Main Street, Wyoming; 617; Executive Branch

Main Street Wyoming is made possible by Kennicott energy company proud to be a part of Wyoming's future in the coal and uranium industries which includes exploration mining and production. And the Wyoming Council for the Humanities enriching the lives of Wyoming people through their study of Wyoming history values and ideas. Every four years Wyoming's voters elect five people to run our state's executive branch of government. Join us on Main Street Wyoming when we travel to Cheyanne and take you inside our state's capitol building to see firsthand the power and responsibility we place in the hands of our state's governor. Secretary of State State Treasurer state auditor and Superintendent of Public Instruction Wyoming's executive branch. And.

Welcome to Main Street Wyoming. I'm Deborah Hammond and we're here in Cheyenne at our state's capitol building. Within a few blocks radius you can find all three branches of Wyoming State Government right across the street is the judicial branch with the Wyoming State Supreme Court. The legislative branch occupies the second floor of the Capitol building. But it's the first floor where we're taking you to see and hear the elected officials of Wyoming's executive branch. Why only. Just given the job of implementing the policies and programs adopted by

the legislative branch the legislature writes the laws. But it's the executive branch that must make them work. Of course the executive branch can also make recommendations to the legislature for new or changed laws which they believe are needed. It is a challenge to convince the legislature to move ahead and update modernize and not just stick with the old eternally. Stan Smith is in his fourth term as Wyoming's treasurer. He gave us an example of the efforts involved in passage of a new law one that was even before me was presented to the legislature time after time and that was an unclaimed property law. That finally passed about three years ago three years in this coming session from this coming session and that put us in the business of taking custody of all the unclaimed funds in the state and from other states that where the last

known owner rightful owner was a Wyoming resident. And so we now have over seven million of unclaimed funds last year. I think we returned about a million and a half to the rightful owners. And so that was a bill that took over 10 years to finally get past the main responsibility of the state treasurers office is to invest the state's money. Some people think that we spend the money in this office but that's not the case. The legislature spends the money and we simply invested in keep it invested for the best return that we can and the safest possible investments that we can every day we roll over. Sixty two hundred fifty million of investments that are short term and that or simply for the most part overnight investment income generated by the Treasurer's office is the second largest source of money to the state's general fund.

But how does Wyoming compare to other states. Well we we compare. Very well in fact in terms of population we have more investible funds for a state of such little population than many do for example in Iowa. I once asked the Treasurer there why didn't he institute a program of of loans to agriculture such as we had to time in go he said. Garsten I can't I can't make loans. In the fall of the year when their borrowing. I'm borrowing money to run the government. And so while mine is fortunate in having large permanent funds that can't be spent that are only available for investment. What do you think in your years in this position that you that you know about Wyoming government that you don't think most people in Wyoming know and that they should know. Well I think one thing is simply that most state employees are

hardworking and dedicated. I think many citizens many of taxpayers regard. Employees of the state and government as hangers on who probably couldn't hold a good job on the outside Well that's certainly not true. I have very dedicated people in my office and throughout state government most state employees are hard working and really try to do a good job. I've had employees in here on the weekend in here late at night taking stuff home to ensure that we had done what needed to be done. Giving up weekends. And truly I didn't expect that I don't think in order to accommodate the Department of Education's large staff its offices are located in the Hathaway building across the street from the Capitol. Wyoming is one of 15 states that constitutionally elected Superintendent of Public

Instruction the superintendent oversees the Department of Education and is responsible for the general supervision of the state's schools. In addition this office administers federally funded education programs Judy Catchpole who is in her first term as Superintendent of Public Instruction showed us her organizational chart. We began really to say what is it this department is all about and what should we be doing. And we cut from nine units who were all out doing specific things we folded those all into three units and have brought everybody in to say we all focus on student learning. I ran for this office to say we need to improve student learning. This is about kids. Everything you do you've got to be able to come back to me in a lot of the federal grants I always say don't even bring it to me to sign it. If we can't show that this will improve or affect student learning the superintendent by virtue of her office also serves on the State Board of Education.

