Wyoming's Citizen Legislature; A Guide to Wyoming&s Legislative Process

Welcome to the Wyoming State Capital home to the Wyoming state legislature. It is here that the 60 members of the Wyoming House of Representatives and 30 members of the Wyoming Senate convenes each year to formulate policies for the state of Wyoming and passed the laws that govern us. As you walk through these hallowed halls and visit these ornate chambers you'll feel a sense of history and experience the deep rich traditions of our state the Wyoming legislature has been meeting here for more than a century and it just developed its own traditions. Some of them at first glance appear just as elaborate as the surrounding architecture. You're still 33 the first of the story. Memories are like

33 past what I'm about to say and Roll that one all three being the original House bill 165. At first blush the sometimes arcane language and formal parliamentary procedure might make one think that they're back in merry old England where many of these parliamentary traditions originated. I have cell side. The purpose of the rule is to allow us to have a method and a procedure in place that we all support to allow us to proceed in an A in a in a uniform fashion as we discuss and debate the bills and the house sets the rules for the house and we live by the rules and and of course we would die by the world's Wyoming's legislature includes Republicans and Democrats each elected from a single member district to represent the people of that district but also the state as a whole. All members vote when electing the presiding officers. The president of the Senate and the speaker of the house. However the majority party determines the outcome as well as determines the majority floor leaders and the

presiding officer select committee chairs with concurrence of the Rules Committee. There are differences between the two political parties on some issues but the bulk of legislative issues are decided on bipartisan votes. The legislative process is based on the Wyoming Constitution. State laws rules adopted by the legislature as well as both the Wyoming manual and Mason's manual of legislative procedure following the successful passage out of committee. Each bill must be read and voted on in three separate times and both the House and in the Senate and ultimately must pass both bodies in the same form. This is a process that is thoughtful intended to be delivered and that is by design. We are here to do the people's work and we want to make sure that it is done right and proper indeed doing the people's business is a process that seeks to involve the citizens of Wyoming to help you understand how

that process works. Let's start at the beginning. Back in your home town on your main street in your coffee shops and in your homes businesses and churches. Because in Wyoming our legislative process starts with you the people and it gives you an opportunity to be heard as a bill makes its way into law. The process starts months before the legislature formally convenes its session in Cheyanne. Laws are made for the citizens of our state and a lot of times people have concerns about a law there something they don't like about it or want to changed and so they visit with their local legislators or elected official and that starts the discussion on it. He may have a formal structure maybe a very informal and maybe a at your coffee bar in some local village. Or it could reoccur at the school board level or a town meeting that's a formal structure that has merit to proceed from that legislator or down to the to the body. We bring to Cheyenne where it is crafted and placed into a bill formed by our legislative Service office

and then that is the vehicle in which we bring the thought process to the legislature to be put through the process of the committees and the three readings and ultimately passed into law. Once a citizen has forwarded an idea to a legislator the legislator contacts the staff at the legislative service office or ls O for help drafting the bill and determining where it would fit into existing state laws. Given his past. Draft bills are prepared then jacketed and given numbers. Many of them pre filed during November and December before a session. A process that allows both legislators and the general public a chance to look at ideas that will be debated during the session. When ideas come to the legislature we begin with a whole series of steps to analyze the idea and determine whether or not it is in the interests of the people of the state of Wyoming. There's an opportunity for public commentary before a bill becomes law. There are several steps where the public can come in and discuss different ideas with legislators

profile bills are available for inspection at the Capitol at public libraries around the state by mail and over the Internet and the legislature's website. One reason that it is so easy for citizens to initiate a new law is that Wyoming's legislature is a citizen legislature. The men and women who serve in it are citizens just like us. They're part time legislators. Except when the legislature is in session and then they work virtually every waking hour reading bills working them in committee talking to constituents and participating in a general floor sessions. We have doctors and lawyers businessmen and ranchers school administrators teachers just about any profession that you can imagine having a broad base of professions gives us a lot of expertise to draw upon when we discuss various kinds of legislation. Bill Wyoming's legislature holds a 40 day General Sessions starting in odd numbered years and a 20 day budget session that convenes in February during

