Typhoon Cobra struck the Pacific Fleet doing severe damage to the ships of Task Force 28. The destroyers Hull, Monaghan and Spence all foundered in the storm. Other ships were damaged.
Last edition:
Soldiers of SS Kampfgruppe Peiper murdered eighty-four U.S. prisoners of war at Malmedy.
On the same day, eleven 11 African-American prisoners of war were murdered by members of the 1st SS Panzer Division at Wereth, Belgium.
Last edition:
Today in World War II History—February 3, 1944: 80 Years Ago—Feb. 3, 1944: In Italy, New Zealand Corps is formed under Lt.-Gen. Sir Bernard Freyberg, over New Zealand 2nd Division and Indian 4th Division.
Freyberg was born in the United Kingdom but raised in New Zealand. He was a championship swimmer when young, and was licensed as a dentist in New Zealand in 1911. He left New Zealand in 1914 to join the Villista's, and served as a Captain in those forces. He left the fighting in Mexico, however, in August of that year upon learning that World War One had broken out, taking time to win a swimming championship in Los Angeles, and having earned passage to the UK by boxing. He served first in a ground unit of the Royal Navy, and then transferred to the British Army. He remained in the British Army between the wars.
A controversial general outside of British circles, he's somewhat emblematic of the British Army of the period in that his nationality was pretty fluid, but always British. He was appointed Governor General of New Zealand after World War Two, and passed away in 1963.
The Germans sealed off the Anzio beachhead.
The U.S. prevailed at Kwajalein. Task Group 58 raided Eniwetok. US forces landed on Burton Island.
The Red Army encircled the Germans at the Korsun Pocket, where Hitler, on the same day, ordered them not to retreat. Manstein organized an armored force with the goal of relieving the pocket.
Off of the Solomon's, the Japanese sank the U.S. Navy light cruiser Juneau, which took 687 men with it, including five brothers of the Irish Catholic Sullivan family of Iowa.
It's commonly asserted that after this the U.S. military would not allow siblings to serve together, but in fact many siblings were already serving together in combat in North Africa as members of Federalized National Guard units. Entire towns would end up loosing huge numbers of their male citizens in the combat actions to come. There was a policy change, which relieved a sole survivor from military service, but it did not come until 1943, and was partially due to the deaths of the Borgstrom brothers of Utah as well. Indeed, the Navy already had a policy precluding siblings from serving on the same vessel, but they did not actively enforce it.
A sister of the Sullivan brothers remained in Navy service. Indeed, their enlistment in the Navy, or in once case a reenlistment, was to avenge the death of her boyfriend, who died at Peal Harbor.
The Sullivan family was not informed of the death of their sons until 1943, at which time their father was informed of all of their deaths at one time. The Navy would commission a ship in their honor during the war, and oddly enough, one of the sons of the one of the men lost would later serve as a post-war officer aboard it. That ship has been decommissioned, but a second The Sullivans was commissioned to take its place.
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The tragic story was also made into a patriotic movie during the war itself, which was released in 1944.
The Sullivan story was the inspiration for the film Saving Private Ryan, although it's obviously in a much different setting.
The Renunciation Act of 1944 made it possible for a US citizen to renounce their citizenship during time of war by applying to the US Attorney General. The hope was that interned Japanese Americans would do so, so that they could be deported to Japan.
It's doubtful that many would have ever exercised that option, but it should be noted that by this time of the war, the news was dealing with American advances in the Pacific nearly daily. Hard fighting was occurring, but the Japanese were losing and that was fairly obvious. Internees had full access to the news and to the extent that this tempted anyone, that surely would have reduced that desire.
It was Armistice Day for 1943.
The Moscow Conference came to an end.
French security forces raided the homes of President El Khoury, Prime Minister Riad Al Solh, and all but two members of the Cabinet, including future President Camille Chamoun, in reaction to the unilateral Lebanese repeal of the League of Nations' mandate over the country.
