested blood is available.

Section 2.  The department of health shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.

Section 3.  This act is effective July 1, 2024.

I had thought we were largely past the  COVID 19 vaccine matter, but this would suggest not.  I don't expect this bill to go very far. 

Last edition:

The 2024 Wyoming Legislative Session. The Super Early Riser Edition (Part 1)