Dan Laursen

Rep. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, gave an update Friday on legislative issues of interest to his constituents, prior to the in-person session that began Monday.

One of his own bills, HB 89 which dealt with paid days out of the classroom for teachers, has died in committee. 

Two other bills he is watching that came before the agricultural committee on which he serves are HB 51 and HB 54, each dealing with smaller commercial meat processors. HB 51 strives to utilize CARES Act funding to increase capacity at smaller meat processing plants and help them find or train capable help. It has made it out of committee and will now proceed to the committee of the whole.

HB 54 directs the business council to work with the smaller meat processors and try to solve the problems they are facing with permitting, expansion, capacity and finding employees.

Laursen also discussed what he sees as strings attached to accepting federal dollars included in the pandemic relief stimulus plans.

“The federal government spending money it doesn’t have worries me,” he said. “And I don’t like the mandates that come with [accepting the money].”

As far as the so-called road use tax, Laursen said it had gone into a drawer and won’t be heard. Had that bill passed into law, drivers on Wyoming roads — residents, commercial drivers and other visitors to the state — would have been charged for each mile they drove or paid a level road use fee. A separate management system and personnel for the system would have been required. The fees raised by the road use would have been spent to maintain and improve roads at both the state and county level. 

Instead, the interim joint revenue committee has asked to increase the fuel tax by 9 cents, applied to both gasoline and diesel fuel.

The last gas tax hike was in 2013, when 10 cents per gallon was added, raising the taxes to the current 24 cents per gallon. The newly proposed 9 cents would increase the tax to 33 cents per gallon. Alternative fuels would also be subject to the new charges.

Estimates by the Wyoming Department of Transportation indicate passage would generate more than $60 million per year for roads. 

The gas-tax bill notes the highway fund would receive $40 million — about 58% — with $14 million, or slightly over 27%, going to county roads. Towns and cities are in line for 15% or nearly $6 million and the remainder, a little more than $1 million, will go to state parks.   

Laursen is not convinced the road use tax was ever really in play. 

“I think it was smoke and mirrors to get people all up in arms so they could sneak in a 9 cent raise in the tax. I think WYDOT could tighten their belt,” he said.

Some other issues Laursen hopes to see brought forward include a convention of states. This convention could propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution and is outlined in Article Five of that document, requiring 34 state legislatures to call for the meeting. It has never been used and it is unclear whether such a convention — often called an Article V convention — could address only a single issue, such as a balanced budget amendment, or take on multiple amendment proposals.

A nationwide effort started in 2015 to call a convention to reclaim authority now exercised by the federal government. Thus far, 15 states have passed a resolution.

“We need to show the feds the states really are in control, stand up to them, and we never have done it,” Laursen said.

“We also need to think about and have something done about these health orders that go on and on,” he added. His concerns are that a non-elected health officer is beyond the control of elected officials.

He has co-sponsored a bill — HB 56 — that would limit the term of public health orders, although there are several other bills being promoted that seek the same thing.

Laursen said his bill limits statewide public health orders to 15 days before they must go before the Legislature for continuance, while other bills with the same kind of limits specify 30 days. Likewise, most of the bills stipulate the county health officer could only issue orders good for similar time limits before the applicable county commission had to vote on extending the time those orders were in place.