Latest news with #WyomingHouseofRepresentatives
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alan K. Simpson, three-term Wyoming senator, dies at 93
Alan Simpson, the former three-term U.S. senator from Wyoming known for his humor, plain-speech and willingness to work through partisan differences, died in hospice care in Cody, Wyoming. He was 93 years old. 'Al Simpson was an amazing friend, an incredible statesman, a thoughtful courageous politician, and a wonderful human being who brought humor, wisdom, and razor-sharp insight to any situation,' wrote Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon. 'Wyoming has lost a true light.' He was a member of the prolific and influential Wyoming Simpson family and the second son of Milward Simpson, a well-known lawyer and one-time governor of Wyoming. Following a struggle to recover from a hip broken in December, he died 'surrounded by his family and friends' early Friday morning, according to a published statement from his family and The Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Simpson was a gigantic figure in American politics both figuratively and literally, standing 6-foot-7 and wearing size 15 shoes. He was first elected to public office in 1964 as a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, where he served until 1977. The following year he was elected to the U.S. Senate, which was a seat he held for 18 years until 1997, which included a decade-long run as Republican Whip. In 1985, he worked closely with democratic colleagues to put together the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which is lauded today as a benchmark of bipartisan cooperation. In 2022, Simpson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden. Former President George W. Bush wrote that he 'was one of the finest public servants ever to have graced our nation's capital,' in a statement released Friday. Bush quoted the eulogy Simpson gave for his father to celebrate the 'humble, funny, strong man' he was. 'Those who travel the high road of humility in Washington, D.C., are not bothered by heavy traffic.' He was known for his folksy language and acerbic wit. During negotiations over The Clean Air Act in 1990, he referred to his democratic colleague, Henry Waxman, as being 'tougher than a boiled owl.' Another time, he said that 'we have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party.' While he believed that 'humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life,' he also said that 'telling the truth is the essence of leadership. If you have integrity, nothing else matters. And if you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.' Simpson is survived by his wife Ann, whom he was married to for 70 years; brother Peter; and children William, Colin and Susan; as well as grandchildren.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wyoming industries approach Trump tariffs with caution
CHEYENNE — When President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China would go into effect on Tuesday, Wyoming farmer David Northrup said he went to the store to stock up on steel in preparation for increased prices for those working in America's core industries. Northrup, who is also a former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, is not alone in his fear of what's in store for farmers and consumers across America. Even Trump acknowledged the potential financial harms in store for American farmers as a result of his tariffs. During his joint address to Congress Tuesday evening, Trump asked farmers who could be hurt by the tariffs in an already inflation-weary economy to 'bear with me' and said, 'there'll be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that. It won't be much.' On Thursday, Trump announced that he would once again delay some of the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for anther month after conversations he had with government officials from both countries. For some, like Northrup, there is a belief these tariffs will harm the American farmer and damage the industry for several years. Others in Wyoming's core industries believe that it is too early to tell what will happen, and they want to trust the president's call to bear with him. But after delaying the tariffs for a second time, some believe it is a real possibility these tariffs will never go into effect and are merely a tactic to force a renegotiation of the USMCA, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a free trade agreement between the three countries that Trump negotiated in his first term. Instead of a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, goods wholly produced in North America will continue to be traded duty-free under USMCA rules. The administration has also carved potash out of the tariffs for the next month, a key ingredient in fertilizer. Currently, 85% of U.S. potash imports come from Canada. However, the Trump administration has imposed a 10% levy on energy imported to the U.S. from Canada, primarily impacting northeast states. Trump followed through with doubling a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports he announced last month to a 20% tariff on Tuesday. Canada, China and Mexico have all announced they would impose retaliatory tariffs on American exports if Trump follows through with the tariff plans. The Yale University Budget Lab has estimated that the tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico, when implemented, would increase inflation by a full percentage point, cut growth by half a percentage point and cost the average household about $1,600 in disposable income. Wait and see During the trade war between the U.S. and China between 2018 and 2020, the Trump administration distributed around $26 billion in taxpayer dollars to bail out farmers harmed by the administration's trade policies. Trump has yet to announce any financial relief to American industries impacted by the tariffs this time around. Northrup said he is not confident farmers will see any relief this time, citing the federal government's ongoing efforts to slash spending. '(If there is no relief), you'll either ride it out, or you'll give it up and quit farming,' Northrup said. Others in Wyoming's core industries, however, expressed more of a willingness to see how the tariffs will play out before passing judgment. Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, said it's best to 'wait and see' how things will be for now, whether the tariffs will be good for business in the long run or whether they will be a useful trade negation tactic. 'It does inject a certain amount of uncertainty, and my industry thrives on certainty. So, I think there's, you know, obviously some concerns about the uncertainty of where you're going to be from month to month,' he said. 'But, until the stuff really gets up and running, and we're hitting the ground with tariffs, it's just hard to say what's going to happen.' Coal Mining in Wyoming PRB Coal mining in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Ryan McConnaughey, vice president and director of communications for the Wyoming Petroleum Association, corroborated this sentiment. 'Just given the fact that the energy markets are so integrated and global in nature, it's really hard to tell what the impacts of the tariffs will be,' he said. 'Wyoming refineries use both U.S. and Canadian crude oil, and Mexico is our No. 1 export destination for refined products coming from the U.S. So, I would say it's probably too early to tell what the impact to Wyoming producers will be, but I'm sure there will be impacts.' According to data from the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Wyoming exported $2.1 billion worth of goods to the world in 2024. In 2022, exports from Wyoming supported an estimated 6,000 jobs. The state's largest market is Canada. In 2024, Wyoming exported $401 million in goods to Canada — 19% of total goods exported. In 2022, the most recent data available, Wyoming's top three exports were beef and veal, other livestock products, and other plant products, in that order — all industries that would be particularly impacted if the Trump administration follows through with a tariff on potash. Short-term negotiation tactic Todd Fornstrom, president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, said he just hopes the tariffs do not last too long. He recently returned from a trip to the nation's capital to meet with Wyoming's representatives and senators and other members of the national Farm Bureau Federation. He said the tariffs were a hot topic of conversation this past week. 'Our policy, yes, we want free trade,' he said. 'Tariffs are never something that we want, but we do understand that when we're talking about security in trade, fair trade, tariffs are sometimes the tool that we use to get to what we need.' Fornstrom said he hopes the threat of tariffs will be enough to renegotiate the USCMA, and that the tariffs are short-lived if they must go into place because of the harm it could have on American and Wyoming farmers. If no relief is provided to farmers and the tariffs are in place for a while, Fornstrom said he would be concerned, but said farmers throughout history have been resilient. Anne Alexander is vice provost for strategic planning and initiatives for academic affairs at the University of Wyoming. She has spent most of her career researching American economics. Anne Alexander Anne Alexander After Trump walked back on his initial plans to implement full tariffs on Canada and Mexico this week, Alexander said it could be one or both of two things. First, it could likely be a trade negotiation tactic. She said that Trump may be using the next month to get something that the trade partners are not currently delivering on. Second, Alexander said the delay could also be an attempt to devalue the U.S. dollar to help trade balances. She added that a trade war with a competitor like China is more typical than a trade war with allies like Canada and Mexico. 'A trade war with allies is a lot more unusual because it will end up hurting your producers and consumers, and it hurts profit margins, and therefore it hurts employee wages,' she said. Many times, a tariff regime will last for an entire presidential administration. However, Alexander said she would be surprised if these tariffs, and the retaliatory tariffs that would be imposed on American exports, would remain as high as 25% because the USMCA is up for renegotiation. 'If that's the case, then (the tariffs) would be short-lived,' she said. 'There may be higher tariffs on other things that come through that negotiation, but probably not across the board at 25%.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Speed limits on dirt roads bill passes Wyoming House
