The Wyoming Senate passed a bill that would create legislative oversight for public health orders.
The bill was amended since its introduction, and now would require the legislature to approve any public health measure that goes beyond 60 days.
County government approval would be needed for any local orders going beyond 30 days.
The changes allow for the legislature to approve an extension virtually. It also includes a 48 hour delay to any order to allow for public feedback.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Drew Perkins said with the amendments, he supports the bill. It brings into effect the practicalities associated with doing this. And so it incorporates the lessons that we ve learned just less than a year ago, what it took to convene a special session in the midst of a pandemic and how you do that, he said.
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Worries fester that Wyoming could see higher long-term costs through short-term $445M cuts By Brendan LaChance on March 8, 2021
Sen. Drew Perkins (Wyoming Legislature, Youtube)
CASPER, Wyo. Will short-term cuts lead to increased costs for the State of Wyoming in the long-term or would spending now save the state money over the long haul?
That’s a question facing the Wyoming Legislature as they work to pass a balanced budget, as they are required to do under the Wyoming Constitution.
The Wyoming Senate took up debate of Senate File 01 on Monday, March 8. The budget bill as proposed by the Joint Appropriations Committee would include total reductions to expenditures from the state’s General Fund of about $445 million from the 2021-2022 biennial appropriations.
Wyoming Senate debate letting government publishing occur online vs. in newspapers By Brendan LaChance on March 3, 2021
(Shutterstock)
CASPER, Wyo. The Wyoming Senate took up debate on Wednesday, March 3 to eliminate some requirements for government entities publishing information in local newspapers.
Senate File 17 would allow counties, towns and school districts to post minutes of meetings and salary information on their own websites rather than paying to have these published in a newspaper.
“As you can imagine, needing to pay for publishing of minutes of meetings when [those can be made] available on the public entity’s website or other locations can be quite costly,” Sen. Tara Nethercott (Laramie County) said. “We heard testimony from some of these entities that it comprises anywhere from 1% to 10% of their total budgets and can have a particular impact on the smaller communities where those margins are significantly smaller.”