Legislative Session Half Done

Today marks the half-way point for the Wyoming Legislature’s biennial budget session, and the second reading of the Budget Bill in both the Wyoming House and Senate commenced yesterday with over 40 proposed amendments.  Teton County Representative Keith Gingery explains that some of those amendments were able to be dispensed within a few minutes, but others required up to an hour to debate.  The day, Gingery says is historically known as one of the longest days of the session because of the 2nd reading amendments.  At the same time as debate is ongoing with the budget bill, regular non-budget bills have until today to be heard in Committee of the Whole.  Those bills that don’t get heard by adjournment today will die.  The responsibility for making sure that schedule moves forward belongs to Majority Floor Leader, Tom Lubnau from Gillette who also decides the order of the bills coming to the floor.