Page 32 - Legislative Update News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The 2021 session will be remembered for historic “tough on crime – smart on crime” legislation.

U.S. Department of Labor’s DOL Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing that the nonfarm economy added only 266,000 jobs in April 2021, well short of the 1 million jobs that many economists were predicting.

Senate committee budget vote delayed until next week As the end of the week approached, the Senate Appropriations Committee was still finalizing FY 2022 budget details, and a planned Friday vote was pushed until Monday. On Wednesday, Committee Chair Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, expressed repeated frustration that she was still receiving bills and specific appropriation requests from committees, including H.171 (a child care bill) and H.360 (a broadband bill). Those attempting to follow the budget deliberations were likewise frustrated by the lack of documents and transparency in the process. So...

[co-author: Jessica Griswold] Legislative Chess It’s the time of year when the legislature plays chess. Sometimes it even plays speed chess, with programs, initiatives, and tax code changes flying in and out of bills as they move back and forth between chambers. Each chamber attempts to position its priorities to its best advantage, sometimes by holding the other chamber’s priorities as hostage. A House committee may remove a section of a bill that its Senate counterpart spent months discussing. And vice versa. A committee may also attach one of these pieces to a different bill, using it ...

Legislative Update The 66th Wyoming Legislature wrapped up a little over a month ago in Cheyenne. The supplemental budget bill approved by legislators and ultimately signed into law by Governor Mark Gordon included over $430 million in general fund cuts. State Senator Dave Kinskey, at Monday night’s City Council study session, said the cuts were wide ranging. Senator Kinskey Legislators could not however agree on a school funding bill to address the $300 million education funding shortfall. Senator Kinskey said Wyoming on average spends over $16,000 a year per student. Senator Kinskey