CHEYENNE – A measure to give county governments leeway in setting speed limits on unpaved roads has passed the Wyoming House of Representatives on three readings. Senate File 32, 'Unpaved roads speed limits-amendments,' as amended in the House, better fits what county engineers and road supervisors want, according to Rep. Rob Geringer, R-Cheyenne. Rep. Rob Geringer, R-Cheyenne (2025) Rep. Rob Geringer, R-Cheyenne Geringer explained that SF 32 in its current form allows the county to decrease speed limits on unpaved roads from 55 mph to 45 mph without a speed study, but not below 45 mph. When it was first introduced in the Senate, the bill would have allowed counties to set a speed limit of not more than 55 miles per hour, without a speed study, within their own boundaries. Currently, counties are allowed to set speed limits, but a speed study is required. The amended bill 'gives local control to the commissioners, in (consultation) with their engineering supervisor and law enforcement,' but setting the speed limit any lower than 45 mph could cause issues when it comes to mixed commercial and residential traffic, he said. '(If) truck traffic is required to go at a lower speed, and is going up a hill, there are plenty of instances where … we'll try to pass the slower traffic in front,' Geringer said. 'And so we want to avoid some of those head-on situations.' If a county wants to lower speed limits below 45 mph, the amended bill offers provisions for temporary reduction in speed, in consultation with the county engineer and law enforcement, as a speed study is completed. SF 32 will head back to the Senate for a concurrence vote on amendments made in the House.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate's property tax bill changed in House from statewide to local approach
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming House of Representatives has amended a hotly debated bill that would have applied a 50% cut to homeowners' property taxes statewide to instead give it a more localized approach. The House approved a significant amendment to Senate File 69, 'Homeowner property tax exemption,' on second reading Thursday. Brought by Rep. Ken Clouston, R-Gillette, the amendment proposes a county-by-county approach to property tax relief based on a percentage of increase in a home's value, rather than an across-the-board, 50% cut to the value of a home. A statewide, 50% property tax cut would have a disproportionate effect on each county, he said. 'Some of our counties and residences have seen a massive increase in property taxes. Others haven't,' Clouston said. 'I do feel like it is fair and equitable. This is based on actual increases for a specific piece of property. It is not some random 50% off everything, no matter what your increase or decrease was.' Included in the amendment is language that the state Department of Revenue 'shall calculate and publish, by county, the average increase in assessed valuation for residential properties for the 2019 through 2024 period.' The department would also create rules to govern calculation of the reduction in assessed valuation for each county. Under Clouston's amendment, a county like Niobrara would suffer a loss of $70,951 in collected revenue — half of what the increased property taxes have been, Clouston said. Teton County would be cut $21 million, but that county has seen skyrocketing property values. Clouston's amendment does not include any backfill, and stipulates that cuts would go into effect in 2026. It also repeals a sunset date of two years included in a previous version of the bill. 'I didn't want, in two years, to see this massive increase when we went back to our old system,' Clouston said. 'This would be the tax rate for that property, reset.' Many representatives spoke in favor of Clouston's amendment, which passed in a voice vote. Essentially, it would mean that residents in counties that have seen their tax bills increase the most would receive relief proportional to those increases. Wyoming residents who live in counties that have not seen massive increases and live in places were property tax revenue is necessary for operations like police, fire and special districts, would also not face a mandatory 50% cut. Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan (2025) Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan 'This is the correct route to go,' Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, said. 'This addresses the problem in the most elegant way. Fifty percent of the increase. Not just a flat 50% cut everywhere.' Rep. J.T. Larson, R-Rock Springs, said the method would address the core problem that not all Wyoming counties are the same. Rep. J.T. Larson, R-Rock Springs (2025) Rep. J.T. Larson, R-Rock Springs 'This gets us moving in the right direction. It is addressing the core problem that some counties did see major increases. We feel for those people. We want to address those problems,' said Lawson, whose home county of Sweetwater has seen a 19.5% increase in property values since 2019. 'Some counties didn't see those major increases, but we still want to help our people out a little bit,' Larson said. Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, said on Wednesday night that he believed the House was being asked to formulate tax policy 'on the false premise that a 50% property tax is needed statewide.' On Thursday, he said he would vote for Clouston's amendment. Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper (2025) Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper 'I asked last night where that 50% number came from,' Washut said. 