High Commissioner Helleu suspended the Lebanese constitution and appointed Émile Eddé as the new President.
The dissolution and unraveling of the French Empire had commenced.
In France, Armée Secrète Resistance fighters led by Colonel Henri Romans-Petit placed flowers at the foot of the memorial for the dead of the Great War in an act of bold defiance of the Germans.
The Red Army took Radomyshi.
Allied bombing of Rabaul ended following a final raid, with nearly every Japanese ship there disabled or destroyed.
Sarah Sundin notes something about that raid:
Today in World War II History—November 11, 1943: In Rabaul raid, US Navy Curtiss SB2C Helldiver makes its combat debut. US Eighth Air Force activates “Carpetbagger” squadrons to deliver supplies to resistance.
The film Sahara, with heroic Allies stranded in the desert, and even a sympathetic Italian character, holding off the Germans, was released.
Three Allied transport ships and a tanker are sunk east of Oran in a major Luftwaffe raid.
Tule Lake Segregation Center in California was established by the War Department to house Japanese Americans who were deemed to be loyal to Japan. The site is administered by the National Park Service today.
Loyalty to Japan was determined in a number of ways, but it included refusing to be inducted into the U.S. Armed forces and having attempted to return to Japan prior to the war.
Gen. Patton formed a provisional corps to advance up the western coast of Sicily, while the U.S. 2nd Corps was to drive northward under Bradley. Axis forces retreated behind the Simeto River.
Major General Oscar W. Griswold took over field command of US Army forces on New Guinea.
Italian occupation police authority Renzo Chierici agreed to a German demand to return German Jews who had fled into Italian occupied regions of France.
Chierici was a fascist and warned Mussolini when it was clear that the Grand Council was going to vote him out of office, but he remained loyal to the new government, resulting in his arrest by the Germans and subsequent murder.
The fact that Italy occupied Provence and Savoy after November 1942 is often missed.
On this day in 1943 a large number of Heart Mountain internees were released for seasonal employment or on indefinite leave.
Hitler summoned Himmler to Obersalzberg to discuss ending all Jewish resistance in Easter Europe over the next four months by mass evacuation, which of course would ultimately entail mass extermination, of the Eastern European Jewish population.
This implicitly acknowledged, it should be noted, declining German fortunes on the Eastern Front.
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers combined into a single wartime team, due to wartime manpower shortages.
The Federal Government, oddly for wartime, was looking for ways to reduce income tax and nearly passed an income tax holiday for 1943.
The Germans lost three U-boats, two in accidents, in a month that would later be called Black May by German submariners.
Tail Gunner, Cpt. Clark Gable, flew on his first mission:
Taketora Yamamoto, Santa Fe Rail Road machinist, at the Winslow. Colorado River Relocation Center, Poston, Arizona:
The Busy Teen Wedding YearIn Department of Health data spanning from 1978 to recent months, the peak year for underage marriages was 1980. There were 670 teens who married that year. Three of them were 14 years old, 30 were 15, 217 were 16 and 370 were 17.13 And YoungerIn only four years since 1978 have people 13 and younger received marriage licenses in Wyoming.Those years were 1978, when one person 13 or younger was married; 1979, when there were two; 1987 (one); and 1995 (one).Age 14There were, however, 20 years in which 14-year-olds married in Wyoming since 1978. The most recent of those was in 2012, when one 14-year-old was married. There have been 37 people married in the state at age 14 overall since 1978.The year with the most 14-year-olds wedded was 1979, when there were six.Age 15The most recent marriage involving a 15-year-old in Wyoming was 2015. It was the first since 2009, when four 15-year-olds were married.The numbers tapered off significantly starting in about 1984. Before then, between 22 and 36 people married each year at age 15.In 1984 there were 14 people married at 15. The numbers dropped again in 1987, with eight. They continued to dwindle with occasional jumps: to nine in 1994 and nine in 2006, though they never crested the single digits after 1986.Age 16In every year since 1978, including last year, 16-year-olds have gotten married. There were six in 2022.That’s a mere fraction of the figures of the late 1970s and 1980s, with 215 in 1978; 226 in 1979; 217 in 1980 and 148 in 1981.The numbers first dropped below 100 in 1985, at 96. They didn’t hit single digits until 2010, when there were six.Age 17Likewise, 17-year-olds get married every year in Wyoming.There were 374 wed in 1978 and 420 in 1980.But there were only 10 people that age married last year. So far this year, 2023, there have been four 17-year-olds married.TotalsThe totals of minors’ marriages are in the same descent as individual categories, with 627 minors married altogether in 1978 and 16 in 2022. Though the numbers fluctuated in between those two dates, the pattern of descent has been mostly consistent.
