Chapter 1 - General Provisions - Wyoming Statutes

CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

28-1-101. President of senate to preside over joint sessions; powers.

 

Wheneverthe senate and house of representatives of the legislature of the state ofWyoming shall meet in joint session, for the transaction of any businesswhatsoever, the duly elected and qualified president of the senate shallpreside over the deliberations of any such joint session, with all theprerogatives and powers of a presiding officer, and the officers of both thesenate and house shall be, during such joint session, under and subject to hisdirection.

 

28-1-102. Length of legislative sessions.

 

(a) The general and budget session of the Wyoming legislatureshall commence on the second Tuesday of January of odd-numbered years and shallcontinue for an additional thirty-nine (39) legislative working days unlessboth houses agree to an earlier adjournment.

 

(b) There shall be a legislative budget session eacheven-numbered year to consider the state budget and any other business thelegislature deems desirable. The budget session of the Wyoming legislatureshall commence on the second Monday of February of even-numbered years andshall continue for an additional number of legislative working days as agreedby both houses of the legislature or as limited by the Wyoming constitution.The joint appropriations committee shall meet for such time as is necessary toreview current budgets and shall prepare and distribute its report to thelegislature not less than five (5) days prior to the convening of the budgetsession.

 

(c) As used in this section "legislative working day"means every day of the week when either the senate or house of representativesconvenes, exclusive of Sundays.

 

(d) Members of the legislature shall be paid salary and perdiem for each calendar day from the first legislative working day of eachsession through and including the last legislative working day of each session.

 

28-1-103. Additional employees.

 

Atany time during the session of the legislature when the employment ofadditional persons may be necessary for the efficient performance of the dutiesimposed upon the legislature, the senate and house of representatives arehereby authorized to employ such additional employees.

 

28-1-104. Copies of printed bills to be mailed to county clerks;filing; inspection.

 

Wheneverthe legislature of this state is in session, it shall be the duty of the chiefclerk of the house in which any bill is introduced, to mail a printed copy ofsuch bill to the county clerk of each county in the state, immediately afterthe same is printed, and the county clerk receiving such printed copy is herebyrequired to keep the same on file in his office for the inspection of thepublic until after the laws for that session are printed and distributed as bylaw required.

 

28-1-105. Preservation of records.

 

Theoriginal minutes, receipt books and miscellaneous records of the statelegislature deposited with the secretary of state shall be retained by thesecretary of state for a period of three (3) years. The original house billsand senate files shall be retained by the secretary of state for ten (10) yearsafter which time the secretary of state will deliver them to the department ofstate parks and cultural resources for destruction or preservation as it maydeem desirable. The original enrolled acts, and the original senate and housejournals shall be retained by the secretary of state as permanent records.

 

28-1-106. Resignation of office.

 

Resignation of the office of a member ofthe senate or house of representatives shall be made to the governor, who shallimmediately notify the state central committee of the party which the memberrepresented at the time of his election under W.S. 22-6-120(a)(vii), or at thetime of his appointment if not elected to office, of the resignation. If theresigning member did not represent a political party at the time of hiselection, or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office, thegovernor shall notify the appropriate boards of county commissioners who shallproceed in accordance with W.S. 22-18-111(a)(iii)(C). For purposes of thissection a person shall be considered to "represent" a political partyif he was a nominee of that political party when elected to office or whenappointed to fill a vacancy in office.

 

28-1-107. Definitions.

 

(a) As used in this act:

 

(i) "Committee" means any duly constituted committeeof the legislature, any standing committee of either house of the legislature,joint interim committee of the legislature, special investigating committeeestablished by joint resolution of the legislature and the committeesestablished by W.S. 28-11-101, 28-11-201 and 28-11-301;

 

(ii) "Council" means the management council of thelegislature;

 

(iii) "Legislature" means the Wyoming legislature;

 

(iv) "Subpoena" means a legislative subpoena orsubpoena duces tecum in such form and issued pursuant to rules prescribed bythe legislature or council;

 

(v) "This act" means W.S. 28-1-107 through 28-1-112and any future amendments thereto.

 

28-1-108. Oaths.

 

AnyWyoming legislator or designated staff members of the legislature are empoweredto administer oaths to witnesses in any matter under investigation by thelegislature, council, or committee.

 

28-1-109. Issuance and service of subpoena; privilege of witness;witness fees and expenses.

 

 

(a) The presiding officer of either house of the legislature,the council, or a committee may issue a subpoena upon request of a majority ofthe members of the body.

 

(b) A subpoena shall be served by the sheriff or his deputy, ormay be served by any other person so designated by the presiding officer.Service of a subpoena upon a person named therein shall be made either byreading or by delivering a copy to the person. The person serving the subpoenashall make proof of service thereof to the issuing body promptly and in anyevent within the time during which the person served must respond to the subpoena.