even numbered years in the general session considers all bills to it brought by a legislator. Those bills are all automatically assigned to a committee. The budget session the primary focus is to consider a budget bill that bill is automatically introduced where any other bills brought to the body have to have a two thirds positive vote to be considered by the House or the Senate. The budget session is the time when the legislature appropriates revenue to be spent in the coming by any amount by state agencies public schools the community colleges the University of Wyoming the courts and the legislature itself. How do you do. Once the session convenes all bills are read in by title only been assigned to one of the twelve standing committees by the speaker of the House or the president of the Senate. Both the House and Senate have 12 standing committees 10 of which new with most of the substantive issues raised during a session like the Senate standing committees have five

members House committees have nine members. They always include members of both parties but are chaired by a member of the majority party. It is in committee that members of the public have their best opportunity to influence the course of legislation and make changes in the committee system is an interesting system because I think it's the the one part of our process out there that the silicates the process I say facilitate because rather than meet as a committee the whole the individual standing committees can meet and alleviate some of the workload we have by dealing with bills that are not necessarily bills if you come to the floor during the session. Standing Committees meet several times a week usually for two hours or more at a sitting. And usually either early in the morning over lunch or later in the afternoon after the House and Senate have adjourned committees generally begins hearing or working bills immediately after they are assigned and try to get him back to the floor for debate. Notice of committee

meetings and the bills under consideration are posted on the committee room doors on a bulletin board outside the House and Senate chambers in the daily calendar and on the internet website. The legislature welcomes public participation. Our meetings the committee meetings are open meetings and it's really a chance for the public to formally present their views on any issue. Sometimes only the sponsor will appear to explain a bill. Other times a sponsor will be joined by citizens or representatives of groups that may have an interest in the proposed legislation on bills of general interest committee chairs make an effort to hold a full public hearing so that pros and cons of the proposed legislation can be discussed thoroughly. Interim Committee work is taking on increasing importance in the Wyoming legislature. Committees are assigned specific topics to consider between sessions and they usually hold a number of meetings around the state to flush out issues and generate as much public comment

as possible. These committees then sponsor legislation to address the assigned topics in the interim process is an important part of our function. The legislature has joint House-Senate meetings during the interim. These meetings are also open meetings at the public and participate in. There are rules for committee meetings of course just as there are rules governing floor action committee meetings are more structured than the brainstorming that went on over coffee when an idea was first proposed back home. But they do allow for give and take on an issue. Often the committee members will have questions and will ask people in the audience for answers. The legislature publishes a brochure of tips for those who are appearing before a committee. It has all sorts of advice. Do your homework know the subject know both sides of the issue pro and con because when you testified before the committee you're our source of information and if we ask the negative side we would like

to hear that as well. It is good to have all the information when we go to work the bills. Another very important thing is to know who's on the committee. And if you happen to know the sponsor of the bill it's a good idea to talk to them to see what testimony they think might be beneficial in getting a bill through that committee. You know under the legislative rules standing committees can recommend that a bill do pass but had to pass as amended that it do not pass or that it go back to the full House or Senate without recommendation. You know I have a motion for a few casts as a matter of practice most bills and either a reported out of committee with the do pass or do pass as amended recommendation No. Or they are not reported out at all. The committee does not have to consider or act on bills or referred to it. That's up to the discretion of the committee chair and a number of Dian committee at the end of each session. Most bills get at least some discussion or consideration especially if a committee member feels strongly about a bill.

The committee process in general is is pretty fair. We have most committees working the bills that come before them. Taking the testimony that doesn't necessarily guarantee that a bill will come out of the committee. But for the most part they do get worked and worked well in the committee and there's been very few instances in recent years where Committee chairman have just buried a bill and not even given an opportunity to be discussed or considered. If a bill emerges from committee with a new recommendation it is placed on a list of bills ready for debate by the full House or Senate. This list is called a general file and it will be at least one day and usually several before that Bill advances to the top of general file and its initial floor debate in committee of the whole. Each day the House and Senate spend a portion of their time and usually most of the afternoon eating as a committee of the whole or one large committee the committee the whole is the committee of all of the legislators and it's the

first time the all of the legislators get to review a bill that has been sent to them by a standing committee. It's open to debate. There is no restrictions on timing. There's no restrictions on the number of times that a legislator can talk. It's a question and answer period on a bill. And there is very spirited debate on the bills and especially on committee the whole room. The order of debate on whether a bill will be considered in committee of the whole is determined by the majority floor leader My job is majority floor leader is to schedule the bills away here in committee the whole and when I set the calendar I try to set it so we have some bills that I I know will take a long time to discuss and also some some easier bills that won't take near as long so that we can get through our work for the day. The process is the same in both the House and the Senate. But the styles are different. House members sometimes get lost in the south unless they learn to shine in debate. The most effective ones learn there's a time to listen and a time to talk. And the