An online journal also went after a leading figure in the GOP in the state in a really blistering fashion, accusing that person of serial infidelities and making house outside of marriage, as well as other things. If the author is correct, and I'm going to hold off naming people as I don't know if he is or not, it would be a shocking example of outright hypocrisy, particularly in regard to the GOP's opposition to HB 7 on moral grounds.
Not that this has been unusual in recent years. Donald Trump is hardly a moral paragon, but nonetheless he was embraced by some on the evangelical right.
February 14, 2023, cont
Governor
Gordon to Sign First Bills of 2023 Legislative Session on Wednesday, February
15
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon will
hold a formal bill signing ceremony on Wednesday February 15 at 3 pm in
the Governor's Ceremonial Conference Room in the State Capitol Building. The
ceremony is open to the public.
The Governor will sign the following bills:
Bill No. Enrolled Act # Bill Title
SF 0023 SEA 0003
Treatment courts - transfer to judicial branch.
HB 0028 HEA 0008
Community College Capital Construction
HB 0029 HEA 0007
Community College Funding- Distance Education Credit Hours
-END-
ENROLLED ACT NO. 18, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESSIXTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING2023 GENERAL SESSIONAN ACT relating to game and fish; amending the crime of interference with lawful taking of wildlife; prohibiting acts that restrict access to or use of state or federal land as specified; providing an exception; specifying applicability; and providing for effective dates.Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:Section 1. W.S. 23‑3‑405(a) by creating a new paragraph (iii) and (g) by creating a new paragraph (iii) is amended to read:23‑3‑405. Interference with lawful taking of wildlife prohibited; penalties; damages; injunction.(a) No person shall with the intent to prevent or hinder the lawful taking of any wildlife:(iii) Knowingly and without authorization post or maintain in place signs that restrict access to or use of state or federal land on which the lawful taking of or the process of lawfully taking any wildlife is permitted. For purposes of this subsection, "knowingly" means the person has received prior notice from a peace officer that the sign is located on state or federal land.(g) This section shall:(iii) Not interfere with any landowner's right to prevent trespass on the landowner's private property.Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2023.
This is a good bill, and I'm glad it passed.
This odd bill passed:
ENROLLED ACT NO. 17, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SIXTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2023 GENERAL SESSION
AN ACT relating to defense forces and affairs; authorizing veterans to present their driver's licenses or identification cards as proof of their veteran status as specified; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 19‑14‑113 is created to read:
19‑14‑113. Veteran designation on driver's license.
(a) Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, if a person has a veteran designation on their Wyoming driver's license or identification card pursuant to W.S. 31‑7‑141, any local government entity as defined by W.S. 9‑2‑3219(a)(vi) shall allow the person to present their Wyoming driver's license or identification card instead of a military form DD 214 as proof of their status as a veteran.
(b) At the request of the military department or if information other than the person's status as a veteran is required, the military department or other local government entity may ask for further documentation including a military form DD 214.
Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2023.
I'm not sure why a person would have a veteran designation on their license, but they can. Maybe I'll add one if it'll help prevent me from getting speeding tickets or something.