 

(c) No witness before the legislature, the council, or anycommittee is privileged to refuse to testify to any fact or to produce anybook, paper, or other document relevant to the matter under inquiry on theground that his testimony or production of the document may tend to disgracehim or otherwise render him infamous.

 

(d) Witnesses not employees of the state of Wyoming nor of anypolitical subdivision of the state who are summoned to give testimony orproduce documents shall receive witness fees, travel expenses, and otherexpenses in the same amount as permitted in civil cases triable in districtcourt.

 

28-1-110. Failure to appear; refusal to testify or produce documents;disturbances.

 

 

(a) Any person having been subpoenaed as a witness by theauthority of the legislature, council or committee to give testimony or producebooks, papers or other documents relevant to the matter under inquiry beforethe legislature, council, or any committee, who fails to appear, refuses to besworn, refuses to answer any question relevant to the matter under inquiry, orfails to produce any books, papers or other documents relevant to the matterunder inquiry, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

 

(b) Any person attending a meeting or hearing of thelegislature, the council, or any committee, who is disorderly or contemptuousor who willfully creates noise or any other disturbance tending to interrupt ordisrupt the meeting or hearing, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

 

(c) Any person who violates this section, upon conviction, aplea of guilty or nolo contendere, may be punished by a fine of not more thanone hundred dollars ($100.00) and imprisonment in county jail for a period notto exceed six (6) months.

 

28-1-111. Certification of violations for prosecution.

 

Wheneverany witness subpoenaed to appear or produce documents before the legislature,council, or any committee, fails to appear to testify, refuses to be sworn,fails to answer any question relevant to matter under inquiry, fails to produceany book, paper or other document relevant to the matter under inquiry, orwhenever any person is alleged to have violated W.S. 28-1-110(b), the presidingofficer of the body shall certify that failure or violation to the appropriatedistrict attorney who shall prosecute the matter in the appropriate court.

 

28-1-112. Court order to appear to testify or produce documents.

 

Incase of refusal to obey a subpoena issued by the legislature, council, or anycommittee, the district court for the district in which the proceedings arebeing held, shall, upon application of the presiding officer of the body,immediately issue an order requiring the person to appear before thelegislature, the council, the committee or other person designated by thepresiding officer at the time and place requested by the application, there toproduce the documentary evidence or give testimony on the matter under inquiry.Failure to obey the court order may be punished by the court as a contempt ofcourt.

 

28-1-113. Joint meetings of legislative standing committees;introduction and passage of budget bill.

 

 

(a) The standing committees of the house of representatives andof the senate being in charge of the appropriation measures shall sit jointlyin open sessions while considering the budget and shall begin joint meetingsnot less than twenty (20) days prior to the convening of the budget session.The joint committee may cause the attendance of the heads or responsiblerepresentatives of the departments, institutions and all other agencies of thestate to furnish information and answer questions as the joint committeerequires. Pertinent results of management audit committee audits shall beorally presented to the joint committee at the time of hearing for the agenciesto which the audits relate.

 

(b) All persons interested in the estimates under considerationshall be admitted to the meetings and may be allowed the right to be heard. Thegovernor, or his representatives, and members of the legislature have the rightto sit at these public hearings and be heard on all matters coming before thejoint committee.

 

(c) The joint committee shall cause the general appropriationbill or bills known as budget bills, to be introduced in whole or in part inthe house of representatives or the senate, or both, within five (5) days afterthe budget session convenes. When a budget bill has passed the house of origin,the bill shall be referred to the standing appropriations committee of theopposite house which shall meet, consider and recommend adoption or modificationof only those amendments to the budget bill which were adopted by the house oforigin and shall not propose other amendments to any original jointappropriations committee budget bill.

 

28-1-114. Increase or decrease of items in budget bill by legislature;appropriation bills to be itemized.

 

Thelegislature may increase or decrease items in the budget bill as it may deem tobe in the interest of greater economy and efficiency in the public service. Allbills introduced carrying appropriations shall be itemized in accordance withthe classifications used in the budget.

 

28-1-115. Submission of state agency plans to legislature; contents;purposes.

