Update on Wyoming State Legislagture
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CHEYENNE — In an article by Ramsey Scott of the Wyomng Tribune Eagle Wednesday, he wrote, “Gov. Mark Gordon used his veto pen Tuesday to reject more than two dozen items out of the state supplemental budget passed by the Legislature this month. The vetoes started a domino effect in the Legislature with the House set to meet today (Wednesday, Feb. 27), when it will most likely start the process to override at least some of Gordon's decisions.
A news brief Thursday morning, “The Legislature rejected two of Gov. Mark Gordon's 29 line-item vetoes from the state's supplemental budget Wednesday, but let much of what Gordon rejected stand…
“The House voted overwhelmingly to override four of Gordon's vetoes, but the Senate was only concerned with two of those decisions - a footnote that was essentially a technical correction included in the budget, and the elimination of two positions in the Wyoming State Engineer's Office.
In the letter to the House on the vetoes, Gordon highlighted 29 budget footnotes that he saw as overstepping the constitutional boundaries of the Legislature. He pointed out that multiple footnotes dealt with issues unrelated to the budget, which instead should be handled in separate bills. Many of the items vetoed were reports the Legislature required from agencies in the executive branch.
"Since these are not tied to the budget or a specific appropriation, the footnotes should be placed in single-subject bills and not included in the budget acts in the future," Gordon said in the letter.
Earlier this week the House had considered adding one legislative day next week to override some of Gordon’s vetoes. However, they worked late into the night Wednesday to finish the session on time.
House Bill 171 is now headed to the Governor’s desk after sailing through the Senate Monday on third and final reading. The bill creates a framework for the state’s growers to capitalize on a provision in the new farm bill that decriminalizes hemp, previously considered a controlled substance under federal law. If signed by the governor, the bill would allow farmers to apply for a state license to begin to grow hemp. Upon receiving the license, farmers would then have to subject their crop to regular testing – including remaining below a certain THC threshold.