February 16, 2023
Governor’s First Bill Signing Advances Mental Health Care in Wyoming and Bolsters Ability to Fight to Protect Coal Industry
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon signed the first bills of the 2023 Legislative session during a public signing ceremony at the Capitol today.
The first bill to be signed by the Governor was Senate File 0023- Treatment courts - transfer to judicial branch. The "Court Supervised Treatment Programs Act” transfers responsibility and oversight of court-supervised treatment programs from the Wyoming Department of Health to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Governor Gordon praised the legislation as an example of a collaborative effort between the Legislative, Judicial and Executive Branches, and said it offered an opportunity to strengthen the state’s drug treatment courts. At the signing, Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court Kate Fox expressed her support for the legislation, saying the bill will help improve the way the judicial branch addresses mental health and substance abuse issues.
The Governor also signed House Bill 0069 Coal-fired facility closures litigation funding-amendments. That bill provides additional flexibility for the Governor to utilize an account dedicated to funding litigation against entities that “impede Wyoming's ability to export coal, that cause the early retirement of coal-fired electric generation facilities located in Wyoming, that result in the decreased use of Wyoming coal or the closure of coal-fired electric generation facilities that use Wyoming coal.”
“Coal has a future in Wyoming. Thank you to the Legislature for helping to make a broader use of these funds, so we can be much more proactive in protecting our coal industries’ future,” Governor Gordon said.
The Governor signed the following bills today:
Enrolled Act # Bill# Bill Title
HEA0001 HB0112 Theft-penalty for fifth or subsequent offense.
HEA0002 HB0111 Endangering children-fentanyl.
HEA0003 HB0097 Chancery court jurisdiction amendments.
HEA0004 HB0050 Solid waste cease and transfer program funding.
HEA0005 HB0045 Peace officer retirement and rehiring.
HEA0006 HB0039 Verifying the veteran designation on a WY driver's license.
HEA0007 HB0029 Community college funding-distance education credit hours.
HEA0008 HB0028 Community college capital construction.
HEA0009 HB0012 Presumptive child support amounts-updated tables.
HEA0010 HB0010 County officers-bond amounts and surety requirement.
HEA0012 HB0069 Coal-fired facility closures litigation funding-amendments.
HEA0013 HB0070 Definition of home-based educational program.
HEA0014 HB0026 School facilities-appropriations.
SEA0001 SF0002 Wyoming telecommunications act-sunset date.
SEA0002 SF0004 North American Industry Classification System amendments.
SEA0003 SF0023 Treatment courts-transfer to judicial branch.
SEA0004 SF0077 Public works apprenticeship programs-repeal.
SEA0005 SF0013 Bar and grill liquor license phaseout
SEA0006 SF0026 Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact
SEA0007 SF0122 Nonresident workers-vehicle registration extension
SEA0008 SF0118 Fund balance calculations-federal encumbrances excluded
SEA0009 SF0057 State held drainage district bonds
SEA0010 SF0036 Investment funds committee-selection panel amendments
SEA0011 SF0033 Defining aircraft for purposes of hunting prohibitions
SEA0012 SF0028 Livestock infectious disease control-tribal inclusion
SEA0013 SF0017 Off-road recreational vehicles-safety and insurance
SEA0014 SF0015 Military leave for state employees
SEA0015 SF0014 Wyoming national guard professional malpractice liability
SEA0016 SF0005 Medical malpractice statutory update
SEA0017 SF0006 Insurance rebating modernization
SEA0018 SF0024 Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults
SEA0019 SF0063 Tax administration revisions
SEA0020 SF0059 State parks account-agency expenditure authority
SEA0021 SF0020 Driver's license and ID card photo quality
SEA0022 SF0018 Benefits for spouses of law enforcement members
SEJR1 SJ0007 Support for Taiwan
-END-
Governor Gordon Takes Action on 8 Bills on Saturday, February 18CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon took action on eight bills on Saturday, February 18. The Governor signed the following bills into law today:Enrolled Act # Bill # Bill TitleHEA0015 HB0035 Day-care certification requirement amendmentsHEA0016 HB0082 Defendant mental illness examinations-amendmentsHEA0017 HB0160 Drivers license veterans designation replacing DD form 214HEA0018 HB0147 Unlawful trespass signage-taking of wildlifeHEA0019 HB0019 State Indian Child Welfare Act task forceSEA0023 SF0078 Apprenticeship and job training promotion in schoolsSEA0024 SF0176 Solid waste disposal districts-consolidationSEA0025 SF0041 Skill based amusement games-authorized locations.