'It wasn't really a reality in most of our counties. We were either way above 50% or way below 50%. I like this approach in that it ties us to a real number, and it gets us back to talking about where we are in each different county.' Past, future discussions Before the bill crossed over to the House, the Senate discussed amendments that would address 'hardship' counties, but none were adopted. One proposed by Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Torrington, would have treated counties differently based on an $850 million collection threshold. That amendment failed, as did another one brought by Sen. Stacy Jones, R-Rock Springs, that would have used state savings to backfill, or pay back, local governments for 12.5% of the lost revenue under the cut. Across the state, property taxes increased 65.2% between 2019 and 2023. That average is skewed by an outlier county, Teton, which saw the highest increase at 111%, for a dollar change of $103.7 million. For five years in a row, Teton County has lowered its own mill levies, the local mechanism for collecting property taxes. In Laramie County, property taxes have increased by 53.7% over the same time period, meaning the county has collected $28.9 million more than it did six years ago. Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland, said she would support Clouston's amendment but that she was in favor of backfill, even if relief is calculated on a county-by-county basis. Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland (2025) Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland 'I do think we are getting closer to actually targeting the problem,' Lawley said. 'But I do not agree with the bringer's idea that we need no backfill. This affects hardship counties differently. … This doesn't really take into account how much the county depends on property taxes.' The House can continue to amend the bill on third reading, and Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, said several new amendments were already stacking up on his desk. Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, pointed out that SF 69 and House Bill 169, 'Homeowner tax exemption-2025 and 2026,' will likely head to a joint conference committee to reconcile changes to each bill, with the possible goal of bringing just one all the way through the session. As it made its way to the Senate, HB 169 included a 50% exemption to a single-family home up to $1 million in value for two years, with $125 million in backfill. 'I think we pass this (amendment) today, and I think we move this idea,' Harshman said. 'The old idea has already crossed over. … This is a chance for this house to have a new idea.' The House is scheduled to discuss SF 69 on third reading on Tuesday. HB 169 has been received in the Senate, but has not yet been referred to committee.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill prohibiting transgender people's access to 'female-only' spaces passes through Wyoming House
CHEYENNE — A bill prohibiting transgender people's access to women's restrooms, locker rooms and other 'female-only spaces' passed through the Wyoming House of Representatives on Friday. House Bill 72, 'Protecting women's privacy in public spaces act,' sponsored by Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland, is one of several bills filed this legislative session that directly affect transgender people. Lawley's bill prevents transgender people from using any public 'female-only spaces,' including public restrooms, locker rooms, gender-assigned jails and single-sex schools. A few amendments were added to the bill during its second and third readings to help with the logistics of enacting this law. Lawley successfully added an amendment to allow local governments to provide appropriate signage and adopt policies for enforcement reasons. Rep. JD Williams, R-Lusk, also successfully added a provision to the bill that would help small rural jails. Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, proposed an amendment that would protect patrons from harassment in the bathroom. She said she was worried about the potential harassment individuals could face if they don't look like the gender of the restroom they're using, she said. However, Lawley said the amendment was unneeded and could 'cloud' the intent of the bill. These civil causes of action already exist in the law, she said. Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland (2025) Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland 'It muddles what we're trying to do here in a very clear fashion,' Lawley said. Provenza pushed back, however, saying her amendment was not related to criminal or Title VI laws — it just protects people in the bathroom. 'I don't think any person should have to suffer substantial emotional distress or fear because they went into a bathroom,' Provenza said, adding this bill forces people to use a bathroom they don't feel comfortable in. 'People that don't conform to what your beliefs are about gender are still people.' Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, brought an amendment, adding another exception to the bill for the 'use of a multi-occupancy changing area, restroom or sleeping quarter designed for the opposite sex when authorized by the public facility for temporary use by male or female groups and teams.' Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne (2025) Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne He said this amendment would allow smaller schools to temporarily change boys locker rooms into girls locker rooms, and vice versa, should the need arise during a sports game, for example. Lawley said the added provision was not necessary, however, since it's already provided in the bill. The Republican representative pointed to the part of the bill where it says this act would not apply to 'changing areas, restrooms or sleeping quarters that have been temporarily designated for use by that person's sex.' HB 72 passed the House on a vote of 52 to 8, with two excused. Votes against the bill included all six House Democrats, Nicholas and Rep. Julie Jarvis, R-Casper. It will now head to the Senate for further debate.
