Showing posts with label Commentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commentary. Show all posts

Saturday, February 10, 2024

Best Posts of the Week of Feburary 4, 2024

The best posts of the week of February 4, 2024.

There was an absurd amount of posts thsi week, but then, in some ways, it was an absurd week.

Blog Mirror: 1924 Menus for Meatless Meals



Sort of a trip down memory lane on this one, given as I can recall this event:


Churches of the West: Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Casper Wyoming


I continue to be baffled by how Americans can seriously be getting ready to reelect this guy to office:




Age was a theme this week, both on the blog, and in the news.  I think this, in a way, is part of that:







How many of us feel:







Immigration has been much in the news, as it looked like both sides were ready to quit using the topic as a political football and actually do something, only to have the GOP take orders from Trump to preserve it as an issue.

Whether that turns out to be a fumble or not, only time will tell.




Tucker Carlson, a "news" figure whose popularity baffles me, went to Russia to interview Putin, whom Trump loves, and therefore his acolytes likewise love.  Carlson should just stay there. Maybe Putin can get him a job in the Russian army.

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)

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

"We are weary".

That's a line from Crisis magazine's editor, Eric Sammons, about the Papacy of Pope Francis.

I’m not going to carve sections out of the article, as I will sometimes do, as I try to be constantly conscious of the fact that he is the Pope and deserves respect. Additionally, as Pope Francis tends to be vague, which I think is his nature, not intentional, as Sammons and others like to claim (and in the professional world I've known professionals who were absolute geniuses, but whose instructions were completely impossible to understand) I don't want to be in the position of criticizing something that's magisterial, when I think it isn't.  Indeed, Ed Conte, the Canon Lawyer, regularly puts out statements on his blog, which is linked in here, that people making some specific criticism have fallen into heresy in regard to this item:

What if the Western World is the "special case"?

And it comes in the wake of The Synod on Synodality, which "progressives" in the Church have celebrated but which has been fatiguing in the extreme on the orthodox.  

And given this, Sammons is correct in at least that statement.  Many of us are weary.

Sammons is also correct that to a certain extent many are marking time, that being the old military term for marching in place.  Pope Francis is now quite elderly and there's a sense that we're worn out and waiting for the changing of the guard. This isn't the same at all as wishing somebody dead, which would be gravely sinful, but rather just knowing that we're at the end of things in this Papacy, probably.  The next one is around the corner, one way or another, probably.  Pope Francis is 87 years old.  At 87, as a man, you could pass any day.  Of course, it's not completely impossible by any means that he'll be the Pope for another decade, and perhaps, although it's unlikely, another two.

I think this is true, FWIW, of politics as well.  People have fatigued in a major way of Donald Trump, whom I'm not comparing to Pope Francis, and of Joseph Biden, whom I'm also not comparing to Pope Francis, and are marking time.  As with all of these individuals, there are the ardent supporters and the ardent opponents, whom are not tired, and they are the ones who do most of the talking.  As Sammons notes, however, there are now a lot of people who sort of shrug their shoulders and simply go on. They aren't ignoring things per se, they're simply too weary to react much.

Whether you'd be inclined to react much or not depends on how religious you are, in regard to the Pope, or how political you are, in terms of American politics.

Some, on both sides of the Papacy, react quite a bit.  Most people trudge on. As St. Paul notes, married men have the concerns of the day for their families, and women do as well.  Being assailed by the constant winds of religious storms adds to their burdens, and they close the windows and doors, or mostly do.  Probably a lot frankly did when they received a handout on the Synod on Synodality and saw its childish artwork and cartoon sans serif font.  "Oh great, more 1970s stuff".

The devout, including clerics like on Catholic Stuff You Should Know, will complain that Americans pay more attention to football than religion.  Lots of people note that most Catholics just ignored the Synod process and didn't participate.  Some assert that participation came more from the Catholic left than any other. And indeed, all this is probably true. But fatigue is an element of it.  At the time of the Synod, we were already years into the Francis Papacy and occasionally distressing quotes. The German Church was years into its march into heresy, and nothing was stopping it.  We were right out of COVID 19 when the doors of the churches had been closed.  And now somebody wants us to participate in a Snyodal process?

Most people are just going to ignore that.  Those who don't, are the already fanatically devoted, perhaps temporarily in the case of those without the burdens of making a living and providing for a family.  Some are the tirelessly devout, who are to be admired.  Some of the tirelessly devout, on the other hand, who already were suspicious of Pope Francis, turned their back on him.

And the same with American politics.  People are endlessly weary of Donald Trump and his extremism, and of the extremism of the American left, and have had enough.  For that reason, the current polls, which we already know most people will not participate in, may not mean very much.  The primaries are marching on, and a lot of American voters may simply skip them.  In the end, Biden may stand a better chance than things currently reflect, simply because people detest him less than Trump.