Senate new members are expected to listen more often in the Senate. We like to think our debate on the committee the whole is more of a model but as a former House member I can tell you that the House debate was much more rough and tumble more free spirited. First consideration. Yes. Will you be here for these reasons. Each committee of the whole session is presided over by one of the Senators or Representatives named by the Senate president or the House speaker at the end of each debate during committee of the whole legislators vote by voice whether a majority wants to advance the bill to a second reading. If the chair is in a downturn remember calls for a division. The chair will call for a standing vote if the vote fails the chair automatically calls for a roll call of all members. But if the ayes have it there is no roll call and the bill advances. When the allotted time is over all bills to be considered

that day have been considered the majority floor leader closes the day's Committee of the whole with this motion is determined I mean do we right. The president or speaker then Reid takes the chair and the legislator who chaired the committee of the whole says Mr. Speaker I mean many of the whole you're going to hear. The next step in the process then occurs the following day when legislators vote a second time on all bills that advanced from the Committee of the whole the proceeding day the process is called second reading in the rules require that debate be more structured. Unlimited amendments can be offered but each member can only speak twice. The second reading is an opportunity for a legislator to fine tune a bill that they have heard on committee the whole. And legislators can bring amendments to the

bill. When we do have discussion on those amendments a legislator can only speak twice on each amendment and wants all of the amendments are done then the bill goes to third grade and there is no general discussion on second reading of the bill as a whole it's more a discussion on the amendments as they are proposed second reading is where I think that the amendment process takes place on the floor that is the most substantive and most likely would do the most good for the bill. Third Reading amendments generally are not amendments that that normally get that favorable of a reception. The real Manning process I think takes place on the second week. If a bill passes second reading it automatically comes up for third reading and final passage the following day. Again there's an opportunity for unlimited amendments. But again members are allowed to speak only twice. Third Reading amendments provide yet another opportunity for legislators to offer

and debate amendments. Sometimes legislators extend a vote by offering an amendment to delete the an act to be enacted by the legislature but they withdraw their amendment after they and other legislators have had a chance to debate again. Once all third reading amendments and final debate or comments are done the chief clerk calls the role of each legislator. Both the House and the Senate use a device called a consent list to speed up the process. If a bill up for third reading is not controversial and there aren't any amendments it is often added to a consent list that is subject to a single roll call. Individual legislators can change their vote on any of the bills on the consent list but it still avoids individual roll calls. If a bill passes third reading and final passage it is gone halfway toward winning legislative approval and going to the governor to become law. But the process

is far from over. People sometimes ask about their opportunity to participate at the at this point in the process. That's when we are on the floor the bills are moving through the committee of the whole and second reading and third reading and final final action. They are not able to vote at this point but they are. They are able to call in to 7 7 7 V O T E and let us know how they feel about a particular issue. They can also call the House or Senate secretaries and send a message to their legislators. The other way that people register their opinions on pending legislation is through lobbyists who represent various groups interests and industry at the legislature. The role of the lobbyist is often misunderstood and maligned. But in general they provide information as well as opinions to legislators on behalf of their groups or organizations. Some are paid to represent a particular interest others volunteer their time on behalf of a group or interest. Either way they're

doing what any of us might do registering their perspective on pending legislation. Lobbyists provide a valuable service to the state legislature. They provide an in-depth viewpoint on various issues that are before us. It is very important to citizen legislators that we are able to weigh the issues decide what is the best thing for our constituency and then cast a vote accordingly. As citizen legislators we do not always have the background that we need on certain issues. A lobbyist can provide that viewpoint just as individual bills reach their halfway point when they pass their house of origin. So does the legislature reach a halfway point when it reaches the crossover date the date occurs when each house stops considering bills introduced in that house. And instead begins considering bills already passed by the other body. In a way it starts the process all over again. House passed bills are read in the Senate and assigned to a Senate committee for and vice versa. Once again it is time for citizens to make their

