Showing posts with label Democracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democracy. Show all posts
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Monday, March 4, 2024
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)
Monday, February 5, 2024
Blog Mirror: What do the children of dictatorships know about democracy?
Hopefully something we'll avoid finding out first hand:
What do the children of dictatorships know about democracy?
Thursday, January 11, 2024
The 2024 Election in Wyoming. Will anyone rise to the challenge, and is there even a point?
Lex Anteinternet: The 2024 Election, Part XI. The Winter of Disconte...: January 4, 2023
Harriet Hageman announced her bid to be reelected with the release of a video:
Harriet Hageman is running for reelection. This is not a surprise.
John Barrasso is as well. This is also not a surprise.
The difference between the two races, so far, is that Barrasso has drawn a challenger. . . from his own party, in the primary.
Hageman is unlikely to.
Neither candidate, so far, faces a Democrat.
Roncalio, a lawyer from Rock Springs, and a veteran of D-Day, was a Democrat.
Nearly everyone in Rock Springs was.
At that time, one of our two Senators, Gale McGee, a former University of Wyoming professor, was also a Democrat.
Now, to use the term "Democrat", even in street speech, is slanderous in the state. It's like calling somebody a wife beater or something. Republicans vying to be as extreme as possible accuse their fellow Republicans of being Democrats (even though many of those who do that routinely are imports from the South or elsewhere and are really, even if they don't know it, Dixiecrats or Rust Belt Democrats).
Gale McGee was our Senator until 1977, when he was replaced by Malcolm Wallop, a very conservative Wyomingite of English peerage, in a race in which it appeared that McGee didn't really have any interest in running. McGee was our last Democratic Senator, and he simply gave the race to Wallop.
Roncalio served in the House in 1978. He didn't run for reelection. He was replaced by Dick Cheney in a race that pitted Cheney, fresh out of the Ford Administration, against Cheyenne attorney Bill Bagley. Cheney won with about 60% of the vote against a lawyer who is now forgotten, but who held on in practice too long. Interestingly, showing part of how we got to where we are now, one of his county chairs was a then Democrat who would later be in the legislature as a very conservative Republican.
That's telling, as a whole herd of Democrats who were later conservative Republicans share that history in the state.
No Democrat has gone to Washington from Wyoming since 1978, but the party remained significant and a power well after that. It twice took the Governor's office and twice reelected Democratic Governors, with the last Democrat leaving Cheyenne in that role as recently as 2011. Either one of the Democratic Governor's could have had a House, and maybe a Senate, seat if they had wanted one. The Democrats routinely took the Secretary of State's office for much of the 20th Century, with the last Democratic Secretary of State, Kathy Karpan, leaving office in 1995. Karpan went on to become the director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in 1997, being the first woman to hold that position, and being unanimously confirmed back when Congress still did its job. Like Governors Sullivan and Freudenthal, Karpan could have stepped into the House or perhaps the Senate if she had wanted to.
Freudenthal remains a significant figure in Wyoming politics.
The last really significant Wyomingite to make a serious run for office with a serious chance of success was Mary Thorne, a lawyer who ran against Governor Gordon in 2018. There have been other real Democrats who have run for office, with Sergio Maldonado for State Superintendent of Education coming to mind, but since the mid 1990s It's become increasingly difficult and many of the Sullivan/Freudenthal Democrats have dropped out of the party, in part because of the Democratic leftward (and anti-democratic) drift, and in part because at some point being a Democrat was pointless and the Republican primary race became the real election.
2022 really demonstrated the direction that the cancer of Donald Trump had brought about.
In 2022 the Republican Primary became a referendum on Donald Trump, with the Wyoming electorate, influenced by the import of Rust Belt and Dixie immigrants into the state, basically giving the insurrectionist a big wet kiss on the mouth by tossing out Liz Cheney. The whole thing was more than a little ironic, as Cheney, who had risen to her office late in her occupation of it, really was never a Wyomingite in the first place, but the party dearly loved her, in no small part because it had embraced Dick Cheney, after having elected him cynically originally. The Cheney's aren't Wyomingites and Dick Cheney had only won as the voters in 1978 were given a choice between somebody who seemed to have influence in Washington, Cheney had been Ford's Chief of Staff, and a Cheyenne lawyer who had, if I recall correctly, held off a challenge from a younger Casper lawyer who later became a Federal judge. Wyomingites of that era were pretty practical and cynical, and they never developed a love for their politicians like occured later. Cheney seemed to do a good job, so he held office. Liz Cheney won as the primary split the vote three ways. Chance are high had that not occured, Tim Stubson would have been our Congressman, and have gone on to suffer the same fate as Cheney by not searing allegiance to the Dear Leader for life.
Hageman was a Cheney acolyte but was good at reading the wind and beat out her former friend. Her competition was Lynette Grey Bull, a really interesting Democrat who had run twice and who drew 24.4% of the vote in spite of the times, in spite of being a Democrat, and in spite of being a Native American.
Who will run now.