There probably are lessons to be gleaned from all of this, but they're hard to pick up from the inside.  If you are the person leading the charge, looking back to see who has dropped out of it, or never joined it, probably isn't something that you do much.  Those right around you, at the head of the charge, obscure your vision anyhow.  

And, particularly for the elderly, effecting change takes on a sense of impending mortal limitation.  If you don't get your work done, it might never get done.  For Trump and the MAGA, if he isn't reinstalled as President, his movement will fall apart and his goals, whatever they are imagined to be, will fracture into pieces, some irreparably broken. For Pope Francis, if he's attempting to steer the Church in certain directions, and it certainly seems to some extent, with the Synod, he is as to how the Church is structured, if he passes before his hoped for changes are complete, the next Pope may see that they are not in the form which he hoped for.  Pope's after all, are monarchs.

In an odd way, however, there's some comfort for the weary in all of this, particularly for Catholics.  The Pope many feared would make radical changes really has not, and his most controversial act does not change any doctrine. While it does explore things theologically, it does so on the topic of blessings (and is hard to understand for a layman).  Its issuance has made the rise of the African Church manifestly apparent, and that the future lies in that direction, and towards orthodoxy, pretty clear.  Catholics can rest in that the Catholic belief that the Holy Spirit will not allow the Church to fall into error has not been tested and found wanting.

Politically, we have yet to see how things will resolve.  It's scary out there, to be sure.  But perhaps the weariness disguises disgust at a system that's been increasingly failing since the 1980s and needs to be fixed.  Perhaps that will happen as well.

Friday, February 2, 2024

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Questioner: "Why did you leave the Republican Party?"

George F Will: "The same reason I joined it. I am a conservative."



If I were to listen to people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, or some of the Freedom Caucus here in Wyoming, it would be go.

If I listen to lifelong residents here in the state, including some lifelong Republicans whom would currently be classified as RINO's by the newly populist Wyoming GOP, it would be stay.  Alan Simpson, who is an "anybody but Trump", former U.S. Senator, and who the Park County GOP tried to boot out as a elected precinct committeeman, is staying.

The problem ultimately is what time do you begin to smell like the crowd on the bus?

Konrad Adenauer of the Christian Democratic Union, West Germany's first post-war chancellor.  He worked towards compromise and ended denazification early, even though he'd speant the remaining months of World War Two in prison and barely survived.  By CDU - This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, a German political foundation, as part of a cooperation project., CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16173747

To put it another way, I'd give an historical example.  It's often noted that quite a few Germans joined the Nazi Party as it was just a way to get by, or advance careers, etc., during the Third Reich period of German history.  When I was a kid, there was a lot of sympathy, oddly enough, for that view amongst those who were of the World War Two generation, although at the same time, there was a widely held belief that militarism, combined with radical nationalism, were something that was basically in the German DNA.  The US, as is well known, didn't even particularly worry about letting former Nazis into the country.

The Germans themselves pretty much turned a blind eye towards this, so many of them had been in the Nazi Party.  Even post-war German politicians who had spent the war in exile did, as it was the programmatic thing to do.

Since that time, however, that view has really changed.  It started to in 1968 when German students rioted and exposed former Nazis in the police.  Germans haven't really come to terms with it, but having been a member of the Nazi Party is a mark of shame, and it's become to be something despised everywhere, even if a person did it for practical reasons and wasn't really involved in the party.

And it should be a mark of shame.

Americans have been sanctimonious about that for a long time, but starting in the 1970s lots of Americans became ashamed, in varying degrees, of our own ancestors in regard to various things.  Ironically, the backlash to that, symbolized by Confederate battle flags, is part of what brings us to our current crisis.

Ed Herschler, former Marine Corps Raider, and Democratic lawyer, who was Wyoming's Governor from 1975 to 1987.  Herschler probably wouldn't have a home in today's Democratic Party in Wyoming.

I registered as a Republican the first time I was old enough to vote. The first Presidential Election I was old enough to vote in was the 1984 Presidential election, in which I voted for Ronald Reagan. The first election I was old enough to vote in was the 1982 off year election.  I honestly don't know who I voted for Senator.  Malcolm Wallop won, but I very well have voted for the Democrat.  Dick Cheney wont reelection that year against Ted Hommel, whom I don't recall at all.  I probably voted for Cheney.  I know that I voted for the reelection of Democratic Governor Ed Herschler, who was one of the state's great Governors. 

A split ticket.

Split tickets were no doubt common in my family.  My father would never reveal who he voted for in an election.  The first Presidential election I recall was the 1972 Election in which Nixon ran against McGovern, and I asked who he voted for when he came home. He wouldn't say, and I don't know to this day.  