The Wyoming community college Commission and the University of Wyoming board of trustees I serve on boards. My children once said Mom this is a great job for you you talk on the phone and you go to meetings something to things you love to do and that is what I spend a great deal of my time. I frequently am in the office at 5:00 in the morning and you can call me at 11 o'clock at night and I'm still here a lot of times because I usually am at different meetings all day long and then the work that gets done gets done before the phone rings or before the meeting started or late at night and it's it's a good time to think in quiet peace. Wyoming has a tradition of supporting its schools. And today approximately 50 percent of the state's funds go to education. The great thing about Wyoming people in Wyoming feel free to email or get on the telephone and call and say Did you know such and such or did you know this happened. People need to know I don't usually intervene. As the

state superintendent as a local control state what I try to do is listen carefully make sure that their needs are being answered. Give them resources of who to contact to to go through a chain of command and give them advice on what to do if something doesn't. Doesn't work but the great thing about Wyoming is you have that personal contact. You say. You're. All five of the state's elected officials serve on numerous boards together. I also serve on several boards and commissions with the other elected officials. Well we're far more on board the State Land Commission. The liquor commission look up a bill and go through.

This. You know the governor's the chairman of all the old boards I serve on. But it is a five member business deal and the three to two vote carries the day there. That differs from this office for example and I'm ultimately and solely responsible for the functioning of the department. We make mistakes it's MY fault with the border commission where you have five people like that though you've got to share the credit. You know boy at least comes before the court for the first time today. Well certainly we can do it either way I think would be satisfactory the one you're using anything with general rules of the board that were more land has been identified by the board for sale that we should one your lease the 90 days was it a special negotiated circumstance Lacey's. Sure. Raise all the groundwork for the new appraisal.

Research I'm sure. But the weather doesn't permit us to get out of this problem. But. We should. Probably review snow right now so I would anticipate looking at property in. Early June. And then after the appraisal was greeted with a scheduled. Hearing discussed praised by. Self process. It sounds almost like it's going to take almost a year. It's just. Considering a new public jury. With a new either way. Then I knew but I just know that I. Should. I guess for a person who all my life have I had an agenda going somewhere doing something getting something done. It was a real surprise to me to understand that you just can't do it your way because you have all of Wyoming to think

about. And there are way more people in Wilmington just you and you have to consider all the facets and that takes time. We asked Dr. Peter Peizer at Northwest College in Powell about the structure of Wyoming's executive branch. The people who wrote the Constitution for the state of Wyoming were far sighted and thoughtful in the structure they designed worked well then and it continues to work well now. Well the auditors one of the five elected official statewide. Our primary function is the controller of state government. A lot of folks don't know what a controller is either so let me explain that. We keep track of all the revenue and expenditures for the state treasury. We do the payroll for about 7000 state employees. There's a real challenge in Wyoming because the state is small and state government is small but all of the functions of running the state are as complex in Wyoming as they would be in California or Texas or Illinois. So the challenge of leadership is this high in Wyoming as anywhere we take in about two

billion a year and manage to spend what we take in. And so for 365 days a year that average is about two hundred twenty five thousand dollars. So basically that's our function. We're also the the reporter the financial reporting arm of government. And each year we prepare an annual report that shows all the state's finances. In the Treasury. We a couple years ago converted to what they called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in this report. For the first time it has been audited and we did get a clean opinion so we're proud of that. The difficulties of running the state or how to do more state activities with fewer revenues. And this is a real challenge for any state executive. In addition there are changes at the national level and this has been real dramatic over the last five or six years. And as federal resources have declined in the windowed States is increasingly asked for a bigger role.