Governor Gordon to Hold Public Bill Signing Today, Tuesday, February 21CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon will hold a formal bill signing ceremony today, Tuesday February 21 beginning at 2 pm in the Governor's Ceremonial Conference Room in the State Capitol Building. The ceremony is open to the public.The Governor will sign the following bills:Enrolled Act # Bill# Bill TitleSEA0027 SF0011 Cancer early detection amendmentsHEA0020 HB0018 Missing person alert systemsHEA0022 HB0061 Source material associated with mining-agreementHEA0026 HB0175 Excused absence-state fair eventsHEA0028 HB0057 Armed forces-amendments.HEA0031 HB0239 Vehicle idling-decriminalization.HEA0032 HB0142 Notice of annexation.
Governor Gordon Signs Bill to Help Advance Rare Earth Elements Mining in Wyoming
Also signs bill to advance Missing and Murdered Indigenous People response and vetoes first bill of the session
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon signed a bill to advance Wyoming’s leadership on developing rare earth and critical minerals today. He also took action on 25 other bills on Tuesday, February 21.
At a ceremony in the Capitol the Governor signed into law a bill giving Wyoming primacy to permit and regulate parts of the rare earth and critical minerals industry. House Bill 0061 amends the existing Agreement State Status with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow Wyoming the permitting and regulatory authority for rare earth elements source materials. The Legislature passed this bill with unanimous support and today, the Governor signed both HB 0061 and sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Governor also signed House Bill 0018 - Missing person alert systems. Sponsored by the Select Committee on Tribal Relations, the bill aids in the administrative establishment of a new Ashanti Alert. The alert will function similarly to an Amber alert, sending out rapid notifications to cell phones and other media regarding missing adults. Local law enforcement can request these alerts, which will be initiated statewide by the Wyoming Highway Patrol upon meeting specific alert criteria. The legislation came from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Task Force the Governor established.
Governor Gordon exercised his veto authority on House Bill 0106 - Eminent domain-wind energy collector systems. The Governor said that the bill’s nine-year moratorium on the use of eminent domain is likely to stall development in Wyoming. Previously the moratorium had only been in place for two years at a time. He also expressed concern that the bill would interfere with the rights of private landowners to exercise their private property and contractual rights, as well as their right to contract with whomever they choose. He noted that many ranchers and farmers in Wyoming have successfully negotiated with wind developers and are enhancing the ability of their lands to provide income for their families. While recognizing eminent domain is a delicate issue, the Governor asked the Legislature to examine the use of eminent domain authority, and then revisit the need for a moratorium in a future session and consider a shorter moratorium if it is necessary.
The Governor signed the following bills into law today:
Enrolled Act #
Bill #
Bill Title
HEA0020 HB0018 Missing person alert systems
HEA0021 HB0020 Land exchanges-notice
HEA0022 HB0061 Source material associated with mining-agreement
HEA0023 HB0181 Online sports wagering-amendments
HEA0024 HB0013 Office of guardian ad litem-program references
HEA0025 HB0079 Voter I.D. requirements
HEA0026 HB0175 Excused absence-state fair events
HEA0027 HB0086 Disclosure of private cryptographic keys.
HEA0028 HB0057 Armed forces-amendments.