I knew that my father registered Republican, but not everyone in my father's family did.  My grandmother, for one, registtered Demcrat,somethign I became aware of when we were visiting her, which we frequently did, at her retirement apartment here in town.  She was pretty clear that she was an unapologetic Democrat, which made sense given that she was 100% Irish by descent.  Most Irish Americans, at that time, were Democrats, and all real ones were Catholic.  Reagan, who claimed Irish ancestry, woudl have been regarded a a dual pretender for that reason by many of them.

My father's view, and it remains mine, that you voted for the person and what they stood for, not hte party.

But being in a party means something, and that has increasingly come to be the case.

I switched parties after that 1984 election.  I was, and remain, a conservative, but the GOP was drifting further from a conservative center in that period, and as I've noted, the election of Ronald Reagan paved the path for Donald Trump, although I won't say that was obvious then.  And also, Democrats were the party that cared about public lands, as they still do, and cared about rural and conservation issues that I cared about and still do. The GOP locally was becoming hostile to them. So I switched.

Campaign image for Mike Sullivan, Democratic Governor from 1987 to 1995.

I remained a Democrat probably from about 1984 until some time in the last fifteen years.  Being a Democrat in Wyoming meant that you were increasingly marginalized, but finally what pushed me out was that it meant being in the Party of Death.  The Democrats went from a party that, in 1973, allowed you to be middle of the road conservative and pro-life.  We had a Governor, Mike Sullivan, who was just that.  By the 2000s, however, that was becoming impossible.  Locally most of the old Democrats became Republicans, some running solid local campaigns as Republicans even though they had only been that briefly.  Even as late as the late 1990s, however, the Democrats ran some really serious candidates for Congress, with the races being surprisingly close in retrospect.  Close, as they say, only counts with hand grenades and horseshoes, but some of those races were quite close.  The GOP hold on those offices was not secure.

Dave Freudenthal, Democratic Governor from 2003 to 2011.

Before I re-registered as a Republican, I was an independent for a while.  Being an independent meant that primaries became nearly irrelevant to me, and increasingly, as the Democratic Party died and became a far left wing club, starting in the 2000s., it also meant that basically the election was decided in the primaries.  Like the other rehoming Democrats, however, we felt comfortable in a party that seemingly had given up its hostility to public lands.  And frankly, since the 1970s, the GOP in Wyoming had really been sui generis.  Conservative positions nationally, including ones I supported, routinely failed in the Republican legislature. Abortion is a good example.  The party nationally was against it, I'm against it personally, but bills to restrict it failed and got nowhere in a Republican legislature.

The Clinton era really impacted the Democratic Party here locally.  Wyomingites just didn't like him.  That really started off the process of the death of the Democratic Party here.  As center right Democrats abandoned the party in response, left wing Democrats were all that remained, and the party has become completely clueless on many things, making it all the more marginalized.  But just as Clinton had that impact on the Democrats, Trump has on the GOP.

Throughout the 70s and 80s it was the case that Wyoming tended to export a lot of its population, which it still does, and then take in transients briefly during booms.  In the last fifteen or so years, however, a lot of the transient population, together with others from disparate regions, have stayed.  They've brought their politics with them, and now in the era of Trump, those views have really taken over the GOP, save for about three pockets of the old party that dominate in Natrona, Albany and Laramie Counties.  A civil war has gone on in some counties, and is playing out right now in Park County.  In the legislature, the old party still has control, but the new party, branded as the Freedom Caucus, which likes to call its rival the UniParty, is rising.  The politics being advanced are, in tone, almost unrecognizable.

Like it or not, on social issues the old GOP's view was "I don't care what you do, just leave me alone". That attitude has really changed.  Given a bruising in the early 1990s due to a Southeastern Wyoming effort to privatize wildlife, the party became pro public lands for awhile. That's change.  The party was not libertarian.  That's changed.  

Money helped change it, which is a story that's really been missed.

Like the Democrats of the 90s, a lot of the old Republicans have started to abandon the party.  If there was another viable party to go to, floods would leave.  A viable third party might well prove to be the majority party in the state, or at least a close second to the GOP, if there was one.

There isn't.

So, what to do?

While it'll end up either being a pipe dream or an example of a dream deferred, there's still reason to believe that much of this will be transitory.  If Trump does not win the 2024 Presidential Election, and he may very well not, he's as done as the blue plate special at a roadside café as the GOP leader.  Somebody will emerge, but it's not really likely to be the Trump clone so widely expected.  And the relocated populists may very well not have that long of run in Wyoming.  Wyomingites, the real ones, also tend to have a subtle history of revenge against politicians who betray their interests.  Those riding hiding high on anti-public lands, anti-local interests, may come to regret it at the polls later on.

The Johnson County invaders of 1892. The Republican Party, whose politicians had been involved in the raid on Natrona and Johnson Counties, took a beating in the following elections.

Or maybe this process will continue, in which case even if Trump wins this year, the GOP will die.  By 2028, it won't be able to win anything and a new party will have to start to emerge.

We'll see.

None of which is comfortable for the State's real Republicans.