These are the kinds of things that this office I think can do. State Auditor can help make government more efficient less expensive and we've tried focusing on those kinds of legislative issues. Do you have kind of a ballpark figure for yourself about the kinds of things that you've done been involved in for efficiencies in government. The total savings that that's probably brought to the state it would be in the neighborhood of three to four million five years I've been here I think so. Those are the things that make I think this office worthwhile. And I think you're I think are important people. Diana Bowman previously served as Superintendent of Public Instruction. She is now in her first term as Wyoming secretary of state. This office is mostly a filing office and our biggest into D.C. is corporations where we file all different kinds of business entities our

legislature has allowed us to have lots of different kinds of businesses in Wyoming as mare fact there are listed here for partnerships of all kinds corporations of all kinds companies of all kinds. The secretary of state is also the chief elections officer of the state in Wyoming. We have an average of eleven hundred to twelve hundred elections a year. This office also is keeper of the Great Seal of Wyoming. And all of the state's laws and rules when the governor is out of the state or incapacitated for some reason the secretary of state becomes the acting governor in this state that's we don't have a lieutenant governor and so that's one of the duties here. Since you held this office have. Has that happened. Yes the governor has been away to various conferences or meetings out of state. Never has he been incapacitated. But I did have a real wake up though. Last year the first time he was gone. Two days after he returned we had the accident at the selfsame mine. And I

thought had that been two days sooner and we would have had to call some kind of an emergency. I think I need to get boned up a little better than I am about that and so I did take it upon myself to work with his office an emergency office to learn much more quickly about how to handle those kinds of things yes that is a duty that I take very. I don't take a lightly. If you know anything could happen. The demands of public office in Wyoming do not end at the doors of the Capitol building. I learned very quickly. You are an elected official. 24 hours a day every day of the year. There is not such a thing as a day off because if you go to the grocery store or if you go visit a relative in Casper it's highly likely that you will run into somebody who says aren't you. And they may not have the office right or they may not have your name right but they know that they know you from being an elected person and so there is no such thing as time off. It's a heavy demand on your time and if you're

not careful you can let this whole thing just take over your whole life. Wyoming citizens have long held a close relationship with their elected officials but none more significant than the state's governor. The state's first Governor Francis Warren only held office for six weeks before being elected by the legislature to serve as one of Wyoming's two U.S. senators. We've been fortunate in Wyoming governors that they have been basically people of strong character and good strength. Now this husband Governor William Ross died suddenly in 1924. One month later. Mrs. Ross was elected by a landslide eight thousand votes to fill her husband's vacancy. She became Wyoming and America's first woman governor. The mother of three sons can be seen here signing her inaugural oath. And her next run for office was defeated. But later served as director of the United States Mint. She died in

1977 at the age of 100 in wyne Wyoming. People really like to have a governor like can relate to and identify with this is a first name state. And we like to be on a first name basis with our chief executives and most chief executives in Wyoming who's apparently been on a first name basis with most most of us in the state. Sure. And the position of governor is often compared to the chief executive officer of a large corporation. But not many corporate officers unlike our state's capitol building as a part of just taking over the office there aren't any handbooks for governor. Now this is a handbook I have it's a constitution. There are

things that I could identify as the responsibility of the governor and I characterize it kind of like this. There's a pure administration of government where you look at the different agencies and employees the services they provide there is day to day administration that needs to go on provide them with the tools they need the resources they need to make decisions if personnel have to be changed that's the day to day administration. Then there's also the the advocacy role of the governor. The governor does not have direct authority over a number of things but nonetheless is the spokes person for the state and I get a lot of calls from people saying well can you get behind this cause can you support this purpose and that advocacy role is one that's viewed very strongly by the people of Wyoming. And for those of you who did receive the package or care you might want to. You've got a new copy of the right party by fellow Asian gov Geringer meets regularly with his Cabinet and sub-Cabinet members to establish priorities and work plans to accomplish the business of the state.

Great point than yours. Do you. Think it was nearly 150 topics. All the way from. Raising money to brucellosis to Grizzly bears you name it. In other words a hundred fifty issues are you committing some sort of resolution of the governor's duties include serving as the state's commander in chief he has the power to grant pardons and he makes appointments to Wyoming's numerous boards. I nominate people who serve on boards and commissions and we have I believe about 79 different boards and commissions in state government. Some are advisory some are regulatory regulatory being like the Environmental Quality Commission supervisory would be like the board of trustees at the university. The advisory groups the Department of Health the Department of Family Services needs advice on their programs I point people to those advisory commissions. One of the governor's most important duties is the development and presentation of the state's budget