HEA0029 HB0015 County authority to dissolve museum boards-clarification.
HEA0030 HB0005 Voter registry list-voter ID and absentee ballots.
HEA0031 HB0239 Vehicle idling-decriminalization.
HEA0032 HB0142 Notice of annexation.
HEA0034 HB0041 Lightweight trailers-permanent registration.
SEA0026 SF0008 Essential subsidy payments to behavioral health centers
SEA0027 SF0011 Cancer early detection amendments
SEA0028 SF0031 Adjacent land resource data trespass-repeal
SEA0029 SF0025 District and prosecuting attorneys-bar license requirement
SEA0030 SF0068 Prescriptive easement for water conveyances.
SEA0031 SF0173 Financial institutions-similar names
SEA0032 SF0139 Unlawful use of a charge card or debit card
SEA0033 SF0069 Electronic records retention
SEA0034 SF0055 Chancery court vacancies-extension amendment
SEA0035 SF0040 Federal political action committees-reports
SEA0036 SF007 Definition of opiate antagonist-amendment.
The Governor vetoed the following bill. His veto letter is attached and linked below.
HEA0033 HB0106 Eminent domain-wind energy collector systems.
The full list of bills the Governor has taken action on during the 2023 Legislative Session can be found on the Governor's website.
-END-
Governor Gordon to Hold Public Bill Signing Today, Thursday, February 23CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon will hold a formal bill signing ceremony today, Thursday, February 23 beginning at 2 pm in the Governor's Ceremonial Conference Room in the State Capitol Building. The ceremony is open to the public.The Governor will sign the following bills:Enrolled Act # Bill# Bill TitleHEA0036 HB0065 988 suicide prevention.SEA0039 SF0010 Licensed professional counselor compact.SEA0038 SF0043 EMS districts.HEA0044 HB0007 Underage marriage-amendments.HEA0041 HB0127 Health care facilities and clergy.HEA0050 HB0056 Purple star schoolsHEA0048 HB0134 Alcohol sales to licenseesHEA0042 HB0044 Road and bridge construction-alternative contracting.HEA0046 HB0279 Voter identification requirements
Governor Gordon Takes Action on 8 Bills on Saturday, February 18CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon took action on nine bills on Thursday, February 23. The Governor signed the following bills into law today:
Enrolled Act # Bill # Bill Title
HEA0036 HB0065 988 suicide prevention.HEA0041 HB0127 Health care facilities and clergy.HEA0042 HB0044 Road and bridge construction-alternative contracting.HEA0044 HB0007 Underage marriage-amendments.HEA0046 HB0279 Voter identification requirementsHEA0048 HB0134 Alcohol sales to licenseesHEA0050 HB0056 Purple star schoolsSEA0038 SF0043 EMS districts.SEA0039 SF0010 Licensed professional counselor compact.The full list of bills the Governor has taken action on during the 2023 Legislative Session can be found on the Governor's website.
An amended Life Is A Human Right Act passed out of Senate Committee, but stripped of the provisions that tied it to a Wyoming Supreme Court decision, and adding rape and incest exceptions.
Anthony Bouchard has called on the Wyoming GOP to censure the Speaker of the House for putting Chloe's Law in his bottom drawer. If the bill doesn't make it out by Monday, it will fall due to a legislative deadline for bills passing one chamber to make it out of committee in the next.
Part of the problem here is that the bill was amended significantly in the House and then came back with a "do not pass" from committee, which means that its chances are poor otherwise. Bills that suffer that fate are automatically put in the bottom drawer, although the speaker feels that it is likely to come out before the deadline.
The Speaker indicates he flat out won't let SF117, the Parental Rights In Education Act, out on the floor, in part because he feels it intrudes on local control by school boards.
