Green River Star -
April 8, 2021
One of the most perplexing mysteries about Wyoming’s 2021 legislative session is how the House could kill a suicide prevention bill. Then, when lawmakers got a chance to reconsider the matter, they rejected a second measure, too.
Trying to keep people from killing themselves shouldn’t be a controversial issue in Wyoming, which has the highest suicide rate in the country. But apparently it is, at least for lawmakers who decided against mandating school programs that train students how to recognize suicide warning signs from their peers and obtain help from adults.
Administrators, teach.
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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily
A state representative from Laramie recently crunched the numbers and determined Wyoming would save millions with a recently introduced marijuana legalization bill.
Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, asked during a presentation on House Bill 209 (which would legalize medical and recreational marijuana in the state) last week what the savings to the Wyoming Department of Corrections would be if the bill was approved.
“They reported back that approximately 335 people are incarcerated for drug offenses, 2,501 are under supervision, and the total cost is approximately $19,498,525,” Provenza tweeted.
However, DOC Director Daniel Shannon said the department was unable to identify those who were incarcerated or under supervision specifically for marijuana possession.
The House Revenue Committee was again disinterested in new taxes last week as it voted down a real estate transfer tax, and an expansion of the sales tax from goods to services.
Teton County legislators supported the real estate tax. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort lobbied against the sales tax expansion.
Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Albany, was the lead sponsor on the sales tax bill. Pointing to a report on Wyomingâs estimated âtax capacityâ â the ability to increase taxes while remaining competitive business-wise â she argued that Wyoming has plenty of âcapacity.â
âWe have a reputation for being business friendly â no two ways about it. Our taxes are part of that,â Connolly said. âBut what these studies indicate over and over and over again is that we can increase our taxes and still remain competitive. We have that capacity.â
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