Wyoming faces deadline on school-funding order

CHEYENNE – Perhaps fueled by higher speed limits, the Wyoming Legislature is rolling along faster than an empty semi barreling down Interstate 25 and is looking to adjourn as much as a week ahead of schedule.But there are speed bumps ahead.
Looming over everything is the Wyoming Supreme Court’s mandate to fix school funding, and legislators are facing a special session in June to tackle most of the education issues – and perhaps tax issues as well.
The Legislature has until July 1 to comply with a 1995 state Supreme Court decision declaring the state’s school-financing system unconstitutional, and while legislators have spent months laying the groundwork for education reform, most agree the real work starts after completion of a long-awaited “Cost of Education” study at the end of February, one the biggest parts of the puzzle.
“I would have preferred that we had more opportunity to resolve the education issue this session, but as things unfolded, that wasn’t really possible,” Gov. Jim Geringer said.
“But there are three months left to go through and decide if the funding formula looks reasonable, if the basket of goods is still appropriate and then if it costs too much, they can pull out various programs,” he added. “That’s going to generate quite a bit of debate, so the sooner it’s on the table for the public to wrangle over, the better off we’ll be in terms of getting a decision in June.”
So in the meantime, legislators have been rushing through a limited agenda – and glancing over their shoulder at the special session looming in June.
One reason for the speedy session is simply numbers. Fewer than 500 bills and resolutions were introduced this general session, about 300 less than normal for a long session. By the midway point, fewer than 200 bills remained alive, and the final tally of bills sent to the governor will be even lower.
Of prime interest to business were various proposals to raise or continue taxes. But legislators generally heeded Geringer’s request to defer action on all tax bills until the June special session, when the revenue needs for school financing should be clearer.
The one exception was a proposal to increase Wyoming’s motor-fuels taxes a nickel a gallon, from 9 cents a gallon to 14 cents, to provide money for highway maintenance.
The proposal sailed through the House with relative ease but was killed by the Senate during initial debate, rendering it dead for the session – and some think for the remainder of this year and next year’s budget session as well.
But Geringer, who has been neutral on a gas-tax increase, predicts the Legislature will take another look at it in June, partly because of pressing highway-maintenance needs and partly because of a need to make a good-faith effort to convince Congress to retain current federal highway funding formulas as it reauthorizes the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
Without taxes and education, the agenda has been relatively limited, but it includes a number of business-related issues:
n Interstate branch banking. Wyoming is one of the last states to consider whether to opt in to the new national interstate-branch-banking system that goes into effect this June, and legislation approved this session would authorize Wyoming to opt in, with some qualifications.
n Workforce Development Training Fund. The governor’s proposal would establish a training fund from a portion of current unemployment-insurance-fund money, to provide grants to individual businesses for employee training.
n Trademarks and service marks. This measure would reduce the term of trademark registration from 20 years to 5 years and modify the procedure for registration.
n Limited liability companies. Members of limited liability companies could be exempt from unemployment and workers’ compensation laws in certain instances.
n Seasonal employees. Seasonal employees in businesses with two-thirds seasonal employees would be exempt from unemployment benefits.
n Directory of new hires. A welfare-reform measure would require the state to maintain a directory of all new hires to help locate parents delinquent in child-support payments.
n Child labor laws. A bill would eliminate the requirement of a work permit for children under 16 and would prohibit hiring children under 14 except for farm, domestic or yard work.
And legislators have killed some items of interest to business, including these:
n A proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed future legislatures to put a cap on damage awards in civil lawsuits.
n A measure that would have required health insurers to cover adult wellness tests, such as mammograms.
n An increase in fees for agents selling fishing and hunting licenses.ÿ