Since 2020 the State's GOP has gone into a civil war, with the old party at war with the "Freedom Caucus", one of whose (California migrant) members wrote an op ed in the Tribune which clearly indicates their intent to wage a second Stalingrad in the 2022 Legislature. Two county organizations, Natrona and Laramie Counties, are in revolt against the GOP Central Committee who has fully adopted the Meine Ehre heißt Treue ethos. Hageman hasn't been as noisy as might be expected, in part because she probably correctly read the tea leaves over the trouble that Trump ass-kisser Kevin McCarthy was in for not kissing even more private parts before he fell to a quiet and scary Johnson. The House of Representatives had done nothing this term, and is on the edge of losing power due to attrition. Pundits claim that the GOP will gain House seats in 2022, but they claimed that about 2020 as well. The stench of Trump kept that from happening.
And so we have a non-functioning democracy, locally.
No Democrat can win any office in 2022. The House and one Senate seat will be up, and both of the Republicans contending for those positions will pledge their true honor to the Leader without question. Some in the race to come this year will go further with a full-blown Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer appeal. The Senate primary will see a GOP opportunistic upstart attempting to claim that John Barrasso is a "RINO", which really means that he's not a Dixiecrat or Rust Belt Democrat. While I've discounted that campaign, I don't really put it past it that it has a chance of success.
Will any Democrats run?
I sure hope so. And I mean a real Democrat, not the Left Wing Flavor Of The Month Democrats that the party has been fielding in some races locally. Putting up somebody who self declares to be a homosexual polyamorus trangendered drag queen Pacific Islander is not going to win any hearts at all, and really isn't believeable (the same people would decarel themselves to be cocker spaniels if that was edgy, or Orthodox starets if that was edgy). Soembody like Sullivan, Fruendenthal, Karpen, Thorne, or, once again, Grey Bull.
But who can be asked to be a sacrificial lamb.
Well, somebody had to be.
The state's honor, and the preservation of democracy, require it. With no choices now, we get further down the road to there being no choices, ever.
The Democrats are faced with that burden. What little there is the way of third parties here do as well.
Thursday, January 4, 2024
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Distributist Notes. Note 1. A distributist or more distributist society makes democracy work.
The more money that is vested in a middle class, with a very broad middle class, and the less that's vested in remote corporate boardrooms, means that the economy itself is vested at the widest possible self-sustaining level.
Jefferson's yeoman, so to speak.
"San Augustine, Texas. A meeting of the town council to discuss buying a new water tank to replace the one which was destroyed by the March tornado. Left to right around the table: Troy Mitchell, city manager; J.W. Ritchie, tinner; H.D. Clark, department store owner; Mayor Alonzo Rushing, druggist; Mr. Ramsey, city attorney; R.V. Hall, grocer; Clyde Smith, grocer; and Frank Phillips, city secretary". April, 1943.
Conversely, if your economic well-being depends on a giant corporate employer with headquarters far away, you will none the less be inclined to vote their interests, irrespective of whether they are your own.
Friday, September 1, 2023
One way to tell the difference between a democracy and a repressive regime is coups.
In repressive regimes, the coup plotters lose their lives, maybe even being blown out of the sky.
In democratic countries, the would be caudillo runs around like a giant irritating spoiled child spreading lies, claiming the whole thing never happened.
Something, maybe, for Russia fanboys like Tucker Carlson to remember.
Monday, August 21, 2023
Voting for superior men.
I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
Monday, July 3, 2023
There's no such thing as debt "forgiveness", existentially, and why do we never discuss the morality of economics?
I'm continually amazed by how liberal economists actually don't understand economics at all. It's bizarre.
Consider this, brought about by the Supreme Court's determination that the President cannot forgive student loans by executive fiat (which is actually what it decided):
Total student loan debt that would have been erased for millions of Americans: $400 billion
Total cost of the Trump tax cuts that largely benefited the wealthy and corporations: $1.9 trillion
This is what I mean when I say the system is rigged.
Debt isn't really "erased". It's transferred. Debt that is forgiven is transferred to whomever extended the credit.
In this case, the student debt would have been passed on to the public, which already is heavily in debt with; 1) personal debt and 2) the debt the government has already imposed upon it.
Which raises this question. Would transfer of this debt have been moral?
This hardly ever comes up in the context of this sort of discussion, but would it have been? The general population of the United States would have acquired the personal debt of students, largely unknown to them, for what reason?
Well, the reason is that most student loans are bad investments, not yielding a sufficient return to pay for themselves. That can indeed be a personal tragedy. It is one that is encouraged by the student loan system, which no longer makes any sense. Loans should be subject to more criteria than simply somebody wants one, but that is about it.
The Government indeed has some culpability in this, and perhaps that provides a basis for "forgiveness", but only if the Government seeks to address the underlying problem, for which there is no evidence.
At any rate, all the Court said is that Congress has to do this. Part of the Court's ongoing reminder to Congress that it has a job to do, and to the general public that it's up to it to elect people. Liberals hate that as, by and large, the public isn't too keen on stuff like this, and they know that.
As for tax cuts, I agree with Mr. Reich that taxes should be raised, but the President can't do that by fiat either. Hence, why these two items cannot be compared, and the "rigged" accusation here is subject to a logic failure.
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