Sommers has also put Senate File 86, allowing Wyomingites to use their concealed carry permits as voter identification in the drawer, but due to House Bill 79 which was a mirror already being passed into law. He put Senate File 143 also is stuck in Sommers’ drawer, establishing a scholarship fund to send some Wyoming students to private schools instead of public, as a nearly identical bill has already failed.
February 25, 2023
HB 103, the Cross Over Voting bill designed to prevent an imaginary problem of imaginary Democrats crossing over to spoil primary elections, has passed the Legislature. It's unknown if the Governor will sign it.
HB 104, allowing use of infrared scopes to hunt predators at night was signed into law. I frankly don't think this was a good idea.
The bill also cleared up some questions about predator hunteres being able to hunt on state lands.
Governor Gordon Signs Supplemental Budget with Historic Savings to Keep Taxes Low For Future Generations
**Corrected with updated budget letter**
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon signed a supplemental budget that places more than $1 billion in savings, allowing the state to keep taxes low and generate higher investment returns that will benefit future generations. Today, the Governor also took action on 16 other bills.
“I congratulate the Legislature for its work on my budget recommendations,” Governor Gordon said. “It is gratifying that the budget submitted to me is closely aligned with my original recommendations. Where we disagreed, or where they overstepped the separation of powers embedded in our Constitution, I exercised my veto authority. The fiscal condition of the State remains strong.”
The Governor thanked the Legislature for delivering a budget that reflects the approach he outlined in his supplemental budget proposal – one that sets aside funds for leaner times ahead and addresses the inflationary pressures facing Wyoming citizens and the concerns of the state’s most vulnerable and those living on fixed incomes. Most notably, this budget provides for more property tax relief for citizens.
Governor Gordon noted that for every dollar of state revenue spent in the supplemental budget, it saves roughly $3.50. In addition to savings, the Supplemental Budget makes strategic investments in Wyoming. These include additional funding for the Property Tax Refund Program, support for the state’s energy industries and a market adjustment for state employees and teachers to offset the impacts of inflation.
The Governor used his authority to issue several line-item vetoes, including items that are overly prescriptive and those that present separation of powers concerns. The Governor’s budget letter explaining his line-item vetoes is attached and may be found here.
Governor Gordon also exercised his veto authority on Senate File 0071- State loan and bond programs. In his letter, the Governor pointed out that the bill reduces the amount of funding available to the State Loan and Investment Board for farm loans, shrinking the safety net available to the agriculture industry. The Governor also expressed concern that the changes the legislation makes to the interest rates for farm loans put the State in competition with private financial institutions.
The Governor signed the following bills into law:
Enrolled Act Bill # Bill Title
HEA0035 HB0021 State lands-use of land qualification requirements.
HEA0038 HB0031 BOCES as local education agencies.
HEA0039 HB0174 Homestead exemption-amendments.
HEA0040 HB0027 School facilities-consolidated remediation schedule.
HEA0043 HB0165 Living organ donor protection.
HEA0045 HB0096 Transfer on death deed-insurance coverage.
HEA0047 HB0148 Airport liquor licenses-amendment
HEA0049 HB0062 Open banking
HEA0051 HB0042 Off-road recreational vehicle operation
HEA0052 HB0104 Hunting of predatory animals-amendments
SEA0040 SF0037 Podiatry medical services-Medicaid.
SEA0041 SF0029 Brucellosis management updates.
SEA0042 SF0095 Moon landing day.
SEA0043 SF0065 Compensation of local registrars-repeal.
SEA0044 SF0058 Sutton archaeological site administration.
The Governor exercised his line-item veto authority on the following bill. The Governor's letter is attached:
HEA 0037 HB001 General government appropriations.
The Governor vetoed the following bill. The Governor’s letter is attached and linked:
SEA0037 SF0071 State loan and bond programs..
-END-
Today in World War II History—February 5, 1943: 80 Years Ago—Feb. 5, 1943: Nazis begin liquidating Bialystok ghetto; 1,000 Jews are killed and 10,000 are sent to Treblinka extermination camp.
