Wyoming Constitution; Article 1, Section 27...Elections shall be open, free and equal, and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent an untrammeled exercise of the right of suffrage.

 

 

 

 

February 16, 2005

 

 

            As a follow up to my mailing of yesterday concerning changes in the power structure amongst the 5 elected officials, I thought I would point out HB #291; Office of State Lands and Investments.

 

            You do remember whom the 5 elected officials are…don’t you??…the Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, and the Superintendent of Pubic Instruction.

 

            And you do know whom those individuals are…don’t you??…Dave Fruedenthal (D), Joe Meyer(R), Cynthia Lummis(R), Max Maxfield(R), and Trent Blankenship(R).

 

            As it currently stands, those 5 individuals sit as the State Land Board and manage the affairs of the land that belongs to the state of Wyoming. Each member has one vote, but the governor is the chairperson, and so has more clout. He is also the only Democrat.

 

            He currently has the power to hire and fire the full time director that manages the Office of State Lands, and that rubs some of the other 4 the wrong way. They want to insert themselves into the hiring and firing process, so that they could team up and control the outcome.

 

            Thus far a majority of legislators agree with that new approach! The bill has passed the House, and is now being considered by the Senate.

 

            See the text at………..

 

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2005/Engross/HB0291.pdf

 

            And see the vote totals at…

 

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2005/digest/HB0291.htm

 

            It seems as if there is not any part of state government that is safe from legislative meddling, is there?

 

Keith