 

(a) To assist the legislature in its deliberations, every stateagency shall:

 

(i) No later than December 1, 1994, prepare and thereaftermaintain a statement of policies and statutory authority that guide theprograms, activities and functions of the agency. The plan shall specify thoseobjectives against which the agency will be measured to evaluate itseffectiveness. An agency may implement only those programs that arespecifically established by constitutional or statutory authority;

 

(ii) On or before September 1 of each odd numbered year,following an opportunity for public review, submit to and have approved by thegovernor a four (4) year plan covering the period beginning July 1 of thefollowing year and ending June 30 in the fourth succeeding year, to accomplishand further the goals and objectives defined in W.S. 28-1-116(a). The plan shall:

 

(A) Include performance measures that provide methods andcriteria to measure the agency's performance in conducting its activities andin achieving its goals and objectives. The methods and criteria shall complywith standards developed by the governmental accounting standards board. Performance measures shall be developed by the agency and reviewed by thelegislative management audit committee and audited by the department of audit;

 

(B) State the relative priority that each current or proposed programbears with regard to all other programs and objectives within the agency;

 

(C) Be developed with a four (4) year prospective and providethe strategic approach within which the agency's budget request is developed;

 

(D) Include sufficient information for evaluation of thefollowing:

 

(I) The specific purpose of each program, function and activityof the executive branch of government or any other major entity that receivesfunding from state revenue;

 

(II) The specific public benefit that does or should result fromthe program, function or activity;

 

(III) Alternative courses of action that would result inadministration of the same program, function or activity in a more efficient oreffective manner including:

 

(1) Whether a program, function or activity could be implemented more effectivelyby another level of government or by a private entity;

 

(2) Whether there is sufficient public benefit to justify the funding necessary forthe program, function or activity.

 

(IV) The consequences of discontinuing any program, function oractivity;

 

(V) Whether the methods, rules and policies employed by theagency to implement a program, function or activity are cost-effective,efficient and consistent with law and impose a minimum of regulatory burden.

 

(b) Financial resources necessary to implement the policies andgoals of each agency program shall be clearly identified as a part of eachbiennial or supplemental budget request. Any state program, function oractivity not included in an annual state agency plan shall not receive fundingfor the subsequent budget period.

 

(c) Each agency shall submit by December 1 of each year anannual performance report to the governor with copies to the legislativeservice office to provide a basis for evaluation of attainment of agency goalsand objectives in the agency's plan developed under subsection (a) of thissection. The report shall be included as part of the annual report required byW.S. 9-2-1014(a).

 

(d) The management audit committee of the legislature, with theassistance of the audit division of the legislative service office and thedepartment of audit, may use the agency plans and annual statement ofattainment as the basis for program evaluation and performance audits asauthorized by law.

 

(e) Within forty-five (45) days after the end of eachlegislative session, the legislative service office shall provide themanagement audit committee with a list of each new major program and majormodifications to existing programs provided for by law, including programsadded through a general appropriations act or through individual billenactments, for each state agency defined by subsection (f) of this section.Prior to submission to the management audit committee, the legislative serviceoffice shall provide the list to the chairman of each house and senate standingcommittee for comment.

 

(f) For purposes of this section and W.S. 28-1-116, "stateagency" means:

 

(i) Each separate department in the executive branch ofgovernment created under the authority of the Wyoming Government ReorganizationAct of 1989, W.S. 9-2-1701 et seq.;

 

(ii) Offices of the five (5) elected state officials and theattorney general; and

 

(iii) Each agency designated as a separate operating agency underW.S. 9-2-1704(d).

 

28-1-116. Continuous planning; performance budgeting.

 

(a) On or before July 1, 1995, and by March 31 of eachodd-numbered year thereafter, the governor shall define state goals andobjectives in the following areas:

 

(i) Education;

 

(ii) Regulatory and economic development;

 

(iii) Natural resources;

 

(iv) Health;

 

(v) Human services;

 

(vi) Transportation;

 

(vii) Public safety and corrections;

 

(viii) General government.

 

(b) The governor may submit draft goals and objectives to themanagement council for comment.

 

(c) On or before September 1 of each odd numbered year, eachagency, as defined under W.S. 28-1-115(f), following an opportunity for publicreview, shall submit to and have approved by the governor a plan as describedby W.S. 28-1-115(a)(ii).

 

(d) Repealed By Laws 1997, ch. 178, 2.

 

(e) When the governor submits the state budget or asupplemental budget as required under W.S. 9-2-1013, he shall also distributeagency plans required under subsection (c) of this section. The budget foreach agency shall be performance and program based and shall reflect the goalsand objectives specified in the agency's plan.

 

(f) All dates established in this section or in W.S. 28-1-115may be extended by the governor.

 

28-1-117. Repealed By Laws 2003, Ch. 34, 1.

 

 

28-1-118. Legislative review of state revenue distribution formulae;reports required.

 

Thejoint revenue interim committee shall submit a report to the governor andlegislature by December 1, 2004, and by December 1 of each fourth yearthereafter, reviewing the distribution formulae for federal mineral royalties,severance taxes and inheritance taxes. The report shall indicate whether theformulae are understandable to public policy makers, serve the needs of the citizensof the state and whether the distinction between sustainable revenues and"one-time" revenues contained therein is reasonable. The report maycontain recommendations for legislation.