to the legislature. It's my obligation as it is and legislatures convene as they will be on the 19th of February to not only present the budget this is a Budget session. But I'm expected to deliver a message concerning the state of the state or where are we what's the general economic nature of the state what are the trends provide for suggestions for legislation. The national government can propose spending beyond its income. States cannot. I can veto legislation back Mike Sullivan when he left he offered me the stamp of his great big veto stamp of heaven. I've only used it in jest so far as far as putting it on a document but I have vetoed a couple of bills. This is not the official veto stamp is just a symbolic thing. The governor's own experiences as a state legislator helped him carry out his new responsibilities. It's kind of like with my engineering background and also working on a farm. I always grumbled at the fact that the engineers who designed some of the equipment never had to maintain it.

If you want to have to fix this thing for Pete's sake Well that's the way I feel now as governor I was there as a designer. I'm here now as the maintainer and I have a unique perspective from that point of view to say what can be improved to help us better understand the full range of the governor's activities. He described the typical day's schedule. My day starts pretty early for someone to come from a farm agriculture background you know what it's like to get up early. You know what it's like to work from dark until dark and then some. I usually start between 5:30 and 6:00 o'clock here in the office and that's a time for catching up on paperwork. I probably sign about 100 different things in an in a day. The governor's office handles around 250 phone calls a day. Hang on please I got a call coming in. We try to tend to each one of them the same day they happen you know by coming in early in the morning tend to some of the signature items but and I can also call

I have automatic dialing for all of our congressional delegation. I'll just punch up. Right there I could call Al Simpson If I wanted to. Between 8 and 5 the governor's day is scheduled in half hour increments with appointments and meetings. Then from 5:00 until about 7:00 in the evening I tend more to the correspondence return phone calls and seven we set aside as our family are for dinner and then I have a big old briefcase here that is bigger than anything I ever thought I'd use to take that home and work on a few things mostly signature things that at home and catch up on reading. I never can get totally caught up on reading. One of the pieces of advice Mike Sullivan gave me as I was coming into office and he was leaving was he said no one will know how busy you are except you. Even your wife won't know. What can you say in your in your background really and truly help prepare you for what you have to do here every day.

Why go back all the way to childhood. People who inspired me to do something beyond what I thought I could do that helped me a lot because in this office you're challenged to do things you never thought you'd have to deal with both emotionally and just in terms of decisions. You have to be prepared for almost any circumstance so being challenged as a young person to do things beyond what I thought I could do always showed me that I had potential to do more. So I'd start with that. I start with the attitude that dad instilled in all of us as my brothers and sisters and I were to take the initiative. Don't wait for someone else to act. If you've got the ability take the action and act. I think that prepares you to just stay in front of an issue when it when an issue comes in asking for my reaction after it's happened. I probably have missed being in front of the issues so anticipating taking the initiative is important. I also grew up on a farm that taught the value of hard work. I don't think you could survive in this office without

the solid faith. You know your your inability to to make complete decisions on your own has to be sustained by the belief that something will work out. I rely on my face to do that. I don't think people realize all of them have a voice they read students in the state have a voice that we need here in government you know because I looked around the various functions meetings and conferences. It seems to me the same people show up at the same meetings whether they're in shock and in return or cast crew and those who are worthy aren't changed me the same people who have the voice you know what we're going to do with government. I think the average person on the street. Frankly doesn't speak out very often and we need to hear more from everybody. Someone once said What is government like in the United States and the answer was here sir

the people rule. And if the people are strong the government will be strong and learning about our government is absolutely essential in terms of having a strong wise and effective government. I look at my position in occupying this chair this task this position of authority as being taking my church I'll take my turn at it. I'll pass the mantle to the next person in the mantle of leadership is there only for me to carry out it's the responsibility I have on behalf of all the people and then I pass it on to someone else. Every four years we have our executive branch when we vote more than simply pick the people to run our government. When we vote in our system of government when we vote we reaffirm the Constitution of the state of Wyoming which reads in the people. Thanks to my guests and their efforts on behalf of the people of our state and thank you for joining me.

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Humanities enriching the lives of Wyoming people through the study of Wyoming history values and ideas.