views known through the committee process or through phone calls or letters to their legislators. It's important as the bills move from one body to the next that the public keeps track of those bills. Particularly now that we have a legislative website we have a lot information right there on that website to keep track of the bills with our daily calendars copies of the journal the legislative actions that we've taken and information on the bill and any amendments that might have come up. Bills are available for public inspection as they were when introduced as engrossed bills as they were when passed by their body of origin or Finally as enrolled acts their final form after approval by both the House and the Senate. After three votes by each body the final version must be the same to create an Enrolled act. In many cases the second body to consider a bill will approve it without making any changes. When that happens the bill is unrolled

and goes to the governor for his action. But frequently the House and Senate disagree on details. When that happens the presiding officers of each body appoint a conference committee to try and find a compromise. A conference committee is appointed to resolve the differences between the House and the Senate. Very frequently we will have minor amendments to each other's bills and we need to discuss those. If the committee cannot come to an agreement a separate conference committee is appointed and they are known as a free conference committee. The free conference committee can adjust the bill in any way that they desire. They are able to completely change the law. It's an appliance that still has to come back to the Senate and the house for concurrence of conference committees bring out the best and the worst in the legislative process. On one hand it gives us compromise in its best sense. On the other hand it puts major decisions in the hands of just six

legislators who can hammer out those compromises without much public or legislative. What if the House and Senate conferees can't agree or you either the House or Senate turns down the proposed compromise. Chances are that the piece of legislation will die. Thank you all for being here today is an important day for Wyoming's children. This is the occasion of a signing of House Bill 100 for the Children's Health Insurance Program and the governor has the option of signing legislation allowing it to go into law without signature or rejecting it by veto each bill is reviewed by the attorney general before the governor acts. Most bills are signed and then hand carried across the Capitol Rotunda to the secretary of state's office where they are filed in the state's permanent records and go into the law books. The Wyoming Constitution grants the governor to rather extraordinary powers. One has the power to pardon. The other is a power to veto. As we're considering legislation the power to veto becomes very significant and it's a power that I don't

take lightly. Not at all because it's a power that should be used only sparingly. But as the legislature can add to laws or add to appropriations the governor's power is limited to taking it away never adding to and that power is to be used only when there is a major disagreement or just a means to check what needs to go on for the general public in Wyoming. If the governor vetoes a bill and the legislature is still in session legislators can attempt to override the governor's veto. That takes a two thirds majority in both the House and Senate. The governor has just three days to act on enrolled acts when the legislature is in session and 15 days after they adjourn vetoes are relatively rare. But death of an idea of a bill in the legislative process is more common than not in a normal general session. Only about 200 of the more than 500 bills that are introduced are passed and signed into law.

What of the rest of the measures which all started as a good idea back in somebodies home town. People sometimes get quite impassioned about a bill that they have brought to the legislature that doesn't make its way through the entire process. But we have a saying here at the legislature that a good bill will come back. We want the bills that ultimately process and make their way through the body to be of the very best nature that they can be and to do so to pass a bill that mean they have imperfections in it because of lack of time or full and complete working would not be in the best interest of the state. So sometimes a good idea that's not fully developed or fully implemented is better to die come back at another session and we find our old friends coming back sometimes two or three times before they are finally made into law. And some of my Ultimately we're not that good of an idea and never do make a blog. But it's better to to take a second

year and make a better law than to pass a bad law. One great thing about the state of Wyoming in our legislative process is that we truly are a citizen legislature. We're citizens who choose to do public service take the take the opportunity and make the effort to be elected and come down here and this is something that I hope never changes it's a way that people can interact and work together to bring forth good legislation as we go forward in the future I would hope that this would continue and we would have a citizen legislature. That's what makes me such a great place in my opinion what we are is an extension of the constituency for two electors who are down in Cheyenne working on legislation passing laws be doing build whatever we might be doing when extension of those who see fit to elect. Representing. Wyoming's legislature. Is your legislature. We hope that you've enjoyed this look at this unique institution. And how it operates.